On April 28, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan #TakeItDown Act with a resounding 409–2 vote, following the Senate's unanimous approval in February. This landmark legislation now awaits President Donald Trump's signature, which he has pledged to provide. But let’s get one thing straight, the US #TakeItDown Act is not a win. It’s yet another containment measure. And while the headlines are screaming “landmark victory,” I’m here to tell you what the

A couple of hours ago here in Europe it was announced that Apple has been fined 500 million euros (about 830 million Australian dollars ) and Meta fined 200 million euros (around 330 million AUD ) by the European Union. https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-meta-fined-by-eu-ordered-to-comply-with-tech-competition-rules-9063b7e6 At first glance, that sounds like justice catching up with Big Tech. But let’s put it in perspective. Last year, Apple made over 150 billion AUD in profit

There were no smartphones when you were raising kids. No group chats to monitor. No YouTube wormholes. No having to explain why an app designed for dance videos is now showing ten-year-olds content about war, sex, and self-harm. You parented in a world where you could see the danger coming. Where you knew the names of the kids your child played with. Where the front door locked and that meant something. But that’s not the world your grandkids are growing up in. And here’s the

It’s raining in today Florence. That slow, steady kind of rain that makes the city feel like it’s breathing under the weight of its own history. From my home office, a few blocks from where Michelangelo brought David out of flawed marble and into the world, I’m watching people hand their faces to machines. Not metaphorically. Literally. One after another, while I research for a new program I am writing, I scroll past videos and portraits and selfies that have been fed into AI

Here we are, in 2025, where the most dangerous stranger your kid, your staff, or your leadership team will ever meet doesn’t even exist, and no one is teaching anyone how to spot them. Because the new stranger isn’t a shady dude lurking on a playground or some random profile in a chatroom, it’s a live, AI-generated, real-time mimic of someone you trust, designed to look you in the eye, speak in a warm, familiar voice, and manipulate you into believing everything they say, be

What’s happening on Snapchat isn’t a “tech challenge” or a “youth behaviour issue.” It’s corporate-enabled child abuse. Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch have dropped a brutal, evidence-loaded report that rips the mask off the ghost icon. If you missed it, here’s the core message: "Snapchat is knowingly and systematically harming children. At an industrial scale". This isn’t just about “some bad actors.” This is about a billion-dollar company building and maintaining a platform that

It starts out looking like young love. Your teen is on their phone a little more than usual—laughing, smiling, texting. They mention someone new. Maybe they’re “just talking,” or maybe they’re dating. You’re not panicking. This feels like part of growing up. You might even feel a bit relieved. They're letting you see it. They're not hiding this. But then something shifts. They're a little withdrawn, anxious, and the openness is replaced by subtle secrecy. Their conversations

There’s a trend sweeping LinkedIn right now that is part career flex, part creative experiment, part nostalgia hit. You’ve probably seen it. Smiling faces in plastic doll packaging. Action-figure you. “Hero Mode Activated.” “Limited Edition.” “Collectible.” Or the Barbie Box Challenge. People are posting them by the hundreds. Safety Barbie. Engineer Barbie. UX Strategist Barbie. Anti-Bullying Hero. I have to say, my mind is a bit blown about why so many smart, successful wome

Just because something isn’t explicitly illegal doesn’t make it safe, moral, or remotely okay. The image is a screenshot straight from a “clothes off” nudify app. Yes, the app that uses machine learning to generate fake nude images of real people is marketing itself as “legit” because, technically, they’re operating in a grey zone of the law. And that is the most dangerous kind of legit there is. What You’re Looking At Is Digital Gaslighting It banks on the fact that users es

Right. So here we are. A new AI tool called CheatEye just dropped, and it’s already throwing petrol on the bonfire of modern relationships. For the low, low price of your dignity and someone else’s privacy, you can now upload your partner’s photo and let an algorithm trawl Tinder to “check” if they’ve got an active profile. No awkward chats. No “Hey, I feel like something’s off.” Just cold, hard machine-driven surveillance . Welcome to love in the age of AI. This Isn’t Tech

Not with cameras or with consent. But with screenshots, casual photos, AI, and the faces of real girls they know. This isn’t about looking at the plethora of pornography sites on the net a click away. It’s about making it, manipulating it, reshaping what used to be an innocent image into something sexualised, that objectifies and is completely non-consensual. And no, it’s not happening in the deep web or some sketchy Reddit 18+ forum. It’s happening on school buses, screensho

Let’s start with the part no one wants to say out loud. Schools are still posting student photos and events on platforms that students themselves are being banned from. Schools still upload assemblies, sports carnivals, class photos, and Principal’s messages to Facebook and Instagram. In contrast, governments are preparing to roll out an under-16-year ban. Meta (Facebook + Instagram + Whatsapp) is under fire worldwide for its role in harming mental health, spreading misinform

Yesterday, I was out for a walk with my love and our wildly cute, fiercely independent Scottish Terrier, Monte, who struts through our adopted home of Florence like she owns the place, collecting every “bellina!” thrown her way like it’s her royal due. She’s small, but she’s got presence. More than most people, honestly. We passed through Piazza della Signoria, the beating heart of Florence. There, in the middle of the Piazza, stands a 3.6-metre sculpture by British artist Th

Right now, across Australia and around the world vulnerable people are being targeted twice. First by sextortionists, and then by opportunistic companies promising to "make it all go away" for a fee. A recent exposé from the United States revealed disturbing practices at Digital Forensics Corporation (DFC), a company that claimed to help sextortion victims. Instead, it reportedly used high-pressure sales tactics, fear-based marketing, misleading “helplines,” and extortionate