'Australia’s DIGI Code: what can we learn from the EU experience?' by Edward Hurcombe and James Meese in (2022) 57(3) Australian Journal of Political Science 297-307 comments
Disinformation and misinformation on social media platforms are growing regulatory concerns for governments. In this paper, we examine Australia’s DIGI Code of Practice (CoP). The CoP is a voluntary set of commitments to address false content on platforms that is overseen by Australia’s digital media industry. It was established in response to a federal government directive. We evaluate the DIGI CoP by comparing it to the code it was partially based on: the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation (EU CPD). The EU CPD also attempted voluntary regulation, and yet the EU is now moving towards a strengthened CPD. While the DIGI CoP improves upon the original EU CPD, the original version had limited accountability measures and notable content exclusions. We conclude by discussing a recent review of the CoP, suggesting that Australia will also strengthen regulation in this area. Lastly, we address ongoing tensions around media freedom and accountability.
The authors argue
In the last five years, disinformation and misinformation on social media platforms have become serious regulatory concerns. This is due to several recent high-profile developments, such as attempts by external state actors to influence domestic elections (Parlapiano and Lee 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the public health risks of platform-based misinformation (Bruns, Harrington, and Hurcombe 2020a; Meese and Hurcombe 2020b), so much so that World Health Organisation declared the latter an ‘infodemic’ that rivalled the virus itself (United Nations 2020). In response, governments are increasingly playing a role in reducing false information and malicious behaviour on platforms (Meese and Hurcombe 2020b; Alemanno 2018).
Australia’s recent ‘Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation’ (DIGI 2021), developed by the domestic digital industry body DIGI in response to a government directive, is one outcome of this broader policy trend. The Code of Practice (DIGI CoP) is a voluntary set of commitments made by tech companies to reduce the propagation of dis- and misinformation, empower consumers to identify dis- and misinformation, increase the transparency of political advertising on platforms, and publicise measures combating dis- and misinformation. The DIGI CoP emerged out of the Australian government’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, which recommended that a disinformation code be introduced (ACCC 2019). The Australian government accepted this recommendation and directed major tech companies to develop a voluntary code of conduct. Following subsequent stakeholder engagement as well as input from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the code was expanded to also address concerns around misinformation and news quality (ACMA 2020; DIGI 2021). However, the effectiveness of the code remains unclear. In this article, we evaluate the DIGI CoP by comparing it to the code it was based on: the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation (EU CPD). The EU CPD, which major tech companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter signed onto in October 2018 (EC n.d.), also attempted voluntary regulation as a means of reducing misinformation and improving advertising transparency on platforms. And yet, the European Commission is now moving towards a ‘strengthened’ EU CPD, following concerns about weaknesses in the original code. Below, we examine the original EU CPD, discuss how the DIGI CoP improves upon the EU CPD, as well identify ongoing weaknesses in the DIGI Code. We then reflect on what recent developments in the EU means for the future of the DIGI CoP.
