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This week we discuss how recent turbulence in geopolitics is translating into impacts on the digital environment. We explore how the Trump tariffs and general shift towards increased trade protectionism might impact a swathe of tech policy initiatives around the world. We also look at the increasingly cavalier attitudes to security, privacy, and risk management from the US Government, primarily th...

This week we discuss increased the scrutiny on how charities and not-for-profits manage the data they collect. Several breaches in recent years have led the Australian privacy regulator to issue specific guidance on privacy obligations to the NFP sector, particularly warning them against the practice of retaining donor data longer than necessary. We explore the challenges charities face in getting...

This week Jordan is joined by fellow Victorian elevenM-er and OVIC alumnus Piotr Debowski to explore some of the challenges, trends and quirks of privacy complaints in Victoria and to introduce a new, free, elevenM resource: The Victorian Privacy Case Notes Database. Piotr led the development of the database, which provides case notes and commentary on Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal a...

This week we explore the how the Australian privacy regulator is transforming itself in an attempt to have a stronger impact - in the face ongoing funding pressures and a reform agenda that hasn't quite met the expectations of privacy advocates. A year into the tenure of Carly Kind as Australian Privacy Commissioner, we are seeing a more public and vocal regulator, a series of targeted enforce...

This week we analyse what appears to be a global shift in sentiment away from AI safety. Our discussion is triggered by the AI Action Summit in Paris, where world leaders overtly sought to minimise focus on AI risks and regulation in favour of an acceleration agenda. Links: AI Action Summit (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_Action_Summit Report on AI Action Summit (Politico) https://www...

This week we dive into the hype and fear around DeepSeek, the Chinese AI start-up taking the tech world by storm. We break down the apparent concerns driving the collective freakout over the app, which include bans by various national governments. We also explore the broader takeaways for Australia's AI capability and ecosystem and the responsible AI movement.   Links: DeepSeek FAQ (Stratecher...

We're back in 2025. In this episode we break down Meta's decision to cease factchecking and permit dehumanising speech on its platforms. We explore the likely motivations and impacts of these changes, and the broader takeaways for Australia. Links: Article about Meta's factchecking changes (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-ends-third-party-fact-checking-program-adopts-x...

For our final episode of 2024, we take an optimistic look at the year that was (after a bit of a throat clearing on the things that bugged us), and what we're looking forward to in 2025. Our conversation covers developments in AI, privacy reform, social media and the growing digital rights community in Australia. We'll be taking a break over the summer holidays and will be back in late January. Li...

This week we discuss the Australian Government's plan to make 16 the minimum age to access social media. The plan has broad political support and resonates with many concerned parents, but there's more to it than meets the eye. We discuss the specifics of how the ban will be implemented (with key elements not yet solved and potentially problematic), and interrogate the underlying philosophical app...

Awareness is growing that the power of many AI tools derives from the fact that they are trained on our personal information. We discuss how regulators (like Australia's OAIC) are now stepping up their expectations that privacy obligations be adhered to by developers and deployers of AI. We also explore the case study of Australian start-up harrison.ai - whose AI tool was trained on hundreds of th...

This week on the podcast, our eyes are opened to a remarkable online advertising practice called "real-time bidding". RTB is where an auction involving the sensitive information of online users is initiated as they load up a web page, with advertisers bidding for the space on the page. Recent reports from Reset. Tech Australia and the Irish Council of Civil Liberties reveal the practice has led to...

This week on the podcast, we're looking at a promising development in helping Australian organisations manage AI risks. The Australian Government has released its Voluntary AI Safety Standard, as part of its safe and responsible AI agenda. The Standard features 10 guardrails as a practical blueprint for how Australian organisations can safely and responsibly use and innovate with AI. We provide ou...

This week on the podcast, we discuss how the conversation about AI risks seems to be shifting away from the catastrophic, existential, wiping-out-of-humanity type of scenarios. While the X-risk proponents are still out there, media coverage, regulators and the public at large seem to be homing in on more immediate and tangible AI concerns like discrimination, privacy violations, and misinformation...

After five years of consultation on privacy reforms, the Federal Government has finally introduced legislation into the parliament. Its been billed by the Attorney General as the "first tranche" and a "first step", with promises of more reforms to come. In this episode, we share our reaction to the bill and break down what's in and what's been left for a later day. We a...

This week Arj is joined by elevenM’s resident digital ID ‘aficionado’ Brett Watson to discuss all things digital identity. In Episode 85 Jordan and Brett unpacked what a digital ID is, what it can do, and the various services and components that make up a digital ID system. Since then, the Australian Government has passed enabling legislation for its digital identity system and is currently consul...

This week, Arj is joined by elevenM colleague Jonathan Gadir to explore how the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris might impact tech policy. Drawing on the candidate's statements and constituencies, and the existing commitments of their parties, we explore the potential implications of the November election result on AI, privacy, cyber and t...

This week we're in conversation with Adam Ford, who is Managing Director ANZ for the International Association of Privacy Professionals (full bio below). IAPP is the largest and most comprehensive privacy community around the globe. We have a wide-ranging conversation about the trends and emerging demands on the privacy profession, the role privacy practitioners are playing in AI governance ch...

This week, Arj is joined by elevenM colleague Jonathan Gadir to discuss the small business exemption to the Privacy Act. The exemption means that businesses with an annual turnover of $3 million or less are generally exempt from complying with the Act. We explore the pros and cons of the exemption, and whether the government is is likely to remove the exemption as part of current reforms to the Pr...

This week, Arj is joined by elevenM colleague Brett Watson to discuss regulators – who they are, what they do, and the influence they have on public policy. The conversation focuses on one regulator in particular – Australia’s privacy regulator, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. In a few recent public communications, most notably an opinion piece relating to TikTok’s informati...

This week we're in conversation with Chandni Gupta, Deputy CEO and Digital Policy Director of the Consumer Policy Research Centre (see below for her full bio). The CPRC is Australia’s only dedicated consumer policy think tank. Our conversation with Chandi explores how the concept of product safety applies to digital products, and the ways in which the constant push towards more frictionless on...

Is there anything about you on the internet you wish you could take down? This week Arj is joined by Jonathan Gadir to discuss the "right to be forgotten" or "right to erasure" - a provision in data protection regulations overseas that is being considered as part of the reforms to the Australian Privacy Act. Overseas, the right has enabled individuals to have newspaper articles...

Dr Katharine Kemp (bio below) is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney, and Deputy Director of the Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation. In this conversation, we explore how privacy and competition policy concerns are increasingly coming together, particularly in actions underway against tech giants like Meta and Apple. We also discuss Dr Kemp's recen...

This week, Jordan is joined by elevenM colleague Jonathan Gadir to break down the stoush between Elon Musk and Australia's eSafety Commissioner. In recent weeks, Musk and his platform X have resisted calls to globally remove content related to a stabbing event in Sydney in April. The standoff has opened up a conversation about the merits of regulating so-called harmful online content, and the...

In this special episode for Privacy Awareness Week, Jordan sits down with Australia’s Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind. It's a great chat, covering the Commissioner's first impressions of the role, her professional background and how it shapes her approach, her regulatory priorities and what she hopes to achieve as Privacy Commissioner, and of course the PAW theme - what it's all about...

It feels a little like déjà vu, but this week we discuss the US's newest, best candidate for a federal privacy law - the American Privacy Rights Act. With bipartisan and bicameral support for the draft law the mood is cautiously optimistic, though there's a very long way to go. We'll discuss what Australia can learn from the more novel elements of the proposed new law, and we'll ex...