Stop the Ministry of Truth
Signatures
Say NO to the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill, a Bill I call the “Ministry of Truth”
The Labor government wants to penalise so-called mis and dis information with hefty fines for individuals.
This is despite the fact that much of what they called mis and dis information through Covid has been proven to be completely true, as recent documents accessed through a Freedom of Information request from my office revealed.
Furthermore, the government wants to penalise content that causes “serious harm.” Of course, what that means is not defined, so it could mean anything.
The term “Orwellian” may get overused, but it applies to this Bill. The government is essentially seeking to establish its own Ministry of Truth.
Sign this petition to send a message that you do not want this egregious attack on freedom of speech to go ahead.
Thank you for your support.
Alex Antic
Liberal Senator for South Australia
Authorised by Senator Alex Antic Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) Adelaide SA
Dear Minister Rowland,
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill amounts to an assault on Australians’ right to freedom of speech.
Throughout the Covid period, we have consistently seen the abuse of the terms “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “harm.” These words have been weaponised for political purposes.
We also know for a fact that statements made by Australians on their social media pages that were labelled as such by the Department of Home Affairs turned out to be completely true.
However, your government is now seeking to further weaponise these terms and shut down criticism of your government’s disproven narrative with severe financial penalties for individuals.
This is wrong.
Even Meta’s Australian head of public policy told a Senate select committee, “We can see some potential for that power [in the Bill] to be abused, or for it to be used in a way that inadvertently chills free and legitimate political expression online.”
When the government arbitrarily decides what constitutes mis and dis information and harm, then political freedom and expression is at risk. These terms must be very carefully defined.
Australians have had enough of having their speech and opinions monitored by your government, especially given that the narrative has been so thoroughly disproven.
Your sincerely,
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