Australia

Until November last year, MediSecure was one of only two companies awarded government contracts to supply electronic prescriptions. I'm honestly surprised the number isn't bigger.

Time and time again we're seeing companies that are allegedly being held to a high bar (in terms of regulatory oversight) failing to meet even minimum standards of service to protect the Australians that are forced to trust them with our data, and sometimes our lives.

Optus, MediBank, Latitude, MediSecure - the list goes on. Until we start jailing directors and CEOs for letting this shit happen, things aren't going to change.

• ASIC is bloated and slow, with the most recent inquiry suggesting it needs to be split into two smaller, more agile organisations. Yet the federal government is all but ignoring the report's findings.
• The ACCC has had its teeth practically filed down to nubs. It remains to be seen if they get bullied into giving Chemist Warehouse/Sigma a green light or not, but I have a horrible feeling a modified deal will somehow pass, and competition will be harmed in the process.
• ACMA doesn't have anywhere near enough powers to hold our telcos to a higher standard of security and resiliency. We had a major chunk of the population that couldn't dial triple 0 for fuck's sake. How is a director or CEO not facing charges for that?

We talk a big game in Australia about having legislation that supposedly protects ordinary Aussies from being fucked by big companies, but we fall short of taking meaningful action when it actually happens. If we jail just one of the cowboys at the helm, the others will very quickly fall into line, or fuck off and make room for someone who will.