The Victorian government has announced it will introduce “nation-leading” laws to make technology companies accountable for preventing hate and keeping children safe.

The announcement comes as governments around the world grapple with how best to mitigate online harms, including emerging ones associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

So what are the new laws? And how will they work in practice?

The state will introduce a new “unmasking” law. This will enable Victorians who are being vilified online to find out who is targeting them via anonymous accounts.

The law will give the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) the ability to issue a “demasking order” to force social media platforms to identify anonymous users.

“Hiding behind an anonymous account online should never mean you can vilify someone and get away with it,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said in announcing the new law.

This new law follows the April 2026 introduction of stronger civil protections for people targeted with vilification because of a protected attribute, such as their race, religion, disability, gender identity, sex, sex characteristics or sexual orientation.

It also comes amid growing debate about when someone should be afforded anonymity offline.

As antisemitism adviser and former chief scientist Alan Finkel told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion last week:

I do feel that the cloak of secrecy........

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