Sydney:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hit back at Elon Musk on Saturday after the tech mogul called his government “fascists” for proposing laws that would fine social media giants for spreading misinformation. 

Australia introduced a “combating misinformation” bill earlier this week, which includes sweeping powers to fine tech giants up to five per cent of their annual turnover for breaching online safety obligations.

“Fascists,” Musk posted Thursday on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. 

But Albanese fired back at Musk on Saturday, saying social media “has a social responsibility”. 

“If Mr Musk doesn’t understand that, that says more about him than it does about my government,” he told reporters Saturday. 

The exchange between Musk and Australian officials is the latest in a long-running spat with the Australian government over social media regulation. 

Australia’s government is exploring a raft of new measures that would see social media companies take greater accountability for the content on their platforms — including a ban for those under 16 years old. 

The country’s online watchdog took Musk’s company to court earlier this year, alleging it had failed to remove “extremely violent” videos that showed a Sydney preacher being stabbed.

But it abruptly dropped its attempt to force a global takedown order on X after Musk scored a legal victory in a preliminary hearing, a move he celebrated as a free speech triumph.

Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist”, has clashed with politicians and digital rights groups worldwide, including in the European Union, which could decide within months to take action against X with possible fines.

In Brazil, where X has effectively been suspended after it ignored a series of court directives, Musk has responded by blasting the judge as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Sydney:

Australia’s former conservative prime minister Scott Morrison has revealed he took medication for “debilitating” anxiety while in office, in a media interview published Friday.
Morrison, whose conservative coalition lost power in May 2022, told The Australian newspaper that the anxiety he experienced in office was “debilitating and agonising.”

The 55-year-old evangelical Christian governed for four years managing crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and the widespread 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires.

“I think it just built up,” Morrison told the paper.

“It was a very stressful period,” he said, citing long hours, the pandemic and difficult relations with China, which imposed trade barriers on major Australian exports during his term.

“You’re flesh and blood and so it would start to impact you.”

Morrison was prescribed medication for anxiety by a doctor in Canberra, the paper said, also citing excerpts from his new book to be released in May, “Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness”.

“My doctor was amazed I had lasted as long as I had before seeking help,” Morrison wrote.

“Without this help, serious depression would have manifested.”

Anxiety could have a profound personal impact, Morrison said.

“You dread the future and you can’t get out of bed. It can shut you down mentally and physically. It robs you of your joy and can damage relationships. I know this from personal experience.”

Morrison, an avid supporter of the fossil fuel industry, announced in January he was leaving politics.

As Australian leader, he notably angered France when he negotiated a deal behind closed doors to acquire US and British nuclear submarine technology, abruptly ditching a long-standing agreement with Paris.

And he secretly appointed himself to several ministerial roles during the Covid crisis, without informing his cabinet, the incumbents, or the public.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)