Social Media
eSafety calls out YouTube carve-out in age ban shake-up
The eSafety Commissioner isn’t sold on Labor’s decision to give YouTube a hall pass from its looming under-16s social media ban.
In a move that ups the heat on Communications Minister Anika Wells, Julie Inman Grant has recommended the exemption be scrapped, just ahead of her National Press Club address, where she’ll also push for tougher rules on search engines to limit kids’ access to porn and other age-gated content.
As Jack Quail writes in The Australian, The new laws, set to land in December, demand that platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Instagram and Facebook take “reasonable steps” to keep under-16s off their services. But YouTube got an early exemption.
Expert exits age tech trial amid transparency concerns
One of the experts on the advisory board for Australia’s $6.5 million age-assurance tech trial has quietly stepped away, raising eyebrows about how the whole thing is being run.
Tim Levy, managing director at kids’ safety tech firm Qoria, confirmed his exit to Crikey’s Cam Wilson, citing concerns around how the trial was built and how feedback has been handled, or not.
The government trial is testing ways to block under-16s from joining social platforms, with plans to use the results to help roll out a world-first social media age ban.
Legal
Taylor Auerbach adds law books to his legal drama résumé
Taylor Auerbach, the former Seven producer who lit up Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case with allegations involving sex workers and network-funded cocaine, is now carving out a more formal role in legal circles, by enrolling in law school.
As Kishor Napier-Raman and Madeleine Heffernan report in The Sydney Morning Herald, since his headline-grabbing testimony, Auerbach has stayed courtroom-adjacent.
Back in March, he launched his own defamation suit against Seven, accusing the network of making damaging remarks about him just before he took the stand in the Lehrmann case.
Mamamia and Body + Soul face court over cannabis content
Mamamia and News Corp’s Body + Soul have landed in legal hot water, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration dragging both to the Federal Court over allegedly unlawful medicinal cannabis ads disguised as editorial.
As Calum Jaspan and Kate Aubusson write in The Age, the watchdog claims the outlets breached strict rules by promoting cannabis products through sponsored content for dispensary Atlus.
According to the TGA, the articles ran across 2022 and 2023 and included endorsements from medical professionals, something the advertising code flatly prohibits.
Lehrmann pushes to shut down rape case over intercepted calls
Bruce Lehrmann is now trying to permanently halt the rape case against him, arguing the whole thing is compromised after revelations police secretly recorded phone calls involving his former lawyer.
As Charlotte Karp reports in The Daily Telegraph, his current barrister, Zali Burrows, filed the stay application in Toowoomba District Court on Monday.
The move comes off the back of an affidavit from the DPP’s office, which admitted last week it had only just learned that key evidence was withheld.
Journalism
BBC backs Martine Croxall after viral on-air correction
The BBC has stood by news presenter Martine Croxall after she made headlines for tweaking her autocue mid-broadcast, subbing “pregnant people” for “women” and earning viral praise (and a shoutout from J.K. Rowling) in the process.
As Jake Kanter reports in Deadline, Croxall was reading a quote from Dr Malcolm Mistry, who co-authored a study on heatwave-related deaths, when she paused, rolled her eyes, and corrected the wording.
“The aged, pregnant people… women… and those with pre-existing health conditions,” she said, moving on quickly. While the moment sparked fierce online debate, the BBC says it has “no issue” with how Croxall handled the segment.
Television
Ten takes 10 News+ to Spotify in bold distribution play
Network Ten is leaning hard into digital with its new current affairs show 10 News+, striking what it’s calling a world-first deal to simulcast the program on Spotify as both an audio and video podcast, within minutes of its nightly TV airing.
According to Sam Buckingham-Jones in the Australian Financial Review, It will also stream live on YouTube, making the bulletin available just about everywhere but your toaster.
The move comes hot on the heels of The Project’s quiet retirement after a 16-year run, with 10 News+ stepping in as Ten’s nightly deep-dive into news and issues, fronted by Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace.
Farmer Wants a Wife EP spills on shock split
The sun has finally set on another season of Seven’s Farmer Wants a Wife.
Last night saw the farmers gather together, a month on from their final decisions, to give an honest updates on how their relationships have progressed, some confirming they are still together with their chosen partners, while others revealed things hadn’t gone as planned.
Of the five couples who left the show together, four are still going strong. The exception? Chloe and Jarrad. “She broke it off,” the show’s Executive Producer Sylvia D’Souza told Mediaweek.
Sport
Whoopi Goldberg-backed network strikes global deal with Super Netball
In one of the more unexpected crossover episodes, Whoopi Goldberg’s All Women’s Sports Network has signed a global broadcast deal with Netball Australia.
According to Rachel Jackson who writes for 7NEWS, the three-year partnership will beam Super Netball into 65 new countries via AWSN, the platform Goldberg co-founded in 2024.
The unlikely match started with a scroll. AWSN co-founders Tony Parrish and George Chung spotted Super Netball clips on social media, liked what they saw, and reached out.
Business
Canva ditches Wall Street for in-house share sale
Canva is skipping the bankers this time.
As Bronwen Clune writes in Capital Brief, after leaning on Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to shift US$1.58 billion in stock last year, the Aussie design giant is now managing its latest US$500 million secondary share sale completely in-house.
Sources close to the deal say no external advisers are involved, with Canva choosing to handle the process directly, something that’s not uncommon for a company of its size.
Streaming
South Park creators threaten legal action over Paramount interference
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are threatening to lawyer up, accusing incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell of meddling in their efforts to shop the show to new streaming platforms as their current licensing deal winds down.
According to Winston Cho and Alex Weprin who write in The Hollywood Reporter, in a sharply worded letter sent last week, Parker and Stone’s company, Park County, alleged Shell interfered with negotiations by nudging Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix to tweak their offers in ways that would tilt the deal in Paramount’s favour, despite Paramount being on its way out.
Among the sticking points: Shell allegedly pushed for a shorter contract term and an exclusive release window for Paramount+, which could tank the value of rival bids.