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This week
IN THE NEWS: Carol Bennett appointed CEO of ACCAN, review of universal service funding underway, and 300,000 Optus outage-related fraud attempts blocked
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The Board of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has announced the appointment of Ms Carol Bennett as Chief Executive Officer for the organisation from 8 July 2024. Carol is a highly respected leader with a remarkable track record of delivering positive change for consumers and communities in all her previous CEO roles. She has outstanding expertise in strategic decision-making, communications, advocacy, stakeholder management, financial performance, collaboration building, government relations and corporate governance. Read more about Carol’s background, and hear from her and ACCAN Chair Prof. Julian Thomas, at our media release (above). [ACCAN]
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The Government is seeking views on the best way to fund universal telco services across Australia, looking into the overlapping Regional Broadband Scheme (RBS) and Telecommunications Industry Levy (TIL). This consultation will complement the ongoing review into the Universal Service Obligation, which ACCAN submitted to last month. The discussion paper includes detailed mapping of NBN and Telstra service coverage across Australia. Consultation closes on 14 May. [Minister Rowland]
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Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has confirmed that a stolen credentials register established in the wake of the 2022 Optus cyberattack has helped block more than 300,000 attempts to use stolen customer information. Around 10 million Australians had information including passports and drivers licenses stolen in the breach. The stolen credentials register prevents information illegally obtained by criminals being used as proof of identity. [ABC]
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The School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) will now be visibly and actively promoted by the NSW Department of Education, with families encouraged to take advantage of the program. The SSBI provides free broadband internet to families who: (a) have a child living at home enrolled in an Australian school; (b) have no active broadband service over the NBN network; and (c) live in a premises where they can access a standard NBN service. We encourage readers to share the SSBI with those who may benefit [ITWire]
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Eyewear company Luxottica has paid a $1,512,500 penalty for breaching Australian spam laws by sending more than 200,000 text messages and emails without a functional unsubscribe facility, or to customers who had unsubscribed from such messages. These messages include order confirmation and password reset instructions which featured marketing content, which therefore must include an unsubscribe option. Luxottica has appointed an independent consultant to review its compliance with spam rules. [AdNews]
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A report from the UTS Centre for Media Transition has found that more information should be made public about enforcement actions taken by the ACMA, and has raised questions about the adequacy of its enforcement powers in ensuring industry compliance. It has recommended that the ACMA increase transparency and accountability around how they enforce telecommunications rules by establishing a public register of enforcement actions. Read our media release via the link above. [ACCAN]
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On Thursday 18 April at 12pm AEST, the UTS Centre for Media Transition (CMT) will be hosting a webinar to publicly launch its report on ACMA enforcement actions, mentioned above. The CMT will share a preliminary account of enforcement action taken by ACMA between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2023 in relation to industry codes, industry standards, select service provider rules and select carrier license conditions. It will provide important data that should inform current and future policy discussions about the appropriate regulatory framework for the telecommunications industry. [UTS - link to register for the webinar]
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has proposed changes which will significantly increase the powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to oversee corporate mergers. Changes to be put to parliament later this year and commence in 2026 will require companies to notify and convince the ACCC that a proposed merger or acquisition won’t substantially lessen competition. [ABC]
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Interest in artificial intelligence technology, including how to use it and how to detect its use, has dominated Google search trends in the last year. New data shows a 50% increase in web queries year on year, with a notable uptick in searches about generative AI. Prominent queries such as "how many industries will AI ruin" show that Australians are wary of the potential downsides of the technology. [Canberra Times]
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The .au Domain Administration (auDA) has announced that their CEO Rosemary Sinclair will step down towards the end of 2024. ACCAN thanks Rosemary for her many years of close and effective collaboration and wishes her the very best for all future endeavours. [auDA]
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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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