Defamation lawyer weighs in on Morrison government’s plan to ‘unmask’ online trolls

The Morrison government has unveiled a plan to unmask anonymous online trolls.

The legislation will define social media services as the publisher of comments, which would mean they could be the target of defamation claims.

If claims go to court, social media platforms would be required to “unmask” trolls by providing their personal details including their email and phone number.

Defamation lawyer, Matt Collins QC, says the changes are “a step in the right direction”.

“The central problem is that people say things online under the cloak of anonymity that they would never say in the public square,” he told Ross and Russel.

The federal government also proposes requiring social media operators which have Australian users to set up domestic operations.

“What the federal government is proposing is that the big overseas platforms, if they want to … sign up Australian users … they’ll have to set up a shopfront in Australia with an entity in Australia which would be responsible under Australian law,” Mr Collins said.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the plan to unmask trolls