Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 23h

The purpose of a system is what it does.

Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 2d

6News's @leopuglisi6.bsky.social says 6News would not exist if the social media ban was effect when he started it at age 11 in year 6 in 2019.

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Reposted by JP

Senator David Shoebridge @davidshoebridge.bsky.social · 2d

The social media age ban may actually mean more people have more data collected about them - it means the risk from hacks and leaks may increase and goes against 'data minimisation' principles according to @drwaus.bsky.social

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Tom Sulston @tom.sulston.net · 2d

It's galling to see the Albo government paint the U16 social media ban as a great success when there are expert organisations working with vulnerable children queuing up to demonstrate how it will make young people less safe online.

Children will suffer as a result of the social media ban.

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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 2d

Senators and even eSafety seem to be unaware you can already use TikTok logged out. 🫠https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/22/under-16s-may-still-see-gambling-violent-far-right-content-under-australia-social-media-ban-simply-by-not-logging-in-zero-neo-nazis

From zero to neo-Nazis: what under-16s may see under Australia’s social media ban, simply by not logging in

Guardian Australia test finds scrolling shortform videos while logged out of YouTube and TikTok quickly leads to gambling, violent and far-right content

www.theguardian.com

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samantha floreani @floreani.bsky.social · 1d

lmao after watching successive governments do absolutely nothing meaningful about the data broker industry nor targeted marketing, I’m not above laughing at them for this

Anthony Albanese, Sussan Ley and Scott Morrison’s private phone numbers exposed on US marketing databases

Richard Marles says investigation under way into how the prime minister and other senior government staff’s phone numbers appeared in the databases

www.theguardian.com

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Justin Warren @jpwarren.pivotnine.com · 23h

I will be at the amusingly named CyberCon in Melbourne for the next few days. If you see me around the venue, do say hello.

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 23h

My "actually doing my job" t-shirt is prompting questions already answered by my shirt.

Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 1d

Funny seeing this in a document released under FOI.

It is very likely that eSafety's internal assessment and related correspondence will be
subject to FOI requests. We have sought to provide considered and consistent assessment
capable of withstanding public scrutiny.

Reposted by JP

Jeremy Poxon @jeremypoxon.bsky.social · 6d

For the first time, the Deloitte report also publicly maps out the business rules of the jobseeker punishment system

Here's the tech the government inflicts on poor ppl every day - everyone is subject to it: single mums, ppl with disabilities, homeless ppl

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Jeremy Poxon @jeremypoxon.bsky.social · 6d

What certainly isn't AI is the interviews Deloitte conducted with guilty bureaucrats and executives inside the Department. Here is one of them saying their system disproportionately-incorrectly punishes First Nations people

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Jeremy Poxon @jeremypoxon.bsky.social · 6d

Here is a current DIRECTOR within the Department effectively blowing the whistle to Deloitte that the system doesn't demonstrate "natural justice"

The Robodebt vibes here are off the charts and I'm begging media to cover this

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Jeremy Poxon @jeremypoxon.bsky.social · 6d

Imagine receiving this advice from your independent assurance review, and still operating the system in question as is. That's what the Federal government is doing, currently -- at the expense of hundreds of thousands of participants

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Jeremy Poxon @jeremypoxon.bsky.social · 6d

An FOI I put in at the start of the year found that senior officials at the Department of Employment were aware of these significant issues in 2020, but refused to act

It took until DECEMBER 2024 to get Deloitte to review the system & report back

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 6d

Seems like many are only now becoming aware that the law only requires platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having an *account*:

> if a site does not have accounts, then no action (under this law) is required

> under 16s can still view content accessible without an account

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 6d

4chan unlikely to be included in Australia’s under-16s social media ban, eSafety commissioner says

Julie Inman Grant says message board will need to comply with other codes which will also include age assurance for sites hosting violent and adult content * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The eSafety commissioner is not expected to block children from accessing 4chan as part of the under-16s social media ban, despite it being labelled one of the “darker” places on the internet. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, was asked by independent senator Fatima Payman in Senate estimates on Wednesday night whether 4chan, the message board often referred to as the engine room of the internet, would be considered one of the sites required to prevent under-16s when the social media ban comes into effect from 10 December. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 6d

Can I offer Discord a nice sticker at this trying time?

A sticking plaster/Band-Aid™ labelled "We take privacy seriously."

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 6d

Given it's cybersecurity awareness season, why not get cybercrafty with this handy DIY CyberSecure™ rating label? Fill in your own rating with a marker and colour in the stars with your favourite crayon! The auditors won't notice a thing! www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1748...

DIY Cyber Rating by eigenmagic | Redbubble

Enjoy maximum cyber flexibility with this DIY label. Write in your desired CyberSecure level and colour in the top section with your favourite marker or crayon. The auditors probably won't notice the ...

www.redbubble.com

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 7d

I use the term 'journalist' loosely.

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 7d

Proudly blabbing to a journalist, on the record, that your big retailer employer is definitely going to do some crimes is… well it's one of the available choices. www.channelnews.com.au/exclusive-ma...

channelnews : EXCLUSIVE Major Retailer Defies Privacy Ruling, Reinstates Facial Recognition in Select Victorian Stores

A major Australian retailer is defying rulings by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and is once again using facial recognition and covert surveillance cameras to identify th...

www.channelnews.com.au

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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 12d

lol the AG Dept was getting so many FOI requests about the FOI bill that they tried to get a blanket extension of time on those requests, info commissioner said no, the law doesn't work like that. www.righttoknow.org.au/request/i_am...

7. On the information before the OAIC, I am not satisfied that the application to extend
the processing period is justified, for the following reasons:
 The reasons provided by the Agency do not address the complexity or volume
involved in processing the applicant’s particular FOI request, including the
number of documents captured, or the specific challenges that may be involved
in processing this specific FOI request.
 While the Agency submits that a cohort of FOI requests it has received relating to
the proposed FOI reforms, are- in their totality- complex and voluminous to deal
with, an extension under s 15AB cannot be exercised to provide a ‘blanket’
extension to a cohort of cases. As outlined above, each request needs to be
considered on its individual merits.

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JP @daedalus.eigenmagic.com · 13d

"Every age assurance vendor that we tested had one bypass that was easily accomplished with things that you could buy at your local $2 shop," said Professor Shaanan Cohney from the University of Melbourne. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...