Social media
‘Wilful blindness’: Big fines for tech giants that ignore abuse material
Companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Meta face fines of almost $800,000 a day if they don’t come clean on their progress in combating child exploitation and sex abuse material on their platforms.
- by Angus Thompson
Latest
Dicey Topics
Good Weekend
‘My fear has increased’: Abbie Chatfield on when to bite her tongue
The celebrity and broadcaster on handling trolls, strengthening her friendships – and quieting her former response to catcallers.
- by Benjamin Law
Opinion
Phones
I showed a total stranger a Trump meme on my phone. It was a wake-up call
We can be better humans by occasionally looking up from our phones. It might also help us defy those pesky algorithms.
- by Kerri Sackville
How these Australian women became a global target of online misogyny
A light-hearted TikTok video was viewed tens of millions of times before attracting the ire of online misogynists, including Andrew Tate.
- by Meg Watson
Exclusive
Mental health
Peter Dutton wants a social media ban. April thinks it is a bad idea
Advocates want social media users to have more control over their algorithms, but have stopped short of supporting an outright ban for people under 16.
- by Angus Thomson
Opinion
US Votes 2024
Guns, ammo and jails: How speculators made a quick profit on the ‘Trump trade’
Picking investment winners under a Donald Trump regime has become the market’s latest sport.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Elon Musk
‘Dark patterns’: European Commission is ticked off by Elon Musk’s X, again
The European Commission sees evidence of “motivated malicious actors” using X’s blue ticks to deceive users. Musk fires back, claiming that the EC offered his company “an illegal secret deal”.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
Opinion
How do children tell if online news is fake? Here’s a slip, slop, slap-up idea
Prevention is better than cure when it comes to saving our children from the impact of prolonged scrolling on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
- by Bryce Corbett
Opinion
Dating
Dating apps are sheer hell. But I’m not ready to go ‘boy sober’, either
It takes every ounce of mental strength to not believe I am destined to end up with a man who thinks “doing” countries is a personality trait.
- by Carly Sophia
Does an Instagram ‘like’ count as cheating? According to Gen Z, yes
“Micro-cheating” an internet-era term for small acts of betrayal in a relationship.
- by Tatum Hunter
How TikTok revolutionised Andy Warhol’s 15-minute fame cycle
From Baz Luhrmann on the streets of Sydney to a nobody going viral after a provocative TikTok vox pop, street interviews are hijacking social media with mixed results.
- by Thomas Mitchell