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Rob Nicholls

Senior lecturer in Business Law, UNSW

Dr Rob Nicholls is a senior lecturer in business law at the UNSW Business School.
He was previously a research fellow at Swinburne University of Technology where he worked on spectrum policy matters and a research fellow at the Centre for International Finance and Regulation where he researched the intersection of competition law with financial services regulations. His research applies system and network analysis techniques, commonly used in networked industries, to examine error amplification. Rob is the Independent Telecommunications Adjudicator in a regime established to deal with wholesale disputes arising over both legacy services and migration to the NBN. He has had a thirty-year career concentrating on regulations and governance, particularly in networked industries. He has worked for Webb Henderson, the ACCC and Gilbert + Tobin.

Meta and Google just lost a landmark social media addiction case. A tech law expert explains the fallout

Mar 26, 2026 08:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Social media platforms Instagram and YouTube have a design defect which means they are addictive, a jury in the United States has ruled. The Los Angeles jury took nearly nine days to reach its verdict in the landmark case...

Google is worth more in Australia than major news outlets. Here’s how it could better fund journalism

Sep 19, 2024 01:24 am UTC| Technology

The Global Media Internet Concentration Project examines the concentration of the communications and media in countries around the world. The latest data for Australia have recently been released, and they show just how...

Do you trust AI to write the news? It already is – and not without issues

Nov 07, 2023 08:56 am UTC| Technology

Businesses are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate media content, including news, to engage their customers. Now, were even seeing AI used for the gamification of news that is, to create...

The power of tech giants has made them as influential as nations. Here's how they're sanctioning Russia

Mar 07, 2022 08:59 am UTC| Technology

The worlds five leading tech companies Google (now Alphabet), Apple, Facebook (now Meta), Amazon and Microsoft have taken steps to impose significant and (mainly) voluntary sanctions on Russia, in response to its...

If Facebook really pulls news from its Australian sites, we'll have a much less compelling product

Sep 02, 2020 14:08 pm UTC| Technology

Facebook will ban publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram if a proposal to force tech giants to pay for news becomes law, the tech giant has announced. The...

No more negotiating: new rules could finally force Google and Facebook to pay for news

Apr 22, 2020 12:49 pm UTC| Technology

Digital platforms such as Google and Facebook will be forced to compensate news media companies for using their content, under a new mandatory code to be drawn up by Australias competition watchdog. The announcement,...

Why you might be paying more for your airfare than the person seated next to you

Oct 09, 2018 12:52 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Price discrimination is legal in Australia where sellers will typically pick an opening price based on the likelihood that someone will pay it. We take a look at how you can get the best deal on airfares in the second part...

Economy

S&P 500 Hits Record High as Soft Inflation Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Fears

U.S. stock futures were largely unchanged Thursday evening after the SP 500 closed at a record high, as softer producer inflation data eased concerns about a potential Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in September. SP...

Gold Prices Slip From 10-Week High as Fed and Hormuz Risks Shape Outlook

Gold prices moved lower on Friday after pulling back from a 10-week high, as investors assessed softer U.S. inflation data, the Federal Reserves interest rate outlook and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Spot...

Trump Imposes New US Tariffs on Drone Imports Over National Security Concerns

U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on imported drones and drone components on Thursday, citing national security concerns and the countrys heavy reliance on foreign suppliers. Under a proclamation signed by...

Canada-US Trade Talks Gain Momentum Ahead of Aug. 19 Tariff Deadline

Canada-US trade negotiations are making positive progress as both countries push to reach an agreement before new U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 19, according to a Canadian government...

Oil Prices Fall as U.S. Crude Inventories Surge and Hormuz Tensions Persist

Oil prices declined Thursday as unexpectedly large U.S. crude inventories, weaker global demand forecasts and continued tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz weighed on the market. Brent crude futures for October...

Politics

Jared Kushner May Visit Israel for Gaza Talks Next Week

U.S. President Donald Trumps envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, could travel to Israel next week for talks aimed at advancing the administrations Gaza peace plan, according to a source familiar with the matter. Axios...

Albanese Says AUKUS ‘Full Steam Ahead’ After Trump Call

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the AUKUS defence pact remains full steam ahead following a lengthy phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Canberra also pushes Washington for a complete exemption...

Trump Orders Major Overhaul of US Navy Shipbuilding

President Donald Trump has signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum directing sweeping changes to U.S. Navy shipbuilding and ship repair programs as part of an effort to rebuild the countrys maritime industrial...

Israel Warned US of Alleged Iran Plot to Assassinate Trump

Israel repeatedly warned the United States over the past year that Iran may have been planning to assassinate President Donald Trump, although U.S. intelligence agencies were unable to independently verify several of the...

Putin Visits Disputed Kuril Island, Sparking Strong Protest From Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed island of Iturup on Thursday, triggering a sharp diplomatic protest from Japan amid longstanding tensions over the Kuril Islands. Known as Iturup in Russia and Etorofu...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Goldman Sachs Eyes Investors for Nvidia’s $500 Billion AI Financing Plan

Goldman Sachs is reportedly in discussions with potential investors to participate in Nvidias ambitious $500 billion AI infrastructure financing initiative, as institutional demand for artificial intelligence investments...

LG, Nvidia Expand AI Partnership With Humanoid Robots, AI Factories

LG Corp and Nvidia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to deepen their strategic partnership across robotics, AI factories and next-generation mobility, LG announced Friday. The agreement will combine LGs...

SMIC Shares Rally as Q2 Profit Surges 262% on Strong Chip Demand

Shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) surged on Friday after the Chinese semiconductor foundry delivered strong second-quarter earnings, supported by higher chip demand, improved pricing and...

Anthropic Eyes $6B Decart AI Acquisition Ahead of Mega IPO

Anthropic is reportedly in talks to acquire Nvidia-backed AI startup Decart AI as the Claude developer looks to expand its computing capabilities and address growing demand ahead of a potential public listing. Bloomberg...

Google Pushes Gemini AI Overhaul as Sergey Brin Targets Model Supremacy

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has stepped up efforts to accelerate development of the companys Gemini AI models as Alphabet battles OpenAI and Anthropic for leadership in artificial intelligence. Brin has reportedly urged...