Victoria wants to take aim at online trolls in new push to unmask abusive accounts

Jacinta Allan has pledged to tackle anonymous online abuse . (ABC News: Danielle Bonica) The laws will also lower the threshold that parents need to pass in order to litigate against tech firms. (ABC News: Dane Hirst) Currently, a parent suing a social media or AI company must prove their child has experienced a permanent impairment of at least 10 per cent to bring the case before the courts. The government plans to lower the threshold for claims brought on behalf of minors, and said it would explore removing the threshold for adult victims as well. Government to force companies to reveal online identity Ms Allan said the Australia-first legislation would also include laws targeting anonymous trolls online, clamping down on any users found to be breaching Victoria's anti-vilification laws. "Too often, words can be used as a weapon to spew out far too much online hate," Ms Allan said. "Far too much of that is being hidden ." Under the proposed changes the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) would gain "demasking orders", allowing it to force social media companies to reveal the identity of anonymous users. Ms Allan said the de-anonymising would then open the path of legal action. "Right now you can't bring a case against a person who is anonymous, we're changing that ," she said. The laws would aim to open online trolls to the threat of civil lawsuits . (Pexels) The Morrison government pitched similar laws aimed at forcing companies to reveal the identity of abusive users in 2021, but the legislation did not pass. The government had no specific details as to how the legislation would adapt to users living overseas or using VPNs.