Social Media
Australia clears path for social media age checks
Australia is edging closer to locking kids out of social media, with new tech trials showing age verification can actually work, and without blowing up users’ privacy.
According to Lachlan Leeming in The Daily Telegraph, The Age Assurance Technology Trial (AATT), a cornerstone of the Albanese government’s under-16s ban, has found that age-checking systems are not only effective but also fit for purpose in the real world.
The trial tested tech from 53 global organisations to see how accurately it could verify age. The goal? Protect younger users from online harm without triggering a privacy nightmare
Teens test future of social media age bans
A group of Aussie teens who road-tested the technology that could soon block them from social media, and the results were revealing.
According to Byron Kaye who writes for Reuters, the trial, which simulated life post-ban, saw a few teens unsuccessfully try to cheat the system.
While the test eventually got the tick from the The Age Assurance Technology Trial (AATT), it raised an even bigger question: how reliable is reliable enough?
Trump delays TikTok deadline… again
TikTok just scored another 90-day lifeline, thanks to a fresh executive order from Donald Trump, his third since taking office.
As Dara Kerr reports in The Guardian, the Chinese-owned app now has until 17 September to sell up or pack up in the US, despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that upheld the ban.
The move has sparked predictable political pushback, but The White House hasn’t responded to the criticism.
Television
The Block’s trailer sparks safety backlash
Channel Nine is copping heat over The Block’s latest trailer, after eagle-eyed fans spotted a very un-2025 detail: hosts Scotty Cam and Shelley Craft driving big red trucks without seatbelts.
As Isabella Rayner reports for Sky News Australia, the teaser, released on social this week, was meant to hype up the show’s August return, but instead it’s triggered a roadside row.
Viewers were quick to call it out in the comments, accusing Nine of being “irresponsible” for overlooking road safety. No word yet from the network on whether a digital buckle-up edit is on the way.
Sprint star Gout triggers network face-off over Tokyo coverage
Australian sprint prodigy Gout Gout is already breaking records, and now he’s broken broadcasting norms.
As Scott Gullan writes in The Australian, in an unusual twist, both SBS and Channel Nine will air the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September, after Nine muscled in on SBS’s non-exclusive rights to capitalise on Gout’s rising star power.
SBS announced Bruce McAvaney would front its coverage, but that didn’t stop Nine from swooping in with a reported $500,000 deal.
BBC Breakfast editor steps back amid workplace probe
BBC Breakfast editor Richard Frediani has taken extended leave as the broadcaster investigates claims about his workplace behaviour, following reports of bullying surfaced in The Sun and Deadline.
While the BBC isn’t naming names, it confirmed an internal review is underway.
As Ian Youngs reports for the BBC, the corporation has brought in an HR consultant from PwC to assist with a wider look at the program’s workplace culture.
Seven lifts the lid on its stripped-back dating gamble
Forget dinner parties and dramatic rose ceremonies.
According to Seven’s Head of Reality, Sylvia D’Souza, Stranded on Honeymoon Island works because it ditches all the usual reality TV noise. That’s the central tension of the format, adapted from Denmark and now heading to Seven across twelve episodes.
As David Knox writes in TV Tonight, matched couples are dropped on an island and left to build a relationship from scratch, without the usual escape routes people rely on in real life… or on TV.
Tech
Mediaweek goes inside the Google Marketing Live event
Google unveiled AI-powered tools to more than 600 professionals from advertising, marketing, and agencies, aimed at helping businesses and customers better connect, at the Hordern Pavilion on Thursday.
Google Marketing Live showcased how it is reimagining the future of advertising with tools that help marketers transition from responding to the market to predicting it with offerings such as AI Max, Performance Max and Demand Gen.
Shashi Thakur, global VP of Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences, spoke exclusively to Mediaweek about the commitment to privacy, how the new tools are harnessing commercial opportunities within and its global impact.
Retail
KMD brands issues profit warning as sales stumble
KMD Brands, the parent company of Rip Curl and Kathmandu, has flagged weaker profits thanks to a tricky mix of cost-of-living pressures and ongoing impacts from Trump-era tariffs.
But as Carrie LaFrenz writes in the Australian Financial Review, to make matters worse, Australia’s unusually warm autumn put a damper on sales of Kathmandu’s winter staples like puffers and fleeces.
Despite a chilly start to winter that sparked some late-season buying in both Australia and New Zealand, the company reported a 0.5 per cent drop in sales over the first 10 months of the 2025 financial year, falling short of the 1.9 per cent growth the market had expected.
Podcasts
Joe Hildebrand & Tim Blackwell go on the record
Nova Entertainment has launched a new podcast titled Four the Record, hosted by broadcaster Tim Blackwell and journalist Joe Hildebrand.
Each episode will drop Thursday mornings within the existing Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel podcast feed, and will explore current affairs through four key questions, offering a straightforward, commentary-driven format designed for time-poor audiences.
The premise of Four the Record is simple: one major news story, four questions, and Hildebrand’s direct take.