The age of the driverless taxi has arrived – at least in parts of Phoenix, Arizona. Self-driving car company Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced its autonomous vehicles are now available to the general public (or at least paying customers). The service is only available in a limited area for now, both because… Read more »
Use of the 3D presentation app by Melbourne augmented reality startup JigSpace is set to soar after the company’s product featured in this morning’s Apple announcement on the new iPhone 12. The phones, which come in four new models costing between $1,199 and a gobsmacking $2,369 for the top-of-line iPhone 12 Pro Max, will be… Read more »
Facebook Messenger and Instagram’s direct messaging services will be integrated into one system, Facebook has announced. The merge will allow shared messaging across both platforms, as well as video calls and the use of a range of tools drawn from both platforms. It’s currently being rolled out across countries on an opt-in basis, but hasn’t… Read more »
Ticket reseller Viagogo AG has been fined $7 million for making false or misleading representations when reselling events tickets in a Federal Court legal action brought by consumer watchdog the ACCC. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) took on the Swiss-based ticket reseller in 2017 for price-gouging consumers by failing to disclose substantial fees.… Read more »
Facebook has announced the latest version of its successful standalone virtual reality (VR) headset, the Oculus Quest 2. The new device packs more computing power and a sharper screen than its predecessor, and is also US$100 cheaper. Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 (from AUD$479) is a powerful wireless VR headset for gaming and, Facebook hopes, much… Read more »
A disturbing video purporting to show a suicide is reportedly doing the rounds on the popular short video app TikTok, reigniting debate about what social media platforms are doing to limit circulation of troubling material. According to media reports, the video first showed up on Facebook in late August but has been re-uploaded and shared… Read more »
Facebook has announced it 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 announcement follows the release of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s draft news media bargaining code, under which Google and… Read more »
Facebook’s threat to ban publishing and sharing of local new stories on its platform, as well as Instagram, is “ill-timed and misconceived” according to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) chair Rod Sims. The ACCC has been charged by the government with shepherding the proposed “News media bargaining code” through to law. The proposed… Read more »
Facebook will block news from Australian publishers on its platforms, including Instagram, as well as stopping users from sharing local and international news if the Morrison government’s plans to make it and Google pay publishers for news become law. Facebook’s ANZ managing director Will Easton says the proposed laws forcing the US tech giants to… Read more »
Video sharing app TikTok has turned to expat Australian digital media executive Vanessa Pappas to replace former CEO Kevin Mayer after he resigned over the Chinese-owned company’s fight with President Donald Trump, who wants the company sold or shut down. Pappas is general manager of the US and Australia NZ, having joined TikTok in November… Read more »
Have you used Google lately and been greeted by a yellow warning saying that the way Australians search on Google is under threat? To understand why these messages are appearing, Media Files interviewed former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Professor Allan Fels, and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI),… Read more »
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