Young people bragging about their criminal behaviour on social media would be subject to two years’ imprisonment and be banned from using social media for up to two years under a proposal put forward by the centre-right Coalition.
In an effort to crack down on the soaring youth crime, the Australian opposition said it would make it illegal to publish online posts that glamorise violence and criminal activity.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said it was time to “get serious on young criminals who seek to highlight their criminal activity on social media.”
“Sadly, the problem is getting worse,” he said in a joint statement with Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash and Opposition Communications spokesman David Coleman.
“Youth crime is out of control in many parts of our country and more needs to be done to combat it.”
Mr. Dutton added that it is incumbent on the government to “show some leadership and play its part in cracking down on this behaviour—which glamorises violence, and keeps the cycle of crime going.”
“We are putting forward a proposal today to deal with this scourge,” he said.
What Does The New Bill Entail?
The Coalition sought to introduce a private member’s bill that would make it an offence to post material depicting violence, drug offences or property offences to increase a person’s notoriety. The offence would attract up to two years’ imprisonment.In addition, the bill would include a sentencing measure to ensure courts are able to prohibit people who have been convicted of the offence from using social media for up to two years.
Under the bill, the eSafety Commissioner would have the power to order the removal of videos or posts to social media sites or other digital platforms. Currently, the eSafety commissioner has to rely on cooperation of social media companies to achieve this.
Under the proposed amendments, the commissioner would deal with complaints on this issue in a similar process to how the office deals with reports of cyber-bullying and cyber-abuse.
Mr. Dutton described the bill as a “commonsense proposal” and called on the Albanese government to support the “important policy reform.”
NSW Became Second State To Penalise ‘Posting And Boasting’
The move came only two days after New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns announced a new offence for “posting and boasting” as part of the state’s $26.2 million (US$17.3 million) push to curb youth crime.It will include two years’ imprisonment for people who commit motor vehicle theft or break and enter offences and then publish videos of their criminal activity on social media sites.
Mr. Minns said evidence from NSW police revealed that “exhibitionist behaviour” was one of the drivers behind soaring criminal behaviour.
“People are seeing offences being committed and as a result of public exposure among social media networks, they’re encouraged to do the same thing,” he said.
The opposition says there are gaps in those frameworks, and the legislation will allow police to turn to Commonwealth offences if they can’t use a state law to manage a situation.
Soaring Crime Rate
According to Victorian police agency, social media was a contributing factor behind aggravated burglaries by youth.He noted of examples where young offenders shared videos of themselves speeding in stolen cars onto social media sites like TikTok.
“It is the thrill, it is the social media, and sometimes people are just caught up with the wrong group,” Mr. Nugent said in June 2023.
Data from the Crime Statistics Agency showed an increase in car theft in Victoria, with 19,073 thefts recorded in the year to September 2023. This represents a significant 24.96 percent (3,798) rise from the previous year.
