Josh Taylor

@joshtaylor.bsky.social

11893 Followers 736 Following

Technology reporter at the Guardian, in Melbourne, Australia. Tech, infosec, FOI, politics, media 🌈 (he/him) https://linktr.ee/joshtayl0r

June 5, 2026 The Hon Anthony Albanese Prime Minister of Australia PO Box 6022 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2603 Dear Prime Minister I know that creating safe digital spaces and further protecting children online is a deep commitment for you and your government. I wanted to congratulate you on the significant global leadership you have shown on this issue. This is a goal we very much share at Apple, where our profound commitment to user safety, privacy and security means we are continuously enhancing the trusted, industry-leading tools we offer to help parents protect their kids. Next week, we will be making several announcements in this area, and I would very much like to share more details with you. We will be making significant changes to improve safety features and controls available to parents, all backed by the best available research from clinical and child development experts. I believe our changes will complement the globally-leading work Australia is undertaking on online safety. I very much hope that a call may be possible. My team is available to support in finding a mutually suitable time to speak. I look forward to being able to discuss this very important agenda with you. Yours sincerely,
News.com.au has uncovered that parent-run social media accounts for children aged under 16 are wrongly being closed following Australia's social media ban
Anko brand perve glasses in a box. Says "this popular item has sold out online"
252. This Robodebt debacle is something that we have to learn the lessons from or should I say Commonwealth ministers and their departments have to learn the lessons from. 253. Surely ministers must properly inform themselves of the technical and legal complexities of automated systems and schemes to which members of the public are to be subjected. Such a motivation and skill set are not optional extras. Further, the concept of being a responsible minister does not mean finding a public servant to take responsibility for the policy that you have sought to push through. And nor is the role of a minister simply to educate yourself about the policy through a one page document. And nor is the intellectual exercise simply limited to following the instruction on a "post it" note, which tells you where to place your signature on the executive minute.
Boycott creepy census questions Families should boycott “creepy census questions on sexual identity” as such matters are no business of government, according to FamilyVoice Australia spokesman David d’Lima. “It beggars believe that the Australian Bureau of Statistics will soon be forcing families to grapple with issues of gender identity,” FamilyVoice Australia spokesman David d'Lima said.
Ben Carroll tweet: Books I’ve enjoyed in 2025. Image includes a pile of books including Tony Blair On Leadership, a book by Gordon Brown, a Kier Starmer bio, and The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
The couple received a stream of online threats and strange deliveries to their home, including live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask and a book about surviving the loss of a spouse. Additionally, former eBay employees surveilled the couple and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car to keep tabs on their whereabouts.
An eBay Instagram ad selling an NBN FttC device that is labelled "property of NBN - do not take this device if you relocate. It must remain at this address"
The Environment Centre NT's executive director, Kirsty Howey, described Cahill's claim as "completely cooked". "The minister appears to believe that the Northern Territory's wet season can alter Earth's axis, which has no scientific basis," Howey said. "It's frightening that the people in charge of regulating dangerous industries like fracking and datacentres seem to lack even a high-school understanding of water science."
Rita Panahi's Lefties Losing it: The Odyssey is a red-hot Hollywood mess. Sky News host Rita Panahi has taken a shot at The Odyssey for trying to “out woke” the rest of Hollywood. Paul Murray: ‘I’m annoyed’: Megyn Kelly blasts race-swapping in The Odyssey ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’ host Megyn Kelly criticises Hollywood's approach to diversity, arguing white actors are increasingly sidelined as classic...
Herald Sun Wereforyou = The Allan government will on Sunday unveil a suite of new legislative changes that will give the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) new "demasking powers", ", which will force social media companies to reveal the identities of anonymous accounts inciting hatred based on their race, religion or sexual orientation.
Dr Naomi Wolf tweeting: No! No!!
The Independent The former MP's murder has rekindled the debate over how to protect our politicians - and turned the Clacton by-election into a sombre affair COMMENT After the killing of Ann Widdecombe, Count Binface is suddenly a lot less funny
From Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Tommy: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and saviour Hedwig: No, but I... I love his work
Kash Patel shaking hands with an NZ official, the replica gun is in front of his knee, half in view.
Sky News: Men support Albanese after X-rated podcast scandal as women sour on PM Anthony Albanese’s standing has improved among men in the wake of his X-rated comments about Kylie Minogue and his wife, but women have turned on the PM.
Asked about whether the company was pushing prices up to improve shareholder returns, Brady said 16m Australians benefit from dividends. "They're either shareholders directly, more than 1.2 million direct shareholders in Telstra, and then through superannuation funds in the country," she said. "So we've got to balance all of those things."
