Australia: Tech giants, banks and telcos to face massive fines and compensation for failing to protect scam victims under new laws
Australians reported more than 601,000 scams in 2023 — a record number and an increase of 18.5 per cent on the previous year, costing victims $2.74 billion, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
On Thursday, Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones, released long-awaited details of the draft laws which would force banks, phone providers and tech giants to do more under mandatory codes. "We want to ensure that the best protections anywhere in the world are available," he says.
Australians reported more than 601,000 scams in 2023 — a record number and an increase of 18.5 per cent on the previous year, costing victims $2.74 billion, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The new codes will create new obligations around preventing, detecting, and disrupting scams, as well as responding to and reporting the crimes.
Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones says current protections for victims are not adequate. (ABC News: Mark Moore)
Companies that fail to meet their obligations face massive fines of up to $50 million and may be forced to compensate victims.
The government insists more people will receive compensation under the changes.
But the government has rejected calls from consumer groups to follow the United Kingdom's approach of making banks solely responsible.
Instead, liability will be shared amongst industries, Mr Jones said.
For the first time tech giants like Google, TikTok and Facebook will be made responsible for scams they're accused of allowing to flourish on their platforms.
"I'm not going to let the social media platforms off the hook," he said.
