ACMA is getting "new information-gathering and record-keeping powers" to monitor if digital platforms (i.e: Google, Meta & TikTok) are doing what they said they'll do under the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation cooked up by lobby group DIGI at the government's request late last year. ACMA will develop this into a mandatory code if they find that the platforms aren't doing a good enough job at meeting their own set of guidelines. You can view the code in all its glory on DIGI's website. The law firm Gilbert & Tobin has a summary of a draft version of the code from mid-2022.
That other 4 letter agency, the ACCC, will "next week launch a national sweep of online platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and is warning those with large followings to be more up-front about whether they are getting paid for product placement" and has even "reached out to its own followers on Facebook, encouraging them to dob in influencers doing the wrong thing". Thank fuck for that. If I was the ACCC I'd take it a step further and mandate a warning on sponsored content like those ads on a box of ciggies with the decaying feet and rotting lungs.
If ya didn't already know, Wikipedia got a makeover. Considering the huge scale of Wikipedia and the relative lack of change on one of the world's most visited websites - it's the first update to the desktop site in a decade - this is a big deal. The most noticeable changes are the "sticky header" and table of contents that stay put when you scroll. Having the contents on the side is a good change. They've also limited the width of the content area, so if you have a large window the text isn't one super long, difficult to read line. For something designed by committee, it's pretty good. Congrats on not fucking up Wikipedia!
Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.
A member of the Ansar Dimachk Brigade, part of the Asood Allah Brigade which operates under the Free Syrian Army, uses an iPad during preparations to fire a homemade mortar at one of the battlefronts in Jobar, Damascus September 15, 2013. (Mohamed Abdullah)
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