The letter to Anthony Albanese that can now be exposed: Opposition demands answers

The Opposition has highlighted a letter to the prime minister that they say threatens to give the government the power to squash freedom of speech online.

The letter from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was to gain his approval for 'minor refinements' of the government's Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation Bill.

The bill was meant to go before parliament last year, but the draft legislation received such a volume of withering criticism that the Albanese government decided to rework the proposed laws for next year.

Ms Rowland's letter, sent in June but only made public through a Freedom of Information request, says under the new laws, the communication minister can 'request' and 'give general directions' to investigate 'mis' and 'disinformation'.

She would then gain the authority to direct the 'scope and timeframe' of investigations conducted by the recently empowered social media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). 

'The Minister for Communications is able to request the ACMA to investigate matters under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and to give general ­directions under the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005,' Ms Rowland wrote in the letter. 

'This also includes matters brought to the government's attention through public complaints or the media about online dis- and misinformation.' 

'This will provide greater transparency and strengthen the powers to hold platforms to account.'

This has sparked concerns the legislation could lead to politically motivated investigations and impact free speech. 

Shadow Minister for Communications David Coleman claimed the letter made 'a very disturbing piece of legislation' even worse.  

'A politician is going to be able to order investigation into misinformation effectively on anything they want,' he told media.

'There would be nothing to stop a minister using this power to investigate opinions they didn't like or things on digital platforms that they thought shouldn't be there.

'It is an incredibly broad power. It has effectively no constraint on how it is exercised.

'It could effectively sweep up anyone who has views that disagree with the government.' 

Mr Coleman claimed that if Mr Albanese approved the letter he is saying that 'he thinks it is appropriate for a minister to be able to personally order investigations into misinformation'.

As an example of the potential dangers posed by the minister's powers Mr Coleman pointed to the polarising debate around the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum that was held in October. 

'There was a lot of discussion and allegations of misinformation and so on,' he said.

'But a lot of the time when people were talking about alleged misinformation it was really just stuff they didn't agree with,' Mr Coleman said.

'To have the bureaucrats investigate misinformation is one thing but to have an elected politician ordering a misinformation investigation, it is just incredible.'

A spokesperson for the minister said that giving the minister powers to direct AMCA to investigate broadcast media and whether they were meeting their licence obligations was part of long-standing practice in Australia.

They said applying the same powers to social media platforms would 'hold them to account by ensuring they have appropriate systems and processes in place to address seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation'. 

'The regulator would have no powers to order the removal of individual pieces of content,' the spokesperson said. 

Mr Coleman asked why the minister's role was not made explicit previously in the draft legislation and its accompanying documents. 

'How could you give a minister this sort of personal power but neglect to mention it in any interviews or statements?' He said.

'It has not been mentioned by the minister and I think it raises very serious questions.'

Under the previous draft legislation ACMA will be given the power to fine 'digital platform service providers' millions of dollars for spreading what they deem is 'mis'- or 'disinformation' that is also considered 'harmful'.

Misinformation is defined in the draft bill as 'false, misleading or deceptive' content that is likely to cause serious harm, while disinformation is defined as misinformation that is disseminated with deceptive intent. 

The new laws would apply 'to a broad range' of such platforms including search engines, news aggregators, social media and podcast services.

Government agencies, authorised electoral material or professional news content will be exempt from the proposed measures. 

Those who transgress the 'code of practice' established by ACMA could face fines up to $2.75million or two per cent of global turnover.

If a transgressor breaches an 'industry standard', also set by the watchdog, the watchdog can impose a fine of up to $6.8million or five per cent of global turnover.

The government has said the intent is to make sure digital platform providers have robust systems and measures in place to address misinformation and disinformation.

With the Coalition opposing it the bill will need the support of the Greens and two crossbench senators to pass through the federal upper house.