Liberals Senator Andrew Bragg (left) believes the tech giants have shown themselves to be publishers but agrees with colleague Tim Wilson (right) they should not be regulated.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Federal Liberal MP Dave Sharma (NSW) said he did not disagree with the ban but found it"unnerving"that Facebook,Twitter and Instagram were making decisions about what people were allowed to post and who was banned based on"not widely known policies".
Former human rights commissioner Tim Wilson,now a Victorian Liberal MP,said he did not believe in banning people from social media nor did he want a new authority to overlook these decisions.
"We have existing laws that prohibit acts like incitement to violence that can be tested in independent courts,"he said."If people believe these laws have been breached,that's preferable to deal with it rather than creating new bodies whose sole purpose is to silence and censor."
The social media giants have been the subject of regulatory scrutiny following a wide-ranging review from the ACCC into the digital platforms and their impact on traditional media businesses. A newcode of conduct,which could force websites like Facebook and Google to pay news publishers including Nine Entertainment Co and News Corp for content,is currently under government review as a result. Nine is the owner ofThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age.
Parler boasts a slick design and a free speech ethos that has attracted fringe right wing users.Credit:Getty Images
Some MPs such as NSW senator Andrew Bragg believe the blocking of Mr Trump is a watershed moment that proves tech giants are publishers andliable for posts made by their users. The big tech companies have for years argued they are conduits for public discussion and not responsible for the content.
The big technology companies had now"crossed the Rubicon"on this matter,Senator Bragg said.
But while some MPs are demanding greater regulation to pull down posts that are offensive or incite violence,others want protections to prevent what they see as the capricious exercise of power by tech companies.
Senator Bragg's Coalition colleague,George Christensen,went much further on Facebook on Saturday,claiming there was a"cultural purge in full swing"on mainstream social media sites against conservatives. Mr Christensen,who is from Queensland,has been widely criticised for sharing information on social media suggesting that the US election was rigged.
When Federal Parliament resumes in February,he would be aiming to have laws drafted to stop censorship on social media,he said. These calls were echoed by another Queenslander,Senator Gerard Rennick,who said banning Mr Trump was"not right". He said he wanted to raise the issue of regulating the tech giants in his party room.
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However,while Senator Rennick was opposed to the ban,he was critical of Twitter for failing to remove aninflammatory post from a Chinese Communist Party official with a Photoshopped image of a soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child.
Labor’s acting communications spokesman,Tim Watts,said in a written statement that the tech giants’ banning of Mr Trump was lining up"pretty well with norms in democratic societies".
Bans on Mr Trump were no different from ejecting someone from a club for misbehaving,Mr Watts said."This also applies to those spreading the conspiracy theories that radicalised these people,like Craig Kelly and George Christensen."
The governmentannounced late last month it would give the eSafety Commissioner the power to order social media platforms to take down offensive content after complaints from users that the companies were sometimes slow or failed to apply their rules,which ban the worst posts including hate speech,the promotion of terrorism and child abuse.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said the digital services should be removing more posts rather than fewer,acknowledging that he was likely"at odds"with his colleagues.
"If you're making money out of a platform,you have to be responsible for what is published on it. You should be held accountable,"Mr Joyce said.
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