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The Australian Federal Police is pushing for bans on flags and insignia linked to terrorist groups and the spread of extremist material including violent images and videos, saying parts of the criminal law are out of step with community expectations.
Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney said the AFP was particularly concerned about younger people being influenced by graphic material on the internet, which he described as a âforce multiplier of hateâ.
AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney says other than for genuine research or journalistic purposes, there are no circumstances where people should be accessing and sharing instructional terrorist manuals, propaganda and graphically violent images and videos.
Australians woke up to the freelancing advice this week that “drums of war” were beating louder in their neighbourhood, according to the country’s top security official.
It is hardly news that regional anxiety is rising as the countries of the Indo-Pacific scramble to accommodate China’s surging power and influence.
However, an essay by Michael Pezzullo, Home Affairs secretary that spoke publicly of a possible war with an unnamed adversary, ventured into territory not previously traversed by government officials.
It appears not to have had the imprimatur of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Morrison did not repudiate Pezzullo’s remarks, nor did he endorse them. He said Australia’s goal was to “pursue peace and stability” and a “world order that favours freedom”.
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As the Senate investigates what it can do about extremism in Australia, the role and influence of tech platforms both the mainstream and the fringe is coming under the microscope.
Representatives for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spoke about how the internet has facilitated radicalisation and extremism during appearances before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry into extremism movements and radicalism in Australia on Thursday.
The inquiry’s terms of reference call on the committee to consider “the role of social media, encrypted communications platforms and the dark web in allowing extremists to communicate and organise”.
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