Australian PM slams Elon Musk for calling his government ‘fascist’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday criticised the platform’s owner.

“Well, social media has a social responsibility,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra, according to a transcript provided by his office. “If Mr Musk doesn’t understand that, that says more about him than it does about my government.”

The proposal states that social networks and digital platforms could be fined up to 5% of their global revenue if they spread misleading and false news that causes serious harm.

“Fascist” was written on his letter from Canberra.

Authorities say the project seeks to combat the serious harm caused by the spread of misinformation and disinformation to the safety, health and well-being of Australians, as well as to the ocean nation’s democracy, society and economy.

Australia’s Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones had previously described Musk’s comments on Friday as “crazy,” insisting that the proposed law was in response to his country’s exercise of “sovereignty,” like any other country, to keep its citizens “safe from scammers, safe from criminals.”

Under the bill, Canberra’s executive plans to give more powers to oversee and regulate the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which will be able to enforce a code of conduct, although it will not be able to remove individual content, including other sizes.

The proposal is part of a series of initiatives announced or submitted to Parliament against “defamation” (disclosing a person’s information online without their consent), online fraud, and imposing age limits on access to social networks.

Last April, Australian authorities forced X to remove a video of a violent attack, but the platform only removed it in Australia.

As a result, the e-Safety Commission took X to court, but withdrew the case in July when another court ruled that the injunction against violent videos outside Australia was “unenforceable” due to the lack of Australian jurisdiction.