Australia Institute A new report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology calls for a rethink of the role of the national broadcaster to provide alternate digital spaces to Facebook and other global platforms. The paper The Public Square Project proposes a publicly funded social network built on the trust and reach of the ABC to create: communities around existing content rather than outsourcing this to Facebook. hubs for community-generated content as an alternative to Facebook Groups opportunities for two -way citizen engagement with all levels of government. The platform would evolve over time to become a civic online platform where registered users are served by public interest technologists and community managers to engage in a safe and civil way.