Despite a string of recent social media scandals, including attacks against Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Facebook, experts have argued this is the “price of free speech” and that government regulation is not the answer.
In recent weeks, social media has been the topic of intense scrutiny. TV personality Charlotte Dawson went to hospital following attacks from Twitter trolls; Macquarie Radio Network pulled advertising from Alan Jones' 2GB show because of claims of “cyber-bullying”; and the Prime Minister was attacked on Facebook during a question-and-answer session.
In the case of Gillard, people made sexist and offensive comments on her Facebook page earlier in the week during a Q&A session, with one person even saying “How's your dad?”
Despite the intense scrutiny, a report in The Australian Financial Review has today suggested the government will not seek to regulate social media as part of its wider plans to overhaul the media landscape following a number of inquiries into Australian media.
While the government seems to have scrapped plans to implement a government-funded media regulator, it has been reported that it still plans to push ahead with a number of regulatory changes, including a public interest test for media ownership and new privacy laws. However, it seems social media has escaped the government's cross-hairs.
University of Queensland social media expert Dr Sean Rintel argued regulation should not be brought into play within the social media space.
“There should be no regulation of social media, because the implications for freedom of speech are quite significant,” Rintel said. “Social media sets community standards, and you can see that in the case of Alan Jones, where social median has held someone to account.
“In the case of the attacks against Julia Gillard on Facebook, it is unfortunate but this is still a case where community standards are still being displayed. This is what people have always said or done behind closed doors, but now it is being shown in a very public place, and maybe that is just part of being in public life.
“The comments might be misogynistic, they might be racist or sexist, but this is a very public forum. Do we want to regulated that? Even if we could it is not the answer. I think education is the answer. People should be educated about how to act in such a space.”
Meanwhile RMIT social media expert Dr Jenny Weight told AdNews: “The incident with Julia Gillard is an unfortunate by-product of freedom of speech. Social media is still evolving, and people are still learning how to act appropriately, they are still learning etiquette. This is not an issue relating to the need for regulation, but an issue of experience and education.
“There needs to be an environment where freedom of speech can be exercised. Any attempt to regulate social media would not be effective anyway, because there are so many different players, and so many of them exist outside Australia. Even if it was possible, it wouldn't be right.”
Speaking from a legal perspective, PodLegal solicitor director Jamie White said: “I'm not surprised the government is not going to include social media regulation in its media overhaul. It would be very difficult if not impossible to monitor. Plus, there are existing rules which offer a degree of prottection, such as defamation laws which still apply to social media. There has been a lot of focus on social media lately, but any attempt to regulated would have been a knee-jerk reaction.”
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said in a statement: “The PM's Facebook site is moderated to remove offensive comments. Like all Facebook sites comments can only be removed after they have been posted.
“The Q&A was the first by a senior politician in Australia.
“A handful of comments after the session were offensive and have been removed.”
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