JT's network 4.3 JT's services rely on an IP (Internet Protocol) network. JT operates a network composed of around 100 IP routers provided by Cisco and configured to a Cisco approved design. 4.4 These routers, which transport all of JT's fixed and mobile traffic, are connected to two clock sources, known as Network Time Protocol ("NTP") servers, through the IP network. 3 These NTP servers had been provided by two different vendors. The 12 July outage 4.5 At 18:55 on 12 July 2020 there was a malfunction in one of the two NTP servers. This ultimately led to the Outage across the entire JT network. 4.6 JT began to restore its network from 21:44 on 12 July 2020. The network was restored in its entirety at 12 noon on 17 July 2020.14 The Notification therefore referred to the incident as being the period from 18:55 on 12 July 2020 to 12 noon on 17 July 2020, during which the effects of the Outage continued to persist (the "Incident").
Telstra is not the first company to encounter this issue. A telco in Jersey suffered a similar outage in 2020 that lasted hours, took out emergency call functions for some customers on the Channel island, and took nearly five days to fully recover services. According to the investigation from that outage, the telco's time server generated the wrong date - November 2000 - nearly 20 years earlier. The incorrect date was passed onto routers in the network that then isolated themselves from the network, "Having lost around half of the network, inherent resilience was lost which ultimately led ultimately to the outage across the entire JT network," a report found. The significance of the date was that the system used a week counter up to 1023 weeks, and the default date went back 19.6 years - as with the Telstra issue.
John Howard was still the prime minister, the first iPhone was months away, and Facebook had only just become available to the world. When Telstra's mobile network fell over on Wednesday morning, it was because a software defect was telling the network it was back in November 2006.
In darkness will be Australia
Happily, a neighbour, Hollie Jenkinson, revealed that she had held a gender-reveal party and used cornstarch with blue dye in it. Jenkin thinks Wilbur didn’t get it on her face because she likes to roll around on her back. “And she does a weird thing with her head when she’s rolling so it must have missed her face. We have not stopped laughing since. It’s so funny.” Removing the dye turned out to be a bit of a chore. “I had to keep washing and washing her. The blue wouldn’t come out. She’s still got a tiny stain but she’s OK.”
“Family First is proud of Moira’s courage and her advocacy for girls and women in the face of overwhelming opposition. “Australia needs more parliamentarians with her courage and resolve.”
JOURNALIST: The social media ban, originally there was only one day for people to put submissions to the original inquiry into those laws. Why is the government in such a rush? Why can’t they just look at it, given these are such significant changes? Why can’t the government just wait for a couple of weeks to make sure that things are effective? WELLS: This is urgent. As you heard Emma Mason say on Channel 9 this morning, where there are parents who have lost their children to the harms online and have been, to this point, very generous with their own time and their own heart and suffering to get these reforms– 120,000 parents asked us to do this. Obviously, we have a big piece of work to do with Digital Duty of Care, and we should be thorough with that. And I'm working on the exposure draft to give to everybody in the second half of the year. But this isn't trying to solve the internet. This is the eSafety Commissioner needs to take big tech to court. We know they're taking the piss. We all agree that more under-16s should be off the internet, off social media than they are. She asked us- she asked the Parliament- for these additional powers. We are trying to give them to her. Delaying the bill is delaying accountability for big tech.
Luca Ittimani Datacentres could help overheat economy, RBA warns The Reserve Bank board has warned rising investment in data centres and steady spending means the economy is still running pretty hot after its three interest rate rises. The minutes from the RBA’s 16 June meeting show the board identifying two key risks to inflation which could force another interest rate hike, after it decided to leave rates on hold this month: unreliable world oil supply thanks to the US-Israel war on Iran and weak productivity growth. Members disagreed over how hot the economy was running. The board noted household spending had not weakened much this year and mortgage payments were taking up a smaller portion of pay packets than the last time the cash rate was at 4.35%, as income had risen faster than borrowing over the last couple of years. The board was surprised by the strength of business investment and warned the rush to build datacentres could worsen skills shortages and leave the economy running hotter. The minutes mentioned “datacentres” five times. The housing market had been weaker than the RBA predicted and household spending could slow if the market fell further, the board noted. Bond and currency markets have slipped since the minutes’ release, indicating analysts do not see in them much sign the board is keen to hike rates. Markets had cut bets on another hike after 16 June, with rates expected to stay on hold over the coming 12 months.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026 (Amendments to be moved by Senator Whitten, on behalf of One Nation, in committee of the whole) (1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 3), omit “Schedules 3 and 4”, substitute “Schedule 3”. [opposing exclusion of tobacco and gambling related activities from the R&D Tax Incentive—consequential] (2) Schedule 4, page 14 (line 1) to page 17 (line 20), to be opposed. [opposing exclusion of tobacco and gambling related activities from the R&D Tax Incentive]
Application for registration by "I'm voting to avoid the fine"
By the way, conservative politicians do go on the ABC, when invited. However, left-of-centre politicians invariably decline to go on Sky News' opinion programs which commence at 5 pm. Sky News' critics refer to this as "Sky News After Dark"- even at 5 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time in late December when the sun remains high in the sky.
