The Greens are calling for the Government's Digital Duty of Care legislation to give Australians greater control over their social media feeds, protect them from addictive tools and hold Big Tech accountable when its platforms cause harm.
The Greens want the legislation to include a right to private action, allowing individuals to take tech giants like Meta to court and receive compensation when they are harmed online. They are also calling for stronger guardrails on addictive algorithms and fines tied to a percentage of Big Tech's global revenue.
When the government introduces their Digital Duty of Care this week there will be three key tests The Greens are looking for. Does it allow compensation for those who are harmed online, does it address the addictive nature of the technology and does it hit the tech companies where it hurts by hitting them with fines on their global revenue.
Greens communications spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
"Social media companies must ensure the products they are profiting off are safe, and not doing harm to the public. Just like companies in the real world have a responsibility to not harm their customers, so too must big tech.
"To meaningfully change the behaviour of big tech companies, the Digital Duty of Care laws must include the right for Australians who have been harmed online to be able to take legal action and seek compensation for the damage done.
"Enforcement of the Digital Duty of Care cannot be left to the eSafety Commissioner alone. To really put Australians' online safety at the heart of this reform, individuals and the community need to have the right to take on Big Tech through a private right of action.
"These huge tech companies make billions of dollars trapping Australians on their addictive platforms. To change their behaviour they will only respond to one thing: penalties that really hit their bottom line.
"Australians deserve freedom over what appears on their feeds, with the freedom to choose what they see and the ability to switch their algorithmic feeds off. But we need more than choice. The onus cannot be on the consumer to make their online experience safer.
"There must be serious consequences for social media companies who breach Australians' right to safety online. To do that, new laws have to hit big tech where it hurts, and where it hurts most is their bottom line.
"Fines for breaches must be tied to a percentage of global revenue. The proposed fines in the draft legislation are peanuts to these tech companies and will not force them to change their behaviour.
"The threat of serious fines and compensation is the only way to force these companies to clean up their act and proactively provide a safe environment for their users.
"We know Big Tech will fight these reforms and amendments with everything it has. These companies don't want anything that threatens their profits.
"The Greens are willing to work with the government to make Australians safer online, but only if they show some grit, stand up to Big Tech and give Australians the online safety laws that we deserve."
