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This week we deconstruct the idea of social license in tech, starting with the story of a technology that Google and Facebook didn't dare release, but which is now available to everyone.

Originally coined in the context of mining and extractive industries, 'social license' refers to community acceptance of a company's business practices. For some companies, maintaining social license can be an effective check on behaviour, but for tech startups like ClearviewAI and PimEyes, well, not so much.

Links:

Kashmir

Social license explainer (The Ethics Centre) https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-social-license-to-operate/

OAIC submission on social license in AI (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/submissions/developing-standards-for-artificial-intelligence-hearing-australias-voice-submission-to-standards-australia

This week we discuss revelations from a US Department of Justice investigation into X (formerly Twitter), which raises questions over how it can comply with existing privacy orders given large workforce departures since Elon Musk's takeover.

The situation provides insight into the reliance of all organisations on well-resourced and skilled privacy teams in order to meet privacy compliance challenges - and the growing difficulty finding skilled people to make up these teams.

Links:

Article on DOJ investigation (Mashable) https://mashable.com/article/doj-twitter-x-elon-musk-ftc-order-investigation

Article on DOJ investigation (Axios) https://www.axios.com/2023/09/13/elon-musk-privacy-consent-order-ftc

Article on DOJ investigation (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/13/twitter-elon-musk-takeover-ftc-order-data-security-privacy-doj-case

Article about privacy and security teams in chaos at Twitter (The Verge) https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/10/23451198/twitter-ftc-elon-musk-lawyer-changes-fine-warning

Article about Facebook struggling to know how it uses user data (Vice) https://www.vice.com/en/article/akvmke/facebook-doesnt-know-what-it-does-with-your-data-or-where-it-goes

IAPP privacy workforce report https://iapp.org/media/pdf/resource_center/IAPP_EY_Annual_Privacy_Governance_Report_2022.pdf

Credits:

Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au

Music by Bensound.com

This week we discuss the privacy and security risks of the automobile.

Modern cars are basically operating systems on wheels, and have many of the same data challenges as other digital platforms.

Sadly, a recent study from Mozilla suggests cars are the worst product category when it comes to privacy.

Links:

Mozilla report on cars https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

POLITICO report on car data collection https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2022/08/02/car-knows-about-you-data-collection-privacy-00049309

The Markup study on car data collection https://themarkup.org/the-breakdown/2022/07/27/who-is-collecting-data-from-your-car

Australian parliamentary inquiry on driverless cars (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/22/driverless-cars-safer-perhaps-but-professor-warns-of-privacy-risks

elevenM blog on privacy and security risks of cars https://elevenm.com.au/blog/navigating-the-road-ahead-privacy-and-security-risks-of-self-driving-cars/

Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com

This week we discuss and react to the Federal Government's response to the Privacy Act review report.

The Government's long-awaited response comes after several years of discussion and debate about the way forward for Australia's privacy regime.

We break down which proposals the Government is moving forward with, which ones it won't, and which ones are slated for further discussion.

Links:

Government response to the Privacy Act Review Report https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/publications/government-response-privacy-act-review-report

Article about reform response (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/28/labor-albanese-government-privacy-crackdown-political-parties

Credits:

This week we feature an interview with Peter Warren Singer, a US strategist and scholar on warfare and digital threats.

Our conversation starts with lessons from the conflict in Ukraine on how threats and adversarial tactics are evolving.

We also explore the continued use of social media as a weapon, and the nature of evolving threats to critical infrastructure and the motivations of state actors in our region such as China.

We also explore the idea of using fiction and narrative help organisations and leaders better understand the threat environment and communicate their stories.

Links:

Peter Warren Singer https://www.pwsinger.com/

LikeWar https://www.likewarbook.com/

Useful Fiction https://useful-fiction.com/

Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com

This week we revisit the hard problem of age verification, which we last discussed in episode #64.

In order to protect kids from explicit content and other harmful effects of online platforms, we first need to be able to identify them. But can we do that without major risks to privacy and free speech?

The eSafety Commissioner's Roadmap to Age Verification has the answer. Kind of.

We'll dig through the findings and recommendations in the recently published roadmap report, including the state of current age assurance technology, the legislative and regulatory framework required to make age verification work safely, and the need for a more holistic approach to protect kids.

Links:

eSafety Commissioner's Roadmap and Background Report https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/consultation-cooperation/age-verification

Disappointment from children's advocates (SMH) https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/kicked-down-the-road-australians-to-wait-for-porn-passport-20230830-p5e0nk.html

Digital rights advocacy group celebrating the decision not to mandate age verification (Digital Rights Watch) https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2023/08/31/campaign-win-against-age-verification/

This week we explore the privacy risks in otherwise publicly visible information, after a dozen privacy regulators from around the world issued a joint statement on the issue of data scraping.

The regulators' statement emphasises that even personal information that is publicly accessible is subject to data protection and privacy laws, and calls out social media platforms to do more to prevent the practice.

We explore the factors behind the uptick in data scraping, and who should be most responsible for stopping it.

