The ACCC has lodged proceedings against Telstra, Optus and TPG for selling punters NBN plans with speeds their connections could not reach. ACCC boss Rod Sims said that the telcos "promised to tell consumers within a specific or reasonable timeframe if the speed they were paying for could not be reached on their connection. They also promised to offer them a cheaper plan with a refund if that was the case. Instead, we allege, they failed to do these things, and as a result many consumers paid more for their NBN plans than they needed to". This all boils down to the FTTN portion of the NBN being a dog's breakfast. Qualifying a line speed for the premises should be NBN's job, not the ISPs. I hope the telcos fight back and get the court to acknowledge NBN's failure in all this and that the telcos are at NBN's mercy.
The federal government has laid out what it wants as "basic online safety expectations" under Online Safety Act that became law in July. With this extension of the government also expects services (the definition of which is so broad that it applies to every layer of the internet) to: "take steps to prevent children accessing class 2 material such as R18+ content", "do more to prevent unlawful or harmful material on anonymous accounts", "take steps against cyber-bullying, non-consensual intimate images of a person and promotion, incitement or instruction in abhorrent violent conduct" and "that users have clear ways to make reports or complaints to services". The eSaftey Commissioner will force tech companies to report how they're meeting those expectations and can fine them if they don't do it. Justin Warren has a great Twitter thread if you want to learn about about the Online Safety Act.
As part of Epic's lawsuit against Google, its been revealed that Google floated the idea of buying Epic to avoid them becoming a competitor to the Play Store, saying Epic's attempts to offer consumers an alternative to the Play Store are a "contagion". Epic has added that Google tried to offer it a special deal to have Fortnite on the Play Store instead of the Epic Games Store, with Google telling Epic that forcing users to install the app outside the store will "limit Epic's reach" and be a "bad experience" for users. Essentially Google acknowledging that they make life hard for apps outside the Play Store. Not the kinda thing you want to be caught saying when you're trying to convince a judge you aren't anti-competitive.
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.