To address harmful cyberbullying material targeting children in Australia, the federal government recently introduced the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Bill 2014. If it becomes law, a new Office of e-Safety Commissioner will be established within the Australian Communications and Media Authority. 

The Office will implement online safety initiatives, including educating children about online safety, and it will be empowered to determine if online material hosted in Australia is "seriously intimidating, harassing or humiliating" to Australian children. It will be able to issue takedown notices to businesses and individuals, requiring them to remove any such material from their website. Companies which fail to comply within 48 hours of a notice being issued may be subjected to fines of up to $17,000 per day. 

The proposed law will introduce a two-tiered system to encourage social media websites to work cooperatively with the public and with the Commissioner. Tier one websites will be those which comply with all of the Office's online safety initiatives, while tier two will be those that do not comply. Tier two will be closely monitored and may be subjected to enforcement and/or penalties.

Opponents argue that the Bill imposes unwarranted restrictions on freedom of expression and creates onerous and costly compliance obligations for businesses. Proponents say that it is aimed specifically at protecting Australian children. The government emphasised that it has listened to feedback and has actively consulted with Google, Facebook, Twitter and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Aoife Gallagher-Watson