The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) welcome the opportunity to respond to the Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI)’s first annual review of the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation (ACPDM). The Academies look forward to working with social media platforms to address the challenge of misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms. In order to strengthen the Code’s capacity to guard against disinformation, the Academies put forward the following recommendations to DIGI:
Recommendation 1: Clearly define issues-based advertising and consider it within the scope of the Code.
Recommendation 2: Include misinformation from professional news content within the scope of the Code.
Recommendation 3: Platforms should consider mechanisms for proactive promotion of trusted information to inoculate against misinformation.
Recommendation 4: Expand the definition of “harm” in the Code to include cumulative harms and take stronger action against disinformation accordingly.
Recommendation 5: Apply an opt-out approach to the optional commitments under the Code.