Posted 10January2021 Sky News Australia:
Senior members of the Coalition have raised concerns about free speech after President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for posting messages the social media giants said could incite violence.
The ban came in the wake of violent protests at the United States Capitol building.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he “felt pretty uncomfortable with those measures that were announced”.
“Freedom of speech is fundamental to our society … and so those decisions were taken by commercial companies, but personally I felt uncomfortable with what they did,” he said.
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack also flagged the move, saying it should not be up to big tech companies to decide who was heard on social media.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, however, said disinformation was dangerous and should be called out.
He criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for not condemning MPs Craig Kelly and George Christensen for repeating unfounded claims of election fraud in the US.
Speaking to 2SM radio, Mr Albanese said “I just think the fact that when Scott Morrison is asked about this he responds with talking about freedom of speech and hasn’t condemned Craig Kelly or George Christensen or any of the others who have promoted the idea, the conspiracy theory that these weren’t Donald Trump supporters”.
Mr McCormack, however, said there was no need for him to pull Mr Christensen into line.