State of Surveillance: Online Safety Bill captures the bad stuff but Commissioner’s powers too broad

The Online Safety Bill is made up of several schemes, some of which are appropriate ways to handle online harm. The schemes covering cyber-bullying, cyber-abuse and image-based abuse provide powers to help remove material that is harmful to children and seriously harmful to adults. Intimate images shared without consent can also be taken down. Notably, these powers are reactive: they respond to complaints made by those harmed.

The bill also introduces “basic online safety expectations”, which allow the eSafety Commissioner to introduce industry standards and technical requirements. The bill includes an online content scheme and a scheme tackling abhorrent violent material, providing the power to block and take down content deemed…