The professionally cancelled pundit is a genre of primarily center-right contrarian who makes their living by deliberately provoking outrage online, and then claiming that the outrage directed at them is evidence of an intolerant left run amok. Usually but not exclusively white millennials or Gen X writers, the cancelled pundit has a sheen of faded patrician prestige, like a stack of unread New Yorkers in a basket beside a toilet. They believe themselves deserving of deference and they think themselves brave for complaining when they don't get it. They're beloved by white boomers, Romney Republicans and those who use the word "woke" derisively. Their work is meant to appeal to people uncomfortable with social forces that challenge the established hierarchy of power.
Imogen Heap in the Snap glasses
Snap Inc glasses. Big black dorky frames for the spyware. Today at Augmented World Expo 2026, we introduced SPECS, our new augmented reality glasses.
Dario Amodei (of Anthropic): Policy on the AI Exponential June 2026 In one of the side plots to The Lord of the Rings, two of the Hobbits attempt to rouse Treebeard—a wise but ponderous sentient tree—to defend his forest from an army that is cutting it down. The problem is that Treebeard operates at a very different speed than the Hobbits. It takes him a full day simply to say hello to another tree, so getting him and his peers to act fast enough is nearly impossible. The intersection of AI and our political institutions feels a bit like the Hobbits and Treebeard. AI is advancing at a lightning pace—in only four years, AI models have gone from barely being able to write a
JOURNALIST: Is it appropriate for a property manager to tell a tenant to remove the Australian flag? And since speaking out, that tenant has actually seen a rent increase. What’s your response to that? PRIME MINISTER: I support the Australian flag.
The Freedom Party wants to change its name to "Safety Victoria - Violent Crime Prevention". The new logo is a shield with the shape of the state of Victoria inside.
Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT BY APPLE Today Apple CEO Tim Cook called me to brief me on the major announcement Apple has made regarding their new online safety controls for children. Mr Cook told me these changes are in part inspired by Australia’s world-leading social media age ban, as well as the continued research Apple is undertaking into the impact of social media on kids. I welcome this announcement, and I am proud of the world leading work Australia is doing to fight for a safer online world for our children.
A tuxedo cat, Rupert sitting in judgement
: THE AUSTRALIAN• = Ms Hunt said the counselling was over her use of the "f-word, and that was it". Asked why she made the comment about the former male politician, she said: "I don't know, his name came up and I just went, "Oh, you know that he pretends to be straight. I reckon he's secretly a (faggot)." "That's when they said 'Oh, you can't say that. When I was talking to the associate who was gay, I asked her "Are we allowed to use the word dyke?'
I wanted to get in touch regarding your recent article referencing that the Sydney Morning Herald has_pulled an opinion piece from a Western Sydney University academic after it emerged Al was used in the writing process. Australia's leading copywriting trainer, Vikki Maver, believes we're completely missing the point and would love to add to the commentary if you're doing any follow-up coverage. Vikki believes that the real issue isn't that people are using Al. It's that we're still treating Al use as something shameful rather than teaching people how to use it responsibly Vikki owns Refresh Marketing, Australia's longest-running copywriting agency alongside Communication Skills Academy, and has spent the last four years training businesses and professionals on Al-assisted writing. Her view is that using Al to edit, refine or tighten your own ideas is no different to using Grammarly, spellcheck or Excel. The concern should be whether people are outsourcing their thinking, not whether they're using technology to improve their writing. Interestingly, the most common question Vikki receives isn't whether people should use Al - it's how to use it without anyone knowing.
Pocock also criticised the government after it “noted” the 31 recommendations of the Murphy report, rather than agreeing or rejecting any specific recommendation. “To me and most Canberrans that I speak to, noting is not a response. If you respond to something, you actually say: ‘yeah, we like that recommendation, we’re going to do it’, or ‘no, we’re not going to do it’,” he said. “Noting is I think in most people’s minds like a bit of a pat on the head.”
