It’s another short week, but we’ve seen news about robodebt, sovereign citizens, AI faking tax returns, enrolment for voting, digital rights, and more. And an influencer has been banned from giving financial advice.
Here are the digital developments from Canberra I’ve noticed since the previous edition on 6 April.
- Anthony Albanese has been named in TIME’s The 100 Most Influential People of 2023, with a profile written by Justin Trudeau.
- Albanese government axing external debt collectors in bid to prevent another robodebt.
- “Artificial intelligence is on the Australian Taxation Office’s radar, with a senior official warning those who rely on AI tools to generate information to tread carefully.”
- An internal briefing obtained from the Australian Federal Police under freedom of information laws has revealed their concerns about sovereign citizens.
- It happened in Queensland but the case has national significance. “The federal court has issued a permanent injunction [banning them giving financial advice] against a so-called social media ‘finfluencer’ who posted stock tips to paid subscribers under the name ‘ASX Wolf’.”
- The Australian Electrical Commission has expanded its direct enrolment program, allowing Medicare cards to be used as evidence of identity, and updating online enrolment forms to allow for third-party validation of identity.
- “A coalition of privacy organisations, think tanks and industry groups are [sic] calling for the creation of a dedicated parliamentary committee to give “political focus” to digital rights issues in policy deliberations.” The word “coalition” is singular, mate.
- Via InnovationAus, the government has abandoned Canberra’s third failed attempt to upgrade visa processing technology, with more than $100 million spent.
Please let me know if I’ve missed anything, or if there’s any specific items you’d like me to follow. Parliament is now on a break until Tuesday 9 May, which will be Budget Night. I’ll publish these posts whenever there’s enough to report.
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[Photo: Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images, digital processing by Stilgherrian).]