Classic black and white, father reading to kids
Opinion

While everyone argues over adding YouTube to Australia’s u16 social media ban, the AI elephant in the room is set to trample on kids

- June 24, 2025 4 MIN READ

Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, today addressed the National Press Clubto outline how her office will be driving the Social Media Minimum Age Bill when it comes into effect in December this year. The bill, often referred to as a social media ban, prevents under-16s having social media accounts. But Inman Grant wants Australians… Read more »

Politics

A trial of tech for the Australian government’s under-16 social media ban says it’s ‘robust’, despite contradictory evidence

- June 20, 2025 4 MIN READ

Technologies to enforce the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s are “private, robust and effective”. That’s according to the preliminary findings of a federal government-commissioned trial that has nearly finished testing them. The findings, released today, may give the government greater confidence to forge ahead with the ban, despite a suite of expert… Read more »

Business

SAD!!! How the marriage of convenience between Trump and Musk turned into a fast and furious split

- June 8, 2025 4 MIN READ

A no-holds-barred and very public blow-up between the world’s richest man and the president of the United States has had social media agog in recent days, with each making serious accusations against the other. And while tech billionaire Elon Musk appears to have cooled the spat somewhat – deleting some of his more incendiary social… Read more »

Twitter, X, rebrand, Elon Musk
Cyber security

Elon Musk is back with X in court trying to get around Australia’s online child sexual exploitation and anti-terrorism laws. Here’s what’s happening

- May 26, 2025 3 MIN READ

In its most recent battle with authorities in Australia, X (formerly Twitter) has launched legal action in the Federal Court, seeking an exemption from a new safety standard aimed at preventing the spread of harmful material online. The standard in question is known as the Relevant Electronic Services Standard. It came into effect in December… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Scientists say tech is not causing ‘digital dementia’ in older people

- May 19, 2025 4 MIN READ

In the 21st century, digital technology has changed many aspects of our lives. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest newcomer, with chatbots and other AI tools changing how we learn and creating considerable philosophical and legal challenges regarding what it means to “outsource thinking”. But the emergence of technology that changes the way we… Read more »

Mark Zuckerberg
AI/Machine Learning

Zucking the customer: Meta’s new AI chatbot is just another way for the company to harvest your personal data for advertisers

- May 8, 2025 4 MIN READ

Last week, Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp – unveiled a new “personal artificial intelligence (AI)”. Powered by the Llama 4 language model, Meta AI is designed to assist, chat and engage in natural conversation. With its polished interface and fluid interactions, Meta AI might seem like just another entrant… Read more »

Food and drink

Take one cup of IP, stir vigorously: the latest fight over copying cookbook recipes is a story as old as food

- May 2, 2025 4 MIN READ

Plagiarism accusations against Brooke Bellamy, first brought to light by Nagi Maehashi on her website RecipeTin Eats, continue to emerge. This week, it was reported that Bellamy has been dropped as an ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls’ program for young girls in business. And a second cookbook author has come forward. High-profile US baker,… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Meta’s celebrity AI chatbots accused of sexting minor

- April 30, 2025 4 MIN READ

Warning: This story contains references to child sexualisation. Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbot has reportedly been found engaging in sexual conversations with underage users, even while voiced by the likenesses of celebrities such as actors John Cena and Kristen Bell. The social media giant’s AI chatbot, Meta AI, reportedly engaged in sexual discussions with accounts set… Read more »

Business

Losing its US online ad monopoly case is just the start for Google’s world of competition pain – and Meta’s in the firing line too

- April 18, 2025 4 MIN READ

Tech giant Google has just suffered another legal blow in the United States, losing a landmark antitrust case. This follows on from the company’s loss in a similar case last year. Social media giant Meta is also currently embroiled in a landmark legal battle in the US that could change not only how it operates,… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Meta used pirated books by Australian authors to train its AI and now US courts may decide if this is ‘fair use’

- April 2, 2025 5 MIN READ

Companies developing AI models, such as OpenAI and Meta, train their systems on enormous datasets. These consist of text from newspapers, books (often sourced from unauthorised repositories), academic publications and various internet sources. The material includes works that are copyrighted. The Atlantic magazine recently alleged Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had used LibGen,… Read more »

Sarah Wynn-Williams
Global tech

The Zucksand Effect: Meta ensures everyone knows about a Kiwi whistleblower’s memoir, Careless People, about her time at Facebook, by trying to block her

- March 19, 2025 3 MIN READ

Social media giant Meta is attempting to lessen the impact of a tell-all memoir by its former director of global public policy Sarah Wynn-Williams, titled Careless People, which the company alleges is “defamatory”. Meta won an emergency arbitration ruling in the United States on Wednesday, where an absent Wynn-Williams was ordered to temporarily stop personally promoting… Read more »