Government pitches online laws as antisemitism fix

The Albanese government has recast its digital duty of care legislation as a central measure against online antisemitism, with Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal calling on Parliament to pass the laws when they are introduced in October.

Education Minister Jason Clare and Communications Minister Anika Wells both invoked Segal’s support in Question Time on Tuesday, in answers framed around the radicalisation of children online.

“Antisemitism has exploded online,” the government said, describing platforms as a breeding ground for antisemitism and the promotion of violent acts and terrorism. It cited research showing a 15-year-old boy needs only an hour on TikTok looking at lifestyle content before being served antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Segal pointed to the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack. “Within hours of the Bondi attack, we saw social media platforms feeding users denials that it was real, conspiracy theories that it was a ‘false flag’ operation and justifications for the murder of innocent people,” she said. “My hope is that a digital duty of care will make it harder for algorithms and recommender systems to dish up this sort of content to Australians, particularly children.

“People should have a choice of what they see — but, to the extent what they see is determined by algorithms, feeds should contain fewer overseas bots pushing malicious hate and fewer anonymous trolls using antisemitism to drive engagement.”

Clare, answering a question from Josh Burns, said no one was born antisemitic.

“Our children aren’t born racists. No one’s born antisemitic. No one is born with hate in their hearts. It’s something that’s learnt, something that’s taught. And I think we all know where that can end, the sort of wickedness that it can lead to,” he said. “Children are being sucked into this vortex of hate. We’ve seen AI chatbots praising Hitler and online forums peddling conspiracy theories saying the Holocaust never happened.”

He said the algorithms were “spewing all of that poison at our kids, serving up hate on a plate”, and that education work could be undone the moment students picked up their phones. “We need to make sure it’s not all undone when kids go online by algorithms incessantly feeding them this malignant filth.”

Clare pointed to the Antisemitism Education Taskforce chaired by David Gonski, which he said had examined teacher training, teacher resources and curriculum changes. The government is strengthening the school curriculum on antisemitism and the Holocaust, and on Australian values including democracy, the rule of law, basic freedoms and a fair go. The matter will be discussed at the next meeting of education ministers.

Wells linked the legislation directly to terrorism and radicalisation, saying online technology had given international terrorists full access to Australian children.

“The average age of a minor being investigated by ASIO is now 15 years old, the youngest it has ever been. The timeline of radicalisation has changed from months and years to weeks, or now even days,” she said. “Social media and online platforms have been used to provoke polarisation and to create a permissive breeding ground for real world violence. If the platforms have been incubators and accelerators for extremism to date, we hold grave fears that artificial intelligence could make these problems worse.”

She said the duty of care would go to the source, putting the onus on technology companies to identify, detect and prevent online terrorism and extremism before it occurs.

“Terrorists should not be able to live stream their attacks or recruit children through online games. AI chatbots should not instruct children how to commit violent acts,” Wells said. “Australia will not tolerate extremist or harmful content being pushed into places where children hang out and play online.”

She used her answer to attack the opposition, noting Angus Taylor had described the legislation as a “Big Brother bill” and that Scott Morrison had said hours earlier that “we will not let this woman continue to censor everyday Australians”.

“The proposed duty should not be controversial or political,” Wells said. “I implore him and others to listen to the Special Envoy for Antisemitism. Let’s work together to protect children.”

Separately, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security announced on Monday a public inquiry into the nature and drivers of radicalisation, with the radicalisation and grooming of minors through gaming and gaming-adjacent platforms among its terms of reference. It will also examine encrypted communications, the use of algorithms and the obligations of digital, gaming and messaging providers to detect, report and respond to extremist content.

Committee chair Raff Ciccone said around 20 per cent of ASIO’s priority counter-terrorism cases now involve young people, and participation in countering violent extremism programs had risen almost 18 per cent in six months, from 253 to 298 people. Since laws prohibiting hate symbols took effect in 2024, 31 people have been charged with violent extremist material offences, 19 of them aged 17 or under.

“This is happening in kids’ bedrooms, not somewhere on the nightly news. Most parents have no idea how quickly radicalisation can happen, or how ordinary the starting point can look — and that has to change,” Ciccone said.

He said understanding the drivers and pathways of radicalisation was one of the most pressing national security questions facing Australia, particularly how technology and online platforms were drawing people, including children, into extremist thinking. The committee will report by March 22, 2027.

The draft legislation, released for consultation on September 8, requires digital services to identify and mitigate risks of harm, with the eSafety Commissioner responsible for enforcement and penalties of up to $109.2 million for non-compliance. It covers social media, online games, apps, messaging services and AI chatbots.

It also includes a “My Feed, My Way” measure requiring platforms to let users over 16 choose whether their default feed is algorithmically personalised or limited to accounts they follow, and gives eSafety power to issue removal notices for nudify apps and websites.

The six harms named for under-18s are content promoting eating disorders, content promoting hostile attitudes towards women, pornography, content glorifying crime or dangerous stunts, and content causing serious mental health distress including abuse and bullying. For adults, the duty covers illegal material including child sexual exploitation, grooming, violence and the promotion of terrorism and extremism.

Antisemitism is not among the named harms in the draft, though the Minister has the power to declare new serious harms by rule, subject to disallowance by the Senate.