Has Australia introduced social credit for internet access? – Liberation

Question asked by Joe on December 13th

A video from an Australian TV news story shared on social media in France and abroad confirms that in Australia, “Social Debt [est] Introduced to access the internet with your digital ID. Citizens need 100 identity points to use [réseaux] Social media and the police will have access to your accounts, including private messages».

These pictures are not recent From the title that aired on April 1, 2021 News via Channel 9 News Australia. says host Leila McKinnon“An aggressive plan to combat social media abuse is being considered by the central government”. Later his colleague Oliver Haig described it “basically, [le plan] Works like a passport. Australians must show 100 points of identification with their driver’s license or passport when using their accounts on social media or Facebook and Twitter. Now the police will access these social media accounts. The move is part of the fight against online abuse. Users may sue for defamation or file criminal charges. This is part of a plan to prevent them from engaging in bad behavior. [en ligne]. The recommendations were made through a parliamentary inquiry by the central government. Their reforms are being considered by the Morrison government, with the president declaring that removing the stigma of anonymity is important.

Identity system

First, there is no question here of social credit like in China, which would ban access to certain sites for those with poor grades or who lose points for bad behavior. In Australia, each identity document is worth points (a valid passport or birth certificate is worth 70 points, a student card is worth 40 points) so it is necessary to provide several of them for some services. The concept of 100 points of identity refers to the Australian identity document system. For example, to open a bank account in Australia, a person has to provide points equivalent to 100 points.

As reported by on-air reporters, the idea of ​​providing 100 points of identity and ID to log into social media was proposed by an Australian parliamentary task force in April 2021. The text is available online recommended in its thirtieth recommendation “In order to open or maintain an account on an existing social network, a person must be required by law to provide or purchase a mobile phone account ID to identify themselves to a platform using 100 points. A mobile SIM card” And “Social media platforms must provide these credentials when requested by the Cybersecurity Commissioner, law enforcement or a court of law.”.

Law against trolling

However The idea never made it into the social media bill (Anti-Trolling) 2022, which was never voted on. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a member of the Liberal Party, had planned to introduce anti-cyber legislation to allow Australians to more easily and quickly report allegedly defamatory content on social media platforms. Its use has been strongly criticized by various experts, promising to have the opposite effect. In May 2022, Scott Morrison promised that if re-elected, the legislation would be one of the first proposals voted on. But he was not re-elected and his bill lapsed with a Labor victory in Parliament.