Scraping copyrighted material from internet could ‘potentially’ amount to acquisition of property by government, Anne Twomey says

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Altering copyright law to allow AI companies to scrape music, books and journalism could trigger a constitutional breach, Coalition senators and the recording industry have warned, as they raise new fears it could open Australia to massive legal action and compensation claims from rights holders worldwide.

The attorney general’s department admitted it was “extremely alive” to the issue, and Australia’s leading constitutional expert, Anne Twomey, agreed there was “potentially” a concern – depending how legislation was drafted – that granting AI companies permission to scrape copyrighted material from the internet could amount to an acquisition of property by the government.

Official’s controversial September request for Senate hearing footage to not be shared on social media has been heavily criticised

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The secretary of the defence department approved a senior official’s controversial idea to tell a Senate hearing that footage of public servants giving evidence should not be shared on social media because it could invite online bullying and raise national security concerns.

Emails obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information reveal deputy secretary Celia Perkins’ planned request to the parliamentary inquiry was flagged with the offices of deputy prime minister Richard Marles and assistant defence minister Peter Khalil, and received the backing of department secretary Meghan Quinn.

Labor government under pressure to create social media watchdog as new online safety standards bill passes lower house

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The federal government wants to ban AI chatbots which seek to create “emotional intimacy” after prime minister Anthony Albanese raised the alarm in a heartfelt speech about children treating these agents as their “best friend”.

But Labor is coming under increasing pressure to empower the telecommunications ombudsman to become a watchdog for social media and AI to give Australians an external complaints mechanism and allow the “naming and shaming” of big tech.

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Prime minister’s disapproval rating increases to 56%, the equal highest in Essential polls since he took the job in 2022

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One Nation’s primary vote is back on par with Labor in the latest Guardian Essential poll, with Anthony Albanese’s public disapproval rising to its equal highest on record and more Australians than ever before believing the country is on the wrong track.

But Australians are still not convinced One Nation or the Coalition would do a better job than the current government, with Labor still the most trusted party on the economy and managing the country.

Albanese promises ‘swift response’ on MP safety as he mulls panic buttons for politicians

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Anthony Albanese has promised a “swift government response” to safety threats to MPs and floated the provision of duress alarms for electorate offices, saying politicians and their staff have put up with threats for too long.

The prime minister’s pledge to the Labor party room came hours after Senator Fatima Payman again slammed her former government colleagues over the lack of staffing given to her office, controversially asking: “Is the prime minister waiting for something, like what happened to Dr Helen Haines, to occur to my office?”