Labor ministers hit back at US billionaire, saying he is inconsistent on free speech and calling his comment ‘crackpot stuff’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Elon Musk has called the Australian government “fascists” over new legislation aimed at tackling deliberate lies spread on social media. Social media companies could be fined up to 5% of their annual turnover under the commonwealth’s proposed laws. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Parliamentary inquiry told police forced to ‘cobble together’ laws to prosecute man who allegedly spread deepfake images of women * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A one-stop portal for victims to report AI deepfakes to police should be established, the federal police union has said, lamenting that police were forced to “cobble together” laws to charge the first person to face prosecution for spreading deepfake images of womenlast year. The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, introduced legislation in parliament in June that will create a new criminal offence of sharing, without consent, sexually explicit images that have been digitally created using artificial intelligence or other forms of technology. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

These days, protests must not inconvenience anyone ever * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Company says it has ‘never thought about news’ as a way to counter misleading content on Facebook and Instagram despite evidence to the contrary * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Meta has claimed news is not the antidote to misinformation and disinformation spreading on Facebook and Instagram, as the company continues to push back against being forced to pay media companies for news in Australia. Meta announced in March it would not enter into new agreements with media companies to pay for news following the end of contracts signed in 2021 under the Morrison government’s news media bargaining code. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

There’s no guarantee of a happy ending * See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...