Submission to the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels

Climate change disinformation is pervasive, coordinated and highly damaging to democratic debate and urgent climate action. Disinformation creates confusion and splinters support for climate change action creating infighting and preventing meaningful support. Due to their business models, based around “engagement” and advertising, big tech companies are directly contributing to the proliferation of disinformation on their sites. This is enabling the erosion of citizens’ trust in legitimate climate science. Key vectors include astroturfing organisations, fossil-fuel-industry think-tanks, and privacy-invading social media algorithms, amplified by bots and generative AI.

No consent and no compensation - how AI treats your copyrighted work

AI companies are strip-mining Australian books, songs, and artworks to build their models without consent, without compensation, and without accountability.

Your Data: The Honeypot

Image credit: Khan Tran

On a global scale, there are an average of 285 breached accounts per 100 people. In Australia, that number skyrockets to 732 breaches per 100 people, meaning the average Australian has been affected by data breaches approximately seven times. Alarmingly, 30% of Australians believed their data was stolen in 2022 alone.

Seeking Political Transparency on Promised Privacy Reforms

On 17 June 2025, Digital Rights Watch wrote to several politicians to congratulate them on their appointment and request clarity on their position regarding the promised privacy reforms. Specifically, we asked:

Submission to the OAIC regarding the Children's Online Privacy Code

General Position

Digital Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the OAIC’s Phase 2 Consultation on the Children’s Online Privacy Code. We are aligned with the OAIC’s objective of protecting children through strengthened privacy protections, rather than preventing children from engaging in the digital world. The Internet is a vital component of modern civil life and it is vital for the health of our democracy and of us as individuals that children are able to participate in the online world.

Productivity Commission promotes big tech’s regulatory agenda over the rights of Australians

Digital Rights Watch is disappointed but unsurprised that the Productivity Commission has swallowed the AI marketing hype. Their recent interim report advocates for a pause on regulation and discusses approaches that would roll-back the few existing protections that we have. This is at odds with most Australians who want the government to act to protect them from harm by unaccountable and unfair AI systems.