Good morning. Let’s get stuck into the tech news.
1.Digicel PNG CEO steps down
Digicel PNG CEO Colin Stone has stepped down due to health reasons, according to a statement from Digicel owner Telstra. “Colin has guided Digicel PNG through a significant period of growth and faced unique challenges including a global pandemic, world economic impacts and local issues. He has also been instrumental to Telstra’s acquisition of Digicel Pacific. I want to acknowledge his substantial contribution to our business, our customers and our people,” Telstra International CEO Roary Stasko said. Digicel is the largest telecommunications company in the Pacific region, and was bought by Telstra back in 2022. For the time being, Digicel CFO Ketan Mehta will take over as interim CEO.
2. Twitter (X) kicked off Australia’s misinformation code
As reported by The Guardian, Twitter (now X) has been kicked off Australia’s voluntary misinformation and disinformation code, after the platform reportedly failed to respond to a complaint about shutting down reporting channels for user-flagged misinformation during the voice to Parliament referendum. The operator of the code, the Digital Industry Group (Digi), found that X had “committed a serious breach of the code and has refused to cooperate with Digi,” and was subsequently booted.
3. ACCC calls for new laws to reign in tech giants
As reported by The Australian, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is warning that big tech companies such as Meta, Apple, and Amazon could put consumers at risk through “invasive data collection practices”, and that these companies could be stifling competition by undercutting smaller rivals. “As digital platform service providers expand, they have greater access to rich consumer data, which they can collect and use throughout their ecosystems of products and services,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. The call comes after a five-year inquiry into big tech market dominance.
4. CZ to stay in U.S.
Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has been ordered by a judge to stay in the U.S.. As reported by Reuters, CZ agreed to step down from the cryptocurrency exchange as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors consider CZ to be a flight risk, and want to keep him in the country, instead of being allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates. The decision, however, will be reviewed by a judge.
5. Search tools for wildlife calls
Let’s wrap up with something lighter, shall we? The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Google has put together a new search tool aimed at ecologists and conservationists, allowing them to upload, match, and recognise wildlife calls from across the country. The new tool has been developed in tandem with the Queensland University of Technology and the Australian Acoustics Observatory, and the new tool, known as A20 Search, supposedly allows users to tap into millions of hours of indexed recordings.
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Nintendogs Promo on a 1951 Volkswagen Dormobile (2005)
— eccö archive (@3CC0__) November 26, 2023
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland pic.twitter.com/SvWYHhKpk8