Australia’s broadcasting regulator is being told to widen its scope to include harmful disinformation and misinformation online.

New legislation announced by communications minister Paul Fletcher today empowers the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) new regulatory powers to hold big tech companies to account for content on their platforms.

Fletcher (pictured) was releasing an ACMA report on the adequacy of digital platforms’ current disinformation and news quality measures, highlighting that disinformation and misinformation are “significant and ongoing issues”.

“Digital platforms must take responsibility for what is on their sites and take action when harmful or misleading content appears,” he said. “This is our Government’s clear expectation – and just as we have backed that expectation with action in recently passing the new Online Safety Act, we are taking action when it comes to disinformation and misinformation.”

The federal government welcomed all five recommendations made in the report.

-New information-gathering powers will incentivise greater platform transparency and improve access to Australia-specific data on the effectiveness of measures to address disinformation and misinformation;

-Reserve powers will register and enforce industry codes or make industry standards. This will encourage platforms to be ambitious in addressing the harms of disinformation and misinformation, while providing ACMA with the ability to hold platforms to account should their voluntary efforts prove inadequate or untimely;

-A ‘misinformation and disinformation’ action group will bring key stakeholders together across government and the private sector to share information on emerging issues and best practice responses.

Fletcher says the new measures would build on actions already taken including the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation developed by industry with the oversight of ACMA, following the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry final report.

The legislation is intended to reach parliament in the second half of 2022, following upcoming consultation on the scope of the new powers.