Tech Check Digest - October 14, 2021

On this Tech Check we see how technology regulation and governance plays out differently depending on where you sit, as we collectively grapple with our technology-mediated world:

READ

New resources to combat disinformation through tech lobby group slammed as woefully inadequate (via Innovation Aus). Australia's local technology lobby group DIGI announced new measures to "bolster" its weak Disinformation Code, including an oversight board made up of only three members who will meet twice a year. Both Centre for Responsible Technology and Reset Australia criticised their efforts.

Home quarantine apps spark privacy fears (via Guardian Australia). Human rights groups worry that data collected through home quarantine apps could be kept for longer than necessary and used for secondary purposes. The Centre for Responsible Technology advocate for strict limits and protections in the use of facial recognition technology for home quarantine in our related report.

Twitter releases regulatory principles for policy makers (via Twitter). As regulatory efforts continue to build globally, Twitter released a report containing principles for policy makers. It includes recommendations around algorithmic management and privacy principles but also uses the myth of the "Open Internet" in its defence against regulatory intervention.

LISTEN

Facebook's week from hell (via the Briefing podcast). Technology journalist David Swan recounts Facebook's recent troubles, including the high profile whistleblower Francis Haugen and their outage problems.

EVENTS

ACCC Chair Rod Sims launches new issue of UNSW law journal on the theme of 'Big Tech and the Law' (via UNSW). The issue explores a diverse range of topics related to the regulation of digital platforms including the inadequacy of current antitrust/merger law frameworks and copyright.


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