Chris Cooper is a cultural anthropologist and Executive Director at Reset Australia, the Australian affiliate to the international Reset network and think tank working to drive public policy to tackle digital threats to democracy. Chris is also Senior Campaign Director at Purpose, an international social impact agency supporting leading activists and companies to develop strategy that can shift policies and change public narratives.
Chris comments on the current state of Australian tech regulation. We discuss how to identify bad actors and bad content online. Chris shares his definition of “mis” and “dis” information, a key focus for Reset. Both “mis” and “dis” information is false information that is shared. Mis-information is shared without the sharer knowing it is false, whereas dis-information is shared by sharer who knows it is false.
Chris describes efforts at Reset to build on the work of the “age-appropriate design code” from the UK, and the “best interests principle” which requires that digital platforms that children are likely to use must prove that they are designed and operating with the best interests of those children in mind.
Chris relates the key objectives of Reset for policy change.
- Regulation on digital platform accountability and responsibility.
- Regulation on eliminating risks from systems and processes, giving regulators more oversight over the design of systems in use by companies.
- Regulation to address community and societal risks; one person misinformed is not so problematic but a fragmented society consuming two different versions of the truth is a problem for democracy.
- Establishment of regulatory responsibility in these areas with a new regulator or existing agency.
- Equipping regulators with powers to enforce regulation with penalties proportionate to the scale of harms caused.
We ask Chris for his thoughts on the issue of foreign interference in Australia’s democratic system. Chris makes the case for increased transparency from digital platforms that are a significant source of information for the Australian citizenry. Chris asserts that polarisation of public opinions on critical issues, as well as proliferation of hate speech and racism, is exacerbated by social media, and that regulation is required to address this.
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