The Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Materials Act: The realities and implications of Australia’s new laws regulating social media companies

Abstract

On 15 March 2019, a Facebook Live video was broadcast from Christchurch, New Zealand, documenting a terror attack which resulted in the death of fifty-one people. This attack highlighted a weakness in social media protections and a gap in legislation globally. In response, the Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019 (Cth) seeks to make internet service and social media providers accountable for the removal of abhorrent and violent content. This legislation sent waves through the international community, attracting criticisms for its fast adoption, perceived unrealistic obligations and harsh penalties, as well as its broad extraterritorial reach. This article will explore these criticisms. It asks, how is the Act exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction? Is there an unrealistic burden created? And if there is a breach, who will be charged? The article concludes that if these challenges are not adequately addressed, the Act will not only fail to achieve its goal of reducing the accessibility of abhorrent violent material, but will also pose a serious threat to the protection of human rights.