Is Home Affairs concerned about the reports, including as recently as this week in Rolling Stone, that verified accounts on X have been spreading up to three-quarters of the misinformation on the Israel-Palestine conflict? Are you aware of that? Is anyone in Home Affairs looking at this?
Senator SHOEBRIDGE: Is Home Affairs concerned about the reports, including as recently as this week in Rolling Stone, that verified accounts on X have been spreading up to three-quarters of the misinformation on the Israel-Palestine conflict? Are you aware of that? Is anyone in Home Affairs looking at this?
Mr Smyth : I’d have to take that on notice. I’m aware of issues around misinformation and disinformation on various social media platforms in relation to the conflict in the Middle East. But, specifically around that, I’d have to take that on notice.
Senator Watt: What I can also tell you, Senator Shoebridge, is that there are concerns about misinformation and disinformation around the conflict in the Middle East at the moment. This is something the government does take seriously, and I know that the relevant ministers, including Minister O’Neil and Minister Rowland, are working with the eSafety Commissioner, ACMA, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, telcos and digital platforms around misinformation and disinformation concerning this conflict, and particularly some of the abhorrent violent material and hate speech which is being posted as well. So that is something that is of concern to the government.
Senator SHOEBRIDGE: ‘Of concern’—but it’s causing division in the community right now. As we’re having this exchange, it’s causing division in the community. Apart from concern—
Senator Watt: There are statements being made by a number of politicians in this building that are also contributing to that atmosphere, Senator Shoebridge.
Senator SHOEBRIDGE: What are you doing in terms of engagement with these major platforms right now to prevent divisive, hateful information being spread?
Senator Watt: As I say, I’m aware that the relevant ministers are engaging with a variety of people, including platforms. It might be necessary to get the relevant officials to talk about the nature of that engagement.
Mr Smyth : I’ll get my team to come up. Where we look at these particular issues goes to terrorism and abhorrent, violent material—extremist material—there are legislative provisions that enable us to contact the eSafety Commissioner. There is a process that we’re able to engage with to ensure that we refer particular content that breaches those provisions to particular platforms. And, where those platforms don’t act, there are penalties that are actually able to be applied to those platforms. In relation to misinformation and disinformation about particular activities, where it doesn’t breach those thresholds, I’d refer you to the communications portfolio in relation to that material. As I said, our remit goes to issues around specific foreign interference in relation to information but also to abhorrent, violent material, terrorism and hate speech. But I can ask Mr Roy to give you more detail on that.
Mr Roy : That’s right. Mr Smyth has pretty much covered it. We have a role in relation to terrorist and violent extremist content online. Where it meets certain thresholds, it can be referred to the eSafety Commissioner, who has powers and who also engages through their relationships with digital industry to voluntarily remove content where it meets certain thresholds. In the department, my branch also coordinates the administration of the Online Content Incident Arrangement, which is our domestic crisis response protocol for counterterrorism related content. It steps forward the procedures for identifying information that meets certain thresholds that might constitute an online counterterrorism crisis, and then there’s a mechanism to refer that to the eSafety Commissioner for the eSafety Commissioner to declare an online crisis event.
Senator SHOEBRIDGE: How many of those referrals, if any, have been made to the eSafety Commissioner since the start of this conflict?
Mr Roy : There have been a number. I would have to take that on notice. The eSafety Commissioner may be best placed to identify those because not all of them will necessarily come through Home Affairs. The National Situation Room will take a lot of those referrals from participants in the Online Content Incident Arrangement and refer those to eSafety. Of course, the eSafety Commissioner can take public referrals as well. So they would be the best person to ask about how many referrals they have received. But, certainly, we can take on notice how many that Home Affairs is aware of under the OCIA arrangements.
Mr Smyth : I think it’s worthwhile mentioning that, in the media release that came out from the Attorney, Minister Rowland and Minister O’Neil last week, there was provision for $12.6 million to protect Australians from terrorist and violent extremist online content. That would enable 24/7 monitoring of platforms and of material online. And there was provision for funding to go to the eSafety Commissioner as well as to Mr Roy’s team to broaden the number of hours that we have where we can assess whether or not material breaches certain provisions.
Senator SHOEBRIDGE: Material breaches—
Mr Smyth : Whether it’s terrorism, abhorrent violent material et cetera.