Leanne Veronica
@leanneveronica.bsky.social
* Public Policy
* Internet, Telco & Security Regulation
* #auslaw
Opinions my own
Pinned
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My article on the social media minimum age obligation for the Alternative Law Journal is now online:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
(and open access)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
(and open access)
The dissenting report from the Labor Senators notes they do not agree with the committee report recommendation 1.
"Labor Senators do not believe it is suitable to further delay the implementation
of the SMMA obligation."
"Labor Senators do not believe it is suitable to further delay the implementation
of the SMMA obligation."
A parliamentary inquiry considering the teen social media ban has recommended delaying its implementation, among other recommendations
November 26, 2025 at 9:04 AM
The dissenting report from the Labor Senators notes they do not agree with the committee report recommendation 1.
"Labor Senators do not believe it is suitable to further delay the implementation
of the SMMA obligation."
"Labor Senators do not believe it is suitable to further delay the implementation
of the SMMA obligation."
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Musk has been instrumentalising Twitter/X to feed reactionary politics and its concomitant disinformation networks for the past two years. Staying there gives tacit consent to that destructive project. And yet so many institutions, politicians, broadcasters & companies remain there, morally inert.
February 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Musk has been instrumentalising Twitter/X to feed reactionary politics and its concomitant disinformation networks for the past two years. Staying there gives tacit consent to that destructive project. And yet so many institutions, politicians, broadcasters & companies remain there, morally inert.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
NEW PODCAST: “The 9pm All-Electric Douchebag with Peter Anderson” @zerogeewhiz.bsky.social (55m56s) the9pmedict.com/edict/00256/
Look for “The 9pm Edict” in your podcast app.
You can probably guess who the douchebag is. Hint: It’s not Peter.
Look for “The 9pm Edict” in your podcast app.
You can probably guess who the douchebag is. Hint: It’s not Peter.
November 25, 2025 at 8:13 AM
NEW PODCAST: “The 9pm All-Electric Douchebag with Peter Anderson” @zerogeewhiz.bsky.social (55m56s) the9pmedict.com/edict/00256/
Look for “The 9pm Edict” in your podcast app.
You can probably guess who the douchebag is. Hint: It’s not Peter.
Look for “The 9pm Edict” in your podcast app.
You can probably guess who the douchebag is. Hint: It’s not Peter.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
i often joke to my students that they should just tattoo themselves with article 19 of the international covenant on civil and political rights, since the freedom of expression is the cornerstone of so much of our work (& of democracy).
well they went ahead and did it! 💯😆
well they went ahead and did it! 💯😆
November 26, 2025 at 1:23 AM
i often joke to my students that they should just tattoo themselves with article 19 of the international covenant on civil and political rights, since the freedom of expression is the cornerstone of so much of our work (& of democracy).
well they went ahead and did it! 💯😆
well they went ahead and did it! 💯😆
A useful overview by Professor Sarah Joseph (from November last year) on how the social media minimum age obligation might violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution:
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 AM
A useful overview by Professor Sarah Joseph (from November last year) on how the social media minimum age obligation might violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution:
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
+ earlier this year information released to @libertyvictoria.bsky.social's Rights Advocacy Project under FOI revealed that in the two years to Jan 2023, just 1% of searches conducted in designated areas by police resulted in an item or substance being found:
Stop and Search — Rights Advocacy Project
www.rightsadvocacyproject.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
+ earlier this year information released to @libertyvictoria.bsky.social's Rights Advocacy Project under FOI revealed that in the two years to Jan 2023, just 1% of searches conducted in designated areas by police resulted in an item or substance being found:
And just yesterday data was published that revealed the rate of searches and use of force against Aboriginal people is "getting worse, not getting better" ...
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
And just yesterday data was published that revealed the rate of searches and use of force against Aboriginal people is "getting worse, not getting better" ...
