Government wants a sweeping social media inquiry

The federal government will move to set up a new committee to “put big tech under the microscope”, with a wide-ranging remit to dig into social media companies’ technology and behaviours.

The ‘Joint Parliamentary Select Committee into the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society’ aims to make “social media companies more transparent and accountable to the Australian public”.

Communications minister Michelle Rowland unveiled draft - non-exhaustive - terms of reference for the committee on Friday morning.

These call for an examination of “the algorithms, recommender systems and corporate decision making of digital platforms in influencing what Australians see, and the impacts of this on mental health”.

In addition, the inquiry may cover the proliferation of “scams, age-restricted content, child abuse and “violent extremist material” on the platforms; “mis and disinformation on digital platforms”; and specific issues around Meta’s abandonment of payment for news content.

“The government will consult across the parliament on the final terms of reference ahead of an expected parliamentary referral next week,” Rowland said in a statement.

“Social media companies have social responsibilities. They need to be more accountable and transparent.

“Establishing this inquiry will provide opportunity and resources for parliamentarians to closely scrutinise these companies and make recommendations on how we can make these platforms accountable for their decisions”.

Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones added that “the committee will put big tech under the microscope to help create a safer online environment”.

The committee’s terms have some overlap with other efforts such as the ACCC’s long-running digital platform services inquiry, which produced a number of reports on the technology powering social media platforms, and its potential harms.