Erin Molan details 'humiliating' online abuse in Senate inquiry

TV personality Erin Molan has told a government inquiry into the effects of online trolling and abuse that 'humiliating and traumatic' attacks on her had ultimately led to her turning down a job with Channel 9.

Molan, as well as a variety of other prominent personalities and law bodies, had been called to give evidence to a Senate inquiry examining the effectiveness of the federal government's Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill.

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The bill has been heavily criticised due to the fact it concentrates mostly on defamation law, theoretically allowing a plaintiff to demand social media companies hand over the real identities of anonymous users, making defamation action through the courts easier to pursue.

Critics say the bill will do little to nothing to address the core problem of online abuse, considering the high cost of bringing civil action through the courts.

Even Molan, who detailed some of the horrific abuse she has been sent for the inquiry, said the bill would have done little to help in her situation due to the sheer volume of abuse, as well as the cost of going to court.

“I’m a big girl, I’m very resilient. I can handle people disliking me and people disagreeing with me. I can handle people having an opinion,” she said.

"You really just feel like you have no avenue to address (it) whatsoever.

“Things that would be written about me on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter … suggesting how I got certain jobs or things that people were saying that I would do with players were completely untrue.

“I had no means to defend myself … it was very damaging and you know to take action in court is incredibly expensive.”

The proposed bill would allow Australians to obtain the personal information of users who post abusive material, therefore allowing legal action to be brought against anonymous trolls.

However Molan wasn't the only witness to the inquiry sceptical about the effectiveness of the planned legislation.

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The office of the Attorney-General, Michaelia Cash, has been criticised with many suggesting the title of the bill is misleading.

The department conceded last month that it had received significant amount of feedback, saying 'the bill is about defamation and it is not intended to address broader types of online harm'.

The Law Council of Australia made a submission to the inquiry, saying the bill would do little to nothing to prevent trolling, as stated in the title.

“Defamatory material comprises only a small component of trolling activity online and despite the proposed reforms, defamation law is likely to continue to be … a relatively ineffective mechanism for seeking individual reputational redress and for reducing trolling activity on social media,” the Council's submission read.

Lawyer, writer and human rights advocate Nyadol Nyuon, a frequent victim of online hatred, said that much like Molan, the new bill would essentially do nothing to prevent the sheer volume of abuse directed her way.

Additionally, even if she was able to unmask anonymous trolls, it would be financially impossible to then pursue legal action.

“The sheer volume of it makes it almost hard to be able to deal with each individual that comes with it,” she said.

“If I were to dedicate my time to trying to expose everyone, it would be unmanageable.

“I can assure you even as a very privileged woman who works a full time job, I would think twice before putting my money on a defamation claim.”

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