THE AGE – 20/11/2019
Fergus Hunter
Attorney-General Christian Porter says social media platforms should be treated the same as traditional publishers under defamation law, a change that would present a fundamental new challenge for global companies such as Facebook and Twitter. Mr Porter made the declaration in a speech on Wednesday, also backing a suite of reforms to defamation laws which he said “don’t strike the perfect balance between public interest journalism and protecting individuals from reputational harm”. The changes are being advanced under a nationwide review of defamation law.