Pirate Congress 2021/Motions/Policy and Platform/Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material

PM-5 Freedom of Speech Update
Put by: Sean O’Farrell

Motion
Update the Freedom of Speech policy to add the following line, under the “Remove counter-productive restrictions on freedom of speech” header:

Repeal the Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019 (Cth)

Rationale
As proponents of Freedom of Speech, democracy, and governmental accountability, we must recognise the right of the common people to judge the right of any conflict for themselves, having seen evidence and heard arguments from both sides, in order to best make their opinions on the right course of action known to the political establishment.

The Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material amendment poses a potent tool for censorship, which is incompatible with Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press, particularly as regards the ability of journalists, individuals, or other organisations to accurately report on violent acts in any kind of verifiable manner. Recordings of abhorrent acts of violence have historically proved a source of public enlightenment, best seen in the light of photography’s impact on public perceptions during the Vietnam War. In more recent times, they have proved a powerful tool for state accountability in the form of video recordings of Police Brutality in the USA. Under the law as it stands, leaked body camera footage definitively proving that a government official brutalised a civilian would be illegal to share online, and sites would be obligated to remove all evidence of the misdeed. Similarly, if a civil war were to break out, even in a completely foreign country, digital media could be obligated to take down any footage created by members of whichever side our government declines to recognise as legitimate.

More legitimate interests touched on in this act, such as outlawing videos of sexual abuse (which is justifiable persuant to the privacy interested of the abused individual) are already illegal under prior laws prohibiting the creation, trade, and possession of such material. Regarding claims that these laws are necessary to protect children from viewing traumatic material, protections for such vulnerable viewers would be better handled by content warnings, and parental oversight for those too young to understand such warnings.

Results
Passed on the floor of Congress.

Ratified by online vote with 84 Ayes; 1 Nays; and 12 Abstains.