Two Americans, One Australian Bill
The Digital Duty of Care bill is being shaped by voices from abroad, highlighting how Australia’s most powerful digital decisions are increasingly influenced by imported expertise.
By COURAGE IS THE CURE | 14 October 2026
Australia now finds itself in a peculiar position: the nation’s most powerful online‑speech regulator, the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, is an American tech executive — and the loudest critic of the government’s new Digital Duty of Care laws, Michael Shellenberger, currently touring the country is also American.
One sits inside the system with sweeping authority over takedowns and enforcement; the other stands outside it warning Australians about the dangers of those same powers.
Meanwhile, ordinary citizens have no pathway to meet with parliamentary staffers about the bill, even as foreign voices shape the debate from both directions.
It’s a neat irony that says more about Australia’s dependence on imported digital expertise than it does about public consultation.
(Above) Julie Inman Grant 2024. Source Wikipedia
(Above) Michael Shellenberger 2024. Source Wikipedia