The Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media will probe social media companies and government agencies in its final round of public hearings in Canberra on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
On Tuesday, the Committee will hear from major technology platforms including TikTok, Meta, Twitter, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn on what they are doing to prevent foreign interference in Australia’s democracy from taking place on their platforms.
On Wednesday, the Committee will hear from government authorities tasked with tackling foreign interference online, including Department of Home Affairs, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Signals Directorate, Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Federal Police, the Australian Electoral Commission and communications agencies and regulators.
Major tech platforms need to address growing concerns that their platforms can easily be weaponised by foreign regimes to undermine Australia’s democracy. These are not theoretical concerns.
Russia and China have notoriously attempted to meddle in US and Canadian elections, with US and Canadian intelligence agencies assessing that these governments were behind online influence activities designed to undermine electoral processes and exacerbate social divisions.
Confronting this problem is no easy task. It will require a concerted effort from governments and social media platforms on which this conduct is taking place.
These hearings will assist the Committee’s considerations of any necessary policy responses to make Australia a hard target for foreign interference through social media.
WeChat is now the only social media platform that has declined on three occasions to appear before the Committee. The Committee had important questions for WeChat to answer, which we believe can only be canvassed in a public hearing. I wrote to WeChat on 4 July 2023 to advise them that their refusal to appear before the committee sends a clear message about the company and its willingness to comply with Australian law.
The Committee will soon report back to parliament with recommendations to ensure the integrity and transparency of social media platforms operating in Australia, and to protect the freedoms of Australians online, and any recommendations with regard to WeChat should be viewed in this light.
