Call to close social media loophole
Australia’s Information Commissioner has called for closure of a loophole that risks allowing major global social media companies to bypass the nation’s privacy laws, ahead of a High Court battle to determine whether Facebook’s parent company actually conducted business in Australia, reports The Australian’s Paul Garvey.
Appearing before a Senate, legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee in Canberra on Thursday, Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said the privacy act applied only to businesses that collected or held information within Australia.
“My regulatory experience is that provision doesn’t adequately acknowledge or represent the way in which contemporary businesses are structured and the way in which personal information flows across borders,” she said.
“What I’m seeking is the provision to be simplified so that it’s sufficient if a foreign entity is carrying on business in Australia, they then have to handle Australians’ personal information in accordance with our domestic law.”
Facebook is gearing up for a High Court challenge over the attempt by the Information Commissioner to prosecute it for Cambridge Analytica data breaches. The social media giant recently filed its most detailed public submissions to date in relation to the fight, outlining why it believes it has not been carrying out business in Australia.
Agencies
dentsu Queensland adds Tourism and Events QLD to client roster
dentsu Queensland has been successful in its tender for the Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) media account following a competitive pitch process.
The partnership will see dentsu Queensland manage the media strategy and planning for the TEQ brand and key projects, as well as powering TEQ’s innovative offering, IMATE, the organisation’s Industry media agency which supports tourism and event businesses across the state.
TEQ Group executive marketing, Michael Branagh said: “We undertook an extensive process, and we’re incredibly excited to work with dentsu Queensland, who have shown a strong understanding of Brand Queensland and our ambition for it.
“They are committed to growing Queensland’s visitor economy and showed real innovation in meeting our strategic goals for the brand, and also for our state’s wider tourism and events industry.”
DoubleVerify expands collaboration with LinkedIn to foster a safe and trusted ecosystem
DoubleVerify, a software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics, has announced the launch of DV Authentic Brand Suitability and DV Custom Contextual solutions on the LinkedIn Audience Network.
These two products aim to empower advertisers to ensure their campaign impressions are delivered on inventory that aligns with their brand safety, suitability and contextual needs.
DV Authentic Brand Suitability goes beyond standard categories and keyword blocklists, offering customised protection that helps advertisers avoid unsafe and unsuitable content before placing a bid.
DV Custom Contextual provides advertisers with a scalable solution to reach the right audiences at the right time, driving outcomes for brands. DV’s Semantic Science, a proprietary contextual classification system, powers both DV Authentic Brand Suitability and DV Custom Contextual technology.
DV’s Semantic Science team is responsible for developing one of the world’s most comprehensive ontology solutions, identifying over 200,000 language-independent concepts, and using more than eleven million rules to determine the correct meaning of a word.
Pollinate Pulse reveals consumers struggle with the burden of sustainability
The Influence Group’s strategic consulting and insights company, Pollinate, has revealed that while 89% of Australians consider a sustainable lifestyle to be important, 43% cannot afford to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
According to the latest findings of its biannual Pulse survey, 73% think society needs to become sustainable before it is too late, but only 35% think it is easy to lead a sustainable lifestyle, and only 8% believe they can always find sustainable alternatives when shopping.
Since 2007, Pollinate Pulse has kept a running tab on Australian society’s relationship with sustainability initiatives, surveying 1,000 Australians twice a year (the sample is representative of the national population).
Entertainment
Taylor Swift tour: Live Nation CEO says “Everybody crashed the door” during pre-sale
Ticketmaster saw record registration and sold the most tickets for an artist in one day for the Taylor Swift tour earlier this week, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston.
But with the demand came some technical issues. Speaking at the Liberty Media investor day Thursday, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said the company, which owns Ticketmaster, saw more than 3.5 million people try to register as verified fans to buy tickets to the pop star’s upcoming U.S. tour. Those that received codes to buy tickets then overwhelmed the site Tuesday, Rapino said, causing a few hours of “slowdowns,” as the company worked to stabilize the system.
“We invited a million and a half on that day to come and buy those tickets, but it’s kind of like having a party. Everybody crashed that door at the same time with 3.5 billion requests,” Rapino said. Site visits also included bots, as well as fans who did not have codes to purchase tickets.
“We sold 2 million tickets, the most we’ve ever sold in one day in history, and another million tickets of other artists on the same day. So although we regret it was a slowdown in some queues and some error codes for a short period for some fans, we did manage to recover,” the Live Nation exec added.
Ticketmaster tweeted later in the day that the sale of tickets to the general public Friday had been canceled due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory date for tickets.”
Television
Jane Doyle to retire from 7 News Adelaide after 33 years
Adelaide’s queen of news, Jane Doyle, has made headlines telling viewers she will step down next month after 33 years as Channel 7’s newsreader, reports News Corp’s Penelope Debelle.
Doyle, 64, one of the best-known faces in Adelaide’s media, made the announcement at the end of the 6pm bulletin where she has dominated the ratings for 22 consecutive years. She will present the news for the last time on December 15.
She is a rarity in the cutthroat world of commercial television for leaving when she wants, on her own terms, without being pushed. She notified the Channel 7 newsroom 18 months ago to give the station time for succession planning.
“Television presenters don’t always get to script their ending, but Jane is Australian news royalty,” Channel 7 Adelaide news director Chris Salter said. “She’s decided the time is right and we now have a chance to give her the farewell she deserves.”
Brittany Hockley reveals clash with Ryan Gallagher while filming The Challenge
It seems Brittany Hockley and Ryan Gallagher from Married At First Sight are not on good terms after appearing together on The Challenge, reports News Corp’s Bella Fowler.
Hockley, who is currently covering Jackie O Henderson’s absence due to long Covid on KIIS FM, told co-host Kyle Sandilands this morning that she and Gallagher “constantly” clashed while filming the Channel 10 reality show.
She describe the former MAFS husband and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! contestant as “so rude”, opening up about some of the insults he allegedly hurled at her during their time together in the new competition.
“I want to start by saying it’s very hard to upset me or make me dislike you,” she began when asked by a caller about her least favourite fellow contestant.
“I’m a lover, but there’s one person that was just so rude to me. I don’t know if they’ll even play it [on the show],” she explained as Sandilands pressed for a name.
“It was Ryan from MAFS,” she eventually revealed, explaining: “He was constantly having a go at me, calling me an idiot, calling me a drunk – I didn’t even drink. You could ask any member of the show, he just wasn’t nice to me.”
Too soon? Ryan Murphy on a Glee reboot…
Ryan Murphy has floated the idea of a possible reboot of Glee, reports TV Tonight.
“I’m at the phase now with that show where it’s like, well, there’s been enough time,” co-creator Murphy said. “Like, maybe we should really re-examine it as a brand. You know, should we do a reboot of it in some way? Should we do a Broadway musical of it in some way?”
The series screened from 2009 to 2015 and was a megahit igniting careers, selling records, merchandise and concert tickets.
Murphy raised the idea of a reboot on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast, hosted by Kevin McHale (Artie) and his co-star Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang).