Social media sites could face daily fines for cyber bullying
Social media sites will be pressured into acting against the cyber bullying of children in a new crack down bill proposed by the Abbott government.
The Government is set to introduce a new bill into Parliament to appoint a commissioner into a new position, with powers to enforce social media companies to take steps to combat bullying online.
A Children's E-Safety Commissioner office will be set up to tackle the growing problem of online bullying, working under the umbrella Enhancing Online Safety for Children Bill, outlined in 2014.
Companies who fail to comply with new standards could face fines of $17,000 per day if material that targets children is not removed. The move will also see pressure placed on individuals, who would face legal action under existing criminal laws if deemed to be guilty of cyber bullying.
Researchers from the University of New South Wales indicate that one in five older children in Australia have been subjected to bullying online.
Parliamentary secretary to the Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the introduction of the bill was part of an election promise.
"The Children's E-Safety Commissioner issues a notice requiring a large social media service to take down this cyber bullying material targeted at an Australian child," Mr Fletcher said.
"Obviously the service has a very strong incentive to do so because it is exposed to this fine for each day that it does not respond to that notice."
The new bill would see the commissioner force posts and abusive material to be taken down from sites. Parents of ‘bullied’ children can also request action to be taken. Individuals could be reported to police by the commissioner for material posted online.
Internet companies like Google and Microsoft said existing state and territory laws already prohibit cyber bullying and they are opposed to the forced removal of material.
But Mr Fletcher denied there would be over regulation.
"We've had vigorous and continuing engagement with certainly Microsoft, Yahoo7, Facebook, Google, Twitter and other players," he said.
"We are conscious of not imposing any more additional regulatory burden than is necessary to keep Australian children safe online."
The Australian Human Rights Commission and the Law Council have also raised freedom of speech concerns about the draft law, deeming cyber bullying too broad a term.
Mr Fletcher said the Government had assessed these concerns.
"We've certainly worked through very carefully what the definition of cyber bullying material targeted at an Australian child is," he said.
"It is important we strike the right balance."
