A video shared on Instagram features an Australian news broadcast in which the anchor and reporter discuss a proposal requiring social media users to submit 100 forms of identification, similar to a passport.
“Coming to a Country near you!” reads the Dec. 29 post’s caption. “The WEF Australian Government Are Set to Bring In ‘Social Media Passports’ in New Plans to Clamp Down on Online Freedoms.”
The post garnered more than 90 likes in eight days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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The plan and the news report are real, but this is part of a proposal that was never passed. The 2021 parliamentary committee proposal aimed to reduce online abuse, but it was never implemented by the government, according to local officials.
The broadcast was originally aired on the Australian network 9News in April 2021, according to the network’s Twitter account.
The social media passport was one of 88 recommendations included in an inquiry submitted to the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. The inquiry dates back to March 2021 and was designed to reduce family, domestic and sexual violence.
The proposal would require individuals to submit 100 forms of identification in order to open or maintain an existing social media account.
But the measure was not approved and did not advance beyond the committee recommendation, according to a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Social Services.
“Recommendation 30… has not been implemented,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “There is no current Australian Government policy that would support the introduction of this requirement. The Australian Government expects to provide a formal response to the inquiry’s report later this year.”
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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
Reuters debunked this claim as well.
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