A senate committee in Australia investigated foreign powers’ use of social media to interfere in the country and suggested several rules and restrictions for social media platforms. The recommendations include the possibility of banning Chinese messaging service WeChat on government devices.
The report, released on Tuesday, consists of 17 recommendations. Among them are new transparency rules, enforceable by fines, and an extension of the existing TikTok ban on government devices to include contractors. Additionally, the committee is considering a ban on WeChat on government devices.
The committee highlighted the “unique national security risks” posed by companies like TikTok and WeChat. These risks are associated with their parent companies, ByteDance and Tencent, being headquartered in China and being subject to its national security laws. Senator Paterson, the committee chair, emphasized that platforms controlled by authoritarian regimes pose a broader cybersecurity risk, particularly to sensitive government information.
Australia to assist developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region to resist “malicious information operations”
One of the recommendations is for Australia to assist developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region to resist “malicious information operations” orchestrated by authoritarian states.
The committee, led by Liberal Party Senator James Paterson, comprises five members, including two from the ruling Labor party. However, the report’s recommendations are not legally binding.
As of now, there has been no response from the office of the Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs regarding the report’s recommendations.
Although the report primarily focuses on Chinese social media platforms, there are 11 transparency rules proposed that would require all major social media platforms to label state-affiliated media accounts. The rules would also mandate the disclosure of instances where governments direct content moderation and actions against accounts of elected officials.
