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This week, Arj and Jordan dive into the vexed question of whether companies should pay ransoms to cybercriminals. The government's position is clear: do not pay. The reality on the ground for most companies is much more complex. Arj and Jordan step through these complexities and the competing imperatives organisations face when confronted with this difficult decision. Important note : This is a co...

This week, Arj and Jordan dive into the issue of privacy and security of data in the rental market.  After a spate of data breaches affecting Australian businesses, commentators had been warning of the disaster-in-waiting in the real estate sector. And sure enough we got one. Arj and Jordan explore the underlying factors involved, including practices and attitudes at individual real estate ag...

We're back after a break. This week, Arj is joined by elevenM privacy practice lead Melanie Marks to discuss the Australian Government's move to significantly lift penalties on businesses that violate privacy, as the nation experiences a spate of serious data breaches. They discuss the likely impact and effectiveness of the fines, clear up some misconceptions about what the fines are actually for,...

This week, Arj and Jordan get wonky, exploring why public policy approaches to scaling back market power are increasingly dovetailing with reforms to better safeguard individual privacy. The conversation takes them to unexpected places, covering two new momentous EU regulations, Amazon's acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot, and the so-called "hipster antitrust" movement. Links: Article about Digita...

This week, Arj and Jordan give their views on the strategic and policy takeaways from the now infamous Optus breach. They explore a philosophical shift in business attitudes to data, proposed legislative reforms, and the broader cultural shift needed in how we collectively approach the building of technology. Links: Jeremy Kirk reporting https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/optus-under-1-million-extor...

In this special episode of This Week in Digital Trust we feature an interview by our friend Jonathan Gadir with Chris Dolman, executive manager for Data and Algorithmic Ethics at IAG. Jonathan and Chris discuss the place of data ethics within organisations, how to break down the AI and data ethics risks, and how to think about the governance of these risks. They also use real-world example to illu...

This week, Arj and Jordan explore why privacy and data protection laws sometimes fall short of delivering the outcomes we need and desire - especially those crafted using a principle-based approach. The discussion follows another insightful paper by UNSW law academic Katherine Kemp on the continued practice of ‘data enrichment’, which Prof. Kemp argues is illegal. They also discuss the failed comp...

It's been labelled “the most important election you’ve never heard of”.  This week, Arj and Jordan dive into an upcoming debate over the election of the next secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, a 150-year-old body that has been pivotal in the setting of internet standards and policy. The backdrop is a fascinating discussion about whether the long-held Western visio...

Should companies be forced to host all data about Australian citizens onshore? With debates about data localisation kicking off all over the globe, Arj and Jordan this week unpack the issues surrounding this policy. They also discuss the normalising of surveillance technologies among young people, after a Sydney school introduced fingerprint scanners for access to bathrooms. Links: Home Affairs di...

What actually *is* AI? Is the term meaningful? Is it always the best answer? This week, Arj and Jordan explore how technologies like AI and machine learning are being approached, and the growing tendency towards "AI solutionism". They also discuss a couple of provocative proposals to entirely abandon the use of the term "AI", and how this might aid our approach to problem solving and policymaking....

This week, Arj and Jordan discuss the merits of the Albanese Government's decision to overhaul the previous government's national cyber security strategy, which included the eye-catching $10 billion funding allocation for Project REDSPICE. They also discuss why organisations continue to consider facial recognition, in spite of the intense uproar over its use in recent weeks and months. This comes...

This week, Arj and Jordan discuss what it means to be identified online. Does a company "know" you if they can't link the data they hold about you to your real world identity, but can still tell that you're the same person moving from one online service to another? What does our concept of what it means to be identified mean for how privacy is regulated and enforced?  Links: Katherine Kemp pa...

In this special episode of This Week in Digital Trust we feature an interview by our friend Jonathan Gadir with Avishai Ostrin, a director with Israeli privacy consulting firm PrivacyTeam. Jonathan and Avishai explore the differing attitudes and approaches to privacy in Israel, many of which stem from underlying cultural attitudes. They also discuss what it's like to be a privacy advocate in a ver...

