Scam ads are lucrative for scammers, but the money they steal from vulnerable people is also delivering plenty of cash to Mark Zuckerberg and his social media company Meta. The business behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has been named one of five “winners” in consumer group CHOICE’s annual Shonky Awards for trash products. The CHOICE… Read more »
Meta will make its generative artificial intelligence (AI) models available to the United States’ government, the tech giant has announced, in a controversial move that raises a moral dilemma for everyone who uses the software. Meta last week revealed it would make the models, known as Llama, available to government agencies, “including those that are… Read more »
As Australia and other countries debate the merits of banning kids under 14 from social media, Meta has announced a significant “reimagining” of teenagers’ experience of Instagram. These new “Teen Accounts” will be set to private by default, have the maximum content and messaging restrictions possible, pause notifications at night, and add new ways for… Read more »
Facebook acknowledged in a Senate inquiry yesterday that it is scraping the public photos of Australian users to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models. Facebook’s parent company Meta claims this excludes data from users who have marked their posts as “private”, as well as photos or data from users under the age of 18. Since… Read more »
Meta, which owns social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, has revealed its plans for keeping kids safe online. It wants companies like Apple and Google, who run mobile phone app stores, to force parents to approve when their children attempt to install phone apps which are popular among young people. Meta’s announcement comes… Read more »
In the world of artificial intelligence (AI), a battle is underway. On one side are companies that believe in keeping the datasets and algorithms behind their advanced software private and confidential. On the other are companies that believe in allowing the public to see what’s under the hood of their sophisticated AI models. Think of… Read more »
Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they come close to making streaming services look generous. By law, no radio station can be made to pay more than 1% of the station’s gross revenue for… Read more »
Scams ads are now a $3 billion problem in Australia and research from consumer lobby group CHOICE has found that 2 out of 3 people (66%) think digital platforms, such as Google and Meta, aren’t doing enough to protect people from them. Even more alarmingly, we don’t have a lot of faith in those around… Read more »
Two subsidiaries of social media giant Meta, Facebook Israel and Onavo Inc, have been fined $10 million each for misleading conduct, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law, over a virtual private network (VPN) service that was used to gather data on users and share it with Facebook’s marketing team. Consumer watchdog the ACCC launched… Read more »
Today Meta launched its long-awaited new social media product Threads, a Twitter clone that syncs to Instagram accounts and offers a chaotic feed filled with influencers, news outlets, and brands vying for attention. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Threads was intended as “an open and friendly public space for conversation.” “We hope to take what… Read more »
Meta will trial a new subscription service for Facebook and Instagram users in Australia, at a cost of just under $25 per month. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the trial of Meta Verified on Monday morning, with Australia and New Zealand to be the first testing grounds for the service. The monthly subscription service will… Read more »
More than 25,000 jobs are set to be cut at three of the biggest tech companies in the world, as rapid growth during the pandemic slows and broader economic headwinds pick up speed. Reports emerged this week that Amazon is planning to lay off about 10,000 people, on the back of Facebook parent company Meta’s… Read more »
The Australian and Consumer Competition Commission (ACCC) wants tougher regulations to tackle issues such as online scams, dodgy apps and fake reviews, putting the onus on major tech companies such as Meta and Google to address the harms caused to consumers, and small businesses. The ACCC’s fifth report in its five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry proposes… Read more »
On the last day of his 11 years as chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims announced the commission is bringing a “world-first” claim against Meta (owner of Facebook) in the Federal Court for false or misleading conduct. The ACCC alleges Meta failed to take sufficient steps to stop displaying scam… Read more »
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has announced the company will change its name to Meta, saying the move reflects the fact the company is now much broader than just the social media platform (which will still be called Facebook). The rebrand follows several months of intensifying discourse by Zuckerberg and the company more broadly on… Read more »
Nearly 9000 taxi drivers just scored $152 million from Uber as compensation for its illegal launch in Australia 
SISTER ACT: Nicola Forrest drops $100 million into an investment fund to back women 
3 ways Spotify’s annual Wrapped of songs you listen to helps define who you are 
The WA government is sending 12 startups to the US under a new accelerator program 
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