Section
Policy
Canada lawful-access bill draws Apple and Google backlash
Apple and Google say Canada's Bill C-22 could widen police access to subscriber and service data, even as Ottawa says the measure stops short of mandating backdoors.
APRA warns banks on AI and cyber risks as tech use grows
APRA warned banks, insurers and super funds that AI and cyber risks are outpacing controls, lifting scrutiny across Australia's financial sector.
Google EU fine looms as Brussels targets search changes
Brussels is preparing a fresh fine against Google over search self-preferencing, adding pressure to the search page as AI answers reshape traffic and discovery.
UK-Australia AI security pact deepens model-safety ties
The UK-Australia AI security pact links the two countries' safety institutes to share frontier-model tests, cyber-risk findings and research.
LinkedIn apologises after routine posts wrongly flagged as intimate imagery
LinkedIn says it fixed an error that wrongly labelled ordinary posts as non-consensual intimate imagery, raising fresh questions about moderation accuracy on a workplace platform.
Apple App Store fraud: $US2.2bn blocked in 2025
Apple said it blocked $US2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent App Store transactions in 2025, highlighting fake accounts, scam payments and review manipulation.
Trump’s aborted AI order shows who writes the AI rules
Trump AI order politics now turn on who sets model-safety terms, with Australia likely to keep leaning on sectoral compliance.
Google’s search appeal puts Apple’s Safari deal back in play
Google search monopoly appeal puts Apple’s Safari default deal back in focus, reviving the fight over browser defaults, data access and platform power.
Apple, Google app store class actions delayed in Australia
An Australian court has delayed any bid to widen class actions against Apple and Google over app-store commissions while possible appeals in the Epic Games litigation are resolved.
App Store age ratings: Apple drops 15+ in Australia
App Store age ratings in Australia will change on 18 June as Apple removes the 15+ label and shifts some apps to 16+ under updated rules.
Spyware and coercive control: Australia's device-policy gap
Spyware and coercive control are colliding in Australia as eSafety research shows tech-facilitated abuse is common and ordinary apps can be weaponised.
Melbourne psychiatrist's AI note-taking rule sharpens healthcare consent questions
A Melbourne psychiatrist's consent policy shows how quickly AI scribes are entering Australian clinics, and how unsettled the rules remain on privacy, refusal and medical records.
Pope Leo creates Vatican AI commission as governance debate broadens
Pope Leo XIV has set up a Vatican AI commission, giving the Holy See a formal role in debates over ethics, human dignity and AI policy.
Snap, YouTube settle school social media suit before trial
Snap and YouTube have settled a Kentucky school district lawsuit over alleged student addiction harms, removing a June trial while the wider platform-liability fight continues.
US and China Will Begin AI Safety Talks, Bessent Says
The United States and China will begin formal discussions on artificial intelligence safety guardrails, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Anthropic says export controls will decide frontier AI lead by 2028
Anthropic says Washington's next two years on chips, cloud access and model distillation will shape whether democracies keep a frontier AI lead over China. For Australia, the debate runs through the US clouds and silicon stacks local enterprises already use.
OpenAI backs tougher Illinois AI bill after retreat on liability shield
OpenAI has stepped away from an Illinois bill that would have shielded AI developers from some catastrophic-harm lawsuits and is now backing a rival measure centred on audits and transparency.
Greens win Senate inquiry into AI data centre energy use
The Australian Senate has launched a six-month inquiry into the environmental and energy impacts of AI data centres as a $40 billion investment pipeline meets limited federal oversight.
Budget boosts AI, but cyber gaps remain, industry warns
The 2026-27 federal budget commits billions to AI and digital infrastructure, but cybersecurity spending tilts toward large institutions while SMEs remain exposed.
Budget locks in $654m for Digital ID, lifts tech spend to $2.4bn
The 2026-27 federal budget allocates $654.3 million over four years to sustain Australia's Digital ID system, part of a $2.4 billion technology spending package that also shores up My Health Record.
Chalmers lifts R&D cap to $300m but startups face 47pc CGT rate
The 2026 federal budget raises the R&D tax incentive ceiling but proposed capital gains tax changes could more than double the effective rate on startup share sales, threatening the equity-as-incentive model that underpins the Australian tech ecosystem.
Broome students flag 'alt' accounts routing teens past Australia's under-16 ban
Students at Broome Senior High School say teenagers are still on social media via anonymous 'alt' accounts six months after Australia's under-16 ban took effect. eSafety says formal investigations into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube continue.
ShinyHunters claim 275 million Canvas LMS records, set 12 May leak deadline
The hacking collective ShinyHunters says it has stolen 275 million records from Instructure's Canvas learning platform, naming Australia among affected regions. The vendor has confirmed an intrusion of its Salesforce environment, the second by the same actor in eight months, with a 12 May leak deadline.
IREN signs $US3.4b Nvidia AI cloud contract, founder slams Australian regulation
Sydney-founded IREN has signed a five-year, $US3.4 billion managed cloud deal with Nvidia, and used the announcement to renew its founder's public criticism of Australian listing rules, planning timelines and grid connections.
Australia drafts 2.25 per cent news levy for Meta, Google, TikTok
Canberra's draft bill taxes Big Tech 2.25 per cent of Australian revenue unless Meta, Google and TikTok strike deals with publishers. The structure removes the deplatform-the-news escape route Meta used in 2024 and lands as Trump weighs trade retaliation.
