The World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified the tackling of ‘misinformation and disinformation’ as a primary goal for the next two years. Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, spoke at the WEF in Davos and advocated for a world in which artificial intelligence is used to vet what people are allowed to see online. As a former employee of tech giants Microsoft, Twitter (now X), and Adobe, Inman Grant is a regular attendee at the event each year.
In a panel titled “Protecting the Vulnerable Online,” Inman Grant emphasized the importance of creating a global regulatory coalition to impose “safety by design” regulations on online platforms, placing them under government control. She compared the need for online regulation to ensuring road safety by enforcing traffic laws and installing seatbelts.
Inman Grant revealed that content regulators from multiple countries had formed the Global Online Safety Regulators Network. She emphasized the need for collaboration among governments to counter the power of technology companies and urged them to “force them to do better.” She has even issued a legal notice to X Corp demanding answers on how it was meeting the Australian government’s safety expectations.
Inman Grant also discussed enforcement actions, issuing a $610,500 fine to X Corp for failing to answer “key questions” regarding its actions against child abuse content. She noted that other platforms like Google and TikTok have been warned or fined for their responses to regulatory inquiries.
Moreover, Inman Grant emphasized the importance of uncovering the identities of users operating accounts that spread hate and misinformation, expressing concern about whether such accounts are receiving special treatment. At the WEF last year, she called for a “recalibration of a whole range of human rights” in the online sphere, from freedom of speech to data protection.