Last week the Albanese government released their response to the Rickard Review of the Online Safety Act 2021 with the centrepiece being a new digital duty of care.
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Internet blackouts occur when repressive governments instruct internet service providers to block or restrict access to the internet. Local laws require providers to comply with these orders so there are very few examples of internet companies successfully resisting them. Internet blackouts are becoming increasingly common: in 2024, governments imposed 296 internet shutdowns on 54 countries.
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Social media companies harvest vast amounts of personal data and use it to push whatever will keep you engaged, even when that means prioritising attention over accuracy, safety, or wellbeing. This can result in mental health harms for all users, including increased levels of depression, anxiety and body image dissatisfaction. Everyone would benefit from reform that stops personal data being used to feed people content that captures attention at the expense of their wellbeing.
However, rather than address the root causes of this harm the Social Media Ban complicates the landscape and creates additional privacy risks for all of us.
This is your guide to how to navigate this new terrain.
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TL;DR: The political party exemption in the Privacy Act leaves the door open for political parties, their contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers to access your personal information without following the same rules as everyone else. That needs to change.
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Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-keyboard-buttons-2882523/
Australians have a keen appetite for privacy and want better protections for their privacy. According to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), 90% of Australians support laws that give them greater agency over how their personal information is handled.
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AI companies are strip-mining Australian books, songs, and artworks to build their models without consent, without compensation, and without accountability.
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