Good morning. TGIF, let’s get into the tech news!
1. Telstra OptiComm customer data leaked
The data of 3,000 Telstra OptiComm customers has leaked, as reported by iTnews. Customer data, including names, email addresses, and phone numbers were leaked onto a hacking forum, Telstra told iTnews that it is “working closely with OptiComm to investigate how the data was accessed and to notify the relevant authorities.” Much of the leaked dataset is understood to be fake, though.
2. Instagram adding new features to protect children
Meta has announced that new tools are being added to Instagram to protect young people on the platform. The app is getting a new nudity protection filter in direct messages: “This feature is designed not only to protect people from seeing unwanted nudity in their DMs, but also to protect them from scammers who may send nude images to trick people into sending their own images in return,” Meta said. This feature will be enabled by default for users below 18 and is being paired with new popup messages that warn users about the dangers of sending intimate photos, and provide resources on sextortion.
3. Dbrand’s loud mouth costs them $US10,000
Dbrand, a tech accessories company known for its coarse attitude, has offered up $US10,000 as a token of goodwill to a Twitter user who complained about a product, after the company made fun of the user’s name – a move that was seen as racist and in poor form by many people, including high-profile sponsors of the company. “We recognise that our original tweet went too far and created a platform for hateful discourse,” Dbrand said in response to a Tweet from Marques Brownlee slamming the brand for the act.
Well that escalated quickly.
— dbrand (@dbrand) April 10, 2024
1. Yes – we made fun of a guy’s name. It was a huge fumble.
2. We apologized to him directly and offered him $10,000 as a gesture of goodwill.
3. We’ve been poking fun at customers on social media for over a decade now. We’re not going to stop, but…
4. Apple M4 chips going AI-focused
Blomberg reports that Apple is readying its M4 chips with AI capabilities, and is aiming to roll the new chip out across the entire Mac range, according to sources familiar with the matter. We’ll likely get the first glimpse of Apple’s AI plans at WWDC 2024 in June.
5. Swift back on TikTok
Taylor Swift’s music is back on TikTok, Engadget reports, with the Universal Music Group artist’s work returning to the platform without other songs from other Universal artists (though songs from artists like Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello appear to be there). Weeks ago, Universal-owned music was removed from the platform, as talks broke down between the publisher and the platform on a new deal.
BONUS ITEM: The ocean is such a weird place and I love it.
Scientists have discovered around a hundred new ocean species in Bounty Trough, an oceanic rift off New Zealand’s south island 🪸 pic.twitter.com/cyqNnIHAPC
— New Scientist (@newscientist) April 11, 2024
Have a lovely day and even better weekend.
Image: Dbrand