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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 7h

(Excuse my clumsy writing. I'm at an airport and had about 3 hours sleep.)

Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 7h

The approach is even more flawed than that in that the problem - the harms intended to be addressed - were not clearly articulated by the Govt when the Bill passed Parliament.

(They did such a poor job of explaining the relevant harms, that eSafety advised this be clarified in the Rules.)

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 7h

Wholeheartedly agree.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 7h

Big Tech was the enemy ...

What other sites are or are not captured by the obligation has been of little interest to the advocates of this approach, unfortunately.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 7h

Seems like many are only now becoming aware that the law only requires platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having an *account*:

> if a site does not have accounts, then no action (under this law) is required

> under 16s can still view content accessible without an account

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 9h

4chan unlikely to be included in Australia’s under-16s social media ban, eSafety commissioner says

Julie Inman Grant says message board will need to comply with other codes which will also include age assurance for sites hosting violent and adult content * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The eSafety commissioner is not expected to block children from accessing 4chan as part of the under-16s social media ban, despite it being labelled one of the “darker” places on the internet. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, was asked by independent senator Fatima Payman in Senate estimates on Wednesday night whether 4chan, the message board often referred to as the engine room of the internet, would be considered one of the sites required to prevent under-16s when the social media ban comes into effect from 10 December. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 15h

What strikes me about this is how much more clearly incriminating chats with ChatGPT are going to be than Google searches in criminal investigations

niki grayson @nikigrayson.com · 19h

the city of los angeles burned in january in part because of a man who couldn’t stop generating images of burning cities on ChatGPT, and then after he lit the fire he asked if the fire he started was his fault

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the next phase would be voting on whether to incorporate artificial intelligence video analysis into the monitoring system.

"We are seeing the way that cities around the world are embracing these new technologies to keep people safe," the Lord Mayor said ...

ABC News Bot (unofficial) @abcnewsbot.bsky.social · 1d

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

Melbourne council staff to be given surveillance powers under draft plans

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

www.abc.net.au

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 14h

Agreed ... I noticed a football club among the many groups represented by those marching in the Palestine solidarity rally in Dublin on the weekend

People holding Bohemian FC Friends of Palestine banner in the pro Palestine rally

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 1d

highland cattle have it figured out

Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 1d

Highland cattle are famous for their ability to "disco nap". Normally these brief, efficient sleeps will last between three and twenty minutes, deploying a variety of objects as pillows, including moorland boulders, cars or any particularly large dog or sheep who happens to be nearby.

A highland cow having a little nap on a boulder on Dartmoor (ok, it was actually scratching its head)

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

It's a competitive industry ...

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

There's a similar program in place already in a council in QLD that Reece has cited with approval - while also being dismissive of the privacy implications.

Melbourne considers AI CCTV surveillance - ABC listen

Melbourne City Council is considering the use of artificial intelligence to analyse CCTV footage as part of an expansion of its surveillance network.

www.abc.net.au

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

The proposal is certain council staff will be authorised to investigate ...

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

Damon Young @damonyoung.com.au · 1d

Hey, do any of you Warhammer nerds have a spare copy of TALES OF HERESY, edited by Kyme & Priestley?

It’s super expensive online, and I’d love to get it for our elder kid’s birthday.

(I know this is probably futile, but I gotta try.)

The cover of the book tales of heresy edited by Nick KYME and Lindsay Priestley, a Warhammer Book

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

Indeed ... The Lord Mayor has literally used identifying dumped shopping trolleys as a use case to justify "upgrading" CCTV with video analytics.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

How this proposed mass surveillance is reasonable, necessary, or proportionate remains unanswered by the Lord Mayor.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the next phase would be voting on whether to incorporate artificial intelligence video analysis into the monitoring system.

"We are seeing the way that cities around the world are embracing these new technologies to keep people safe," the Lord Mayor said ...

ABC News Bot (unofficial) @abcnewsbot.bsky.social · 1d

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

Melbourne council staff to be given surveillance powers under draft plans

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

www.abc.net.au

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

And the Mayor is continuing to advocate for the CCTV cameras to be upgraded with video analytics pointing to the U.S. and the U.K. ...

Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 1d

"Under the proposed changes, authorised officers including council security guards would also be able to use the footage to investigate issues like illegal dumping, graffiti and public nuisance."

ABC News Bot (unofficial) @abcnewsbot.bsky.social · 1d

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

Melbourne council staff to be given surveillance powers under draft plans

The City of Melbourne is set to vote on a new plan that would see more privately owned CCTV cameras feeding into the city's security network and staff able to access the footage to investigate local law breaches.

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 1d

A guy used a cell site simulator in Melbourne to send scam messages to Telstra customers claiming to be from Commbank. 18 month sentence but released on recognisance. jade.io/article/1156...

CDirector of Public Prosecutions v Low [2025] VCC 1172 - BarNet Jade

The smart way to search, annotate and share Australian legal judgments, decisions and statutes!

jade.io

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 2d

I'm having a slow start this morning after seeing Patti Smith perform her Horses album & more last night.

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Reposted by Leanne Veronica

Francis Markham @francismarkham.bsky.social · 2d

Worth remembering that SEAM was abandoned by the federal Coalition government not just because of human rights concerns.

But also the evaluations showed that it "didn't work" in terms of creating the outcomes that the government wanted to see.

This dead policy should not have been resurrected.

Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · 2d

NT to activate school attendance income management measure. While provided for in the legislation, I don't believe it's been used previously. There were other program which could suspend or cancel payments - e.g. SEAM in the NT which ended in 2017. nit.com.au/06-10-2025/2...

NT government to refer parents of truant children to income management

The Northern Territory Government will refer parents whose children do not attend school to income management, saying the measure is part of the CLP's plan to reduce crime and strengthen community saf...

nit.com.au

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 2d

The vendors in question are building age assurance tools for an international market and did not bother with tailoring their approach to satisfy Australian obligations.

Specs I've seen for id verification tools often have a far too long default retention period.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 2d

That "over eagerness" to retain personal information will not wash with the Privacy Commissioner, who also has a compliance role under the Online Safety Act.

eSafety has also reinforced the privacy obligations in the regulatory guidance.

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 2d

(And re your specific question, in general, new legal obligations are not retrospective.)

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Leanne Veronica @leanneveronica.bsky.social · 2d

The vendors in question were described in the Report to be in effect over eager but the report should have clearly stated the tools did not comply with Australian law, which expressly requires destruction of the personal information once used for age assurance.

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