Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland To Have Power To Direct Watchdog To Investigate Online “Misinformation”

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Nothing says, “a great democracy” quite like an extremely controversial free speech-affecting legislative effort by a country’s government, does it? Unfortunately for Australians, and judging by reports, their current cabinet is now trying to convince the world that it is the caretaker of that kind of democracy – and, yet, at the same time, push through a bill of, well, that other kind. The “magic word” rears its ugly head again here – misinformation. That’s the centerpiece of Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland‘s plan for what could end up as her democracy and free speech takeover. Namely, Rowland, nicknamed by some as “minister for misinformation” – and, interpret that turn of phrase as you wish – is on record as saying that it will be her right and power of office to “direct the media watchdog to investigate instances of online misinformation.” And the misinformation we’re talking about here is delineated (to suit those who engineered the “definition” rather than be properly defined without bias) in a draft, referred to by critics as “censorship laws.” The bill in the works for some time now is meant to amend existing regulation so that it tackles misinformation better. In a June letter Rowland addressed to current Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese (another documents obtained thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request) she effectively states that the proposal, if eventually adopted, would make her the…Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland To Have Power To Direct Watchdog To Investigate Online “Misinformation”