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Australia rolls out AI cameras to spot drivers using their phones
Phone use while driving remains a problem in many parts of the world, in no small part due to the difficulty of enforcing laws. How do you catch someone in the act? Australian police might not have that problem. The New South Wales government has started using the first cameras that can automatically detect when drivers are using their phones. The system uses AI to review photos for telltale signs of phone use, with human reviewing the flagged images to prevent any false positives. There will be both fixed and trailer-mounted cameras on hand to spot distracted motorists.
Cortana app will stop working on phones in some countries (updated)
Microsoft's changing Cortana strategy is about to have consequences for some phone users. The company has revealed that the Cortana app will stop working after January 31st, 2020 for people in Australia, Canada and the UK. Lists, reminders and other Cortana content won't pop up in either the app or Microsoft Launcher, and a version of the Launcher will arrive after January with Cortana removed. You can still expect Cortana material to show up in the To Do app, but you won't have a central place to create it on your phone.
Australia wants to verify porn users by scanning their faces
Australia has proposed another in a series of zany attempts to control the internet. This time, the government wants to do facial scans to confirm a user's age before they can watch porn or gamble online, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Then, the government would verify the user's identity using another proposed scheme called the "Face Verification Service."
Apple's News+ subscription comes to the UK and Australia
Apple's News+ all-you-can-eat magazine and periodical subscription service has made its way to the UK and Australia. It launched in the US and Canada this March for $10 a month, with publications that include Esquire and The Wall Street Journal. In the UK and Australia, it will set subscribers back £9.99 and AU$14.99, respectively, after a month-long free trial. And while the countries' versions feature publications the US and Canadian versions have -- such as WSJ, LA Times, National Geographic and Rolling Stone -- they also offer local titles.
Australia orders ISPs to block sites hosting Christchurch shooting video
Australia isn't waiting for new laws to block access to sites with content it deems horrific. The government's e-safety commissioner Julie Inman has ordered internet service providers in the country to block eight websites hosting the Christchurch terrorist's video, preventing Australians from visiting the sites unless they use alternatives like VPNs. The move comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison (above) told both Inman and ISPs to create a protocol for ordering these blocks. The commissioner's office will also be responsible for keeping watch over the sites and will unblock them if they pull the video.
Australia will block domains with extremist material during terror attacks
Australia's quest to fight online extremism will soon involve temporary but far-reaching bans. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that the country will block internet domains hosting extremist material in the middle of terrorist attacks and other crises, such as the anti-Muslim shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand this past March. The government also plans to block domains hosting "abhorrent" material created by the perpetrators, such as murder and sexual assault.
Facebook defends decision not to ban fake news from politicians
Facebook says it wasn't its job to stop fake news circulated by actual politicians in the months leading up to Australia's federal election. The nation's Labor Party suffered resounding losses this spring, which some are linking to the deluge of social media posts that falsely claimed that the party wanted to impose hefty "death taxes". In letters reviewed by Guardian Australia, Facebook vice-president Simon Milner told outgoing Labor Party secretary Noah Carroll that the misinformation didn't violate the platform's community standards.
Here’s how AG Barr is going to get encryption 'backdoors'
If you heard the reverberation of a few thousand heads exploding last week, it was the sound of information security professionals reacting to US Attorney General Barr saying that Big Tech "can and must" put backdoors into encryption. In his speech for a cybersecurity conference at Fordham University, Barr warned tech companies that time was running out for them to develop ways for the government to break encryption. FBI Director Christopher Wray agreed with him.
Australian antitrust body wants to closely monitor Google, Facebook
Back in April, Australia passed a bill that seeks to punish social networks for failing to remove violent content from their platforms. Now, the country's antitrust watchdog wants to establish a unit dedicated to keeping an eye on the tech giant's activities. It's one of the 23 proposals written in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) 623-page report on the tech giants' anti-competitive behavior in the country. According to Reuters, the dedicated unit within the commission will look closely into how the companies use algorithms to match users with ads.
Scientists used phone accelerometer data to predict personality traits
Our phones contain a disturbing amount of information about us. While calls, messages, app usage and location logs have all been used to profile users, phone accelerometers contain key information, too. Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University used the tiny sensors that track phone movement for things like step-counting to predict five key personality traits.
