This Month
Sign of things to come: Meta, Google’s ‘Big Tobacco’ moment
The $8.6 million in damages awarded to a young plaintiff will barely register on the companies’ balance sheets, but the fallout could be more damaging.
Fines loom for social media giants as kids give ban 100-day fail mark
A hundred days into the under-16 social media ban, the government is keeping quiet on numbers that would reveal how many children have carried on as normal.
R18+ video games still accessible to children despite age check rules
Distributors helped draft the rules but have so far not implemented age assurance for 18+ material.
Aussies turn to VPNs as Pornhub cuts nudity to protest new laws
Australians remain locked out of the world’s most popular pornographic website, but plenty of adult platforms are flouting new age verification laws.
February
G8 Education slumps to big loss as abuse scandal hits sign-ups
The childcare operator made a net loss of $303 million due to falling enrolments and increased pressure following child abuse revelations
Zuckerberg overruled 18 experts warning about Instagram
The Meta chief executive has taken the stand in a Los Angles court as the US technology giant fights a claim that its software is addictive for children.
Australia doubles down as Snapchat boss says ban is backfiring
Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, which owns social media platform Snapchat, said Australia’s block on under-16s using social media was “a massive experiment”.
November 2025
Social media giants refuse to sign pledge for under-16s ban
The eSafety Commissioner sent tech platforms a voluntary template committing to follow the law. None of the major platforms have affirmed it.
Australia’s social media age laws are imminent: what you need to know
Teenagers will soon be subject to new laws to get them off social media, but what is blocked, why are some sites excluded and will the laws work?
October 2025
Freeze accounts, dob in under 16s: Big tech plans for social media ban
Platforms prepare to enforce Australia’s world-first child prohibition law by deactivating profiles and searching for signs users have lied about their age.
September 2025
Why Australia decided to move first – and fast – on social media ban
Anthony Albanese was initially reluctant to ban social media for under-16s. It might become his legacy.
Age assurance technology needed to protect teens from AI chatbots
Tech companies will have until March 2026 to comply with new eSafety codes, which are designed to stop children accessing harmful or inappropriate material.
Deepfake and nudification apps to be ‘stopped at the source’
Tech companies would be responsible for access to software that produces illegal imagery under an Albanese government policy proposal.
August 2025
Is this ASX tech darling running ‘too hot’?
Life360 has been named the standout of the August earning season, but some fund managers and analysts are warning its blistering rally may run out of puff.
Clare seals $189m deal to curtail ‘awful truth’ in childcare centres
The nation’s education ministers have agreed to a package to keep kids safer in early childhood facilities, including a ban on the use of mobile phones.
July 2025
CCTV in centres will be part of snap review of Vic childcare system
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has appointed a former SA premier and a senior public servant to review the system in the wake of shocking child abuse allegations.
Carer charged with child abuse worked at private equity-owned centres
The parents of more than 1000 children were urged to send them for infectious disease testing after a worker was charged with dozens of offences.
May 2025
How YouTube justifies its carve-out from social media ban
Emails obtained under freedom of information laws reveal how Google argued the video service was so different from TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
January 2025
Should you track your kids through their phones?
The combination of new technology and the age-old devotion to keep your children safe is taking “helicopter parenting” to a whole new level.
Federal election warning after Meta scraps fact-checking
The Facebook and Instagram change will begin in the US but is expected to go global – including in Australia, where Labor is cracking down on online safety.