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
"Connect IRL Grants" - NSW
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
Connect IRL Grants
Connect IRL Grants provides funding for eligible non-for-profits to support young people, through offline connection, mentoring, safe spaces, and prosocial activities. Eligible organisations can apply...
www.nsw.gov.au
November 24, 2025 at 10:40 PM
"Connect IRL Grants" - NSW
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
"Connect IRL Grants" - NSW
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
Connect IRL Grants
Connect IRL Grants provides funding for eligible non-for-profits to support young people, through offline connection, mentoring, safe spaces, and prosocial activities. Eligible organisations can apply...
www.nsw.gov.au
November 24, 2025 at 10:40 PM
"Connect IRL Grants" - NSW
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
The NSW Govt has announced a new $2M grants program aimed at supporting young people to have more opportunities to connect offline & access mentoring opportunities:
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
SLV is a beautiful, useful and very busy research space, and I use it regularly. I hope that they rethink these cuts & recognise that the library is so much more than a tourist destination.
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Proposed cuts at State Library of Victoria go against its mission – and will hurt the disadvantaged
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 AM
SLV is a beautiful, useful and very busy research space, and I use it regularly. I hope that they rethink these cuts & recognise that the library is so much more than a tourist destination.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
This is the funniest piece imaginable in the dull world of the otherwise sickly sycophantic tech review.
For real. Read it, even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about printers.
For real. Read it, even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about printers.
November 23, 2025 at 1:59 AM
This is the funniest piece imaginable in the dull world of the otherwise sickly sycophantic tech review.
For real. Read it, even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about printers.
For real. Read it, even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about printers.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Wind so strong it blew Darwin into Sydney.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Wind so strong it blew Darwin into Sydney.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
"Since the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, Australia isn’t in the business of being bold. It does business as usual. Boldness, after all, attracts attention. Boldness is risky and doesn’t carry the same return on investment as gas or coal."
Me Australia's failed COP31 bid.
Me Australia's failed COP31 bid.
reneweconomy.com.au
November 22, 2025 at 1:28 AM
"Since the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, Australia isn’t in the business of being bold. It does business as usual. Boldness, after all, attracts attention. Boldness is risky and doesn’t carry the same return on investment as gas or coal."
Me Australia's failed COP31 bid.
Me Australia's failed COP31 bid.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
If you don't trust Google then you probably shouldn't use Gmail, but the claim it's training AI on your emails and attachments has *no real source that i have been able to find whatsoever*
And they said on the record that it doesn't matter whether you have the smart settings on or not, they don't.
And they said on the record that it doesn't matter whether you have the smart settings on or not, they don't.
November 22, 2025 at 4:06 AM
If you don't trust Google then you probably shouldn't use Gmail, but the claim it's training AI on your emails and attachments has *no real source that i have been able to find whatsoever*
And they said on the record that it doesn't matter whether you have the smart settings on or not, they don't.
And they said on the record that it doesn't matter whether you have the smart settings on or not, they don't.
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Very happy about this. We will also bridge the world of open technology research with the tooling and standards our communities have created to make data and research reproducible and knowledge accessible. #openscience #dataquality
✨Today, we are announcing the launch of the Open Technology Research Network (OTRN), developed in partnership with @opensource.org and @openforumeurope.org.
Find out more about what we will be doing in 2026: blog.okfn.org/2025/11/20/o...
Find out more about what we will be doing in 2026: blog.okfn.org/2025/11/20/o...
November 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Very happy about this. We will also bridge the world of open technology research with the tooling and standards our communities have created to make data and research reproducible and knowledge accessible. #openscience #dataquality
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Now that's a line-up!
Excited to host a timely debate:
‘From Regulation to Resilience: Role of Digital Laws in Defending Democracy & Security’
Speakers:
@meredithmeredith.bsky.social
@johnnyryan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
@mollymckew.bsky.social
Stay tuned! #Regulation4Resilience
defenddemocracy.eu/events/4-dec...
‘From Regulation to Resilience: Role of Digital Laws in Defending Democracy & Security’
Speakers:
@meredithmeredith.bsky.social
@johnnyryan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
@mollymckew.bsky.social
Stay tuned! #Regulation4Resilience
defenddemocracy.eu/events/4-dec...
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Now that's a line-up!
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
My favourite is that an Irish vet is the subject of both a hit song by Britney Spears and another one by Kylie Minogue
www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/ve...
www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/ve...