*** Correction ***

In the episode Jordan says 'contextual integrity' is an idea of academic Julie E Cohen's - it's not, it comes from Helen Nissenbaum, a professor in information Science at Cornell Tech. If you're interested, see Helen's book 'Privacy in Context' https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=8862. Julie does have a great article on this topic (the relationship between privacy and visibility in the networked information age), which you can read here: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/805/

Links:

Statement on data scraping https://www.oaic.gov.au/newsroom/global-expectations-of-social-media-platforms-and-other-sites-to-safeguard-against-unlawful-data-scraping

Article on data scraping statements (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/24/data-scraping-privacy-risks-joint-statement/

Determination against Clearview AI (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/newsroom/clearview-ai-breached-australians-privacy

Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com

This week we explore the tension between the competing values of privacy and public interest journalism.

Today, journalists enjoy a broad exemption from privacy laws. However, reform proposals have ignited debate about whether that free pass is still appropriate.

We discuss the scope and merits of these reform proposals and explore the arguments by journalists on why the exemption is necessary.

Links:

Article on journalism exemptions (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/11/consumer-advocates-reject-media-calls-to-preserve-exemptions-to-australian-privacy-law

Media Watch on journalism exemption (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_aaxFcd1BA

Australia’s Right to Know coalition submission https://consultations.ag.gov.au/integrity/privacy-act-review-report/consultation/view_respondent?show_all_questions=0&sort=submitted&order=ascending&_q__text=know&uuId=60975522

Privacy Act Review report https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/privacy-act-review-report_0.pdf

Credits:

Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au

Music by Bensound.com

This week we review responses to the Australian Government's open consultation on how to mitigate the potential risks of AI.

In June, the Government called for submissions to its discussion paper titled "Safe and responsible AI in Australia". While the submissions haven't been published, several have made their way into the public domain.

 As well as sharing the recommendations of our own (elevenM) submission, we explore proposals from big tech giants Microsoft and Google, various members of academia, think-tanks such as the UTS Human Technology Institute, and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Links:

Article about AI replacing Taylor Swift (SMH) https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/what-s-next-for-john-lennon-a-duet-with-taylor-swift-20230810-p5dvf2.html

Government discussion paper: Safe and responsible AI in Australia https://consult.industry.gov.au/supporting-responsible-ai

Reporting on submission from Kingston AI Group researchers (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/labor-ignoring-the-elephant-in-the-room-on-ai-experts-20230804-p5du1p

Submission from the Gradient Institute https://www.gradientinstitute.org/posts/disr-safe-responsible-ai-submission/

Reporting on submission from Google (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/google-tells-government-how-to-regulate-ai-and-who-to-blame-when-it-goes-wrong-20230728-p5ds0s

Reporting on submission from Microsoft (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/microsoft-urges-soft-approach-as-husic-vows-to-regulate-high-risk-ai-20230721-p5dqaf

Reporting on submission from UTS Human Technology Institute (InnovationAus) https://www.innovationaus.com/do-we-need-new-ai-laws-sure-but-lets-try-enforce-what-we-have-first/

Submission from Australian Human Rights Commission https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/australia-needs-ai-regulation

EU AI Act https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence

Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com

This week we discuss targeted advertising, its role in the development of the commercial internet, and how it affects users today.

We explore the varying attitudes to the practice of targeted advertising, its benefits and harms, and regulatory measures being considered to curb its excesses.

Links:

$20m ACCC penalty for Meta https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/20m-penalty-for-meta-companies-for-conduct-liable-to-mislead-consumers-about-use-of-their-data

ACMA fine for CBA over spam https://www.acma.gov.au/articles/2023-06/commonwealth-bank-penalised-355-million-spam-breaches

ACMA fine for mycar Tyre and Auto over spam https://www.acma.gov.au/articles/2023-06/mycar-tyre-auto-penalised-1m-spam-breaches

ACCC data brokers inquiry https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-invites-views-on-data-broker-industry

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (EFF) https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence

Article about the internet's grand bargain (HBR) https://hbr.org/2018/04/gdpr-and-the-end-of-the-internets-grand-bargain

SalingerPrivacy blog on targeted advertising risks https://www.salingerprivacy.com.au/2023/08/01/media-and-marketing-industry-blog/

Katherine Kemp article on targeted advertising (The Conversation) https://theconversation.com/proposed-privacy-reforms-could-help-australia-play-catch-up-with-other-nations-but-they-fail-to-tackle-targeted-ads-200166

Meta argument in favour of targeted advertising (The Australian) https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/targeting-helps-protect-kids-from-agerestricted-ads-says-meta-head-of-policy-melinda-claybaugh/news-story/fd9f41778b983861d55fb254e3932215

Ad industry argument in favour of targeted advertising (The Australian) https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/sacrificing-personalised-advertising-on-the-altar-of-privacy-is-not-the-answer/news-story/8a66403cda7ae0dcc602a1067790614b

FTC paper on targeted advertising https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/brief-primer-economics-targeted-advertising/economic_issues_paper_-_economics_of_targeted_advertising.pdf

Credits:

Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au

Music by Bensound.com