TGIF. Let’s just dive right in, eh?
1. Telstra axes almost 500 staff
The Australian is reporting that Telstra has axed nearly 500 roles in what is the telco’s first major round of job cuts under chief executive Vicki Brady. The job cuts will affect 472 staff, mostly across the company’s enterprise unit. Per the report, the cuts form part of Telstra’s bid to slash $500 million in fixed costs under its T25 strategic plan, which was first initiated by former chief executive Andy Penn. Consumer-facing teams won’t be affected.
2. Google is pushing AI tool on newsrooms to ‘help’ journalists
Google is inserting itself in newsrooms with the promotion of its new AI tool that it says will “help” journalists create articles. The company has reportedly pitched its software to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, saying it can effectively produce news stories. Sources close to the matter told The New York Times that the tool is known by its working title, Genesis, and it can generate news content including details of current events. It’s being pitched as an application that works alongside journalists rather than replacing them. Thanks, we hate it.
3. Amazon pays $US25M and agrees not to collect kids’ data
Insider is reporting that Amazon has agreed to change how it handles children’s data, including what it collects through its Alexa voice assistant, by the end of the year. The agreement comes as the shopping giant also agreed to pay the U.S. government $US25 million within the next week, under a settlement that follows a 2019 complaint submitted to the Federal Trade Commission by a coalition of privacy advocates who accused Amazon of holding on to children’s voice recordings, and transcripts of those recordings, far longer than allowed under the Children’s Online Privacy Protect Act. Yikes.
4. Apple could pull FaceTime and iMessage from the UK
Apple has apparently said it will remove services such as FaceTime and iMessage from the UK rather than weaken security, if new proposals are made law and acted upon, the BBC reports. Per the BBC, the UK government is seeking to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016, which will require messaging services to clear security features with the Home Office before releasing them to customers. Basically, the Act lets the Home Office demand security features be disabled, without telling the public. Apple wants no part of this.
5. U.S. pauses trial against Microsoft-Activision
Lastly, Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has paused its in-house trial against Microsoft’s $US69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which they note opens the door to potential settlement talks. Per Bloomberg, the step is a win for Microsoft and Activision as they seek to close the largest-ever gaming deal despite regulatory challenges in the U.S. and the UK. With the administrative case now withdrawn, Microsoft and Activision can seek to persuade the FTC’s commissioners to accept a settlement or drop their opposition to the deal altogether. Whiplash, I tells ya.
BONUS ITEM: This is a little long, but it’s 100 per cent worth the watch.
Have a fantastic weekend, folks.