Social media platforms will be fined missions unless they crack down on scams that use fake celebrity endorsements or pretend news segments.
Banks and telecommunications companies could also face extraordinary fines of up to $50million if they allow scammers to fleece unsuspecting Aussies under tough new laws proposed by the Albanese government.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones is set to release the draft legislation outlining the reforms on Friday, which he said will give Australians the ‘best protections anywhere in the world’, news.com.au reported.
The proposed reforms are part of a government push demanding accountability from social media platforms and business giants.
The move is set to please television personality and former Sunrise host David Koch, who frequently blasts Meta and Facebook for failing to remove scam advertisements using his likeness.
Alongside billionaire Andrew Forrest and entrepreneur Dick Smith, Koch is part of an Australian Consumer & Competition Commission lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta filed in 2022, accusing it of misleading conduct by allowing fraudulent ads.
Koch expressed his frustration last year that the legal action had been stalled while Aussies continue to be scammed.
‘I’m just devastated by what (the scams do to) ordinary people – it’s people’s life savings,’ he said.
‘If (Meta has) algorithms that can pick up the inappropriate posts of customers on a platform, why don’t they have the same algorithms that can also pick up inappropriate advertising and content on their platforms?’
David Koch (pictured right with wife Libby) has long campaigned for more to be done to stop scams using his likeness as a lure
Under the proposed Scams Protection Framework, the federal government will be able to establish sector-specific codes that impose mandatory obligation to stop the scams.
Internal dispute resolution mechanisms must be made accessible and transparent for customers to use when they fear they have been scammed.
There will be a prescribed Endpoint Detection and Response scheme to regulate communications services in Australia.
The reforms will initially target banks and telecommunication service providers, along with digital platform and social media services.
‘The Albanese Government is working to make Australia the toughest target in the world for scammers,’ assistant treasurer Mr Jones said.
‘We want to ensure that the best protections anywhere in the world are available to people here in Australia.
‘Australians are losing too much money to scams and while we’ve bucked the international trend where scams are doubling every year, losses are still far too high.’
Communications minister Michelle Rowland added: ‘Cracking down on criminals trying to rip off hardworking Australians is a priority for this government.’
Anthony Albanese’s government have drafted new laws that could see companies fined millions for not stopping scams
An example of the type of scam post that Koch has long complained Facebook in particular allows too freely
Koch likened the scammers to ‘the new drug cartels,’ urging platforms to compensate victims or stop such ads.
‘They’re just here to rip people off financially and it’s boiler rooms in The Philippines or in Eastern Europe that’s running them all,’ Koch said.
‘Surely, the platforms have a responsibility to either give compensation to people who have been ripped off or to stop these ads going on the platform.’
Koch has previously admitted to being ‘devastated’ to learn his likeness had been illegally used to steal money from unsuspecting victims, including an Australian women who lost $250,000 to a cryptocurreny scam that used his name.
‘People who trust me and trust what I say and look at me and say ‘wow, I’m getting some comfort out of what this bloke is saying’, are then getting ripped off by some scammer from overseas,’ he told Seven Spotlight in May.
‘It’s devastating because it’s my reputation and these scams are so good.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk