Over the past few years, social media platforms, particularly Facebook and Twitter, have received inordinate blame for many of society’s ills, particularly mis- and disinformation. This paper recommends the creation of government fusion cells for online problems, which would centralise expertise and decision-making and serve...

This paper provides a framework for understanding why internet platforms matter for democracy and how they should be regulated. The authors describe the two most powerful internet platforms, Facebook and Google, as new public utilities — utilities for democracy — arguing that they should be...

The ACCC has developed this draft mandatory code of conduct to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and each of Google and Facebook.

In May 2020, Facebook announced the inaugural batch of members of its Oversight Board. The Board will be a group of 40 people supported by staff, whose initial task will be to serve as an independent appeals mechanism to have a final say on select...

The COVID-19 crisis has renewed concerns about the dangers of misinformation and its persuasive effects on behaviour. The US response to the pandemic is deeply divided along partisan lines. This study measured the effects of cable news in the US on regional differences in compliance...

Public understanding of needed preventative measures and rejection of bogus ones is important because SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and potentially lethal. This article discusses a survey in early March 2020 to ascertain where and whether US residents were receiving accurate information from news sources.

In response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry, the government requested that Screen Australia and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) co-author this options paper considering how to best support Australian stories on our screens in a modern, multi-platform...

In light of the issues presented by ACMA’s inquiry and the debate around news and the media more broadly, this report outlines the case against further regulation of broadcasting, as well as several recommendations on the way in which policy-makers can create a stronger news...

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Department of Defence's management of its public communications and media activities.

As China rises, Chinese political elites are increasingly concerned about how it is perceived in the world, and how to shape that global public opinion. This report argues that despite heavy state investment, China Global Television Network (CGTN) has failed to emerge as a significant...