“We now have a responsibility as MPs from across the political spectrum to consider how we ensure that there’s somebody checking Facebook’s homework. That there is oversight – whether it’s by regulatory agencies or think tanks and researchers – about how their algorithms are working to drive people to extremist material,” Mr Simmonds said.
The briefing was attended by a range of MPs from across the political divide, including Liberal assistant minister for regional development Nola Marino, Labor MPs Bill Shorten and Tim Watts, LNP MP George Christensen, and Nationals MP Anne Webster.
Mr Watts, Labor’s spokesman for cyber security, said social media platforms needed to demonstrate they were taking the threat of political misinformation seriously in the lead up to the federal election.
“We need to see action from them, not the empty statements we’ve seen to date,” he said.
Ms Haugen told the MPs that measures such as requiring Facebook to publish detailed aggregated data on popular URLs shared on its platforms, including groups the links were circulated in, would be a powerful tool that would help expose malicious activity by state actors.
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For example, she said it would allow researchers to “work backwards” to see whether countries such as China, were setting up “puppet sites” that appeared to be news websites but were designed to spread misinformation.
Reset Australia has backed a similar proposal, calling for digital platforms to publish a “live list” ahead of the federal election of misinformation and disinformation trending on social media, with the administration of the list to be overseen by the federal Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce.
“After hearing from Frances Haugen today it is clear that unregulated big tech is just as dangerous in Australia as it ..
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