# Australian digital regulation and privacy reforms > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/australian-digital-regulation-and-privacy-reforms > Updated: 2026-08-30T12:03:26.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2. The Australian government is advancing several legislative initiatives aimed at digital safety, privacy, and identity protection. Initial efforts focused on a proposed ‘digital duty of care’ amendment to the Online Safety Act. This measure seeks to hold social media platforms and generative AI developers legally responsible for online safety. Concurrently, regulators have explored curbing the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to prevent users from bypassing age verification requirements, a move critics argue could undermine privacy and journalism. Subsequent proposals have expanded into broader privacy reforms, including a ‘right to erasure’ that would allow individuals to request the destruction of personal information by large digital platforms. The government is also addressing technological threats from smart glasses and artificial intelligence. To combat identity theft, officials announced the development of IDLock, a digital service via the myGov platform designed to allow citizens to monitor and block the online verification of sensitive identity documents. ## Timeline ### 2026-08-30: Australia proposes privacy reforms and identity protection tools Australia is proposing privacy reforms including a ‘right to erasure’ for digital platforms and the launch of IDLock, a service to help citizens protect their identity documents from online misuse. 6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/australia-proposes-privacy-reforms-and-identity-protection-tools ### 2026-08-10: Australia moves toward stricter social media and VPN regulations Australia is drafting ‘digital duty of care’ laws to regulate social media and AI, while regulators in Australia and the UK consider restricting VPNs to enforce age verification. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/australia-moves-toward-stricter-social-media-and-vpn-regulations --- Cite as: Australian digital regulation and privacy reforms. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/australian-digital-regulation-and-privacy-reforms