The Weekly Cybers #24
Another week when social media age restrictions dominate the discourse, governments agree to digital license technical standards, and there’s a new framework for government AI use — plus a lot more.
Welcome
Social media, and especially age restrictions on social media, continued to be a hot topic in Canberra this week.
Governments around Australia also agreed to technical standards for digital driver licenses and other verifiable credentials, as well as a national framework for AI in government.
And there was much, much more, so read on...
Experts reject blanket under-16 social media bans
Banning under-16s from social media is now a bipartisan political chest-beating exercise, but as the weeks go by more and more experts are speaking out against them.
Research involving culturally diverse teens has shown that people who have migrated to Australia — or were born to parents or grandparents who had — are “capable users” of social media, reports The Conversation.
They use social media platforms to connect with culture and community, to have a voice on issues that concern them, and to address digital and other social harms.
And in a move which might surprise some of her critics, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has said age restrictions might push children online in secret.
Banning children from social media could risk limiting their access to critical social support, she said.
“Social media may also provide a range of opportunities that are protective of mental health, such as inclusion, social connection and belonging... Even if social media could be demarcated and separated from other media, a primary concern is that children would migrate to other services and platforms with fewer safeguards.”
Another piece in The Conversation puts it more bluntly: “We know social media bans are unlikely to work. So how can we keep young people safe online?”
Finally, and more generally, the idea that special media makes you unhappy isn’t so straightforward.
Although it is true that people’s feelings of envy and depression are linked to high social media use, there is evidence to suggest social media use may not be causing that relationship. Instead, your mindset may be the biggest thing affecting how social media connects to your wellbeing.
Apparently it’s about feeling that you’re using social media, rather than social media using you.
Governments agree to digital licence standards
At last Friday’s Data and Digital Ministers meeting, all of Australia’s governments agreed on a Digital ID and Verifiable Credentials strategy — although I don’t think we’ve actually seen the document yet.
That said, InnovationAus ($) is reporting that the ministers agreed to adopt ISO-18013 for handling encryption keys, which is all about using the encrypted secure element in smart devices — which is a great move.
InnovationAus ($) also reports that credential sharing is back on the agenda between the myGov and Service New apps after undisclosed “challenges” early up.
This project, originally announced innFebruary 2023, intends to make Medicare cards available in the Service NSW app, and NSW digital drivers licences in the myGov app.
The government also announced that some 300,000 former military personnel will be able to digitally access their veteran cards through the myGov wallet.
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New national framework for AI in government
The digital ministers also agreed to a National framework for the assurance of artificial intelligence in government (PDF).
The “rights, wellbeing and interests of people” should be put first, it says.
As Information Age reports:
The national AI framework calls for governments across Australia to consider "whether there is a clear public benefit” to any AI technology they plan to implement. It says risks should be documented and governments should consider whether AI is preferable or if suitable non-AI alternatives already exist.
The framework builds on the 8 AI Ethics Principles published in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether the various AI projects already racing ahead will be reined in to conform with this framework.
Just weeks ago, Assistant Minister for the Public Service Patrick Gorman said he wants to see public servants using AI in their jobs.
Also in the news
- The Australian government is still trying to think up ways to force Meta to carry news on Facebook and Instagram. Which in my view is odd. If people want news then they can just go to news sites.
- As the parliamentary committee looking at social media continues holding hearings, today Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused tech giant Meta of attempting to “blackmail” parliament, by refusing to rule out a ban on all news content from their platforms. I’m not sure she knows what that word means. Expect more reporting on this topic across the weekend.
- Also in that committee, “Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has said it supports age verification for users at the app store or operating system level, rather than requiring social media companies to verify ages,” as the Guardian put it.
- A grab-bag of senators introduced the Digital ID Repeal Bill 2024 to kill the government’s digital ID plans. “This Bill will repeal the Digital ID Act 2024, repeal the Digital ID (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2024 and reverse the amendments made by that Act.” The senators in question are Alex Antic, Ralph Babet, Matt Canavan, Pauline Hanson, Gerard Rennick, and Malcolm Roberts. So, you know.
- The Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill 2024 plans to set up such a register. As the explanatory memorandum says, “The Bill gives direct effect to the Government’s commitment to help prevent Short Message Service (SMS) impersonation scams, as announced on 23 April 2023, and forms part of the Government’s broader agenda to combat scams.”
- The ACT Integrity Commission is now an interception agency for the purposes of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.
- The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) failed to correctly report 19 gifts given to chair Nerida O’Loughlin and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, according a new audit.
- We have new rules for identity verification services, which I haven’t read yet.
- The inquiry into supporting the development of sovereign capability in the Australian tech sector has issued its report.
- The Australian Cyber Security Centre has published some updates (PDF) to the Information Security Manual (ISM). “The ISM is intended for Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, cyber security professionals and information technology managers.”
- Apparently there’s still 283,000 mobile devices affected by the imminent 3G network shutdown. “Telstra’s 3G switch off has been delayed until 31 August 2024. Optus is planning to switch off its 3G network from 1 September 2024. TPG Telecom/Vodafone has already switched off its 3G network.” Many 4G devices will be affected.
- The government is spending almost $30 million on AI for healthcare spread across 10 projects (PDF).
- The Australian Taxation Office will now ingest Services Australia data daily rather than twice a year to check clams for the Medicare levy and surcharge exemption.
Data breaches and hacks of note
- Hacker Sp1d3r has started posting data from the Ticketmaster / Ticketek hack, with quite a bit of information about each customer.
- The Medusa ransomware gang has started publishing data from the Victoria Racing Club hack earlier this month.
- Australian order-ahead app Hey You has been hit by an alleged data breach.
- Hackers have altered bank details in Victorian government databases used to pay suppliers four times over the course of a year and a half.
- A 42-year-old West Australian man is facing nine cybercrime charges having allegedly set up fake free wifi networks at major Australian airports and on domestic flights to steal data.
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Inquiries of note
- A senate committee is looking at the Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Bill 2024. Submissions close 19 July, with the report due on 8 August.
Elsewhere
- According to a report from the NSW Crime Commission, one in four people who purchased GPS tracking devices since 2023 are “known to police” with a history of domestic violence. For what it’s worth, it’s illegal to track someone without their consent in NSW.
- “Australian police accused of improperly accessing force databases more than 2,000 times,” reports the Guardian.
- Scams are now a national security issue, according to this piece from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
- New Zealand’s coalition government has scrapped efforts to modernise out-of-date online safety rules, despite qualified support from the platforms.
- After three years of work with the electronic real estate conveyancing industry, a national reform to widen competition has ground to a halt due to “issues raised by the banking industry”.
- The National Library of Australia’s archive of the Australian web is filling up with AI-generated spam.
- A 31-year-old Melbourne man has copped two years in jail for a bunch of identity theft offences.
- And from the other week, Tenancy Information Centre Australasia (TICA) has been tracking renters’ movements for more than seven years, which has not impressed the regulator.
What’s next?
Parliament continues for another week. We already have the draft legislation programs for the Senate and the House of Representatives
The Reps will be debating the Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Bill, plus the Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill mentioned earlier.
The Senate program includes the Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill.
On Tuesday 2 July there’s another public hearing for the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, the final of four.
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The Weekly Cybers is a personal look at what the Australian government has been saying and doing in the digital and cyber realms, on various adjacent topics, and whatever else interests me, Stilgherrian, published every Friday afternoon (nearly).
If I’ve missed anything, or if there’s any specific items you’d like me to follow, please let me know.
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This is not specifically a cyber *security* newsletter. For that that I recommend Risky Biz News and Cyber Daily, among others.