- Tech giant Meta will pay Australians $50 million for enabling the Cambridge Analytica scandalby Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law & Tech Initiative, UNSW Sydney on December 17, 2024 at 5:40 am
The information commissioner has called the settlement ‘groundbreaking’. But it represents roughly 0.02% of Meta’s annual revenue in 2023.
- ‘Anonymous’ voting software used by some of Australia’s biggest companies is flawed, new investigation revealsby Priya Dev, Lecturer, Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies & Statistics, Australian National University on December 3, 2024 at 7:11 pm
An investigation reveals e-voting software used by numerous large-scale organisations isn’t as anonymous or secure as claimed.
- How can Australia actually keep young people off social media and porn sites? A new trial will test 3 optionsby Toby Murray, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne on December 2, 2024 at 2:52 am
The trial is testing age verification, age estimation and age inference. All three options come with problems.
- Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 just became law. How it will work remains a mysteryby Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University on November 28, 2024 at 12:17 pm
The ban won’t take effect for at least 12 months. But key details about it are still missing – including how social media platforms will actually verify users’ age.
- The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missingby Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology on November 21, 2024 at 3:18 am
The ban will affect platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. But the bill is vague about how exactly these platforms must comply.
- Australia’s new digital ID scheme falls short of global privacy standards. Here’s how it can be fixedby Ashish Nanda, Research Fellow, Deakin Cyber Research and Innovation Centre, Deakin University on October 29, 2024 at 7:13 pm
Australia’s Trust Exchange system offers greater convenience and security for everyday transactions. But the government must make sure it protects Australians’ privacy.
- Long-overdue Australian privacy law reform is here – and it’s still not fit for the digital eraby Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law & Tech Initiative, UNSW Sydney on September 12, 2024 at 3:43 am
The new privacy act reform bill has some welcome amendments, but it doesn’t touch most of the substantive principles that were passed in 1988.
- Photos of Australian kids have been found in a massive AI training data set. What can we do?by Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney on July 3, 2024 at 5:17 am
Human Rights Watch has sounded the alarm over Australian children’s images found in a huge data set used to train AI models. It could be a breach of our privacy law.
- Online child safety laws could help or hurt – 2 pediatricians explain what’s likely to work and what isn’tby Megan Moreno, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison on April 4, 2024 at 12:44 pm
Congress is considering bills to protect kids online. Some of what’s in those bills could help, but some elements could be harmful.
- Canada should not fall behind on implementing safety measures for children onlineby Azfar Adib, Public Scholar & PhD Candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University on January 14, 2024 at 12:58 pm
Canada needs to take action immediately to protect children online from exposure to age-inappropriate material. More stringent age verification measures need to be in place.
- Family vlogs can entertain, empower and exploitby Rebecca Hall, Assistant Professor, Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario on September 26, 2023 at 10:51 pm
Vlogging has emerged as a new source of intimate entertainment, and for creators, potential income. However, they also raise serious questions about exploitation and the privacy rights of children.
- The UK just passed an online safety law that could make people less safeby Benjamin Dowling, Lecturer of Cybersecurity, University of Sheffield on September 25, 2023 at 2:05 pm
The online safety bill contains measures that appear to compel messaging services to break encryption.
- Fear trumps anger when it comes to data breaches – angry customers vent, but fearful customers don’t come backby Rajendran Murthy, Professor of Marketing, Rochester Institute of Technology on June 22, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Companies tend to focus on appeasing angry customers after a data breach. New research shows they may want to pay more attention to customers who are afraid to return to their site.
- A TikTok ban isn’t a data security solution. It will be difficult to enforce – and could end up hurting usersby Milovan Savic, Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, Swinburne University of Technology on May 22, 2023 at 5:01 am
Montana has announced plans to ban the app from January 2024, making it a potential testing ground for a ‘TikTok-free’ America.
- Consumer Privacy Protection Act could lead to fines for deceptive designs in apps and websitesby Jonathan Obar, Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Media Studies, York University, Canada on March 14, 2023 at 8:43 pm
Whether or not Bill C-27 moves companies away from deceptive design in apps and websites depends on how, and if, the Canadian government holds companies accountable for their actions.
- Should you pay for Meta’s and Twitter’s verified identity subscriptions? A social media researcher explains how the choice you face affects everyone elseby Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University on March 8, 2023 at 1:40 pm
Twitter and Meta are looking to make money from protecting users’ identities. This raises questions about collective security, people understanding what they’re paying for and who remains vulnerable.
- Protecting privacy online begins with tackling ‘digital resignation’by Meiling Fong, PhD Student, Individualized Program, Concordia University on March 2, 2023 at 7:38 pm
Many people have become resigned to the fact that tech companies collect our private data. But policymakers must do more to limit the amount of personal information corporations can collect.
- Dozens of US schools, universities move to ban TikTokby Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro on January 18, 2023 at 1:38 pm
School officials are becoming increasingly wary of TikTok amid concerns that the app poses a risk to student safety and privacy and makes the nation vulnerable to spies.
- Even if TikTok and other apps are collecting your data, what are the actual consequences?by Ausma Bernot, PhD Candidate, Griffith University on July 20, 2022 at 8:08 pm
It’s pretty common to find people who are apathetic about their data being harvested and funnelled into unknown corners. But that’s usually because they don’t know what’s at stake.
- Browser cookies make people more cautious online, study findsby Elizabeth Stoycheff, Associate Professor of Communication, Wayne State University on July 5, 2022 at 12:14 pm
Cookie notifications remind people that they are being tracked, which affects how people behave online.
- Insurance firms can skim your online data to price your insurance — and there’s little in the law to stop thisby Zofia Bednarz, Lecturer in Commercial Law, University of Sydney on June 19, 2022 at 7:53 pm
There’s little transparency surrounding how insurance firms collect, analyse and use our personal data when they establish insurance costs.
- ACCC says consumers need more choices about what online marketplaces are doing with their databy Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW, UNSW Sydney on May 2, 2022 at 3:40 am
Consumers should have more control over how online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon collect and use their data, according to a new ACCC report.
- Mandatory logins for ABC iview could open an intimate window onto your lifeby Michael Cowling, Associate Professor – Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity Australia on February 21, 2022 at 7:07 pm
The ABC’s decision to force viewers to create accounts to watch shows online raises concerns over privacy.
- A new proposed privacy code promises tough rules and $10 million penalties for tech giantsby Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW, UNSW Sydney on October 27, 2021 at 4:22 am
A proposed online privacy code would give consumers more control over how tech companies collect and use their data
- How one simple rule change could curb online retailers’ snooping on youby Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW, UNSW Sydney on August 16, 2021 at 7:53 pm
There is no major online marketplace operating in Australia that sets a commendable standard for respecting consumers’ data privacy. Letting customers opt out of data tracking would be a good start.
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