Latest Articles

Event: Facing up to facial recognition

Facial recognition technology has been deployed across Australia and around the world. It’s in the streets, at major sporting events and at the 7/11. Most alarmingly, it’s increasingly being used by law enforcement and government at all levels – all without any of us getting a say.

The Australian government's concern about TikTok is not just about data ethics – it's about politics

There are good reasons to be concerned about TikTok, but it should be part of a larger conversation around privacy and surveillance capitalism.

A farewell from the founding Chair

Four years ago, a group of academics, technology experts and activists came together in the meeting rooms of Thoughtworks Australia with a shared vision: to unite in their advocacy against the recently passed mandatory metadata retention laws. Much was discussed about the state of human rights in online spaces and the ramping up of attacks from conservative governments.

Event: The Campsite Rule- Protecting our Rights in a Crisis

When you visit a campsite, we all know the right thing to do is to leave it better than we found it.

Navigating the COVIDSafe app rhetoric

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen the government pull out all the stops in an attempt to convince the Australian public to download the COVIDSafe App. There are plenty of issues with the app itself, including its technical flaws, and valid concerns around data privacy, security and the normalisation of surveillance. But the other fascinating aspect of COVIDSafe has been the commentary _surrounding _the app.

While it may be easy to laugh off some of the more ridiculous things spouted by our oft-out-of-touch politicians, it would be unwise to underestimate the power, impact and potential harm of their messaging.