Good morning all. It’s a new week. Let’s get into the tech news.
1. Dangerous ads allowed to thrive on social media
The SMH has the scoop on a report from Reset Australia, in which the digital advocacy group put the ads moderation systems of TikTok, Meta, and X to the test with pro-eating disorder ads. The group found the mock ads that were submitted for publishing, 100 per cent of ads were permitted to run on TikTok, 83 per cent were allowed to run on Facebook, and Google approved 75 per cent of ads. The organisation also created a fake account pretending to be a teenager and liked pro-eating disorder tweets. The organisation then found up to 63 per cent of the targeted ads on X could be construed as pro-eating disorder. “What this all shows is that it’s clear that stronger regulation is needed to ensure that platforms build safeguards in their systems without exception,” Reset Australia’s director of policy and research Doctor Rys Farthing told the SMH.
2. Aussie EV wunderkind facing NASDAQ delisting
Tritium, the Australia-based public EV charging company, could be delisted on the U.S. NASDAQ, after receiving a second delisting notice, InnovationAus reports. Five months ago, the company was issued its first delisting notice, after the share price dipped below $US1. The second notice came just before a stakeholder vote intended to consolidate shares in the company and give the stock price a slight bump. Under NASDAQ rules, the company has until April 9 to regain its share price. The company is attempting to appeal the delisting notice.
3. Apple Silicon hardware-level exploit exposed
Engadget reports that a hardware-level issue with Apple’s M-series chips can allow security measures to be bypassed, and security keys accessed. The experimental attack was dubbed by researchers as ‘GoFetch’, and the exploit requires the user to avoid Apple’s Gatekeeper protections, and then requires a malicious app to run for 10 hours before the information can be accessed. “This paper shows that the security threat from DMPs (Memory-Dependent Prefetchers) is significantly worse than previously thought and demonstrates the first end-to-end attacks on security-critical software using the Apple m-series DMP,” the researchers wrote.
4. Crypto fugitive pending extradition
Do Kwon, the founder of failed crypto company Terraform Labs, has been released from prison in Montenegro, and is facing extradition requests from both the U.S. and South Korea for his part in the failure of the company and the $US40 billion TerraUSD cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reports. “Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents were withheld, he was taken for an interview to the Police directorate for foreigners, and they will deal with him further.” Prison director Darko Vukcevic said to Bloomberg.
5. Telegram suspended in Spain
Telegram has been temporarily suspended in Spain, after media companies complained that the social messaging app was letting users upload their material without permission, via Reuters. Phone providers have been asked to block the service while the claims were investigated.
BONUS ITEM: Congratulations to Emily! She’s a gun over on our sister site Kotaku Australia. Read her stuff!
This is cool as hell and I’m very chuffed 🥹 https://t.co/P5jhhitNTO
— Emily Spindler (@Sagef0xx) March 22, 2024
Have a lovely day.
Image: Tritium