Australian taxpayers have been billed over $40,000 for the eSafety Commissioner’s four-day trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 annual meeting, where she pushed for tighter rules on online safety.
In January, Ms. Inman Grant, accompanied by a staff member, spent four days meeting senior executives in the artificial intelligence and immersive technology field at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
At a Senate estimate in February, One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts asked Ms. Inman Grant in what capacity she was present at the WEF meeting, what was the cost to taxpayers, and whether staff travelled with her at public expense.
The total bill was revealed to be $40,971.41 (US$26,350).
“I asked directly the decision-makers what they are doing to make their platforms safer. I was sharing our leadership and our model in terms of how we’re tackling online safety.”
Mr. Roberts replied, saying “I think we’re the ones to be assessing whether or not you’re justified.”
The eSafety Commissioner, who runs an online agency, argued she couldn’t engage with the forum online and that “not having those kinds of meetings can make a real difference for Australians in terms of [making] changes happening.”
Commissioner Probed On Who’s The Arbiter Of Truth
Mr. Roberts also said in a post on One Nation’s website in February that Ms. Inman Grant was “planning to embrace global opportunities to help achieve the outcomes she perceives necessary for online safety” as an independent statutory authority.“The Commissioner is seeking broader powers to achieve her agenda, for our own good, of course, and once again, this begs the question exactly who is deciding what is ‘good’?
“Listening to her speak about online safety regulations, the one word conspicuous by its absence is censorship. The other missing words were freedom of expression.”
During the Senate estimate, Mr. Roberts also probed Ms. Inman Grant on two of her statements at the WEF, in which she said, “We have started something called the global online safety regulator” and “There are lots of different tools and toolboxes we’ll be using.”
The “toolboxes” referred to a range of companies that “deal with cyberbullying, image-based abuse, adult cyber abuse, and the online content scheme.”
“Did you receive ministerial permission to involve Australia in another global power sinkhole?” Mr. Roberts asked.
Ms. Inman Grant explained that all of her powers are designed under the Online Safety Act, which she said decided the threshold for harm.
The Act is regulated by the Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland.
The eSafety office also has the power to require online service providers to report on how they are meeting any or all of the Basic Online Safety Expectations.
“Are you setting yourself up as an arbiter of what should and should not be seen online?” Mr. Roberts asked.
“No, I am not,” Ms. Inman Grant replied.
Global Regulator
Meanwhile, a global online safety regulator was set up in November 2022 with seven independent regulators including Australia, the UK, Fiji, France, South Korea, and South Africa. It was the “only global forum dedicated to supporting collaboration between online safety regulators,” according to its website.The eSafety commissioner claimed the global network aimed to “achieve a degree of regulatory coherence for the technology industry and make sure that we’re working together to achieve better safety outcomes for all of our citizens.”
“We have lots of reporting and transparency and accountability measures themselves, and if there’s ever a question at any decision that’s made, they can be judged through internal review, the AAT (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) or through the federal court,” she said in response to a question about who and what processes held her accountable.
X said it would take the commissioner to court.
“Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere.”
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