DECISION 3. In accordance section 25 of the Act, I refuse access in relation to your request, on the basis I neither confirm nor deny the existence of documents relevant to the scope of your request are held by the AFP. 4. The FOI Act allows agencies to refuse access to a request without confirming or denying the existence of a document where a document, if it existed, would be exempt under section 33 (documents affecting national security, defence or international relations) or section 37(1) (documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety).
Peter Capaldi, who played two different characters in Doctor Who
Ben Roberts Smith dressed as Homelander with the Australian flag behind him
7. In 2024, you used cryptocurrency to buy a number of 'keylogger files' from a website called Russian Market, for US$o each. Each file contained a log of data which had been entered into a computer, and then collected by keylogger malware. The data usually included lists of websites visited on that computer, and any login credentials (account numbers, usernames and/or passwords) entered on each site. Sometimes the file would also come with an 'autofills page', showing information which had been automatically entered into websites on that computer. You used the keylogger files to identify victims' mobile numbers and other identification information, such as their names, dates of birth, telecommunications service account numbers and bank account details. You also received some victims' mobile numbers from other users of the online application Telegram. 8. The accessing of this information involved an unauthorised access to data. Between 19 June and 29 July 2024, for each victim whose mobile number you identified in a keylogger file, or obtained from another Telegram user, you purchased a new mobile phone plan (through an eSIM) from TPG Telecom Limited (TPG). You then selected the option to 'port in' the victim's existing mobile number. This means you sought to transfer the victim's mobile number from their existing telecommunications service provider, such as Optus, to the new eSIM which you had purchased from TPG.
However, in internal WiseTech Global Teams chats on Wednesday seen by Guardian Australia, staff noted the wording in the email sent to China-based employees was changed to "global transformation" and the second line was omitted from the email. Employees in the chat asked the chief executive, Zubin Appoo, whether this was done in response to a recent Chinese court ruling compensating a tech company employee - who was sacked and replaced with AI - almost A$53,000. "Changing the content of just one email seems quite confusing," one employee said. "We have several emails that can demonstrate it was an Al layoff."
Tweet: Kangmin Lee | 0|00 @ka...•18h X The show writers turned Homelander into a Trump analogue, and this is how they choose to end The Boys. This entire show was just a deranged sexual humiliation fantasy projected onto Trump. They can't even produce a decent superhero parody without injecting their twisted fetishes into every script. A picture of Homelander covered in blood and crying, powerless before Butcher, saying he'll suck his dick or eat his shit. Elon Musk replies: "Pathetic"
A scam post stating “What happened there” with a photo of Kylie Minogue with text under saying “She shocked the whole of Australia with her will!” Fake texts next to the image falsely claims she wanted an interview cut and she will sue the outlet
Entries will be a between 1min and 4 hours and a minimum of 90% AIGC, AI- Generated and are not limited by model, software or technology - the focus is storytelling with a strong emphasis on the visually incredible - “HYPERPHANTASIA”.
sky news.com.Au Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson said the ABC's decision to prioritise Bluesky was "curious to say the least", claiming the platform was "well known for favouring an activist left perspective". "The ABC is required to disseminate news and information impartially and should explain how publishing on Bluesky, an ideological echo chamber, is consistent with this obligation," Senator Henderson told
The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will be interviewed by Kaz and Tubes on Triple M Hobart.
Instead of dragging me through the courts, we could hire a hall and have a civil debate about the merits of exposing children to sexualised and gender fluid role models.
Family First worth fighting for Lyle Shelton I'm running for the NSW Parliament because Australia's free speech crisis must end Family First Party By Lyle Shelton Next Wednesday, May 20, will again be back in the Queensland Supreme Court after the drag queens suing me filed a Section 14 application attempting to strike out my judicial review case before I can even make any arguments.
322 The discrimination went to Ms Tickle’s inherent sense of self and identity, which it can readily be accepted are matters of significance to her. Ms Tickle has established that she has suffered from two acts of direct discrimination based on her gender identity. The loss of access to the Giggle App may be modest, as described by the primary judge, but it can be accepted that the basis of her exclusion from the Giggle App was hurtful, in the manner she describes. Further, we accept that there is aggravating conduct. Ms Grover’s public commentary on the actions that are the subject of the complaint, which is related to Ms Tickle, includes aspects that are gratuitous to the proceedings. We accept that Ms Tickle has also established she suffered additional harm from that conduct. The commentary, and her evidence in the proceedings, used language which portrayed Ms Tickle as a predatory male, seemingly to justify her position. Ms Tickle’s description, that Ms Grover’s public statements evidenced a campaign against her in respect to the acts that are the basis of these proceedings, is apt. Again, this is gratuitous to the proceedings. 323 Taking into account the relevant considerations and in light of the evidence, we find the appropriate award of general damages is $12,000. The aggravating conduct described above, warrants an award of $8,000.
