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Josh Taylor

@joshtaylor.bsky.social
12K followers 740 following 3.8K posts

Technology reporter at the Guardian, in Melbourne, Australia. Tech, infosec, FOI, politics, media 🌈 (he/him) linktr.ee/joshtayl0r

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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 7h
The Australian government's defence of the social media ban in the high court revealed. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Australian government concedes no scientific consensus on social media harms for teenagers – but ‘credible risks’ justify ban
Commonwealth tells high court its proposed laws to let users opt out of algorithms would ultimately have the same effect as the ban
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 7h
The Australian government's defence of the social media ban in the high court revealed. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Australian government concedes no scientific consensus on social media harms for teenagers – but ‘credible risks’ justify ban
Commonwealth tells high court its proposed laws to let users opt out of algorithms would ultimately have the same effect as the ban
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 19h
How's that social licence for AI going hey www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The RBA board said it voted unanimously for a hike in response to higher prices from the AI investment boom and amid fears that firms would begin passing on rising costs to consumers. Bullock singled out the US war on Iran, saying it could disrupt oil supply longer than expected.
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Blake Montgomery @montgomery.bsky.social · 23h
Meta’s AI agent Muse gives out user’s home address without permission, sending buyer to his house www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Breaking: OpenAI has released more info on the agents access of Australian government websites, and has apologised for the incident, and its handling of it. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI ‘sorry and working to do better’ after hack of Medicare and other Australian government websites
Artificial intelligence firm to front parliament as it apologises to Australians for agent attack
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In May I covered three datacentre projects across Australia that local communities were fighting back against. Two of the three have now been scrapped. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Something tells me we are two months out from an election
A Victorian government-funded ad covers the Australian's website in bright yellow saying "PSOs NOW PATROLLING TRAINS AND PLATFORMS". with two images of officers on either side of the news article saying "Patrolling earlier and longer" and "informed by police data"
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Not sure which is worse, the crypto dot com banners or the "AI tailored for law" banners.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
And they correctly leaned into how Melbourne she is
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Enjoying the Kylie concert
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Now a lot of streamers are back to just releasing episodes weekly, I've noticed a difference in how my view of a show is shaped over time compared to reviewers (who get most or all of the season at once)
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My theory about the Trump selfie was it is how he avoids the "Trump snubs Albanese" News Corp news cycle. Though I think he should have learned by now that it won't stop them either way.
News 24 Facebook post featuring the Trump and Albanese selfie at the UN. 

