Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, , 9:03:24 to 9:07:01
The Envoy discusses her submission on the Digital Duty of Care Bill, specifically focusing on proposals to regulate anonymous accounts and algorithmic amplification to reduce online hate.
Topics: Online safety, Social cohesion
Speakers: Jillian Segal, Senator David Shoebridge
Um do you know if the Islamophobia Envoy or any Muslim or Palestinian group has been invited, invited to the event by Camp?
Um I I I don't believe so um uh uh in terms of the Islamophobia envoy, but I think that they have had um uh I take it on a notice, but I think that they have had uh Muslim representation in the past. I don't know about this conference. Um it is still some uh some months away, so I have not closely engaged with the program as yet. I'm not even sure if it's finally settled.
Did you make a on a different matter? Did your office make a formal submission to the Senate committee in relation to the Digital Duty of Care Bill?
Um, Senator, I think we we've made um uh a submission to the department when the exposure draft went out. Um but I think we are still to make one uh to the committee that to which it's been referred. We have not made it yet.
And and you saw um changes to the exposure draft bill to I think amongst other things, limit the reach of anonymous accounts, you said to avoid exposing whistleblowers. How does anonymous anonymous accounts expose whistleblowers?
Well, I think Senator Generally, we thought that the the bill had a number of areas where it could be uh profitably uh positively amended, um, both in terms of the platform design, the algorithmic amplification, anonymous accounts bots, and the AI generation. I think it it was a sort of a package of suggested reforms or additions uh that we put forward. Um I don't think it was connecting anonymous accounts with whistleblowers per se. I just think that um there's an argument that anonymity is important to allow whistleblowers, but nevertheless, I thought that there should be a grading system for anonymous account. So if there's some that could be completely anonymous uh and that allows a certain reach, some that could be uh registered with the platform and that would have a different reach. Um so it was it was quite a uh detailed submission because I think that this is an incredibly important area that we need to have a balance between what is allowed online but the hatred that is coming down the online pipe.
So you would have the platforms hold the information, platforms like Meta and X and others hold information in relation to accounts, detailed information about names. Is that your proposal?
Well, the the proposal had three levels. There could be full anonymity, there could be um a situation where the platforms actually held that information, and there could be full disclosure, as you see on LinkedIn, for example. Now I understand that that three levels of disclosure works um uh internationally to allow those accounts then to have a different reach depending on the degree of anonymity, and it's had a positive effect on the amount of hate food that people then put online.
Given you made that submission to the department in your role as a public official, and I assume you did, is that right?
Uh certainly from the office, yes.
Will you table a copy of that submission with this committee, please?
Uh yes, sure.
Thank you. Um has the US anti-Semitism envoy raise your role or resource him with you directly at any point?