THE AUSTRALIAN WEALTH Boomers' lament: "They're robbing us Peters to pay Paul' Bob Conkey worked all his life so he and his wife could enjoy a comfortable retirement. Now he's being 'punished. Bob is pictured with a Porsche
Daily Telegraph headline: Lying Jim gouges Aussies with big-taxing communist manifesto Jim Chalmers is pictured laughing with red in the background and a "Your Capital is His Gain" subhed, with the C the USSR sickle and hammer.
A blue background with a white cloud with the word: twinkl inside. There is a pink star above the i.
Tweet text: West Of Somewhere East looks at a part of the country shaped by long drives, fleeting encounters, and the reflective rhythm of return. In the link image: An AI fake of Jacqui Lambie fighting Angus Taylor with the text: Don't lecture me!" - explosive live TV clash between Jacqui Lambie and Angus Taylor shocks Australia
eSafety, This law firm represents [REDACTED]. I thank you for your e-mail with the word OFFICIAL stamped at the top in bright red, as if sending e-mails to U.S. citizens which threaten them with $49.2 million (Australian, $19.99 American) in fines, for nothing more than the free exercise of their constitutional rights, somehow exempts your agency from the requirement to utilize an international treaty procedure or letters rogatory before serving official correspondence on American citizens. You may be interested to learn that there is no "ALL CAPS" exception to Hague service. My client will not be cooperating with your investigation because my client is American, not Australian. My client has First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights and will give you the same answer it gave the UK's Ofcom, mutatis mutandis: it doesn't take orders from Australia. We fought a war from Australia's predecessor state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, to settle that question. I would explain the applicable law but, unfortunately, I have to go upstairs and watch the hit 2009 K-Drama Boys Over Flowers (which I highly recommend, if you haven't seen it - really top-quality stuff). Unfortunately this means that, unlike with your English colleagues over at Ofcom, I don't have time this evening to provide you with the complete explanation of how fruitless this fishing expedition is going to be for you. I am sure the UK can provide you with a copy of the various letters we sent to them or a copy of the lawsuit we served on them, if you're curious. I've also published those letters, like I will be publishing this one within sixty seconds of hitting "send." In the meantime, if you require U.S. legal advice on constitutional basics, I'm sure there's a first-year law student somewhere who can explain to you how the First Amendment works. I blind copy officials in several departments in the government of the United States, and government officials in multiple U.S. states. They have been provided …
Ask.com Every great search must come to an end. As IAC continues to sharpen its focus, we have made the decision to discontinue our search business, which includes Ask.com. After 25 years of answering the world's questions, Ask.com officially closed on May 1, 2026. "To the millions who asked..." We are deeply grateful to the brilliant engineers, designers, and teams who built and supported Ask over the decades. And to you—the millions of users who turned to us for answers in a rapidly changing world—thank you for your endless curiosity, your loyalty, and your trust. Jeeves’ spirit endures.
sky news.CoM.AU 'Full of holes': Progressive left's deafening double standard on paternalism exposed by Labor's failing kids social media ban Australia's world-first social media ban has flunked its first test four months after it launched - and it calls into question whether such restrictions have any effect on under 16s, writes Noel Yaxley.
Can ChatGPT aid in construing the Lease? The applicant sought to rely on the evidence from Dr Bannerman on the answer given by ChatGPT to two questions: (a) What is the ordinary meaning of the phrase “medical centre”?; and (b) Would a skin cancer clinic or cosmetic clinic, where medical practitioners provide specialised medical services, fall within the ordinary meaning of the phrase “medical centre”? The use of artificial intelligence in the form of large language models such as ChatGPT is emerging as a tool useful for many tasks undertaken by those practising in the legal profession. It has been described as having “some promise” for judicial officers in other jurisdictions; see for example Snell v United Specialty Insurance Company (2024) 102 F 4th 1208 at pages 50-1; 26-7; 53 and 29. But I am not satisfied of the relevance of its use in this case and I therefore reject the admission of Dr Bannerman’s affidavit sworn 5 September 2025 because: (a) the construction task in this case is confined in terms of the permitted extrinsic material to be considered; (b) as discussed in paragraph 72 above, resorting to tools such as a dictionary to ascertain meaning (which is akin to what the applicant seeks to use ChatGPT for in this case) is generally not useful; (c) the questions (particularly the second one) lack context and are framed in such a way that any answer would not assist in the construction task; (d) the accuracy of any answer provided by a Generative AI chatbot is unknown and without checking the source of information may make any answer unreliable;