This project was completed in 2023. Professors Rob Cover and Nicola Henry undertook an analysis of literature, policy, legislation and platform terms-of-service to provide concrete data to the Australian Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) on the platform practices in relation to public figures.
The key aim was to understand the extent of the “differential threshold” whereby platforms are less likely to intervene when public figures are subject to abuse, defamation, misrepresentation or online violence than they are when these are experienced by an “everyday” user.
Key findings of the study included:
- The majority of high-traffic, popular commercial platforms apply a higher threshold before takedown (or other action) in the case of public figures–some explicitly as policy while others only in practice;
- Both platforms and current research fail to adequately define public figures in ways which leave emerging public figures (e.g., minor celebrities, influencers) and unwitting public figures (e.g., family members of politicians, complainants in sexual assault cases, etc.) open to being abused or maliciously misrepresented online;
- Many platforms improperly use concepts of “newsworthiness” and “public interest” to justify the higher threshold before protecting public figures, without adequate understanding or institutional histories of use of these journalism practices;
- Employers, managers and agents who require public figures to maintain a high-profile online presence often do not provide institutional protections or supports when their staff/clients are abused or harmed online.
Publications
The following open access publications from the study provide some snapshots and further in-depth analysis of key findings. Please click on the link to access the article:
RMIT Digital Hostility and Disinformation Lab (@ The Digital Ethnography Research Centre) 