Australia to bring anti-scam law targeting internet giants this year,
regulator says
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[July 12, 2024]
By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia plans to introduce a law by the end of the
year forcing internet companies to proactively stop hosting scams or
face hefty fines, the top consumer regulator said on Friday, potentially
setting up another showdown with Big Tech.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the
treasury department are consulting internet, banking and
telecommunications firms about creating a mandatory, enforceable
anti-scam code which legally requires them take reasonable steps to
protect users, including offering an effective complaint service.
In Australia, cryptocurrency scam advertisements featuring the face of
mining billionaire Andrew Forrest have led to Australians losing
millions of dollars, according to Forrest. He is suing Facebook owner
Meta over the advertisements in California after saying he was unable to
force Meta to take action domestically.
Currently only telecommunications providers face specific anti-scam
regulation in Australia, according to the government. But the amount
lost by Australians to scams tripled to A$2.7 billion ($1.8 billion)
from 2020 to 2023, in line with global trends, as the pandemic sent more
people online.
That prompted the ACCC to push for new laws making all participating
industries accountable. Putting legal liability on internet platforms
may create a new point of conflict between Australia and an industry
that has typically leaned on U.S. laws, which largely exempt them from
responsibility.
Already, a law designed by the ACCC forcing internet companies to pay
media companies licensing fees for links to content has resulted in Meta
saying it may block media content on Facebook in Australia.

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Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

"We are hoping to see them being rolled out in the course of this
period to the end of this year," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said
by phone, referring to mandatory anti-scam codes applying to each
industry.
"We do need, we think, very clear and specific enforceable legal
obligations."
Failure to comply with the codes would subject companies to fines of
A$50 million, three times the benefit gained by wrongdoing or 30% of
turnover at the time it took place, the treasury department has
said.
The ACCC is separately suing Meta for what it says is a failure to
stop the publication of advertisements for cryptocurrency scams
featuring faces of prominent Australians, including Forrest.
Meta is defending the case the ACCC filed in March 2022 and which is
still at a pre-trial stage. Cass-Gottlieb said a mandatory code
would reduce the need for "backward-looking" and time-consuming
court enforcement that involved investigation, preparation and
resolution of a lawsuit, plus appeals.
Meta declined to comment on the anti-scam code's timing. The company
said in a submission in January it wanted a voluntary code and the
planned mandatory code might result in companies prioritizing
compliance over innovation.
($1 = 1.4793 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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