With a general election looming across the Tasman, Australia revealed its federal Budget this week, signalling a return to fiscal deficits and little in the way of new funding for tech and digital economy-related initiatives.

Google is threatening to pull New Zealand news snippets from its search and Google News platforms. But the Government should hold firm in a rare effort to address the power imbalance between Big Tech and nations grappling with the implications of their influence.

When platforms control access to the “product”, they also control the science around its impacts. Ultimately, these self-research funding models allow platforms to put profit before people – and divert attention away from the need for more transparency and independent oversight.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg called Orion “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen”. He said they offer a “glimpse of the future” in which smart glasses will replace smartphones as the main mode of communication. But is this true or just corporate hype? And will AR glasses actually benefit us in new ways?

Taking the open source path gives Meta a big point of differentiation with its rivals and the ability to leverage the wisdom of the open source community.