18 Feb 2021
India’s Koo plots a digital coup
A Twitter clone is gaining ground, but where does the push to localise social media end up?
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1 Feb 2021
Filling the gaps in ASEAN and EU cybercrime cooperation
The two regional bodies are teaming up to counter cybersecurity threats, but it’s no simple task. -
21 Jan 2021
The Diego Garcia dispute hits cyberspace
As internet domains go, .io is a money spinner. Would a change to the “British Indian Ocean Territory” cancel an asset? -
19 Jan 2021
Why Twitter was right to dump Trump
A free speech attack? No, if losing access is a blow, it’s because Trump relied on social media too much for too long. -
22 Dec 2020
The modern sharing of Pacific “public goods”
A repository for regional data not only preserves the lessons of the past, but will shape a better future, too. -
21 Dec 2020
How extremist messaging co-opts emergency events
The cynical saying “never waste a good crisis” is just as true for far-right and conspiracy theorists alike. -
8 Dec 2020
China’s online meddling goes beyond the Great Firewall
Human rights movements still suffer from falsehoods and misinformation even on social media platforms banned by Beijing. -
7 Dec 2020
The case for going all-in on renewables
Energy security and economic growth have political support where climate change doesn’t. Bring them all together. -
1 Dec 2020
We’ve been trolled – expect more of it, because it worked
Here’s how Scott Morrison might have responded to China’s online provocation. -
24 Nov 2020
After Christchurch: Mapping online right-wing extremists
For all the hate, sometimes extending to talk of violence, the extremist milieu is also a highly social space. -
18 Nov 2020
Gauge-changing train is no game changer for China
The recently launched high-speed rail adaptable to different track widths is unlikely to jump the hurdles of the BRI. -
13 Nov 2020
Biden’s clean energy plan versus China’s green tech dominance
The US might be able to construct a clean-energy supply chain without relying on China, but it won’t be easy. -
15 Oct 2020
Pakistan gets on the TikTok ban wagon
For very different reasons, the South Asian country follows rival India in blocking the China-based app. -
13 Oct 2020
The many trails of Ant Group
Plans to list the company at the centre of China’s financial and payments network could spark a geopolitical firestorm. -
7 Oct 2020
The unique power of TikTok’s algorithm
Even if the question of control is resolved, this game-changing app may still pose a challenge to democratic norms. -
9 Sep 2020
Colourless green content: AI, disinformation and geopolitical risk
How will you know when a machine has written what you’re reading? -
2 Sep 2020
Who’s watching the algorithms?
Facial recognition tech has supercharged surveillance in sometimes troubling ways – and spurred surprising opponents. -
28 Aug 2020
Understanding the full spectrum of hate
Extreme violence garners most attention, but the problems arise much earlier – both online and in the real world. -
20 Aug 2020
In Malaysia’s Covid “infodemic”, crime is all too easy
A crackdown on the spreading of false information is unfair if people don’t have the means to spot it. -
14 Aug 2020
From Santiago to Sydney, opening Latin America with fibre-optic cable
While no panacea, a new cable link is an unexpected chance for greater trans-Pacific ties away from superpower rivalry. -
13 Aug 2020
Japan’s tech industry reboot will have region-wide effects
Japan can play a key role in digital debates facing democratic and authoritarian societies alike. -
7 Aug 2020
Cyber sovereignty cuts both ways
China’s barricades against foreign tech helped its companies grow massive. Now they’re being blocked in other markets. -
4 Aug 2020
Defending Australia in a high-tech future
Australia must prioritise education and research, in science and humanities, too. Regional engagement may depend on it. -
3 Aug 2020
Under the influence: Peddling conspiracy in a pandemic
Lifestyle and wellness personalities are lending conspiracy theorists a glossy sheen, and not without danger. -
22 Jul 2020
Interesting times for TikTok
The debate over banning the social media app hits on big issues of tech, trade and sovereignty. -
22 Jul 2020
Is Huawei in the UK a canary in the coalmine?
