The ACMA set out its expectations for voluntary codes to counter misinformation and to help consumers when it comes to the quality of online news and information.
The Government asked the ACMA to oversee the codes: As part of the response to the inquiry into digital platforms carried out by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2019, the Australian Government directed the media and communications regulator ACMA to oversee the process through which digital platforms develop voluntary codes to counter misinformation and to help consumers identify better quality online news and information.
What the ACMA expects: On 26 June 2020, the ACMA released a position paper in which it set out what it expects from online platforms’ codes. The paper mainly covers three aspects – code development (scope, design, administration of codes); proposed code model (purpose, objectives, outcomes, measures under the code); and the process for the ACMA to assess the codes. In particular, the ACMA encourages platforms to consider a single, industry-wide code with appropriate protections and remedies. The code should address misinformation across all types of potentially harmful news and information, including advertising and sponsored content. The ACMA also expects the code to cover platforms’ considerations of what constitutes quality sources of news and information, and how this is communicated to consumers.
Who is covered by it? While the code will cover major platforms and digital services, the ACMA encourages all platforms, regardless of size, to consider signing up to the code. The regulator also expects the code to be outcome-based, with a performance reporting regime, and to facilitate the sharing of research and relevant data to improve understanding of misinformation in Australia.
Next steps: The ACMA expects digital platforms to have a code or codes in place by December 2020. The regulator will then report to the Government by June 2021.
