Ms Olga Cronin:

Senator Byrne's question is valid. Nobody likes to see anybody being unpleasant online, and as we indicated in the opening statement, we understand the intention of this Bill to be to reduce the hurt that both children and adults feel because of some online material. We are concerned that in the well-intentioned effort to target the few, this Bill's extremely vague elements, coupled with the substantial powers to be given to the media commission, could have a collateral effect or unintended consequences that will substantially restrict the rights of all Internet users.

There is the definition of online harm under head 49A(b), which is, "material which is likely to have the effect of intimidating, threatening, humiliating or persecuting a person to which it pertains and which a reasonable person would conclude was the intention of its dissemination". That lacks precision, clarity and certainty and it is too vague, arbitrary and unspecific about what material it refers to. It is open to-----