As well as the new ‘demasking’ power, the Victorian reforms would lower the legal threshold to sue social media and AI platforms for negligence causing psychiatric harm to children. Photograph: Aap Image/AAP View image in fullscreen As well as the new ‘demasking’ power, the Victorian reforms would lower the legal threshold to sue social media and AI platforms for negligence causing psychiatric harm to children. Photograph: Aap Image/AAP Victoria Victoria announces new social media ‘demasking’ powers for accounts accused of vilification New laws would give Vcat power to force social and AI platforms to identify anonymous users in move premier says will protect children
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Prefer the Guardian on Google Social media companies could be forced to identify anonymous accounts accused of online vilification, under new laws being proposed in Victoria.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced a suite of social media reforms on Sunday, saying families needed new ways to protect their children online.
But the opposition has suggested the laws might not see the light of day before November’s state election, despite Allan insisting they would be introduced as a priority.
Under the proposed changes – the first for an Australian state – the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) would be granted “demasking” powers to order platforms to reveal the identities of account holders in those cases.
The state government will also lower the legal threshold to sue social media and artificial intelligence platforms for negligence causing psychiatric harm to children.
Current laws require families to prove a child has suffered a permanent impairment of at least 10% before pursuing damages.
These assessments are made by medical practitioners, who apply calculations to estimate how significant a given injury is.
The changes would scrap that threshold for suits brought on behalf of minors, with further changes for adult victims to be considered.
Marilyn Bromberg, an associate professor of law at the University of Western Australia who specialises in social media regulation, said the changes were a step in the right direction but should go further.
So-called “demasking” powers in some overseas jurisdictions had been shown to discourage harmful behaviours in some cases, she told AAP.
Read more There was no reason the reforms should not be extended to other forms of online behaviours, including defamation and cyberbullying, she said.
“It’s a brave start, but I don’t think it goes far enough,” she said.
Bromberg also welcomed moves to make it easier for families to pursue negligence claims.
“The harms that social media can cause young people have been substantiated by compelling, peer-reviewed research,” she said.
Stronger protections would help to build on other measures, including Australia’s world-leading minimum age requirements for social media, she said.
Allan said the laws, which would build on Victoria’s existing anti-vilification regime, were being drafted.
“We’re going to use every single day available to us to bring these laws to the parliament,” she said.
But with just four sitting weeks until the state election, the shadow attorney general, James Newbury, said the reforms were unlikely to make the cut.
The Coalition supported the effort in principle, but its backing would depend on the proposal’s details and likely impact, he said.
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