A government campaign to crack down on misogynistic content online to reduce levels of violence against women is not limiting free speech, the prime minister says.
Following a national cabinet meeting focusing on gendered violence, leaders agreed to a pilot of age verification to stop children from accessing harmful online material such as pornography.
An ad campaign will also be rolled out from June that will challenge misogynistic attitudes towards women on online platforms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said online content with harmful views about women was being viewed by young people, which was informing their own perceptions.
“You have a debate at times about freedom of information and those issues, free speech. This isn’t free speech to promote hatred and violence and misogyny,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
“It is something that is raised with me by parents, probably more than any other issues, and it’s accelerated over a period of time.
“Parents are worried about the time that their kids spend online. They’re worried about the impact that that has.”
Mr Albanese said the prevalence of harmful content online had made it easy for young people to access it.
“One of the tragedies, of course, is the way the algorithms work,” he said.
“It’s not like a young person has to go searching for this. Sometimes it’s everywhere. It’s the material searching for them and that is a very dangerous circumstance.”
The government has also brought forward a review of its online safety act by one year, in an attempt to ensure the laws are kept up to date with technology.
Legislation will also be introduced banning the creation or sharing of deepfake pornography, while laws prohibiting doxxing will be brought to parliament in August.
Source: AAP
