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Alec is a technologist, writer & security consultant who has worked in host and network security for more than 30 years, with 25 of those in industry.
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eSafety Australia has been issuing informal takedown notices to platforms without due process; it turns out Australian courts don’t appreciate that behaviour

2025-12-03 18:51:46

Justice: “So they thought it was appropriate regulatory practice […] to issue an informal notice to X and then claim it is a non-reviewable decision?”

eSafety: “I’m not going to embrace that characterisation your honour…”

Justice: “Yes I can understand why you wouldn’t want to, but that’s nevertheless factually the case isn’t it?”


The full text is even more amazing:

And in a spectacular cameo arising from a very awkward attempt to explain the recent case of FSU Director Reuben Kirkham in Kirkham v eSafety Commissioner, the Court clarified that a complaint under s36(3) did in fact require a binary decision, to either issue a s88 notice (reviewable and subject to a statement of reasons) or to not issue a s88 (reviewable and subject to a statement of reasons).

Accordingly, wasn’t it objective evidence of the fact that the sending of the composite complaint alert to X via the legal request portal constituted a s88 (one of the two outcomes compelled by a complaint under the OSA)?

Justice Beach: “So they thought it was appropriate regulatory practice, not to make a decision to issue a notice, not to make a decision to refuse to issue a notice, but to issue an informal notice to X and then claim it is a non-reviewable decision?”

eSafety barrister: “I’m not going to embrace that characterisation your honour…”

Justice Beach: “Yes I can understand why you wouldn’t want to, but that’s nevertheless factually the case isn’t it?”

More at: Australia Court Questions eSafety’s Power in X Free Speech Appeal

https://reclaimthenet.org/australia-court-questions-esafetys-power-in-x-free-speech-appeal

Australia eSafety: “Parents may lose their Google accounts [and anything linked to them] if they let their kids use them to view stuff”

2025-12-03 17:41:20

Maybe it’s time for some Australian parents to set up actual passwords for all of those “Login with Google” accounts they use?

Google warns Albanese government’s under-16 social media ban could make kids less safe

2025-12-03 15:27:10

Parents will lose the ability to supervise their teen or tween’s account on YouTube, as these accounts only work when they are signed in. “That means parents will no longer be able to use any controls they have set up, such as choosing an appropriate content setting or blocking specific channels.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/google-warns-albanese-governments-under16-social-media-ban-could-make-kids-less-safe/news-story/ac5994363ef9069589f838efb60bd10e

Australian prime minister confirms that social media ban is about “compliance”, but if companies comply yet teens circumvent, what’s next?

2025-12-03 08:51:35

Albo says that he expects imperfection, but what happens if a few million kids download VPNs and just walk around all the bullshit? Where is the compliance then?

Lawmakers to consider 19 bills for childproofing the internet

2025-12-02 19:44:03

Can you judge the heat of a moral panic by the number of bills purporting to solve it? […]  lawmakers have moved on from sex trafficking to social media—from Craigslist and Backpage to Instagram, TikTok, and Roblox. So here we are, with a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on 19 different kids-and-tech bills scheduled for this week.


https://reason.com/2025/12/01/lawmakers-to-consider-19-bills-for-childproofing-the-internet/

Via:

New from @enbrown.bsky.social, Congress is still a pandering mess. KOSA+ aren't about child safety, they '"are actually about censorship and control…Don't buy the framing," added @mmasnick.bsky.social. "It's always the same damn thing."' reason.com/2025/12/01/l…

andy jabbour (@andyjabbour.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T11:23:13.723Z