Written by: Jingyuan Wang Qiushi Wu
Australia
The regulatory scheme in Australia emphasises industry self-regulation through the development of industry codes of practice. Where codes are not developed by industry or are inadequate, the ABA is able to develop and impose an industry standard. There are currently three codes of practice, or content codes, developed by industry and registered by the ABA which provide some of the industry standards applicable to Internet content. Two of these codes apply to Internet service providers and one to Internet content hosts. Internet service providers (ISPs) offer a service for carrying communications to the public. An Internet content host (ICH) is an organisation that hosts Internet content in Australia.
Australia’s Social Media Regulations: After the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand, Australia took a lesson and created and passed the Cyber Security Act. The aim is to ensure the timely removal of violent material from the Internet, limited to terrorist acts, but also extends to murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping. If material is not removed in a timely manner, the publisher will be fined, and Australia has set up a special cyber security officer to oversee online security issues. The Internet has become more and more developed in recent years, the development is more and more rapid, many people think that the release of violent content on the Internet will not be sanctioned, but can satisfy their own desires, Australia issued this bill to completely resist this behavior, for the personal safety of Internet users a layer of protection.
China
Film and television ratings in China
Since 1994, China has introduced many Western blockbusters, many of which were rated “PG” for “Parental Guidance” in the United States but shown in Chinese cinemas without any disclaimers, especially for teenagers or younger children, because China does not have a film rating system, Li said.
Any internet company operating in China is expected to conform to state requirements, such as assuming responsibility for the content published on its platforms. Companies must invest in staff and filtering technologies to moderate content and remain compliant with government regulations. Failure to comply can lead to fines or the revocation of operating licences.
How is social media censorship implemented?
To comply with the extensive laws, regulations and guidelines pertaining to content control, internet companies in China have invested – at some cost – in increasing their manpower and technologies to monitor and filter the information hosted on their platforms. Censorship is conducted via a mix of human reviews and machine filtering, which helps with pre-emptive and post-hoc content removal.
European Union
GDPR in the European Union: The European Union created the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 28, 2018 to protect personal data. This Regulation allows a data controller or data processor to use an organization that processes individual data within the European Union. The GDPR will be applied regardless of whether the process is performed in Europe or in Europe. Its main regulatory aspects are advertising, especially advertising for promotional purposes, market research based on personal data and other behavioural research. The regulation also emphasizes the use of clear, easy-to-understand language for drafting.
References:
Ovic. (2021a, April 23). EU General Data Protection Regulation. Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner. https://ovic.vic.gov.au/privacy/resources-for-organisations/eu-general-data-protection-regulation/#targeting-data-subjects-in-the-eu
Regulation of Australian online content: Cybersafety and harm. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/Brief ingBook46p/Cybersafety
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (2003). Internet Regulation in Australia. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/publications/internet-regulation-australia
China Daily (2005). Film Rating System a Must. http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/117017.htm
Ruan, L. (2019). Regulation of the internet in China: An explainer. https://theasiadialogue.com/2019/10/07/regulation-of-the-internet-in-china-an-explainer/
BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION: GDPR – the fabric of a success story
https://www.collectivecampus.io/blog/the-major-consequences-of-australias-new-social-media-laws
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/china-censorship-law-bytedance-1203455740/
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=x-raw-image%3A%2F%2F%2F6bb6aca06a8a63c3501618dc2ad9149e96ea94a7aa3ed1a6fbbe9b76e2934f1f&tbnid=w2OKaqCstmtezM&vet=12ahUKEwiIreHf86uBAxUip-kKHVNtBGoQMygtegUIARCkAQ..i&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fijoc.org%2Findex.php%2Fijoc%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F15944%2F3426&docid=Q4EkhzE8QF8XZM&w=1050&h=660&q=internet%20policy%20and%20regulation%20in%20CHINA&hl=zh-CN&ved=2ahUKEwiIreHf86uBAxUip-kKHVNtBGoQMygtegUIARCkAQ
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Towards-Responsive-Regulation-of-the-Internet-of-Richardson-Bosua/a94552d4607acc02da3175f14ea506e43f5c9a1d