social media Archives

When researchers tried to analyse if Facebook was causing harm, the data was manipulated in a move straight from the tobacco playbook

Timothy Graham - October 7, 2024 3 MIN READ

For almost a decade, researchers have been gathering evidence that the social media platform Facebook disproportionately amplifies low-quality content and misinformation. So it was something of a surprise when in 2023 the journal Science published a study that found Facebook’s algorithms were not major drivers of misinformation during the 2020 United States election. This study… Read more »

Politics

New teen accounts on Instagram are a welcome step, but real ‘peace of mind’ requires more

Tama Leaver - September 19, 2024 4 MIN READ

As Australia and other countries debate the merits of banning kids under 14 from social media, Meta has announced a significant “reimagining” of teenagers’ experience of Instagram. These new “Teen Accounts” will be set to private by default, have the maximum content and messaging restrictions possible, pause notifications at night, and add new ways for… Read more »

Politics

We asked 5 experts if parents should worry about social media and 60% said no – here’s why

Judith Ireland & Matt Garrow - September 12, 2024 2 MIN READ

The Albanese government has announced it will introduce a social media ban for children. The government has not yet nominated a minimum age but is trialling age-assurance mechanisms for those aged 13–16. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation will be introduced this year. This follows criticism from a range of experts, who argue it… Read more »

Politics

JUST SAY YO: Why politicians need to think of social media more like sex, and focus on education over abstinence

Joanne Orlando - September 11, 2024 3 MIN READ

The federal government has committed to a national plan to ban children from social media. Details are still scarce. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged that “no government is going to be able to protect every child from every threat, but we have to do all we can”. But banning children from social media isn’t… Read more »

Politics

The Australian government is cracking down on kids using social media

Michelle Grattan - September 10, 2024 3 MIN READ

The Albanese government will introduce legislation this term to enforce a minimum age for children to access social media. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make the formal announcement on Tuesday. This follows a discussion at last Friday’s national cabinet meeting, at which all states and territories, as well as the Commonwealth, committed to tackling what… Read more »

Politics

Now that a Brazilian court has banned Elon Musk’s X, here’s what could happen next

Tariq Choucair - September 3, 2024 3 MIN READ

Authorities in Brazil, the country with the world’s fifth largest number of internet users, have banned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban came into effect over the weekend. It followed a long-running battle between Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who had… Read more »

Social Media

Mining billionaire Twiggy Forrest had a big win the US courts over scam ads on Facebook

David Braue - August 27, 2024 3 MIN READ

Australian mining magnate Dr Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is a step closer to holding Meta to account for deepfake scam advertisements, after the dismissal of an appeal by the tech giant marked the first time it has failed to hide behind a US law widely seen to provide blanket immunity online. Forrest first discovered his image… Read more »

Global tech

France has arrested Telegram’s founder and that has the potential to change the future of big tech

Timothy Koskie - August 27, 2024 4 MIN READ

When Pavel Durov arrived in France on his private jet last Saturday, he was greeted by police who promptly arrested him. As the founder of the direct messaging platform Telegram, he was accused of facilitating the widespread crimes committed on it. The following day, a French judge extended Durov’s initial period of detention, allowing police… Read more »

Business

Linktree snaps up Sydney social media scheduling startup Plann

Simon Thomsen - August 16, 2024 2 MIN READ

The acquisition hunger of cashed-up Australian tech companies has continued with link-in-bio platform Linktree scooping up social media scheduling platform Plann for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2016 by former ad exec Christy Laurence, Plann was named Startup Daily’s Startup of the Year. She left her corporate job after suffering a brain injury. Initially told… Read more »

Politics

Economists took a deep dive into the value of social media – and discovered how much FOMO is worth

Peter Martin - July 24, 2024 4 MIN READ

Social media is a problem for economists. They don’t know how to value it. It has long been argued that it ought to be in the national accounts as part of gross domestic product. One 2019 study estimated Facebook alone is worth US$40 to US$50 per month for consumers in the United States. But that’s… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

When an influencer made an AI clone, it turned into a pornbot within a year, without her knowing

Leah Henrickson & Dominique Carlon - June 26, 2024 4 MIN READ

Caryn Marjorie is a social media influencer whose content has more than a billion views per month on Snapchat. She posts regularly, featuring everyday moments, travel memories, and selfies. Many of her followers are men, attracted by her girl-next-door aesthetic. In 2023, Marjorie released a “digital version” of herself. Fans could chat with CarynAI for… Read more »

Social Media

How FOMO plays a role in doomscrolling and using social media too much

Kim M Caudwell - June 9, 2024 4 MIN READ

For as long as we have used the internet to communicate and connect with each other, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were “cut off” from our social worlds through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to find ways to connect online.… Read more »

Business

C-rap: the most talked about part of Canva Create isn’t the product (but it totally is) because of a song

Simon Thomsen - May 27, 2024 4 MIN READ

There’s a famous maxim in advertising, courtesy of industry legend David Ogilvy that: “If you have nothing to say, sing it”. Combine that with Oscar Wilde’s observation that: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”, and you have the defining moment of Canva… Read more »

Politics

Elon Musk 1, eSafety Commissioner 0, in legal battle over priest stabbing video removal on X

Simon Thomsen - May 14, 2024 2 MIN READ

Elon Musk has won the latest round in his Federal Court fight with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner over demands that his social media company X (aka Twitter) remove footage of a bishop being stabbed in Sydney last month. The decision by Justice Geoffrey Kennett limits the powers of Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and the country’s Online… Read more »

Social Media

Social media needs for a social licence to operate too

Michelle Grattan - April 29, 2024 4 MIN READ

In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk last week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to being told to take down from X (previously Twitter) the video of the stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a… Read more »

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