Australian PM wants to “unmask” online trolls with defamation laws

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that he is introducing a proposal to help “unmask” online trolls on social media under new defamation laws. Morrison said that he didn’t want the online world to be a “wild west” as it is “not what can happen in the real world”.

“The online world should not be a wild west where bots and bigots and trolls and others are anonymously going around and can harm people,” said Morrison.

How will the “anti-troll bill” work?

A draft of the legislation has not been released yet, but it is expected to release “this week” and will be introduced to the Australian parliament next year. But basically, social media companies (think Meta and Twitter, for example) could be forced to reveal the identities of anonymous users to aid defamation cases. Platforms will also have to create a complaint system that people can use if they feel that they’re a victim of defamation. 

As a part of this process, the person who posted the potentially defamatory content will be asked to take it down. If they refuse, or if the victim is interested in pursuing legal action, the platform can then legally ask the poster for permission to reveal their contact information. And if the user does not consent to their details being released, a court order can be made requiring the social media company to release them.

So, what happens if the platforms can’t identify the troll for any reason—or if the platforms flat-out refuse? Simple: the company will have to pay for the troll’s defamatory comments. However, since the law is only specific to Australia, social networks wouldn’t have to identify trolls located in other countries.

“We will be looking for test cases that can reinforce these laws,” continued Morrison.

You can watch the full video of Morrison’s announcement:

Sure, unmasking online trolls hiding behind their screens can be satisfying—especially if they’ve been extremely irritating. For example, a group of hateful trolls went out of their way to bully BTS fans on Twitter. Being anonymous gives these trolls a way to create chaos without much consequence.

However, there can be a worrying side to this bit of news. As the announcement of the bill is still new, there’s a lot we don’t know about it yet. We still don’t know how severe the case of defamation would have to be to warrant revealing someone’s identity, and it also remains unclear which specific details the social media platforms would be asked to collect and disclose.

Australia has always tried to be been vigilant when it comes to cyber-related topics. In May, it was reported that Australia wants to include a section on their school’s curriculum to teach children ages 5 to 16 about cyber security. And earlier in the year, the country and Facebook had a row over sharing or viewing local and international news content on the social platform. 

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