Australia's eSafety Commissioner Could Force Platforms to Get Rid of BDSM and Fetish Content
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:
The office of the Australia's eSafety Commissioner has confirmed that a proposed law could be used to force international services to delete online accounts hosting fetish content - but claims that isn't how the law will be used.
The Federal Government has been working on an Online Safety Act that expands the eSafety Commissioner's powers to "protect Australians from online harms" such as cyberbullying, image-based abuse, terrorist material and other harmful imagery.
Literature from the Department of Communications accompanying the draft act claims that the new law would "enhance" an existing online content scheme in the Broadcasting Services Act.
This entails extending the Commissioner's take-down power for certain types of content to include international services, meaning a Federal Court could order a platform like Twitter or Facebook to boot a user off the platform.
Under Part 9 of the proposed law, class 1 material - which includes BDSM content or fictionalised incest fantasies - would be subject to this power.
In a submission made to the Department's consultation about the draft law, Australia's peak body for the adult industry has raised the alarm about the potential for the expanded online content scheme to disrupt the work of online sex workers and even limit the sexual expression of ordinary Australians online.
[...] A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner acknowledged that the law could be used that way.
Consultation for the Online Safety Act closes February 14.
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