From Australia’s teen social media ban to AI safety, there’s so many tech policy matters these days! So to wrap up the summer series — finally! — I decided to chat with Johanna Weaver and Zoe Jay Hawkins from the Tech Policy Design Institute in Canberra.
In this episode we talk about how Australia as a middle power can participate in global tech policy. We chat about AI slop, the battle between Anthropic and the Pentagon, the digital duty of care, and of course the social media age restrictions.
This episode was recorded on 11 March 2026, so some of the topical references may be slightly dated.
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Episode Links
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The Tech Policy Design Institute (TPDi) is an independent, non-partisan, think tank dedicated to tech policy. We work with government, industry, civil society, and academia to shape technology for the benefit of humanity.
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After 3 years of incubation at the Australian National University, TPDi was founded in 2025 by three female leaders – Johanna Weaver, Zoe Hawkins and Sunita Kumar.
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[3 February 2026] We launch with an article from TPDi Co-Founder, Zoe Jay Hawkins. She examines what the rupture of the world order means for tech policy, and outlines three strategic priorities for middle powers, like Australia, in the next six months.
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[2 March 2026] A public feud is playing out between American AI firm Anthropic – best known for its Claude series of AI models – and the United States White House and Department of War.
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Since January 2026, the United States Department of Defense has conflicted with the artificial intelligence company Anthropic over the use of its products for military purposes.
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[6 August 2025] In the Tech Wars issue of Australian Foreign Affairs, TPDi Co-Founders, Johanna Weaver and Zoe Jay Hawkins, call for Australian leadership to help shape the evolving global order and the technologies that underpin it.
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[5 June 2024] A legal battle to have graphic footage of a church stabbing in Sydney removed from Elon Musk's social media platform X will be abandoned by the eSafety commissioner. Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant confirmed the Federal Court case would be abandoned, after several blows in court and an attempt to temporarily force the footage to be hidden expiring.
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Tech Mirror explores how technology impacts our lives: the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. [Scroll down for the miniseries on Australia's social media age restrictions.]
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[31 March 2026] Meta, Tiktok and Google being investigated for allegedly disobeying Australia’s social media ban.
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The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness is a 2024 book by Jonathan Haidt. It argues that the spread of smartphones, social media, and overprotective parenting have led to a "rewiring" of childhood and a rise in mental illness.
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[29 March 2024] The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.
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[30 March 2026] Pressure is mounting on the federal government to implement its promised Digital Duty of Care legislation, which would force tech companies to ensure their platforms do not cause harm to Australian users.
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[6 March 2026] Several sites now state they are ‘not currently accepting new account registrations in your region’ when accessed from Australia.
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[10 March 2026] The consequences of such a move are broad-reaching. It remains to be seen how effective these laws will be at preventing children from accessing graphic content.
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[9 March 2026] Proton VPN moves from 174th to 19th place as NordVPN goes from 189th to 13th, as porn websites in Australia start requiring age verification for users.
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Aylo is a Canadian multinational pornographic conglomerate owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. It is primarily involved in internet pornography, operating a number of video sharing websites (including platforms such as Pornhub, RedTube, Tube8, and YouPorn), and pornographic film studios such as Brazzers, Digital Playground, Men.com, Reality Kings, Sean Cody, and WhyNotBi.com, among others. Aylo's headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but the company's corporate structure is divided among entities domiciled in a number of other countries (including tax havens such as Curaçao and Luxembourg).
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[29 March 2026] In this episode we talk about smoking and vaping, looksmaxxing, Nigel Farage and Reform UK, Donald Trump, how we’d renovate Washington DC, sheep, snakes (again), and Manichaeism (again).
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[7 March 2026] A craze by the name of "peptides" is sweeping the nation. Time to inject some investigation straight into your veins.
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Timothy Ayres (born 18 December 1973) is an Australian politician and trade unionist who was elected as a Senator for New South Wales at the 2019 federal election. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party and was previously a trade union official with the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU). He has served as the Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science in the Second Albanese ministry since 13 May 2025.
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Andrew Henry George Charlton (born 26 September 1978) is an Australian politician and economist who has served as the Cabinet Secretary and the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy since 2025. He has been the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Parramatta since 2022.
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The Map of Australian Tech Policy Stakeholders is visual and organisational tool demystifies the complex stakeholders across Australia’s tech policy ecosystem. The Map, complemented by an Index of Federal Government tech, digital and cyber responsibilities, empowers practitioners to navigate the Australian tech policy landscape effectively.
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Oblique Strategies (subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas) is a card-based method for promoting creativity jointly created by musician/artist Brian Eno and multimedia artist Peter Schmidt, first published in 1975. Physically, it takes the form of a deck of 7-by-9-centimetre (2.8 in × 3.5 in) printed cards in a black box. Each card offers a challenging constraint intended to help artists (particularly musicians) break writer's block by encouraging lateral thinking.
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[20 February 2026] Consulting firm keen to increase uptake of technology and is reportedly monitoring adoption by workforce.
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[February 2026] The NSW Parliament has narrowly passed the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025, introducing the most significant update to the State’s WHS framework in more than a decade. The reforms, an Australian first, respond to the rapid expansion of AI enabled management tools, algorithmic scheduling, digital surveillance technologies and automated decision making systems that increasingly shape contemporary work.
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[12 March 2024] We talk about making the internet more resilient, diplomacy during the covid times, and Australia’s relatively competent approach to regulating artificial intelligence. I even reveal my true age.
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TPDi set out to define the ambiguous concept of ‘AI sovereignty’ and take stock of Australia’s AI capability – to understand where our strengths lie, where dependencies exist, and what true autonomy looks like in a global AI landscape. Through national consultation and deep analysis, a clear message emerged: power isn’t binary. The concept of ‘sovereignty’ does not capture the range of motivations behind how nations act, adapt, and influence when it comes to AI. That’s why we reframed the conversation around AI agency, the capacity of a country to act with autonomy, reduce dependence, and shape outcomes on its own terms. To bring this idea to life, we defined a Typology of 101 AI capabilties and built the draft AI Agency Tool, a practical framework for mapping, comparing, and strengthening national capability, agency and power.
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Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry
The 9pm Edict is supported by the generosity of its listeners. Right now I’m hoping you’ll support not only the podcasts but also The 9pm Stilgherrian’s Dramatic Decamp to Campsie, to help cover the costs of me moving back to Sydney after 15 years in the Blue Mountains.
For this episode, though, it’s thanks for the final time to everyone who supported The 9pm Summer Series 2025 crowdfunding campaign.
CONVERSATION TOPICS: None this time.
THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Garth Kidd, Paul Williams, Peter Lieverdink, Peter Wickins, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU, part of Another Untitled Music Podcast: Joanna Forbes, Martin English, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Best, Drew Mayo, Errol Cavit, Frank Filippone, Jim Campbell, Jordan Wightman, Karl Sinclair, Kym Yeap, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael again, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Ric Hayman, Stephen Collins, Steve Sainsbury, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.
RECOMMEND A SONG TO US, another part of Another Untitled Music Podcast: Briala Bowmer, Kimberley Heitman, Mindy Johnson, and Rhydwyn.
PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: None of these this time either.
PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Matthew Taylor, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Chris Scobell, Craig Askings, deejbah, Hammy Goonan, James Henstridge, Leigh Costin, Lindsay, Opheli8, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: None of these either, which is curious.
And another ten people who chose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.
Series Credits
- The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian via The Freesound Project.
- Edict fanfare by neonaeon, via The Freesound Project.
- Elephant Stamp theme by Joshua Mehlman.