What was special about yesterday?
It's not only Australia who started looking at firms who spread disinformation yesterday. RTÉ reported that the Coimisiún na Meán, the Irish media regulator, started a review:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0912/1469681-regulator-online/
According to the article, they are looking at claims that people in the EU are having trouble reporting illegal content on twelve sites, including X and Meta. (They all have their EU headquarters in Ireland.) The aim is to make sure that all the firms are complying with the Digital Services Act. It states:
"Under the rules, online platforms must have easy to access and user-friendly ways for users to report illegal content. They must also have a clear and accessible point of contact for users to contact them."
Of course, in the best civil-service traditions, this is a review. The article is careful to note that if, say, one of the companies was ignoring complaints, or just sending poop-emojis in response (to think of an example off the top of my head), then the next step would be that the regulator would "engage" with them. If that doesn't work, they could issue a compliance notice. If even that doesn't bring the company trembling into line, then it's on to opening a formal investigation. Which might lead to a fine. And a series of appeals. So expect absolutely sod all to happen for the next ten years or so. But it's still weird it was reported on the same day that Australia announced crackdowns on that sort of thing.