This Month
Government to pursue tech giants for social harm
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says Canberra will introduce a “digital duty of care” that could punish platforms for causing systemic trauma.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Opinion
- Child safety
Social media ban doesn’t trust parents to raise their kids
If Canberra truly wanted to support families, it would invest in digital literacy rather than wielding a sledgehammer.
- Constantine Frantzeskos
October
First, kidnapping the Wallabies; now tackling online bullying
The debate about stopping cyberbullying has so far centred around bans and age limits. This former spy has a different solution.
- Jemima Whyte
September
You can now control your teenager’s Instagram use
Users aged under 16 will soon find themselves in restricted “Teen Accounts”, giving guardians authority over the content they see on the social media app.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Social media bosses face jail if they fail to stop revenge porn
Britain is introducing tough new online safety laws that could see social media bosses punished for allowing deep fakes and revenge porn to be shared.
- Charles Hymas
- Exclusive
- Social media
Tech giants in firing line to pay for swath of new online laws
The Albanese government is introducing new laws to curb the harms caused by social media giants, and is also looking at how to make them pay for it.
- Ronald Mizen
July
I gave up my phone as an example to my teenagers – it was disastrous
Before you ban your kids from using smartphones, ask yourself why.
- Bethan Ryder
‘I feel helpless’: techies are banning their kids from social media
The professionals who understand most how social media and other tech platforms work are keeping their own children away from them for as long as possible.
- Paul Smith
June
Social media ban on kids faces big technical hurdles: experts
Australia has bipartisan support for a 16-year-old limit for using social media, as Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton argued about who was first to demand it.
- Paul Smith
April
Corporate directors warned over Musk behaviour
AFP boss Reece Kershaw says better corporate standards are needed to enable co-operation between social media giants and law enforcement.
- Tom McIlroy
February
- Exclusive
- Social media
X faces ‘big trouble’, fines if it does not change, warns Rowland
“There is going to be someone who turns around and says ‘how did governments allow this to happen?’ We’re not going to be that government”
- Ronald Mizen
April 2023
What does it mean to be a boy online in 2023
What lessons are young men learning from YouTube, TikTok and influencers like Andrew Tate?
- Henry Mance
October 2022
Musk to face ad boycott if he brings back Trump
Elon Musk’s efforts to loosen Twitter’s moderation rules could risk the wrath of advertisers who provide most of Twitter’s $US5 billion revenue.
- Matthew Field and Nick Allen
Bark worse than bite in libel case
A dog groomer’s defamation claim over comments on social media has been thrown out due to there being no “serious harm” to her reputation.
- Michael Pelly
July 2022
How to use Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories sunglasses without getting arrested
Even Meta has acknowledged that its creepy Ray-Ban Stories glasses have human rights problems. We’ve figured out a way to eliminate at least one of those.
- John Davidson
May 2022
Elon Musk’s free speech pledge for Twitter will backfire: experts
Insisting that users be authenticated is an oversimple response to the complex problem of cyberbullying on Twitter, they say
- John Davidson
April 2022
Twitter buyout could be ‘terrific’ for business: Sims
But other experts warn it could be bad for public discourse, and that improvement at Twitter will be difficult to pull off.
- John Davidson, Tess Bennett and Yolanda Redrup
February 2022
‘Operating in the dark’: Facebook whistleblower warns of election risk
Former data scientist Frances Haugen tells a parliamentary inquiry that Facebook is underinvesting in safety in Australia.
- Andrew Tillett
December 2021
Joyce flies out to UK and US, sights set on Zuckerberg
The Deputy Prime Minister says he is determined to work with US congressional leaders to curb Mark Zuckerberg’s power, saying the Facebook CEO is “not above democracy”.
- Jacob Greber
Inquiry should regulate tech algorithms, end ‘whack-a-mole’
The enabling architecture of social media platforms is what governments ought to be targetting, rather than individual wrongdoers.
- Miranda Ward