Australia
Reach the things people in Australia care about — sports, apps, films, and the internet they share — and learn what's happening for privacy and digital freedom.
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Privacy Pulse
Notable privacy and internet-freedom events from the past four years, most recent first. Tap any entry for more.
Australia Bans Social Media for Under-16s
Australia passed a world-first law barring under-16s from holding social media accounts, requiring platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent them or face penalties of up to AU$49.5 million.
Australia Passes Mandatory Ransomware Reporting Law
Australia enacted the Cyber Security Act 2024, requiring businesses to report ransomware payments and establishing a ransomware reporting regime to improve national visibility of attacks.
eSafety Commissioner Orders Global X Takedown
Australia's eSafety Commissioner ordered X to globally remove videos of a Sydney church stabbing; X initially refused, leading to a Federal Court battle that the commissioner ultimately dropped.
Australia Imposes Sanctions on REvil Hacker Behind Medibank
Australia imposed its first cyber sanctions on Russian national Aleksandr Ermakov for his role in the Medibank data breach, marking a new use of its cyber sanctions regime.
Medibank Ransomware Attack Exposes 9.7 Million Records
Ransomware operators stole the personal and health records of 9.7 million Medibank customers and published them on the dark web after the insurer refused to pay, prompting a national crisis.
Optus Data Breach Exposes 10 Million Australians
Australian telecom Optus disclosed a breach exposing personal details of about 9.8 million current and former customers, including passport, driver's licence or Medicare numbers for roughly 2.1 million of them, triggering urgent regulatory reforms.
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