In political science, legitimacy describes the circumstances giving rise to the right to rule over a society. This article considers different concepts of ‘legitimacy’ and their contribution to understanding the difference between the power to govern, and the right to do so. It considers certain moves in Australia to expand the protective role of government.

This paper finds that Australian Government responses to challenges such as misinformation, online harms, privacy and hate speech are increasingly disproportionate and, in some cases, ineffective. It proposes that recent Australian laws risk undermining fundamental freedoms and weakening the principles that underpin a democratic society.