Global tech
Slack just put out the best app update ever
Just a few days after Salesforce agreed to pay US$27.7 billion for the workplace messaging app. That’s all.
Global tech
Facebook clamps down on underage ad targeting after Australian research revealed children were shown gambling, smoking & alcohol ads
Instagram’s parent company, Facebook will default set Instagram accounts for users under 16 to private, and restrict targeted advertising to them following an Australian expose that revealed how easy it was for marketers to show smoking, gambling, extreme weight loss, and alcohol advertising to underage users. The social media giant announced the changes in a… Read more »
Global tech
How London Tech Week helped these Aussie and Kiwi scaleups go global
The UK is ready for the Australian and New Zealand tech invasion. With 30 significant tech clusters, a record A$20 billion in UK venture capital investment in 2020 (the third highest in the world) and new Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the UK is our oyster. The proof is in the (British)… Read more »
Global tech
Apple just lost its bid to stop Fortnite’s Epic Games suing it in Australia
Apple’s attempt to block Epic Games, the company behind the hit video game Fortnite, from suing it in Australia over anti-competitive behaviour has been overturned on appeal by the Federal Court. Epic has filed anti-competition complaints against Apple in the European Union, UK, US and Australia, complaining about a range of restrictive conditions on the… Read more »
Global tech
Consumer watchdog the ACCC warns Apple AirTags are dangerous for small children
Parents should keep Apple AirTags are kept out of the reach of young children, because they pose a potentially deadly risk kids, consumer watchdog the ACCC has warned, with the button batteries inside the devices easily accessible. The regulator has raised its safety concerns about the AirTag with Apple, and discussions continue, ACCC Deputy Chair… Read more »
Global tech
Why now’s the time for Aussie and Kiwi techs to set up in the UK
The UK is proving to be an effective ecosystem for growth and innovation for Australian and New Zealand tech companies looking to expand internationally. The proof is three Melbourne entrepreneurs, Dennis Volodomanov, Dmitry Levin and Leon Kosher, whose idea, KISA, a simple-to-use mobile phone to meet the needs of the elderly, disabled and visually impaired… Read more »
Global tech
After taking on Apple in a global legal fight, Epic Games now has Google in its sights in Australia
Fortnite maker Epic Games, which is currently in a massive anti-competition legal battle with Apple in the California courts, is planning similar legal action against Google and has won an Australian Federal Court victory to launch proceedings. Justice Nye Perram, who is also overseeing part of Epic’s case against Apple, but granted a three-month stay… Read more »
Global tech
World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee is selling the source code as an NFT
Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web (WWW), is auctioning off the source code for his world-changing invention as a non-fungible token (NFT). The winning buyer will receive files of the source code Berners-Lee wrote in between 1990 and 1991, a 30-minute silent animation of the code being written – which you can view at Sotheby’s –… Read more »
Global tech
The US Congress is in an epic battle with big tech that will have impacts around the world
Five antitrust laws proposed in the United States aim to aggressively rein in the market power of “big tech” companies and change the way they do business. The set of bills, introduced on June 11, targets the enormous economic power wielded by the likes of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google (owned by parent company Alphabet).… Read more »
Global tech
TransGrid and Endeavour Energy are backing EnergyLab’s new global scaleup program
Nine late-stage energy startups have been chosen for the second cohort of EnergyLab’s Scaleup Program including Australian ‘digital twins’ tech venture Neara. TransGrid and Endeavour Energy are partnering with the program, which kicks off later this month, allowing the startups to collaborate with the utilities, investors and founders. The two power utilities operate across NSW… Read more »
Advice
Ignition Lane Weekly Wrap: M&A mania, Tesla trademarks, African fintech, another SoftBank implosion & NFTs explained
Welcome to Ignition Lane’s Weekly Wrap, where they cut through the noise to bring you their favourite insights from the technology and startup world. Ignition Lane works with ambitious business leaders to apply the Startup Mindset to their technology, product and commercialisation problems. This wrap goes out free to subscribers every Saturday. Don’t forget you can catch Gavin Appel discussing… Read more »
Global tech
Covid caused a global microchip shortage and it’s not going to end anytime soon
The manufacturing world is facing one of its greatest challenges in years — a global shortage of semiconductors — and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight any time soon. According to Acer, one of the world’s largest laptop manufacturers, companies will still be affected by this shortage until at least the first… Read more »
Global tech
TikTok Politics: How the rise of digital nationalism is a massive win for US big tech
The massive digital platform market has until recently been dominated by a handful of US-based companies such as Facebook and Google. However, as foreign governments and competing platforms try to erode this domination, platforms are becoming a new sphere of geopolitical manoeuvring. The European Union wants to gain more control over international tech companies and… Read more »
Global tech
The ACCC is trying to insert itself into the App Store fight between Apple and Epic Games
Competition regulator the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is applying to the Federal Court to appear as part of a local legal battle between Fortnite maker Epic Games and Apple over control of the App Store. Epic has filed an anti-competition complaints against Apple in the European Union, UK, US and Australia over App… Read more »
Global tech
6 questions answered on the Facebook Oversight Board making calls on user bans
Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board on May 5, 2021, upheld the company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform and Instagram. The decision came four months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump “indefinitely” for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The board chastised Facebook for failing to… Read more »
