Good morning. It’s the middle of the week and we’re so close to Christmas. Let’s get stuck into the tech news.
1. Insomniac hackers release sensitive data
Insomniac, the Sony-owned game studio behind the Ratchet & Clank series and the recent Spider-Man games, has suffered a data hack, and after not paying a ransom of over $US2 million, more than 1.3 million files have leaked onto the internet, revealing sensitive information about employees and upcoming games.
2. Age verification platforms ready to roll out child-blocking tech
The Australian is reporting that age verification platforms (as in, platforms that specialise in verifying the age of users before they view certain content) have lashed back at the Australian government’s claims that the technology is too immature to mandate. Such technology would prevent children from viewing sites with explicit material, such as pornography or gambling. “Our members have done over a billion age checks for everything from buying wine to placing bets or giving consent to share personal data under Europe’s strict data protection regime … We hope a cross-party consensus will now emerge that protecting kids online first requires knowing which of the internet’s users are children. Industry codes will inevitably have to include age assurance, so a trial is an obvious first step,” the Age Verification Providers Association’s CEO Ian Corby said.
3. Australia’s largest grid-forming battery to be built in NSW
InnovationAus.com is reporting that the largest grid-forming battery in Australia has been green-lit, with plans to build it in NSW Hunter next year. The 500MW/1,000MWh battery will be built at the site of the retired Liddell coal-fired power station in the Hunter region, with the battery being twice its initially planned size. It’s being built by AGL, and is backed by a $35 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
4. Google to pay $US700 million in app store settlement
Over in the U.S., AP is reporting that Google has agreed to pay a $US700 million concession to settle anti-competitive allegations against the Google Play Store, its Android-based app store. The deal was originally finalised back in September, but settlement terms couldn’t be revealed until this week. The settlement includes compensation for U.S. consumers that were allegedly funnelled into a payment processing system that drove up prices. Though this settlement amount has been announced, Epic took its anti-competitive case against Google to trial, which it won, though Google is appealing.
5. Bard AI election queries to be throttled by Google
Staying on Google for a moment, and Reuters is reporting that Google will throttle the types of election-based queries its ‘Bard’ chatbot and AI-powered search will be able to answer, as the U.S. heads into another presidential election season and as other national elections get closer, such as in India and South Africa. “our AI models will enhance our abuse-fighting efforts, including our ability to enforce our policies at scale. But we are also preparing for how it can change the misinformation landscape,” Google VP of trust and safety solutions Susan Jasper said in a blog post.
BONUS ITEM: Ultra-HD laser cat video from space! You’re a star, Taters.
We just streamed the first ultra-HD video brought to you via laser from deep space. And it’s a video of Taters, a tabby cat.
— NASA (@NASA) December 19, 2023
This test will pave the way for high-data-rate communications in support of the next giant leap: sending humans to Mars. https://t.co/tf2hWxaHWO pic.twitter.com/c1FwybYsxA
Have a lovely day.