List of recommendations

Interim report recommendations

3.159Recognising the scope of this interim report, the recommendations below focus on the decision of Meta to abandon deals under the Code and the important role of Australian journalism, news and public interest media on a healthy democracy in countering mis- and disinformation.

3.160The committee's final report will consider issues relating to online safety; algorithms and recommender systems; the impacts of the mental health of users; lack of accountability of social media platforms; and age verification.

Recommendation 1

3.161The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a Digital Affairs Ministry with overarching responsibility for the coordination of regulation to address the challenges and risks presented by digital platforms. The Ministry could also play a role in coordinating monitoring and research activities to assess the ongoing impact of digital platforms on Australian society, as well as the effectiveness of existing and future regulation. Because matters relating to the regulation of social media are broad, the new Digital Affairs Ministry should be given an equally broad remit so that it can regulate matters such as, but not limited to, privacy and consumer protection, competition, online safety, and scams.

Recommendation 2

3.162The committee recommends that, acknowledging the limitations of the News Media Bargaining Code, the Australian Government explore alternative revenue mechanisms to supplement the Code, and contribute to systems oversight, such as a digital platform levy. Exploration should include consideration for preserving current and future commercial deals to sustain public interest journalism over the longer term, and to support digital media literacy initiatives.

Recommendation 3

3.163The committee recommends that the Australian Government develop an appropriate mechanism and protocols to guide the fair and transparent distribution of revenue arising from any new revenue mechanisms. This work could have reference to relevant research and should include protocols aimed at ensuring the sustainability of small, independent and digital only publishers, as well as those operating in underserved communities and rural, regional and remote areas. Consideration should also be given for a portion of any revenue raised through such mechanisms to be used for funding an independent body to oversee systems, accredit researchers to access data and other related functions.

Recommendation 4

3.164If the News Media Bargaining Code is to be redesigned, the committee recommends that the Australian Government revisit the tests for registration of news businesses under the News Media Bargaining Code to ensure their design does not present an unreasonable barrier to registration for small, independent or digital only publishers.

Recommendation 5

3.165Given Meta's decision not to renew deals under the News Media Bargaining Code, and the de-prioritisation of news on Meta platforms, the committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a short-term transition fund to help news media businesses to diversify and strengthen alternative income streams and news product offerings. The fund should have a particular focus on supporting small, independent and digital only publishers, as well as those operating in underserved communities and rural, regional and remote areas.

Recommendation 6

3.166The committee recommends that the Australian Government investigate the viability and effectiveness of 'must carry' requirements for digital platforms in relation to Australian news content from large and small news providers, including an assessment of the legal pathways and barriers to such requirements.

Recommendation 7

3.167The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a Digital Media Competency Fund (to be funded via alternative revenue mechanisms to be explored at Recommendation 2). While this fund should have a strong focus on the digital media literacy of young Australians, it should also fund initiatives aimed at improving the digital media literacy of other groups at risk of being taken in by mis- and disinformation, including older Australians and those in regional areas.

Recommendation 8

3.168The committee supports the need for legislation to combat mis- and disinformation.

Recommendation 9

3.169To improve transparency around digital platforms' systems and processes use, the committee recommends that the Australian Government adopt transparency requirements similar to the measures in the European Union's Digital Services Act, which includes transparency around recommender systems, as well as mandatory access to platform data and algorithms to facilitate research. This should also include measures to require digital platforms to provide notice of changes to algorithms and the rationale for those changes.

Recommendation 10

3.170The committee recommends that the Australian Government examine options to respond to the use of algorithms and recommender systems to deprecate news by digital platforms with significant power.

Recommendation 11

3.171The committee recommends that the Australian Government review the effectiveness of the industry co-regulation model for digital platforms in Australia.