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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

US-Iran Framework Deal Raises Hopes for Strait of Hormuz Reopening

Iran and the United States have reportedly moved closer to ending their two-month conflict after both sides reached a preliminary framework agreement, according to comments from an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson...

Oil Prices Drop Below $100 as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Strait of Hormuz Fears

Oil prices plunged on Monday after signs of progress emerged in negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most critical oil shipping routes. The decline in...

Dollar Weakens as Iran Peace Deal Hopes Boost Global Market Sentiment

The U.S. dollar declined in thin holiday trading as growing optimism surrounding a potential U.S.-Iran peace agreement increased investor confidence and reduced demand for safe-haven assets. The dollar index slipped 0.3%,...

Japan Plans $19 Billion Extra Budget as Bond Market Faces Pressure

Japans government will prepare an additional budget worth around 3 trillion yen ($19 billion), Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Monday, raising concerns about further fiscal expansion and growing pressure on the...

Trump Faces Pressure as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Takes Over

President Donald Trump can no longer blame former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for the state of the U.S. economy after appointing Kevin Warsh as the new head of the Federal Reserve. With Warsh now leading the...

Politics

Trump-Taiwan Call Could Reshape U.S.-China Relations, Says Taiwan Foreign Minister

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Monday that a potential phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Taiwan President Lai Ching-te would be welcomed by Taipei, though any initiative depends entirely on...

Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 to Focus on Iran War, Taiwan Tensions and U.S. Role in Asia

The ongoing war in Iran, growing tensions over Taiwan, and concerns about U.S. military commitments in Asia are expected to dominate discussions at the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue, Asias leading defence and security forum...

U.S.-Iran Talks Advance as Trump Signals Tough Stance on Hormuz and Nuclear Deal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Washington would either secure a good agreement with Iran or address the situation through another way, as negotiations between the two countries continue amid ongoing...

Turkey Opposition Crisis Deepens as Police Storm CHP Headquarters

Turkeys political tensions escalated sharply after riot police forced their way into the headquarters of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) in Ankara, intensifying concerns over the future of Turkish...

Russia Launches Massive Missile and Drone Assault on Kyiv, Killing Civilians and Damaging Historic Sites

Russia carried out one of its largest attacks on Kyiv and nearby regions since the war began, launching hundreds of drones and missiles, including the nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile. The overnight assault...

Science

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...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Morgan Stanley Names Top AI Security and Data Center Stocks for 2026

Morgan Stanley has identified five leading companies in the growing Security, Identity, and Data Centers for AI Agents sector, highlighting firms expected to benefit from rising enterprise demand for secure artificial...

Macquarie Names Five Taiwan AI Stocks Set to Benefit From Data Center Growth in 2026

Macquarie has highlighted five major Taiwanese electronics stocks that it believes are well positioned to benefit from rising artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, data center upgrades, and next-generation...

Huawei Chip Breakthrough Sparks Rally in Chinese Semiconductor Stocks

Chinese semiconductor stocks surged Monday after Huawei announced a major breakthrough in advanced chip technology, fueling optimism about Chinas push for semiconductor self-sufficiency amid ongoing U.S. export...

Meta AI Push Could Add $26 Billion in Revenue by 2027, Wolfe Research Says

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is projected to generate more than $26 billion in additional revenue by 2027 through artificial intelligence products, subscription services, and new advertising tools, according to a recent...

SpaceX Starship V3 Test Flight Boosts IPO Momentum Ahead of Historic Market Debut

SpaceX successfully completed a major test flight of its upgraded Starship V3 rocket, marking a significant achievement for Elon Musks aerospace company as it moves closer to a highly anticipated initial public offering....