Tama Leaver
@tamaleaver.bsky.social
2.5K followers 2K following 410 posts

🎓 Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin Uni (Boorloo/Perth West Australia); 🌏 Past Prez @AoIR.bsky.social; 🔎 @digitalchildau.bsky.social (AI & Datafication); 🐘 @[email protected]; he/him. [Views mine; RT/❤️/etc ≠ endorsement] .. more

Sociology 18%
Communication & Media Studies 18%
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

tamaleaver.bsky.social
Nothing here prevents government issued IDs being one option (just not the first one) for verification, but if it is being collected specifically for this purpose, no record should be kept once age if verified. This, at least, minimises the risks around data breaches and so forth. [3/4]

tamaleaver.bsky.social
It's heartening to see that the emphasis is on consistency with existing rules and principles, with the main takeaway being that ideally as little private information as possible should be collected, and once that information has been used to determine age, if should be destroyed. [2/4]

tamaleaver.bsky.social
One more piece of the Australian Under16s Social Media Ban/Delay puzzle has been put on the table today with Carly Kind and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner releasing their guidance on how platforms and other entities should interpret the ban in terms of privacy. [1/4]

Reposted by Tama Leaver

cameronwilson.bsky.social
The privacy commissioner has warned tech companies that collecting too much data to check user's ages for the teen social media ban could be illegal under Australia's privacy laws.

This comes as the OAIC releases its privacy rules for ban:

www.crikey.com.au/20...

tamaleaver.bsky.social
In different contexts wouldn't that be money laundering?

Or maybe even in this one?

Reposted by Tama Leaver

tamaleaver.bsky.social
T-minus one week to #AoIR2025, my first time in Brazil! 🌐🇧🇷
aoir.bsky.social
#AoIR2025 is next week! Easiest programme to read on a mobile is on the Sched app: aoir2025ruptures.sched.com
Prefer your #AoIR2025 programme in an app? Our Sched is love!

Reposted by Tama Leaver

aoir.bsky.social
#AoIR2025 is next week! Easiest programme to read on a mobile is on the Sched app: aoir2025ruptures.sched.com
Prefer your #AoIR2025 programme in an app? Our Sched is love!

Reposted by Tama Leaver

tamaleaver.bsky.social
And the icing on the cake is new research showing the longer the AI video, the worse the proportional impact on the environment: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.19222 🤦‍♂️
arxiv.org

tamaleaver.bsky.social
So, OpenAI's Sora app is 10-second ChatGPT/AI-generated videos (now with audio) in an endless feed.

Doesn't that just make it all the shitty bits of TikTok in basically the same format?

Am I missing something?

openai.com/index/sora-2...
Sora 2 is here
Our latest video generation model is more physically accurate, realistic, and more controllable than prior systems. It also features synchronized dialogue and sound effects. Create with it in the new ...
openai.com

Reposted by Tama Leaver

cameronwilson.bsky.social
The highlight of Anthony Albanese's trip to the UN was spruiking Australia's teen social media ban.

You'd be forgiven for thinking it was already a smash hit. But not only has it not come into effect, there are some basic parts of the ban that remain a complete mystery

www.crikey.com.au/20...

tamaleaver.bsky.social
Great work from @marcuscarter.com & team, investigating the inconsistencies around gaming, gambling, loot boxes and the impact of new(ish) Australian regulation.

Loot boxes are still rife in kids’ mobile games, despite ban on ‘gambling-like’ features theconversation.com/loot-boxes-a...
Loot boxes are still rife in kids’ mobile games, despite ban on ‘gambling-like’ features
Games with ‘loot boxes’ should be classified for over-15s – but a new study shows many of the most popular mobile games completely ignore the rules.
theconversation.com
wsj.com
Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.
OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out
Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.
on.wsj.com

tamaleaver.bsky.social
There are some very sensible, highly respected folks on this list, including a solid number who actively campaigned against the ban in the first place. I still don't think the ban is the right approach, it's heartening to see a group that should provide proper scrutiny of how it actually works.

Reposted by Tama Leaver

aoir.bsky.social
Just three weeks until #AoIR2025 Ruptures kicks off in Niterói, Brazil, and we can't wait to see you all!
Just three weeks until #AoIR2025 Ruptures kicks off in Niteroi, Brazil!

Reposted by Tama Leaver

instagrambook.bsky.social
Instagram hits 3 billion monthly users www.theverge.com/news/784784/...

Or to put it a different way: there are as many people using Instagram each month as the were people on the planet Earth in 1960.
Instagram hits 3 billion monthly users
Meta is now looking to drive growth further by testing changes for DMs and Reels.
www.theverge.com

Reposted by Tama Leaver

tamaleaver.bsky.social
Wait 'til you hear all about Web2.0. It sounds marvellous! ;)

And you'd think being an AoIR President might help with these things, but all it means is there's even more jokes when the IT fails during a presentation. *sigh*

tamaleaver.bsky.social
Meta have started algorithmically finding under18s in Australia who claimed to be over 18, & shifting them to Teen Insta accounts. about.fb.com/news/2025/04... On 10 Dec, presumably those identified thus as under16 will be the first wave of Meta/FB/Insta deactivations as the ban starts.
Working With Parents to Enroll Teens Into Teen Accounts | Meta
Find out how we're empowering parents to take control of their teens' online safety, with the help of Teen Accounts and new technology.
about.fb.com

Reposted by Tama Leaver

cameronwilson.bsky.social
interesting bit in a Lancet article re: Australia's teen social media ban: surprisingly the amount of socialising in person hasn't dropped significantly in the past 25 years, and certainly not by the average amount of social media use.

Reposted by Tama Leaver

heatherburnstech.bsky.social
As I wrote last week: there are age verification providers who have already built the racial profiling and discrimination modules to plug into their offerings the minute they legally can. internet.exchangepoint.tech/the-dog-that...

Reposted by Tama Leaver

cameronwilson.bsky.social
A Palestinian guy escaped to Europe on jet ski and used ChatGPT to plan, including how much fuel was needed.

A funny thing that's buried is that they ran out of fuel 20km from their destination -- presumably because ChatGPT's estimate was wrong? lmao

www.reuters.com/worl...