Top governments officials in Australia have asked lawmakers to restrict people from sharing clips of parliamentary hearings on social media, arguing that short clips can remove important context and expose officials to ridicule, abuse, and personal attacks. The proposal came from the Secretaries Board, which represents the heads of all federal departments, after several officials objected to how testimony from parliamentary hearings had been reused online. The bureaucrats suggested that full hearing videos and transcripts should instead be made available, potentially with comments disabled, so the public could see the complete context. Critics argue that restricting clips would weaken parliamentary scrutiny and transparency because excerpts shared on social media can bring important exchanges to a much larger audience.
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