What happens if you are trolled anonymously online, and who is responsible for unmasking them?

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The Federal government has proposed new laws to unmask anonymous online trolls and crack down on social media companies which, for now, do not regard themselves as publishers and are not responsible for defamatory or bullying content published by users on their sites.

This is how Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the laws will work.

You have been trolled anonymously online. What do you do?

  1. Complain to the social media company to find out if the comments were made in Australia, and who made them. The company, with the consent of the “troll”, can disclose their identity and contact details.
  2. If the troll does not consent, you can seek a court order called an “End-user Information Disclosure Order” from a court to order the social media company to unmask the troll without their consent.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a crackdown on social media trolls, making the platforms themselves responsible for defamatory content shared on their websites.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a crackdown on social media trolls, making the platforms themselves responsible for defamatory content shared on their websites.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

What will the social media company need to do?

  1. If they unmask the anonymous user, the social media company is protected from a defamation action if they have an Australian-based entity and have a complaints system in place.
  2. If they do not, or cannot, identify the troll, the social media company itself can be deemed to be the publisher, and sued for defamation.

What will the Commonwealth government do?

  1. If it’s in the public interest, the Commonwealth can intervene in these cases on the side of the defamed person against the social media company.
  2. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would proactively search for such cases to intervene in.

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