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Social media companies could be forced to identify anonymous accounts accused of online vilification, under new laws being proposed in Victoria.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced a suite of social media reforms on Sunday, saying families needed new ways to protect their children online.
Under the proposed changes – the first for an Australian state – the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) would be granted “demasking” powers to order platforms to reveal the identities of account holders in those cases.
The state government will also lower the legal threshold to sue social media and artificial intelligence platforms for negligence causing psychiatric harm to children.
Current laws require families to prove a child has suffered a permanent impairment of at least ۱۰% before pursuing damages.
These assessments are made by medical practitioners, who apply calculations to estimate how significant a given injury is.
The changes would scrap that threshold for suits brought on behalf of minors, with further changes for adult victims to be considered.
Marilyn Bromberg, an associate professor of law at the University of Western Australia who specialises in social media regulation, said the changes were a step in the right direction but should go further.
So-called “demasking” powers in some overseas jurisdictions had been shown to discourage harmful behaviours in some cases, she told AAP.
There is no reason the reforms should not be extended to other forms of online behaviours, including defamation and cyberbullying.
“It’s a brave start, but I don’t think it goes far enough,” she said.
Bromberg also welcomed moves to make it easier for families to pursue negligence claims.
“The harms that social media can cause young people have been substantiated by compelling, peer-reviewed research,” she said.
Stronger protections would help to build on other measures, including Australia’s world-leading minimum age requirements for social media, she said.
Social media companies have been facing growing waves of legal challenges from families overseas.
Earlier in ۲۰۲۶, a US jury found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for damages in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit.
The verdict was touted by some as a turning point in the global backlash against their platforms’ perceived mental health harms to young people.
Whether Victoria’s changes would open the floodgates to similar suits in Australia remained to be seen, Bromberg said.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, said the changes were overdue.
“Social media and AI companies design their platforms to be addictive, and our kids are paying the price,” she said.
“If a platform hurts a child, families should be able to take that company to court.”
Both reforms will be developed after consultations with Vcat, courts and other stakeholders.
