Australia plans tougher social media laws for failing to thwart violent content
White supremacist who live-streamed the killings on Facebook raised criticism of role of social media
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Social media executives could spend up to three years in prison and their firms be fined 10 percent of their turnover if they fail to quickly remove violent material from their platforms, according to a new law proposed by the Australian government on Saturday March 30.
The March 15 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 worshipers were killed at two mosques was carried out by a suspected white supremacist who live-streamed the killings on Facebook, raising criticism of the role of social media in society.
If the law passes, it will be a criminal offence for companies, such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet s Google, which owns YouTube, not to "expeditiously" remove the "abhorrent violent content." Juries would decide whether the content was removed fast enough.
The government will present the law to the parliament next week - its expected final week before the federal election.
