Chapter 1Introduction
1.1The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society (committee) was appointed by resolution of the Senate on 15 May 2024 and resolution of the House of Representatives on 16 May 2024, to inquire into and report on the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society, with reference to:
(a)the use of age verification to protect Australian children from social media;
(b)the decision of Meta to abandon deals under the News Media Bargaining Code;
(c)the important role of Australian journalism, news and public interest media in countering mis- and disinformation on digital platforms;
(d)the algorithms, recommender systems and corporate decision making of digital platforms in influencing what Australians see, and the impacts of this on mental health;
(e)other issues in relation to harmful or illegal content disseminated over social media, including scams, age-restricted content, child sexual abuse and violent extremist material; and
(f)any related matters.
Conduct of the committee's inquiry
1.2The committee advertised the inquiry on its website and wrote to relevant stakeholders and other interested parties inviting them to make a written submission by 28 June 2024.
1.3The committee received 220 submissions, which are listed at Appendix 1 of this report. The public submissions are available on the committee's website.
1.4The committee held ten public hearings in Canberra, with witnesses joining from across the country and from overseas:
Friday, 21 June 2024;
Tuesday, 25 June 2024;
Friday, 28 June 2024;
Tuesday, 2 July 2024;
Wednesday, 10 July 2024;
Wednesday, 4 September 2024;
Monday, 30 September 2024;
Tuesday, 1 October 2024;
Wednesday, 2 October 2024; and
Wednesday, 30 October 2024.
1.5A list of the witnesses who gave evidence at the hearings is at Appendix 2.
1.6Links to hearing programs, Hansard transcripts of evidence, answers to questions on notice, and other additional documents published by the committee are available on the committee website.
Interim reports
1.7The committee tabled two interim reports during the inquiry. The first was a short procedural report to satisfy the terms of the committee's resolution, while the second report focused on digital platforms and the traditional news media.
Acknowledgements and references
1.8The committee thanks those individuals and organisations who contributed to the inquiry by providing written submissions and giving evidence at public hearings. In particular, the committee would like to thank those individuals who shared their personal experiences with the committee. These important testimonies have helped to inform the findings of this report.
1.9References in this report to the Hansard transcripts of public hearings are to the proof Hansard transcripts. Page numbers may vary between the proof and official Hansard transcripts.
Scope of this report
1.10This report is the committee's final report and will focus on issues including the lack of accountability of social media platforms; the complexity of addressing the issues; online safety; the impacts of social media on the mental health of users; age verification; algorithms and recommender systems; and the privacy and data issues inherent in using social media.
1.11The report comprises five chapters, including this introductory chapter, which includes a summary of the second interim report on digital platforms and the traditional news media. The remaining chapters are as follows:
Chapter 2 – discusses the complexity of the problem, the need for digital platforms to be accountable for harms on platforms, and some possible enforcement options;
Chapter 3 – looks at social media and online harms, including the risks and benefits associated with social media, key drivers of harm, as well as the need for a nuanced view of social media use;
Chapter 4 – documents families' and loved ones' experiences of online harms; and
Chapter 5 – discusses age verification, privacy and data protection, the way in which algorithms and recommender systems drive the operation of social media, and how that can be regulated.
Second interim report – Digital platforms and the traditional news media
1.12The committee's substantial Second interim report:Digital platforms and the traditional news media, focused on the decision of Meta to abandon deals under the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code (Code) and the important role of Australian journalism, news and public interest media on a healthy democracy in countering mis- and disinformation on digital platforms.
1.13The report comprised three chapters that looked at the impact of social media on the Australian media landscape, the rise of mis- and disinformation on digital platforms, the importance of public interest journalism, and the effectiveness of current approaches to the regulation of digital platforms. The report also explored the operation of the Code and the impact of Meta's decision to abandon deals under the Code, and outlined the committee's view and recommendations which are set out below:
Interim report recommendations
Recommendation 1
1.14The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a Digital Affairs Ministry with overarching responsibility for the coordination of regulation to address the challenges and risks presented by digital platforms. The Ministry could also play a role in coordinating monitoring and research activities to assess the ongoing impact of digital platforms on Australian society, as well as the effectiveness of existing and future regulation. Because matters relating to the regulation of social media are broad, the new Digital Affairs Ministry should be given an equally broad remit so that it can regulate matters such as, but not limited to, privacy and consumer protection, competition, online safety, and scams.
Recommendation 2
1.15The committee recommends that, acknowledging the limitations of the News Media Bargaining Code, the Australian Government explore alternative revenue mechanisms to supplement the Code, and contribute to systems oversight, such as a digital platform levy. Exploration should include consideration for preserving current and future commercial deals to sustain public interest journalism over the longer term, and to support digital media literacy initiatives.
Recommendation 3
1.16The committee recommends that the Australian Government develop an appropriate mechanism and protocols to guide the fair and transparent distribution of revenue arising from any new revenue mechanisms. This work could have reference to relevant research and should include protocols aimed at ensuring the sustainability of small, independent and digital only publishers, as well as those operating in underserved communities and rural, regional and remote areas. Consideration should also be given for a portion of any revenue raised through such mechanisms to be used for funding an independent body to oversee systems, accredit researchers to access data and other related functions.
Recommendation 4
1.17If the News Media Bargaining Code is to be redesigned, the committee recommends that the Australian Government revisit the tests for registration of news businesses under the News Media Bargaining Code to ensure their design does not present an unreasonable barrier to registration for small, independent or digital only publishers.
Recommendation 5
1.18Given Meta's decision not to renew deals under the News Media Bargaining Code, and the de-prioritisation of news on Meta platforms, the committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a short-term transition fund to help news media businesses to diversify and strengthen alternative income streams and news product offerings. The fund should have a particular focus on supporting small, independent and digital only publishers, as well as those operating in underserved communities and rural, regional and remote areas.
Recommendation 6
1.19The committee recommends that the Australian Government investigate the viability and effectiveness of 'must carry' requirements for digital platforms in relation to Australian news content from large and small news providers, including an assessment of the legal pathways and barriers to such requirements.
Recommendation 7
1.20The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a Digital Media Competency Fund (to be funded via alternative revenue mechanisms to be explored at Recommendation 2). While this fund should have a strong focus on the digital media literacy of young Australians, it should also fund initiatives aimed at improving the digital media literacy of other groups at risk of being taken in by mis- and disinformation, including older Australians and those in regional areas.
Recommendation 8
1.21The committee supports the need for legislation to combat mis- and disinformation.
Recommendation 9
1.22To improve transparency around digital platforms' systems and processes use, the committee recommends that the Australian Government adopt transparency requirements similar to the measures in the European Union's Digital Services Act, which includes transparency around recommender systems, as well as mandatory access to platform data and algorithms to facilitate research. This should also include measures to require digital platforms to provide notice of changes to algorithms and the rationale for those changes.
Recommendation 10
1.23The committee recommends that the Australian Government examine options to respond to the use of algorithms and recommender systems to deprecate news by digital platforms with significant power.
Recommendation 11
1.24The committee recommends that the Australian Government review the effectiveness of the industry co-regulation model for digital platforms in Australia.