The Australian government made many changes to the regulation of the online world during 2021. They were the subject earlier this month when I was a guest on the new podcast Talking Tech Policy from the new Tech Policy Design Centre at the Australian National University.
The podcast is hosted by Johanna Weaver, the centre’s Director, who I know from her previous gig as a senior policy adviser an Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Most recently she was Australia’s representative at the United Nations for cybersecurity and critical technology.
“In the second episode of Talking Tech Policy, Johanna is joined in conversation by Melinda Cilento, CEO at CEDA and host of The Economist’s Corner; Stilgherrian, journalist and host of The 9pm Edict; and Dr Emily Van Der Nagel, lecturer in social media at Monash University,” is how they describe this episode.
“Together, the group discuss Johanna’s interview with Minister Fletcher while examining Australia’s approach to tech policy and the strengths and weaknesses of the government’s recent round of regulatory changes.”
That Minister would be Paul Fletcher, the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, who has has blocked me on Twitter. We have that kind of relationship.
Johanna’s interview formed the podcast’s first episode, and it’s also available on YouTube. It’s about as exciting as you might imagine. Our conversation in this episode is much better.
This episode of Talking Tech Policy was produced by Anna Davies. Tanvi Nair and Amy Denmede provided invaluable research support, and Ben Gowdie production support only an avid podcast listener can provide.
You can contact the Centre via techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au, and it’s on Twitter at @TPDesignCentre.
The 9pm Edict is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.
You can also listen to the podcast below, or subscribe to the generic podcast feed.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:32 — 59.1MB)
Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry
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Episode Links
As compiled by the Tech Policy Design Centre.
Dr Van Der Nagel on the Anti-Trolling Legislation: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-11-30/online-bullying-trolling-identity-verification-legislation/100658084
Sex and Social Media: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54703063-sex-and-social-media
The Economist’s Corner Podcast: https://www.ceda.com.au/NewsAndResources/VideosAndPhotos/Economy/The-Economists-Corner-Episode-1
The 9pm Edict Podcast: https://stilgherrian.com/the_9pm_edict/
Stilgherrian’s Paper on Encryption: https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/03/31/encryption-debate-in-australia-2021-update-pub-84237
The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver: https://www.goodreads.com/fr/book/show/27064345-the-mandibles
Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism by Jillian C. York: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56047610-silicon-values
Lawless: The Secret Rules That Govern Our Digital Lives by Nicolas P. Suzor: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43504846-lawless
TheGovLab: https://thegovlab.org/
Technology and Public Purpose Project: https://www.belfercenter.org/project/technology-and-public-purpose
New America: https://www.newamerica.org/
Electronic Frontiers Australia: https://twitter.com/efa_oz?lang=en
ZDNet: https://www.zdnet.com/au/
iTnews: https://www.itnews.com.au/
Lawfare – Arbiters of Truth (With special thanks to the Australian host, Evelyn Douek): https://www.lawfareblog.com/topic/arbiters-truth
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/
And I’ll also add…
I’ve been maintaining a list of Australian cyber-related legislation before parliament, plus current inquiries. It’s currently updated to 16 December 2022, but a few things are emerging in the last week before Christmas. I’ll update it again on 31 December.