This Month
Big tech ordered to develop solutions to stop kids finding porn
The eSafety Commissioner has given internet companies six months to find a plan to stop kids stumbling across porn while searching for sites such as YouTube.
- Tess Bennett
Brands hit up TikTok as Instagram, Facebook lose their lustre
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce found expanding marketing was a top priority for members, striking a deal with the platform to educate owners how to do it.
- Patrick Durkin
June
Nine Entertainment to cut 200 jobs as Meta content deal ends
CEO Mike Sneesby made the announcement as Nine battles a weaker advertising market and a content deal with Meta, which runs Instagram and Facebook, ends.
- Max Mason
Are your socks showing your age?
Millennials are having to up their game in the sock war with Gen Z.
- Ashley Fetters Maloy and Samantha Chery
- Opinion
- Careers
There’s nothing funny about LinkedIn’s ‘weird’ makeover
If the professional social network is now a place for personal posts, why isn’t it funnier?
- Emma Jacobs
Calls to ban Facebook and Instagram in Australia
The heads of major media organisations say Meta’s refusal to renew about $70 million in commercial deals with news outlets will likely lead to job losses and newspaper closures.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- AFR Magazine
Instagram and TikTok are threatened, so fashion is switching channels
Snap, Pinterest and Substack are poised to pick up where other social media platforms once dominated.
- Lauren Sams
US surgeon-general urges tobacco-style warnings on social media
Vivek Murthy’s call to action comes as regulators and legislators increasingly scrutinise links between social media use and children’s mental health.
- Cristiano Lima-Strong and Aaron Gregg
Social media set to overtake TV as top source of news
The survey findings come as a Labor-led parliamentary committee demands tech firms and media companies face questions about the influence of such platforms.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
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
- Opinion
- AI
Why the growing ‘slop’ on your social feeds is dangerous
Like the other type of slop, AI-assisted search comes together quickly, but not necessarily in a way critical thinkers can stomach.
- Benjamin Hoffman
eSafety drops case against Musk’s X over bishop stabbing video
The online safety watchdog has abandoned its court case against X after suffering a legal setback.
- Tess Bennett
May
TikTok video about finance bros is a viral hit
A 19-second song poking fun at old stereotypes has become a viral hit.
- Crystal Tse
Why age restrictions on social media ‘won’t happen overnight’
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner says it is difficult to judge the correct age to ban kids from social media.
- Tess Bennett
What type As are doing when they want a real challenge
Running 42.2 kilometres continuously will always be impressive. But for a rising number of extreme exercisers, it is no more than a starting point.
- Euan Black
Why young women are falling out of love with dating apps
Gen Z is a priority for Tinder and Bumble but threats and unsolicited material from potential suitors often turn users off.
- Stephanie Stacey
- Opinion
- UK
The humble email sign-off is not what it used to be
It is not exactly clear when the sign-off turned into yet another tool in the arsenal of self-promotion deployed in so much of modern corporate life, but I do not see it fading any time soon.
- Pilita Clark
Elon Musk’s X accountable for hate speech posts in Australia: ruling
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has rejected the platform formerly called Twitter’s argument that it should not be held responsible for anti-Muslim posts here because it is US-based.
- Alex Mitchell
- Analysis
- Analysis
X ruling marks the spot for online police
Elon Musk has overreach by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to thank for an important victory in the courts.
- Michael Pelly
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Meme stock stupidity is back at the dumbest possible time
The $6 billion jump in the value of crappy US retailer GameStop is a sign of pure speculative excess.
- James Thomson