Standing up for privacy, democracy, fairness and freedom in a digital age.
Australia
Joined February 2016
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Hello! Are you leaving? Here is where else you can find us so we can keep building the digital rights movement in Australia together:
🕸️ digitalrightswatch.org.au/
🐘 aus.social/@drwaus
🟦 bsky.app/profile/drwaus.bsky…
📸 instagram.com/drwaus/
💻 linkedin.com/company/drwaus/
These content moderation changes signal that you'll find a home on Meta's platforms if you are a peddler of hateful content.
Our Chair Lizzie O'Shea appeared on ABC's 730 report to discuss the impacts of Meta's decision to cut fact checking: abc.net.au/news/2025-01-16/c…
If you:
> held a Facebook Account between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015;
> were present in Australia for more than 30 days during that period; and
> either installed the This is Your Digital Life app or were Facebook friends with an individual who installed the app.
The Australian Information Commissioner has agreed to a $50 million payment program as part of a settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc.
The payment scheme will be open to eligible Australian users impacted by the Cambridge Analytica incident.
More info: oaic.gov.au/news/media-centr…
ALT Landmark settlement of $50m from Meta for Australian users impacted by Cambridge Analytica incident
Facebook have a help page dedicated to checking whether you or your friends installed the "This is Your Digital Life" app: facebook.com/help/1873665312…
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
Today, @ausreset @humanrightsHRLC @psst_org & @DRWaus are launching a new guide for whistleblowers exposing technology-related wrongdoing in Australia. Thanks to @swan_legend for writing up the new guide in @smh/@theage over the weekend smh.com.au/technology/tech-w…
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
Meta (Facebook + Instagram) criticises the under-16s social media ban - warning laws will likely require "personal identification or biometric data from all Australians" to enforce the laws
So not just young people - ALL Australians will have to undergo age assurance processes
An amendment to the Online Safety Act to legislate a minimum age of access (16 years) has been introduced into parliament this morning. It provides a definition of 'age-restricted social media platform' and increased fines for non-compliance aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus…
'The Bill does not dictate how platforms must comply with the minimum age obligation. However, it is expected that at a minimum, the obligation will require platforms to implement some form of age assurance...' parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo…
Instead of rushing legislation through parliament without meaningful consultation or a senate inquiry, the government needs to prioritise privacy reform, and at least wait to see the outcome of the $6.5million age assurance trial.
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
Couldn’t be prouder to see this big outcome from our @choiceaustralia investigation w @KateABower. Fines and penalties would have been sweeter, but with weak privacy laws, a ruling of illegality and order banning is as good as it’s going to get
@DRWaus digitalrightswatch.org.au/20…
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
The Department has revealed that 21, 607 participants relied on this tech to process their mandatory job applications in September
So, the government is threatening thousands of welfare payments when it's Mutual Obligation system experiences IT failures. This can't be legal
So, @WorkforceAusGov's IT system is failing to process people's job applications in time, and threatening to cut jobseekers off their payments because of it. The Australian welfare system in a nutshell
And how will digital platforms determine whether someone is under the age of 16? Any age assurance mechanism will introduce privacy risks for all users, with no guarantee that children will be any safer
#BREAKING 🚨 Anthony Albanese has just announced the government will seek to ban teenagers under the age of 16 from social media
The announcement confirms the exact age restrictions that will be imposed
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
I wrote about the origins of modern computation tracing to enslaved labor, the influence this has on what we call “AI," and how this helps highlight some limits of Silicon Valley narratives that insist the tech sector is escaping capitalism
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
🚨 Meet Our Panelists! 🚨Hear from a panel of experts on surveillance shaping our world. Enjoy drinks, snacks, after-hours exhibition & grab our new publication! @tynedaile @internet_chris
📆 Thurs 14 November
🎟️ Book: bit.ly/3NLPwma
#PublicationLaunch #Museum
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
All of our key documents, such as driver’s licences and Medicare cards, will be in a single digital wallet. Experts from @Deakin say the government must do more to sure it protects Australians’ privacy. theconversation.com/australi…
This piece from @Miah_HE on understanding mis- and disinformation as failures of the information ecosystem is a must-read!
lowyinstitute.org/the-interp…
Consultation is open on Phase 2 of the Online Safety Codes until 22 November onlinesafety.org.au/
Digital Rights Watch retweeted
New: A look at how workers in Woolworths warehouses are tracked and measured. They say many are under pressure to meet time standards that are unfair and putting safety at risk. It’s part of a global trend of workplace monitoring. “A fantasy of total efficiency," one critic said.
The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society have released their second interim report: parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo…
The committee call for a Digital Affairs Ministry to be established, to be responsible for the coordination of regulation of online platforms.
There are huge privacy gains we could make by limiting the data extractivism business model that digital platforms rely on, which make huge profits by incentivising extremist content.
Our Chair, @Lizzie_OShea spoke on this topic at SXSW Sydney mi-3.com.au/22-10-2024/attac…
