Crossbenchers urge Labor to act immediately on deepfakes and misinformation before next election
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David Pocock and Kate Chaney say laws must be passed as a matter of urgency as AEC issues disinformation and foreign interference warning. Independents have urged the government to act immediately on deepfakes and disinformation as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC ) issues a warning about AI and foreign interference in the upcoming election.
David Pocock and Kate Chaney have written to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the special minister of state, Don Farrell, calling for “truth in political advertising” reform. The letter, seen by the Guardian, criticises Labor for excluding the crossbench on negotiations to cap political donations. That bill was being negotiated between Labor and the Coalition, but was pulled by the government in the final sitting days of 2024.
While Albanese had then committed to “engage with the crossbench”, Pocock and Chaney said they are yet to be approached. They fear Labor has no plan to progress political advertising reforms. Pocock told Guardian Australia he was “disappointed” that the truth in political advertising legislation “seemed to be shelved” after being introduced to parliament in November 2024.
“They [Labor] want to act like they are actually doing something but they don’t actually want to do something,” he said. “We know that both major parties like to use lies and misinformation and scare campaigns.”. In September Pocock illustrated the risk AI posed to democracy by fabricating a video of Albanese announcing a complete ban on gambling advertising.
