Why hello. It’s hump day – here are five newsworthy things going on in the tech world this morning.
1. Instagram is testing ways to be less annoying
After bombarding people’s feeds with unwanted content, Instagram has realised its mistake. The social media platform is testing out ways for users to have more control over what pops up on their Explore page and regular feed by informing the app on what they don’t want to see. There are two features being tested: the first tool lets users mark multiple posts on their Explore page as “Not Interested” and the ability to add ‘blocked’ words/emojis/hashtags to your feed to stop content containing that from appearing at your end.
2. eSafety cracks down on ‘big tech’
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legal notices to Apple, Meta (and WhatsApp), Microsoft (and Skype), Snap and Omegle, asking them to explain how exactly they tackle online child sexual exploitation on their respective platforms and services. The notices given to the tech giants are issued under powers granted to eSafety as part of the Online Safety Act. If a company doesn’t respond to a notice within 28 days, it could face penalties up to $555,000 a day.
We have issued legal notices to some of the biggest tech companies in the world, requiring them to report on the measures they are taking to tackle child sexual exploitation material on their platforms and services: https://t.co/WqFo65e89g#onlinesafety #tech pic.twitter.com/DM5vluUh9D
— eSafety Commissioner (@eSafetyOffice) August 29, 2022
3. TikTok was asked to remove election footage
Staying in social media…The ABC is today reporting that the Australian Electoral Commission asked TikTok to remove footage of staff inside counting centres and polling places during the 2022 Federal Election, as this footage was being used by a handful of people to promote the narrative the election was “stolen”. The ABC previously noted that “freedom parties” (insert eyeroll) and groups linked to Australia’s anti-lockdown movement were encouraging supporters to sign up as scrutineers to challenge vote counting.
4. AI dobs on undeclared swimming pool owners in France
Over in France, the government has found an interesting use for artificial intelligence – it’s used the tech to find undeclared swimming pools in aerial photos. In France, housing taxes are calculated based on a property’s rental value, so homeowners who don’t declare swimming pools are potentially avoiding hundreds of euros in additional payments. Machine learning is a hellava thing.
5. Starlink suffers global outage
In Elon Musk news, Starlink internet users experienced an outage on Tuesday that spanned across different parts of the world. The global outage lasted for a few hours for most, but connectivity returned with a “Degraded Service” message that meant it wasn’t fully operational. Some users reported that their connection kept going from degraded to offline. “Our team is investigating and will resolve as soon as possible,” the Starlink service message read. However, the company hasn’t released a public message acknowledging the outage. It’s Elon’s world and we’re just living in it.
BONUS ITEM: Your bonus item today is the verdict that consumed Australia yesterday afternoon.
“Christopher Michael Dawson on the charge that… you did murder Lynette Dawson, I find you guilty.”
This is the moment NSW Supreme Justice Ian Harrison found Chris Dawson guilty of murdering his wife Lynette 40 years after she went missing. #9News
MORE: https://t.co/tH536VtADZ pic.twitter.com/xGO2SfArIC
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) August 30, 2022
Enjoy the last day of Winter.