Both Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” Are, Randomly, Likely Written About the Same Veterinarian with His Own Reality Show
Yeah, let us explain.
www.marieclaire.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 AM
My favourite is that an Irish vet is the subject of both a hit song by Britney Spears and another one by Kylie Minogue
www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/ve...
www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/ve...
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
The letter writers are being convinced by LLMs that they have made monumental discoveries that they don't remotely begin to understand, not even to the point of being able to explain for themselves what they think they have found.
November 21, 2025 at 4:51 AM
The letter writers are being convinced by LLMs that they have made monumental discoveries that they don't remotely begin to understand, not even to the point of being able to explain for themselves what they think they have found.
"Australians need to watch who is prepared to platform the influencers deploying such extremist, supremacist rhetoric."
Here's @lucyham.bsky.social. 'Far-right watch: the neoliberal think tank director platforming ethnonationalists'
Far-right watch: the neoliberal think tank director platforming ethnonationalists - The Shot
Around the West, mainstream figures are normalising far-right actors and ideas. Some of them, for example the Australian judiciary, do...
theshot.net.au
November 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM
"Australians need to watch who is prepared to platform the influencers deploying such extremist, supremacist rhetoric."
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Gageler CJ describes #auslaw judges as "human filters" of AI generated legal argument, a description which could also be attached to legal (and other) academics: www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov... ping @drjoemcintyre.bsky.social
Judges have become ‘human filters’ as AI in Australian courts reaches ‘unsustainable phase’, chief justice says
Stephen Gageler warns the speed of AI’s development could be outstripping people’s ability to ‘comprehend its potential risks and rewards’
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Gageler CJ describes #auslaw judges as "human filters" of AI generated legal argument, a description which could also be attached to legal (and other) academics: www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov... ping @drjoemcintyre.bsky.social
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Nuclear waste reminds us that many new technologies simply never solve their safety issues
"New U.S. #nuclear boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: Radioactive waste.
95,000 metric tons spent nuclear fuel (with a minority from weapons programs) sits temporarily stockpiled in water-filled pools or dry casks at 79 sites in 39 states."
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/09/n...
95,000 metric tons spent nuclear fuel (with a minority from weapons programs) sits temporarily stockpiled in water-filled pools or dry casks at 79 sites in 39 states."
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/09/n...
New U.S. nuclear power boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: What to do with radioactive waste
As government and industry, from tech giants to utilities, commit to big nuclear power plants, there is still no clear solution for radioactive waste storage.
www.cnbc.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Nuclear waste reminds us that many new technologies simply never solve their safety issues
eSafety has assessed that Twitch falls within the definition of an age-restricted social media platform & must comply with the minimum age obligation.
Note: the obligation applies to any platform captured by the definition (not only those named by eSafety to provide certainty to public & industry)
Note: the obligation applies to any platform captured by the definition (not only those named by eSafety to provide certainty to public & industry)
November 21, 2025 at 12:28 AM
eSafety has assessed that Twitch falls within the definition of an age-restricted social media platform & must comply with the minimum age obligation.
Note: the obligation applies to any platform captured by the definition (not only those named by eSafety to provide certainty to public & industry)
Note: the obligation applies to any platform captured by the definition (not only those named by eSafety to provide certainty to public & industry)
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
The bigger change is presentation, historically, these emails were visually chaotic: sudden colour changes, ALL CAPS, screenshots pasted at random. Classic signs of disordered thinking. Now they’re neat, structured, and grammatically consistent. The delusion hasn't changed, but the formatting has.
November 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
Reposted by Leanne Veronica
Leaked docs indicate the European Commission will publish a plan tomorrow to gut the GDPR and amend the AI Act. This will hurt European competitiveness and further advantage US and Chinese tech firms that dominate Europe’s digital market by breaking our law.
November 18, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Leaked docs indicate the European Commission will publish a plan tomorrow to gut the GDPR and amend the AI Act. This will hurt European competitiveness and further advantage US and Chinese tech firms that dominate Europe’s digital market by breaking our law.