Jul 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
Over the past few years the federal government has passed more and more laws granting police and security agencies greater access to our private communications. Law enforcement agencies claim the powers protect Australians from criminals, but there are growing...
Jul 10, 2021 | Uncategorized
Lucie Krahulcova is an international digital rights activist and Executive Director of Digital Rights Watch. Lizzie O’Shea is a writer, lawyer and co-founder and chair of Digital Rights Watch. “It should worry us that we are losing rights as surveillance systems grow...
May 26, 2021 | Uncategorized
In March 2021, Australia led the world in establishing the mandatory News Media Bargaining Code to force Google and Facebook to pay for the journalism it republishes to attract viewers and advertising. This development has long-term implications for digital...
May 15, 2021 | Uncategorized
Just over a year ago, international borders closed as part of the unprecedented emergency response to the pandemic. Governments began to experiment with technological solutions to managing the movement of people, specifically at borders, but also more broadly for the...
May 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Ada Lovelace, the daughter of poet Lord Byron and collaborator with mechanical computer pioneer Charles Babbage, is credited with being the world’s first computer programmer. Lawyer and writer Lizzie O’Shea thinks Lovelace has lessons for us today about we deal with...
May 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
Why and how do we need to put humanity at the core and in control? What is at stake if we don’t do this? Lizzie O’Shea, Founder and Chair, Digital Rights Watch Bill Simpson-Young, Co-founder and Chief Executive, Gradient Institute Moderator: Jackie...
Mar 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
If we are to think of alternatives to the heedless, vampire-like drive of technology capitalism, there are examples from history that are worthy of consideration. In looking back we should not dwell on the elites, who tend to dominate the social and cultural life of...
Mar 14, 2021 | Uncategorized
Published in the Overland Sunday, 14 March, 2021. By Lizzie O’Shea, Rebecca Giblin, Kate Seear and Alexandra Dane. Promising Young Woman boldly examines male entitlement and female rage from a woman’s perspective. By which we mean: it’s not simply a story about...
Mar 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Published in The Saturday Paper on Sunday March 13, 2021.
Mar 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Published in Nikkei Asia on Sunday, March 13, 2021. In the #MeToo era, it is now clearer than ever that sexual assault is not some irregular occurrence, but is actually a function of the structural dominance of men over women. It is a consequence of a world in which...
Mar 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
As published in The Saturday Paper March 11 2021 Public policy should not be left to the cult of personality, no matter how amicable the current eSafety Commissioner may be. The best protection against unintended consequences is for this legislation to be surgically...
Mar 1, 2021 | Uncategorized
Published in Baffler March 2021 In August 2019, Facebook settled an eight-year legal dispute with a French schoolteacher. The complaint, made by Frédéric Durand, accused the platform of deleting his account because he posted an image of Gustave Courbet’s iconic oil...
Feb 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Published in Overland Thursday, 18 February, 2021. Facebook has followed through on its promise, banning news content on its platform in response to the media bargaining code currently before parliament. Although it was something that Google had talked about most...
Feb 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
As published in Nikkei Asia on Friday, February 12, 2021. Lizzie O’Shea is a human rights lawyer. She is author of “Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us about Digital Technology.” The experience of online...
Dec 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
Published in the Overland. Sunday, 14 December, 2020. The proposed news media bargaining code tabled last week has been praised by many journalists. It’s also deeply flawed. The scheme requires that organisations apply to the Australian Media and Communications...
Nov 12, 2020 | Uncategorized
This election has come at a critical moment for the elite of Silicon Valley. In July, the CEOs of the big four tech companies gave evidence before the House Judiciary Committee investigating breaches of antitrust law. Since then, the Committee released their 449 page...
Sep 19, 2020 | Uncategorized
One of the central themes of our COVID-19 world has been the fortification of borders in the name of containing the virus, further solidifying the nexus between the tech industry and government. As borders in the digital century have become more dependent on bytes and...
Aug 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
[UPDATE: Jean-Sebastien Jacques resigned on 11 September 2020] When Anglo-Australian mining multinational Rio Tinto blew up two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock shelters in May, most people could be forgiven for believing it was not a conspiracy but a horrendous...
Jul 31, 2020 | Uncategorized
When Singapore took the lead in developing a contact tracing app to help curb the spread of COVID-19, many other nations were quick to follow, using the health crisis to justify increased surveillance. But the moment gave citizens a chance to observe their governments...
Jun 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
Hosted by Melissa Benn Featuring: Ed Miliband MP, Hilary Cottam, Christine Berry, Lizzie O’Shea and Anita Whittaker Whether or not we have a second wave of the pandemic, the post-coronavirus economic recession is going to be very severe and is already here for...
