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This week
IN THE NEWS: ACCAN Consumer Congress begins next week, ACMA to enforce financial hardship provisions and 90% of Australians using AI at work
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This will be the final edition of WebNews before ACCAN’s Communication Consumer Congress begins! We look forward to seeing you there. If you haven’t yet secured your spot, there is still time! View the program and book your spot via the link above. [ACCAN]
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Minister for Communications The Hon Michelle Rowland MP has directed the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to create an enforceable industry standard to ensure support for consumers facing financial hardship. ACCAN welcomes this important development at a time when more Australians are facing cost of living pressures. [Minister Rowland]
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The auDA Foundation has opened applications for its $600,000 community grant program, offering $40,000 to 15 projects that will enhance digital inclusion and innovation for regional and rural Australians, Australians living with disability, First Nations peoples, and older (age 65+) and younger (age 12-24) Australians. For more information and to apply, follow the link above. [auDA]
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YouGov research, commissioned by Salesforce, has found that 90% of Australian workers are already using artificial intelligence in daily work tasks, while nearly 70% use generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Only 17% of respondents reported receiving training on the ethical and safe use of the technologies, further evidence that company policies still lag behind employee uptake of AI. [TelcoNews]
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Beware of fake websites offering the seniors discount card. These deceptive websites pretend to be from an officially approved provider, stating you can get membership by paying an application fee. There is no fee to apply for a seniors card. Never click links in messages to log onto Government online services. [The Senior]
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The European Union has introduced the Digital Markets Act, a package of laws aimed at curbing the control of large tech players including Alphabet, Apple, Meta, ByteDance, Amazon and Microsoft. The new regulations limit the collection and monetisation of data harvested from phone users, allow users to remove default applications, and will mandate that users can install phone payment systems created by third parties. [The Guardian]
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The Australian Privacy Commissioner has reported that Australian organisations suffered 409 notifiable data breaches in the first 6 months of 2023. Under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, organisations and agencies must inform affected consumers if their personal information is lost or stolen. The most common type of information caught up in data breaches was contact information, which can include an individual’s name, home address, phone number, or email address. [Gizmodo]
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This piece from former ACCC Chair Rod Sims offers a clear argument about the causes and consequences of a lack of competition in several sectors of the Australian economy, including aviation, banking, energy, telecommunications and retail. [The Guardian]
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With the Northern Territory Department of Education joining the scheme as a nominating organisation, the School Student Broadband Initiative is now available to families in the Northern Territory. [Minister Rowland]
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TPG has extended until October 4 the exclusive due diligence period for Vocus regarding its offered $6.3b purchase of TPGs non-mobile fibre assets. A TPG spokesperson has stated that it is “no certainty” the transaction will eventuate, with both boards needing to approve the deal. [Reuters]
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WebNews #626
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If you are Deaf, or have a hearing impairment or speech impairment, you can contact us on 02 9288 4000 through your preferred National Relay Service call number or access point.
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs. The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only for the people it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this information is unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or subject to legal privilege. If you receive this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the e-mail and any attachments. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network does not warrant that the information in this e-mail or any attachments are free from any viruses, defects, errors, interception or interference.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is supported by the Commonwealth through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
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