Britain’s 5G ban shows that political risk must be priced into commercial calculations as the world considers value. -
20 Jul 2020
Social credit: The next China risk for Australian business
Continuous monitoring via technology raises numerous questions and will bring unforeseen consequences. -
9 Jul 2020
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
These tiny strategic products can profoundly change the world as the US and China fight over the brains of electronics. -
6 Jul 2020
The cost of conspiracy in muddling public health messages
A Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria shows the need to counter hate speech, extremist content and misinformation online. -
1 Jul 2020
India’s TikTok stars collateral damage in Chinese app ban
The move signals that decades of appeasement towards China by a succession of Indian leaders is coming to an end. -
25 Jun 2020
K-pop “stans” unleashed: Hijacking hashtags for social action
Digital disruption can reflect a growing desire to pair fandom with activism. But such a movement is itself vulnerable. -
22 Jun 2020
Debt threatens Digicel’s Pacific dominance
The sprawling telecoms provider is deep in the red, and it might be the company’s PNG profits that help bail it out. -
19 Jun 2020
Morrison’s messages to the “sophisticated state-based cyber actor”
The Prime Minister appears to be sending a warning – that Australia is on to you. -
19 Jun 2020
Belt and Road means big data and facial recognition, too
China is exporting the same social control technology it employs to monitor its own population. -
11 Jun 2020
China toys with a new propaganda technique: Irony
The already reductive US-China spat has now been turned into an actual cartoon, in an earnest bid for foreign sympathy. -
31 May 2020
Playing Monopoly in space
Privatising astronaut launches was only one objective of the latest venture beyond the atmosphere. -
20 May 2020
India’s Covid-19 tracing app: Power in the right hands?
Download rates for tracing apps can also be read to indicate how much trust there is in government. -
20 May 2020
We’re all losers in the space arms race
Nations have battled one another for strategic advantage in space for decades. Actual fighting would be a step beyond. -
19 May 2020
Covid-19 chaos creates fertile ground for cyberattacks
Major events that capture population attention, whether pandemics or elections, are ripe for manipulation. -
14 May 2020
Covid-19 and the acceleration of state surveillance
The pandemic has suddenly made the unthinkable acceptable. Data and privacy may never be the same. -
7 May 2020
Digital declarations: Political ads on PNG social media must be clear
Local politicians are deploying Facebook’s paid advertising tools. The dominant social platform should take a hard look. -
29 Apr 2020
Information warfare in the theatre of Covid-19
Viral misinformation thrives amid the very conditions we see today – a lesson China appears to have identified. -
29 Apr 2020
Beyond the buzz: A primer on swarms
Militarised and ready for battle, artificial intelligence could bring new numbers of drones to the fight – eventually. -
29 Apr 2020
Back to the future: Keeping Australian air lines of communication open
Not for the first time Australia is cut off from the world. Government has an essential role in preserving a connection. -
20 Apr 2020
The Nth Room case and modern slavery in the digital space
South Korea is again confronted by an example of women being exploited – and the global challenge of misused technology. -
16 Apr 2020
What price privacy? Contact tracing apps to combat Covid
Smartphone technology hold the greatest promises in outpacing the virus, but surrendering to surveillance has a price. -
3 Apr 2020
The danger meme: Countering visual disinformation in Asia’s politics
The Covid-19 “infodemic” has made plain the risks from ill-intended videos and photos. This is true for elections, too. -
30 Mar 2020
Doom surfing and fact checkers prosper in Covid-19 infodemic
With so much information swirling around, especially on social media, just what should we believe? -
25 Mar 2020
Disinformation and coronavirus
The dilution of information on the internet is currently posing a risk to global health and safety. -
17 Mar 2020
The uncertain fate of .org
A profit-free corner of the internet is going through a rapid and controversial process of privatisation.