There
is
a
genuine
tension
between
the
government
regulation
of
social
media
and
free
speech.
Few
things
illustrate
that
minefield
like
the
progressing
TikTok
ban
lawsuit.
But
there
are
other
cases
where
a
government’s
interest
in
regulating
misinformation
and
public
safety
thumb
the
scale
toward
media
regulation.
Case
in
point:
Twitter.
We’ve
seen
far-right
tweets
correlated
with
bomb
threats
getting
called
in
on
high
schools
and
rampant
voter
misinformation.
America
can
do
what
it
wants,
but
Australia
doesn’t
plan
on
letting
that
fly.
From
Reuters:
Australia’s
Labor
government
on
Thursday
unveiled
legislation
which
could
fine
internet
platforms
up
to
5%
of
their
global
revenue
for
enabling
misinformation,
joining
a
worldwide
push
to
rein
in
borderless
tech
giants.The
proposed
law
would
require
tech
platforms
to
set
codes
of
conduct
to
stop
dangerous
falsehoods
spreading
and
be
approved
by
a
regulator.
The
regulator
would
set
its
own
standard
if
a
platform
failed
to
do
so
and
fine
firms
for
non-compliance.
King
Twit
responded
to
Australia’s
very
reasonable
attempts
to
limit
misinformation
by
calling
them
his
favorite
F
word:
The
Guardian
reported
Australia’s
Assistant
Treasurer
Stephen
Jones’s
framing
of
the
issue
and
—
at
least
in
my
mind
—
they
offered
a
much
more
reasonable
framing
than
Elon’s
one-word
reply:
“For
the
life
of
me,
I
can’t
see
how
Elon
Musk
or
anyone
else,
in
the
name
of
free
speech,
thinks
it
is
OK
to
have
social
media
platforms
publishing
scam
content,
which
is
robbing
Australians
of
billions
of
dollars
every
year.
Publishing
deepfake
material,
publishing
child
pornography.
Livestreaming
murder
scenes.
I
mean,
is
this
what
he
thinks
free
speech
is
all
about?”
We
just
saw
Brazil
attempt
to
regulate
the
platform.
They
started
pressuring
Elon
after
finding
out
that
Twitter
was
being
used
by
Neo-Nazis
to
incite
mass
shootings:
Elon
spun
the
clear
“maintaining
the
integrity
of
the
country”
issue
into
him
refusing
to
be
bossed
around
and
summarily
lost
a
~20-million
person
market
overnight.
And,
housing
an
estimated
six
million
regular
Twitter
users,
Australia
has
the
chance
to
do
something
really
funny.
Elon
Musk
Calls
Australian
Government
‘Fascists’
Over
Misinformation
Law
[Reuters]
Earlier:
Elon
‘Free
Speech
Absolutist’
Musk
Threatens
To
Sue
Nonprofit
For
Pointing
Out
He
Seems
To
Like
Hate
Speech
Elon
Musk
Would
Rather
Have
Twitter
Shut
Down
Than
Take
The
Smallest
Amount
Of
Responsibility
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.