‘Let Them Look Like Clowns’ Says Free-Speech Advocate on Digital Duty of Care Bill by @JoshSpasaro [NEWS] The co-founder of Free Speech Union of Australia, Reuben Kirkham, has cheered on the federal Albanese government with its Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 — but not to succeed. “If they want to screw it up, let them screw it up. Let them look like clowns,” he told The Daily Declaration during an Australian Jewish Association video conference. “All we can do is make them look like idiots with the more submissions people put in.” If passed, the Draft Bill would completely overhaul Australia’s online safety protocols and introduce a new statutory digital duty of care, with Kirkham and fellow critics arguing it would lead to mass censorship and greatly erode our freedom of speech. In a disastrous interview with News 24 last month, Communications Minister Anika Wells refused six times to rule out a reincarnation of misinformation laws under this bill proposal. It is this lack of clarity that Kirkham believes will only help him in his efforts to see the bill not get passed, after it received a public rebuke from the Trump Administration. “They’re persuading the Trump Administration that they need to take stronger steps to deal with online censorship,” he added. “What I’m more worried about is the abuse of power, so if they are distorting platforms, is that going to distort elections? “Are we going to have, for example, internal platforms like in workplaces, where speech is censored and skewed? “Are people going to be punished for what they’ve said online? “It’s where this all ends up, because they’re on their censorship train and they’re not going to get off it.” The Trump Administration has serious concerns about the Albanese Government’s stated goal of mandating broad “duty of care” requirements that dictate how online platforms manage content and user feeds, as published by the US Embassy and Consulates in Australia. Concerns include how the Albanese Government or Communications Minister would designate “foreseeable harm”, and any resulting requirement that platforms alter their algorithmic systems to suppress freedom of expression. “A framework that empowers governments to enforce vague definitions of ‘harm’ risks becoming a mechanism for viewpoint-based censorship, as platforms will be incentivised to over-moderate speech that should be protected to avoid regulatory penalties,” Kirkham said. Kirkham said whether or not the Digital Duty of Care Bill gets passed would come down to how the Greens perceive it in the Senate. “It’s going to be very interesting to see what they do,” he said. “Can they agree with Labor on a digital duty of care? And that’s where it gets interesting. What’s going to be in it, and will they understand what they’re agreeing to? “Will they understand the environmental implications when all that AI censorship is going to require those data centres that they oppose? “Perhaps the Greens think there is an advantage in driving people away from X onto other platforms?” Read more: dailydeclaration.org.au/2026…