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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Josh Taylor

Erin Molan and Nyadol Nyuon tell inquiry defamation bill not ‘useful’ for most online trolling victims

Nyadol Nyuon
Nyadol Nyuon (pictured here in 2021), the chair of Harmony Alliance, says the volume of online abuse she gets would make pursuing individuals for defamation ‘unmanageable’. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

High-profile victims of online trolling, including Erin Molan and Nyadol Nyuon, have said an “anti-trolling” bill that overhauls defamation law for online comments will be “almost impossible” to uptake and not “useful” to most people in Australia due to the cost and effort involved.

The bill will make the owners of social media pages and groups not liable for user comments on those groups or pages, and would shift the liability burden to social media platforms if they do not attempt to facilitate the unmasking of anonymous commenters for someone seeking to bring defamation proceedings.

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