Alphabet's Wing introduces an air traffic control app for drones
This spring Alphabet subsidiary Wing LLC became the first drone delivery company to receive FAA certification, and the company has successfully launched drone delivery service in Australia and Helsinki. Now, with more drones in the sky, it needs a way to keep them safe. Today, Wing formally introduced its OpenSky app, which could serve as an air-traffic control system for drones.
Recommended Reading: Algorithms and school surveillance
Aggression Detectors: The unproven, invasive surveillance technology schools are using to monitor students Jack Gillum and Jeff Kao, ProPublica Following the rise in mass shootings, schools, hospitals and other public places are installing tech to monitor people. Part of this effort includes using algorithm-equipped microphones to capture audio, with the goal of detecting stress or anger before bad things happen. The problem? They aren't reliable and their mere existence is a massive invasion of privacy.
Teen hacked Apple hoping the company would offer him a job
If you were a teen hoping to land a job at a tech giant, how would you go about it? Plan your education and hope you eventually land an internship? An Australian had another, less conventional method. The teen hacked Apple and pleaded guilty while admitting that he hoped this would land him a job at the iPhone maker. He'd heard that Apple hired a European who'd done the same thing, and had assumed that a job was waiting for him the moment he was discovered. Clearly, law enforcement had other ideas.
Uber sued for 'hundreds of millions' in Australian class action
Uber is no stranger to lawsuits on any continent, but a new class action filing from four Australian states looks set to become one of the largest in the country's history.
Alphabet’s Wing launches drone delivery service in Australia
After months of testing, Alphabet's Wing division is launching a drone delivery service in Australia. It will cover roughly 100 homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin, just outside the capital city of Canberra. Customers will be able to request small goods, such as medicine, coffee and groceries, from a range of local businesses including Kickstart Expresso, Capital Chemist, Pure Gelato, Jasper + Myrtle, Bakers Delight, Guzman Y Gomez, and Drummond Golf. Wing says it will slowly expand to more neighborhoods "in the coming weeks and months" and "connect with more local businesses" to expand the products that are available to order.
UN says US fears over Huawei’s 5G are politically motivated
The secretary general of the UN's internet and telecoms agency has suggested US concerns about 5G networks built using Huawei equipment have more to do with politics and trade, rather than legitimate worries over security. "There is no proof so far," Houlin Zhao, head of the International Telecommunication Union, said regarding claims about Huawei's security. He noted it's in telecoms' best interests to make sure their infrastructure is secure as they might otherwise feel the wrath of authorities.
Australia's new law threatens social media companies with jail, fines
Australia's controversial bill that seeks to punish social networks and any other hosting service for failing to remove violent content from their platforms is now a law. The country's politicians drafted the Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material bill (PDF) after the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand by a gunman who's believed to be an Australian white nationalist. Under the new law, content hosting platforms have to "expeditiously" pull down audio and video recordings or streams depicting "abhorrent violent conduct." In addition, they have to notify authorities whenever they find illegal materials.
Australian bill could imprison social network execs over violent content
Australia may take a stricter approach to violent online material than Europe in light of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The government is introducing legislation that would punish social networks that don't "expeditiously" remove "abhorrent" violent content produced by perpetrators, such as terrorism, kidnapping and rape. If found guilty, a company could not only face fines up to 10 percent of their annual turnover, but see its executives imprisoned for up to three years. The country's Safety Commissioner would have the power to issue formal notices, giving companies a deadline to remove offending material.
Man arrested for selling Netflix and Spotify accounts
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced today that they arrested a man accused of selling stolen login credentials online. The unnamed man, a 21-year-old living in Sydney, Australia, operated a website called WickedGen.com that advertised having almost one million usernames and passwords for Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and other services. Police believe he generated AU$300,000 (about $211,000) selling the stolen logins.
There are only two Blockbusters left in the world, and one is closing
And then there was one. A Blockbuster video rental store located in a suburb of Perth Australia announced that it will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month, according to local newspaper the Eastern Reporter. It was the last remaining Blockbuster on the continent. Once it ceases offering rentals at the end of March, there will only be one Blockbuster in the world remaining. The final store is located in Bend, Oregon.