Caption reads: Anthony Albanese failed just about every marketing rule in the book by taking a selfie with Donald Trump just as the US and Australia go head to head on the future of the internet, writes James Bolt.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Of course I'm being glib mostly but I think the government is more likely to take action if it were individuals regardless of intent over the largest AI company in the world.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If ultimately there's no criminal responsibility for this incident here then FOI just became a lot easier if we ask AI agents to go find those documents for us. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Albanese says OpenAI hacked Medicare and told Australia months later via email to generic inbox
Prime minister says he told Sam Altman he was disappointed it had taken OpenAI ‘way too long’ to disclose breach
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is kinda how I feel about AI agents for personal use. And absolutely not with Meta. www.garbageday.email/p/am-i-too-b...
garbageday.email
Am I too boring to need an AI agent?
Read to the end for a machine we must create
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Anything happening in my last two days of leave? 😅
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I caught a train to the Blue Mountains yesterday for maybe the first time since it was my regular escape method as a teenager and those new trains are so good. (Rare complimentary Sydney post)
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
As an aside re all the Macklemore discussion, when he performed Same Love in the peak of the Marriage Equality survey at the NRL grand final in 2017 when the *NRL* crowd cheered for it, I got the first sense it might actually happen.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Only on the Gold Coast would a disputed brag about dining with Trump be a thing in 2026. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
White House issues conflicting account of Aussie mayor's Trump dinner
Tom Tate declared he had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. An ABC investigation has uncovered conflicting recollections about the headline-making trip.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Adelaide Writers festival: Ed Sheeran edition
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Have been trying to pull this all together after NDIA denied using Palantir, but it seems NDIS data may have ended up in Palantir as part of the Fraud Fusion Taskforce - data goes to ACIC which has been using Palantir. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
NDIS data may have ended up in Palantir’s analytics platform as part of efforts to curb fraud
Exclusive: The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, which has access to NDIA data, used Palantir as part of a multi-agency fraud taskforce
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I hadn't read this quote from Thiel before but it tracks. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
In 2017 the billionaire investor Peter Thiel told Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “I like Star Wars way better. I’m a capitalist. Star Wars is the capitalist show. Star Trek is the communist one. There is no money in Star Trek because you just have the transporter machine that can make anything you need. The whole plot of Star Wars starts with Han Solo having this debt that he owes and so the plot in Star Wars is driven by money.”
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The longer I keep the moustache and neglect to update the dinkus the more I feel like Mirror Universe Josh
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I thought it was somewhat telling and pointed that the prime minister was praising News Corp for supporting the social media ban in today's presser, but I somehow doubt they'll be just as keen to support people being allowed to opt out of algorithms that prioritise outrage bait.
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 08/09/2026
Social media users could opt out of the algorithm if Australian government has its way – but that’s a big if
theguardian.com
Social media users could opt out of the algorithm if Australian government has its way – but that’s a big if
Even if the legislation passes, tech companies may still find ways to frustrate its intent and keep Australians hooked on their feed Social media could become a “choose your own adventure” between the doom-scrolling status quo, or just the feed of the friends you want to see, if the government’s planned digital duty of care legislation passes, and the tech companies don’t muck around on compliance. But that’s a big if. Continue reading...
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
When the pop-up comes after the digital duty of care legislation telling me to choose my feed
The two paths meme, with one showing a bright shiny castles, and the other with a castle covered in clouds and lightening.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Someone FOI'ed the last 10 access decisions of NBN and all ten of them were refused using the "commercial activities" exemption. Such a joke but a useful illustration how difficult it is to get anything out of the company. www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-in...
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST - FOI2627009
ACCESS DECISION
STATEMENT OF REASONS - 11 August 2026
Summary of Access Decision
1. I find that the Relevant Documents (as defined below) are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) because they relate to nbn's commercial activities. Accordingly, I refuse access to the Relevant Documents.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I think two things are true here. Some politicians are absolutely using parliament to clip farm but also this response from well paid public servants is ridiculous. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Australia’s top bureaucrats want to block sharing of clips from parliament on social media to save them from ‘ridicule’
Secretaries board concerned material posted without proper context as Greens warn ban could result in lack of transparency
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Galarian Borowczyk @sohamandcheese.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Predicting every convo between Elizabeth Holmes and Nathan Fielder to go exactly like this:
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Wild pivot from Jane Hume on News Breakfast to go from selling the policy of putting people in jail for a year for burning the flag to saying legislation regulating opt in or opt out of algorithms may impinge freedom of speech
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Of course
THE AUSTRALIAN
In the Beetaloo Basin, a story of privilige and poverty is playing out
On the surface the story is a mess of human affairs. But deep underground, 'first gas' could level the playing field for Indigenous Australians - and power the nation for a century.
By CHRIS UHLMANN
In central NTChris Uhlmann travelled to the Beetaloo Basin as a guest of Tamboran Resources.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A negative rapid test is somehow more frustrating than a positive one. I've felt like rubbish for nearly a week pls let me label it.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pure memes
Wile E Coyote reply on Reddit with Wile holding up a sign saying "I'm not done" with a dead pan look on his face.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I know I am partially responsible for all the focus on smart glasses here now and why it led to the federal government's rush to include it in a fleeting last-minute mention in the latest privacy reforms but the rest of it is quite good if they do it consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-p...
consultations.ag.gov.au
Privacy Reform – Consultation on Exposure Draft legislation - Attorney-General's Department - Citizen Space
Find and participate in consultations run by Attorney General's Department
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Nick Evershed!? @nickevershed.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
‘Scary’: how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia’s parliament - Guardian analysis reveals that dozens of policy submissions from across the political spectrum incorrectly summarise real research and invent or wrongly cite sources www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
‘Scary’: how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia’s parliament
Exclusive: Guardian analysis reveals that dozens of policy submissions from across the political spectrum incorrectly summarise real research and invent or wrongly cite sources
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Three years...
The "implied freedom" is a recipe for violence - by Henry ErgasHenry Ergas: Why Labor's threat to free speech must be rejected
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I feel like my parents showing me Rocky Horror as a kid was the first hint they’d be okay with me being gay, at a time when I was analysing every word and utterance for signs. I appreciate it’s a way for normies into that world a bit, still to this day.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Didn’t think I’d be doing so much council reporting at this stage but it’s good. I think it’s massively underreported and maybe datacentres are one way to do it.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
What an odd thing to say www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts ‘in two minds’ about whether gay people should be equal
Footage shows senator on stage at the Church and State conference responding to question about party’s director James Ashby
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Very sad news to wake up to
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 25/08/2026
eHarmony deceived customers with ‘subscription traps’ that cost hundreds of dollars, court finds
theguardian.com
eHarmony deceived customers with ‘subscription traps’ that cost hundreds of dollars, court finds
Australian consumer watchdog says it received hundreds of complaints about the US-based dating site and its memberships Dating website eHarmony engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct over subscription traps that cost thousands of customers hundreds of dollars each, the federal court has found. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued the US-based eHarmony in 2023 over claims of providing free dating on its platform, and the information consumers were given on subscription costs and renewal terms when buying a premium subscription. Continue reading...
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
how was this seven years ago
The 2019 Ooshies craze culminated in two farmers destroying a rare lion Ooshie live on TV in a protest against online bullying.
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Reposted by Josh Taylor
Jack Ryan 🙏🧪 @jacksonwryan.com · 24/08/2026
Text says: "Can we stop pretending that the way we classify games in Australia, in 2026, is appropriate for adults? Because it’s not

Margaret Anderson, former director of the Classification Board
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I thought this was gonna be about how people feel about data centre construction rather than people asking a chatbot how they should vote...
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
As part of what has been an ongoing series of FOIs into government dealings with Palantir, I tried to get docs on how the Defence department had assessed the Palantir contract. All the interesting parts redacted of course. www.defence.gov.au/sites/defaul...
defence.gov.au
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I remember watching Star Trek as a kid and thinking: why do they still read physical books and have record players when it's all in computers? As an adult: I get it.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Dear god www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
"P've got some terrible news," the NSW premier, Chris Minns, told a parliamentary hearing on Thursday. Just minutes earlier, Minns had said Lily had been "found alive".
"I apologise... it seems as if the earlier advice was wrongạẠỊhe said.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Played this for the first time on the weekend. It's so good, and very different to anything I've played. www.theguardian.com/games/2026/a...
theguardian.com
In Big Walk, players just walk and talk – and find joy along the way: ‘Some stories we’ve heard are punch-in-the-gut beautiful’
After their hit Untitled Goose Game, Australian studio House House is back with a new game where your only goal is to go exploring with friends – so we took them on a big walk inside Big Walk
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Jork is an interesting company name
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