Peter Dutton backs laws to crack down on ‘above the law’ social media companies over misinformation

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the Coalition is ‘happy to have a look at anything the government puts forward’ to act against misinformation on social media. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has expressed support for a crackdown on the spread of dangerous lies on social media platforms, renewing focus on the government’s misinformation legislation which was shelved late last year.

Conspiracy theories and violent imagery spread rapidly on social media after the mass stabbing at Bondi Junction. After video and false information spread in the wake of the stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, an estimated 2,000 people gathered at the Christ the Good Shepherd church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley, where some rioted and allegedly injured police.