Sophisticated fake social media personas created by North Korean hackers offered to collaborate with cybersecurity researchers. Several US researchers fell for it.
It may have seemed the platforms were taking a confident stance by appealing to Australian users directly. But really, it was a delayed and panic-based reaction.
If the government wants to save the social benefit of public-interest journalism, it must look beyond the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code.
The code could require Google and Facebook to pay up for simply including links to news articles from other sites. This has never been a requirement on the web.
The ABC and SBS have been included in the code. That’s good news, but will compensation received be factored into future government funding decisions for the public broadcasters?
Tech giants are not just surviving the pandemic; they’re thriving. In 2021 and in the post-pandemic era, anti-trust regulations in tech must be revamped.