New Australian social media law to clamp down on violent content
Companies face fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover if they do not immediately remove videos or photographs
Canberra — Australia will fine social media companies up to 10% of their annual global turnover and imprison executives for up to three years if violent content is not removed “expeditiously” under a new law passed by the country’s parliament on Thursday. The new law is in response to a lone-gunman attack on two mosques in Christchurch on March 15 that killed 50 people as they attended Friday prayers. The gunman broadcast his attack live on Facebook and it was widely shared for more than an hour before being removed, a timeframe Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as unacceptable. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with one murder following the attack and was remanded without a plea. He is due back in court on April 5, when police say he is likely to face more charges. It is now an offence in Australia for companies, such as Facebook and Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube, not to remove any videos or photographs that show mur...
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