Privacy 108 Webinar on Digital Regulation in Australia (Privacy Awareness Week 2026)

For Privacy Awareness Week 2026 Dr Jodie Siganto, founder of Privacy 108, will present on the history of digital regulation in Australia, with a focus on privacy and data protection, examining some of the issues and the underlying contest of ideas shaping our ability to effectively regulate the digital space In Australia.

Some progress has been made with privacy reform with additional key reforms on the horizon (we hope) and bold moves have been made to ban social media use for under‑16s. However, AI regulation has stalled even while the societal and environmental harms linked to its use are crystallising. These initiatives reveal some of the tensions between the growing importance of the need to protect citizens and the community while enabling digital transformation.

Australia’s path is not forged in isolation. International tensions, between the EU’s rights‑driven approach and the US’s market‑led model, are influencing the global regulatory landscape. Dr Siganto will examine how these competing philosophies ripple into Australia’s policymaking, and what this means for businesses, communities, and the future of digital governance.

This session invites participants to consider: Can Australia resist the gravitational forces of global digital power blocs and carve out a distinctive regulatory identity?

A recording of this webinar will be made available following the event.