Sam is a dedicated digital rights activist, privacy advocate and writer who regularly contributes to public debate on technology, power and human rights. She is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University, researching the impact of emerging technologies on housing justice in Australia.
Strap in, August has been a huge month for digital rights! From the passage of the Identify and Disrupt Bill, to Apple’s announcement of its surveillance software update, to the launch of several consultations by the eSafety Commission—and we’re here to tell you all about it.
IMAGINE …a world without the written word.
Are digital platforms taking the creative arts for granted? With declining income across the board for creative industries, it seems more like social media is an empty vessel of the platform economy than a haven for artists to share their work and reach new audiences. How are writers finding their experiences online? Do they get to experience the benefit of the open and free internet or have digital platforms moved too far into extractivism?
The Australian government has new laws on the books to hack your computer, your online accounts, and just about any piece of technology and networks you come into contact with. It can happen without a warrant and without you ever knowing. That’s just the start of it. Outraged? Good.
Digital Rights Watch joins a coalition of more than 90 U.S. and international organizations dedicated to civil rights, digital rights, and human rights, in an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking the company to abandon its recently announced plans to build surveillance capabilities into iPhones, iPads and other Apple products.
The Productivity Commission is conducting an inquiry into the ‘Right to Repair’. In June 2021 the draft report was released for public consultation. Digital Rights Watch teamed up with Electronic Frontiers Australia to provide a submission on the issues as they relate to digital rights.
We’re well past the halfway mark of 2021 now and just when we think we’re going to have a quiet month, the world keeps turning…