Communications Minister Anika Wells has admitted proposed ministerial powers in the government’s digital safety laws became a “clear stumbling block” for other political parties, forcing changes to the legislation in a bid to secure bipartisan support.
Ms Wells is set to introduce the government’s Digital Duty of Care legislation to Parliament on Thursday, promising stronger protections for children online and greater control over the content Australians see in their social media feeds.
The centrepiece of the laws will be Labor’s “My Feed, My Way” initiative, which says users should be given the choice to opt-out of algorithmic feeds served up by tech companies.
Minister Wells previously defended the ministerial powers as necessary to respond quickly to emerging online threats. But she acknowledged the proposed approach had become a major obstacle to winning support from other parties.
“That’s the point of an exposure draft. We consult, we hear what people’s views are, we hear what the stumbling blocks are, I’ve made a couple of changes that remove some of those stumbling blocks in the hopes that we can get bipartisan support,” she told the Today show on Thursday morning.
Ms Wells said the original powers were intended to allow the government to act quickly in cases such as the non-consensual sharing of images on children.
“However, it has been a clear stumbling block for other political parties. They wanted Parliament to have that scrutiny,” she added.
“So what will happen now is that I will bring an amendment to the online safety act when I feel that we need to declare a new serious harm in the Parliament.”
Minister Wells said she welcomed further scrutiny, including a possible Senate inquiry and remained confident the bill could pass before Christmas.