Joint Parliamentary Select Committee into the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society.
Updated (May 16): Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society terms of reference
The committee will present an interim report on or before 15 August 2024, and its final report on or before 18 November 2024.
Joint media release by Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications, and Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services:
The Albanese Government will move to establish a Joint Parliamentary Select Committee into the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society.
Social media is part of everyday life in Australia, and social media companies play a role in determining what content Australians are exposed to online.
Their decisions in recent months – particularly Meta’s decision to withdraw from paying for news in Australia – demonstrates the negative impacts these companies can have on our society.
Social media has a civic responsibility to its Australian users – and our society more broadly.
The Government is committed to making social media companies more transparent and accountable to the Australian public, and the Joint Committee will enable Parliament to undertake this task.
Among other matters, the Government expects the Committee will examine and report on:
The decision of Meta to abandon deals under the News Media Bargaining Code;
The important role of Australian journalism, news and public interest media in countering mis and disinformation on digital platforms;
The algorithms, recommender systems and corporate decision making of digital platforms in influencing what Australians see, and the impacts of this on mental health; and
Other issues in relation to harmful or illegal content disseminated over social media, including scams, age-restricted content, child sexual abuse and violent extremist material.
The Government will consult across the Parliament on the final Terms of Reference ahead of an expected Parliamentary referral next week.