Good morning, can’t believe it’s already Thursday, we love a short week. Anyway, let’s jump into the Aussie tech news!
1. Facebook celebrates 10 years of Reality Labs
Did you know that it has been 10 years since Facebook (now Meta) acquired Oculus? Neither! Anyway, Zuckerberg and Co are celebrating a decade of their Reality Labs division. In a blog post, they take a trip down memory lane celebrating all things VR and of course, the metaverse.
2. Airbnb updates its policy around disruptive events
Airbnb has changed its policy – both the name and details – to help travellers during natural disasters like cyclones and bushfires. Airbnb said its new Major Disruptive Events Policy provides cancellation and refund support for our guests when unexpected major events like natural disasters, government travel restrictions or weather events impact their ability to stay at a location.
3. Google ‘supercharges’ partnership with AAP
Google said it is ‘supercharging’ its partnership with the Australian Associated Press (AAP). They’ve worked together since 2019 in a fact-checking capacity. According to Google, “this new phase will increase AAP’s speed and quantity of fact-checks and put them on the screens of users in Australia and New Zealand along with their hundreds of news publisher subscribers”. This comes at the same time Facebook has removed its news tab from the site.
4. Twitter/X wants to sue the Australian government for ‘anti-transgender’ post
Twitter/X is threatening to sue the Australian government as it is being fined $800K over making disparaging comments about transgender activist Teddy Cook, The Australian reports. Musk’s social media platform said it wants to “protect its user’s right to free speech” after a post by Chris Elston ‘Billboard Chris’ was removed due to anti-trans comments.
5. U bet Ubisoft Ubi Forward is back
On a bit of a fun note, it is Friday Jr after all, Ubisoft has announced its annual Ubi Forward event on June 10. Since the demise of E3 (RIP), gaming publishers have gone and done their own reveals and showcases of what’s to come. At last year’s event, we saw the reveal of Assasin’s Creed: Mirage and Star Wars Outlaws. Just between you and me, this girlie is praying for Far Cry 7 (but she knows she is dreaming).
It’s back ✨
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) April 3, 2024
Join us live from Los Angeles for #UbiForward on June 10 for updates and upcoming releases! pic.twitter.com/PevpR3rfvH
Bonus item: If only this was a real feature
TikTok feature to disable phone speaker audio in public places pic.twitter.com/a9UgB67kDF
— Soren Iverson (@soren_iverson) March 27, 2024
Image: Ubisoft