Australia's controversial Online Security Bill is about to become law, expanding the eSafety Commissioner's ability to censor the internet
The controversial Online Safety Bill will give broad censorship powers to the eSafety commissioner, and experts warn that it could harm those it purports to save.
CrikeyCam Wilson
Context & Ripple Effects
The bill extends an Australian pattern of putting more of the internet’s technical and distribution infrastructure within reach of state enforcement, following the 2018 encryption law that expanded police access powers. It shifts that pattern from access to user data toward eSafety’s control over what online services can make available.
The related coverage also places Australia alongside a contemporaneous UK debate over broad online-safety powers, while Australia’s later proposed digital duty of care would further tie platforms’ liability to citizens’ online safety.
First-order effects
eSafety gains broader authority to direct or pressure online services over material it considers harmful, making the commissioner a more consequential gatekeeper for platforms and their users.
Platforms serving Australians must give greater weight to eSafety compliance in moderation, legal review, and decisions about disputed content.
Second-order effects
Large platforms are pushed to formalize Australia-specific escalation and removal processes, while smaller services face the same compliance demands with fewer policy and legal resources.
The bill strengthens the policy case for treating platform distribution as a safety obligation, a direction later reflected in Australia’s proposed digital duty of care.
Third-order effects
If this enforcement model keeps expanding, Australian online governance will increasingly operate through platform-level controls rather than case-by-case action against individual speakers.
The parallel UK debate suggests online-safety regulation is becoming a contest over how much discretionary power governments should place in platform-facing regulators.
The trend: Online-safety policy is moving toward regulator-led platform gatekeeping, with liability and access controls used to make services enforce public-safety rules.
Online Safety Bill passes: “What we're left with is a law that relies on the discretion & grace of the government & platforms. That will worry those whose livelihoods depend on internet freedoms that this bill could curtail.” @cameronwilson @crikey_news https://www.msn.com/...
I desperately desperately want there to be a viable @AustralianLabor federal opposition to be electable hopefully-soon. BUT they just roll over time & time again on poorly conceived legislation because it “has good intentions”. https://www.crikey.com.au/... https://www.innovation…
From the land of the “free” ... I sure this will end well. Thanks @AustralianLabor you're doing such a stellar job! Parties unite to deliver greater internet censorship powers to government-appointed official https://www.crikey.com.au/...
The new Online Safety Bill has passed through the @AuSenate. It means: 💻 A world-first scheme to protect victims of harmful trolling 📱 Broader powers for @eSafetyOffice Commissioner @tweetinjules to protect children from online bullying 📷 Faster removal of image based abuse https…
Parties unite to deliver greater internet censorship powers to government-appointed official https://www.crikey.com.au/... What we're left with is a law that relies on the discretion and grace of the government and platforms" - and we know how fair the LNP are?
It's been said the tech companies are the oil companies of the 21st century. They wield enormous power. They have done much good but they have the potential to do harm. It's why the Online Safety Bill is an important piece of legislation by @ajamesbragg. https://www.innovationaus…
The Senate passing the #OnlineSafetyBill late last night means it is all but guaranteed to become law. Whether this law will help or (as feared) harm depends on the grace of government and tech platforms to consider those groups they often ignore. https://www.crikey.com.au/...
This bill is so terrifying. I'm honestly super terrified about how online platforms are going to respond to this and what they're going to ban (like any hint of sex work and queer content). They might cut Australians off, but more likely it'll push them towards full site bans. ht…
What's also sad is how amendments that would've helped mitigate risks from the law were rejected. People are united about the aim to reduce harm online. But people's existence on the internet shouldn't depend on the discretion of an unelected bureaucrat https://www.crikey.com.au/…