Top lawyers have slammed the Albanese Government’s Misinformation Bill, with the Victorian Bar Association making a scathing submission on Labor’s planned censorship laws.
The leading body representing Victorian barristers has warned that the Government’s Bill would have a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech, especially in sensitive or controversial areas.
According to The Australian, the submission argued that the Bill would result in self-censorship by the platform services:
“The bill’s interference with the self-fulfilment of free expression will occur primarily by the chilling self-censorship it will inevitably bring about in the individual users of the relevant services.”
The Bill would impose huge fines on digital platforms if the Government decides that they have not removed enough of what they consider to be “misinformation”.
The digital platforms will want to avoid those big fines, so they will censor a large amount of free speech of everyday Australians who want to have their say online.
The Coalition will not support Labor’s Misinformation Bill, which is a shocking attack on free speech.
Submissions for a Senate inquiry on Labor’s censorship Bill closed on Monday, with the Government giving Australians barely a week to get their responses in.
The Communications Minister has also flagged that she is going to attempt to ram the Bill through Parliament before the end of the year, providing limited opportunity for people to have their say at Senate committee hearings into the planned legislation.