This story contains references to suicide
New laws aiming to reform online platforms so they don't cause harm to children could "shut down the manosphere", drown businesses in red tape, and stifle free speech, an inquiry has heard.
Bereaved parents told a Senate inquiry into the government's digital duty of care bill that safer platform design and enforcement are urgently needed, but Liberal senator Sarah Henderson and tech company executives argued that new categories of harm are too broad and the bill is poorly written.
The Digital Duty of Care Bill aims to force online services, including social media platforms, search engines, apps, games, and AI chatbots, to ensure Australians enjoy a safe digital environment.
Users may be given a choice between algorithm-recommended content and a feed limited to people and pages they follow. Companies that fail to comply with the new rules could face fines of up to $109 million.
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the volume of image-based abuse reports to eSafety shows Australians are not adequately protected.
"If you build it, you are responsible for its risks," Wells told Nine's Today program on Monday, arguing the bill would establish basic safety standards and require companies to address risks in their products.
Henderson said vague references such as "hostile attitudes towards women" could limit legitimate debate, saying Wells told her the bill was not about stopping the manosphere, but a departmental briefing suggested otherwise.
"It seems this is more about shutting down free speech than tackling harm," Henderson said. "Now the mandatory codes and standards are being removed and replaced with guidelines [made by the eSafety commissioner] that are not enforceable".
Wells previously told the National Press Club Australians could still listen to manosphere podcasts, arguing the bill wouldn't lead to government censorship.
Vague, undefined categories of material "harmful to children" or that "encourages or promotes hostile attitudes towards women or gender equality" or "encourages dangerous stunts" are problematic, tech companies and Henderson said.
TikTok's Jessika Lofstedt said the bill replaced "certainty with ambiguity and with subjectivity". She warned that platforms might over-moderate contentious material to avoid penalties.
Google and Meta also called for clearer definitions, including which recommender systems are being regulated and what new powers the eSafety Commissioner may create.
Romy Listo from Our Watch, which works to prevent violence against women, told the inquiry the bill was not about stopping people from expressing views. It was about requiring platforms to manage risks linked to gendered drivers of violence, including content that condones violence against women or promotes rigid gender stereotypes.
"Some of the messages in the manosphere are harmful and research points to misogyny and violence towards women attitudes coming from there," Listo said.
The Free Speech Union's Ruben Kirkham, a computer scientist, questioned whether platforms could realistically monitor billions of posts each day, warning the resources required may exceed available computing capacity. He estimated the cost to run an AI detection tool across Australian content would consume 2 per cent of Australia's energy.
"The resource load to police the three billion pieces of social media content made every day… there may not actually be data centres and services sufficient to implement this," he said.
Heads Up Alliance founder Dany Elachi, founder of Heads Up Alliance, which calls for delayed use of smartphones and social media by children, said the bill was ideologically driven and warned it could be "weaponised".
"[The bill contains] manufactured input from left-leaning organisations funded by the government to lobby the government back on issues the government wants to be lobbied on," Elachi said.
Henderson questioned the Australian Computer Society (ACS) about why a café or a plumber should be subject to new obligations under the duty of care to conduct risk assessments of their online activity. ACS said it will help businesses with risk assessments.
"This level of bureaucracy for small businesses is completely unjustified," Henderson said.
Mia Bannister, founder of Ollie's Echo, told senators her 14-year-old son Ollie had experienced online abuse and anorexia before his death by suicide. She said harm could not always be reduced to "one post and one message".
“Ollie was a boy with anorexia," she said. "Gendered assumptions can leave boys unseen, their symptoms unrecognised and their distress dismissed."
Emma Mason said her daughter Tilly experienced online bullying before her death by suicide at 15 in 2022. In one incident, a fake nude image of Tilly was shared with almost 3,000 people within hours, Mason said. She told the inquiry police had cited a lack of jurisdiction over Snapchat, an international company operating in Australia.
"We cannot keep asking children and families to carry the consequences of the risks that could and should have been identified earlier," Mason said. "Safety by design is mandatory in every part of the commercial world except in the digital world."
Wayne Holdsworth, whose son Mac died after a sextortion scam, urged politicians not to turn online safety into a political contest. He said he had spoken to more than 300 groups since his son's death. "We need to act now."
Independent senator David Pocock challenged TikTok over self-harm material on the platform, asking why content that breached its rules remained available and attracted thousands of likes.
"You big platforms turn up and absolve yourselves of responsibility," Pocock said. "Why do you allow self-harm content on your platform?"
Why, he asked, was a post with almost half a million likes trending if it went against the platform's guidelines?
TikTok representative Lofstedt said self-harm content was prohibited, but "we don't get it right every time" and offered to look at specific cases while rejecting the suggestion TikTok has a widespread problem.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young argued users needed an independent ombudsman to challenge platform decisions and unsafe design features.
Readers seeking crisis support can ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
