Australian parliament adopted on Thursday a draft law, which is aimed at preventing the spreading of “abhorrent violent material” on the Internet, similar to the one that was livestreamed on social media during Christchurch shootings on March 15, and allows authorities to fine online platforms for failing to quickly remove such content.
“The Australian government expects that internet platforms should take responsibility for preventing the spread of abhorrent violent material online … It [the bill] will ensure that hosting and content services expeditiously remove abhorrent violent material and notify the Australian Federal Police when it appears on their platforms,” Attorney-General Charles Christian Porter said in an explanatory memorandum to the bill, published on the official website of parliament.
Failure to promptly remove violent material from the Internet will entail a fine of up to 2.1 million Australian dollars ($1.5 million) or up to three years of imprisonment for individuals, or both; while corporate bodies will be slammed with penalties amounting to 10.5 million Australian dollars or 10 percent of a company’s annual turnover.
“Platforms will only be required to ensure the expeditious removal of audiovisual or audiovisual material that is recorded by the perpetrator or an accomplice and that depicts specified abhorrent acts and violent conduct. This is defined to mean acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape or kidnapping,” Porter specified.
A total of 50 people were killed as a result of shootings at two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand. A 28-year-old Australian national was detained immediately afterwards, and has been since charged with murder and put into custody until April 5, when he will face 50 murder and 39 attempted murder charges.
The suspected shooter livestreamed the attack at one of the mosques live, and the video was available on Facebook for more than an hour before first attempts had been made to remove it. (UNI)