This week, Arj and Jordan discuss the merits of the proposed new federal privacy law in the US. Also this week - a new once-in-a-decade report from CSIRO also lays out seven megatrends to shape our future, three of which fall squarely into the realm of technology, digital policy and other favourite topics of the podcast. Links: IAPP coverage of American Data Privacy and Protection Act https://iapp...

This week, Arj and Jordan look how China is using various levers to pressure Big Tech into compliance with national goals. They also look at how Meta platforms such as facebook have an impact on a range of human rights, after the US giant published a self-assessment. Links: Meta’s First Annual Human Rights Report https://about.fb.com/news/2022/07/first-annual-human-rights-report/ Platformer analys...

The pod is back after being struck down by illness. With their return, Arj and Jordan take on virality of a different kind: videos showing "random acts of kindness" on social media platform TikTok. They dive into why the videos are problematic from a privacy perspective. While on TikTok, they also explore growing concern about the privacy protections surrounding TikTok user data, and what access t...

This week, Arj and Jordan dive into the growing challenge faced by social media platforms in India, as the Modi government institutes more aggressive approaches to content removal. Also this week is a look at how scams are being carried out, as new data reveals Australians lost $2 billion to scams in 2021. Links: Reuters article about Twitter legal challenge against Indian govenrment https://www.r...

This week, Arj and Jordan get excited about Attorney General Mark Dreyfus' commitment to act on privacy reform within the first term of the recently elected Labor Government, but are given pause by his framing of the issues in terms of individual control and choice. They also re-cap the key reforms being contemplated. Also up for discussion this week is an assessment of how well placed the Home Af...

*** An apology ***   We had some serious audio issues with this episode, due to Arj being in a different environment than usual for the recording of this episode. We've tried to fix it as best we can in editing, but there will be some parts that are hard to hear. Sorry! On this week's show, Arj and Jordan have something of a debate over whether the uproar over facial recognition is really jus...

This week, Arj and Jordan dive deep into facial recognition and how we should regulate it, after a week of strong community reaction against revelations about the use of the tech by Aussie retailers. Arj and Jordan also give their take on the other burning question of the last week - "is AI sentient?" Links: CHOICE report https://www.choice.com.au/consumers-and-data/data-collection-and-use/how-you...

What's an archivist do and how do we think about their role in the context of digitisation and other technology trends? This week Arj and Jordan are joined by archivist and fellow elevenM-er Cassie Findlay to discuss these questions, as the national broadcaster announces a major cut in archivists jobs. They also look at the implications for online anonymity after a Federal court ruling requiring T...

This week, Arj and Jordan take a look at many influences on privacy laws (some more hidden than others) just as the US introduces a draft federal privacy bill. They also discuss a compelling report laying out a vision for how the tech ecosystem should be regulated.  The show kicks off with a quick run through of ministerial appointments and announcements by the new Labor government in Austral...

This week, Arj and Jordan discuss the implications for tech, privacy and cyber policy resulting from the election of a Labor Government (and a large crossbench of Greens and independents) in Australia. They also explore why children's privacy deserves greater focus from privacy regulators, as a new report shines a light on the privacy harms of EdTech. Links: Australian Federal Election 2022 Live R...

In this special episode of This Week in Digital Trust we feature an interview by our friend Jonathan Gadir with Ari Ezra Waldman, a professor of law and computer science and widely published author of "Industry Unbound: The Inside Story of Privacy, Data, and Corporate Power". Jonathan and Professor Waldman discuss the book and a range of related topics including why privacy matters, the limitation...

This week, Arj and Jordan discuss how effective Australia's News Media Bargaining Code has been in addressing power imbalances between publishers and tech platforms. They revisit a favourite topic - the indiscretions of Clearview AI - after yet another ruling against the facial recognition startup. Links: Reset Australia report into News Media Bargaining Code WSJ article about Facebook blocking ne...