Issue 1819 - Tuesday 4th April, 2023

In Today's Issue

The News

TikTok banned on all government devices in Australia & NZ

After a seven month review by Home Affairs, TikTok is now banned from all Australian government and department issued devices operated by politicians and public servants. New Zealand banned TikTok on their government devices last week. Australian state governments are probably gonna do the same any day now. This article on The Conversation says the ban is because TikTok gives China (who we are in a "grey zone" conflict in??) the means would exist for foreign intelligence agencies to track the location of government officials, build dossiers of personal information, and conduct espionage". Sounds like TikTok should be banned entirely, along with any other apps that have the same capability, regardless of the nationality.

eSafety Commissioner provides government with a secret roadmap to age verification for access to online porn

Late Friday arvo the eSafety Commissioner let loose that they have "provided an age verification roadmap to the Australian Government today for its consideration", exploring "if and how age verification and other measures could be used to prevent and mitigate harm to children from online pornography". We do not know what is in this roadmap as it isn't public, but they're trying to convince the government to update the Online Safety Act to include some form of mandatory ID to look at naked people on the internet - a scheme that's failing to be practically implemented in the UK (they're still trying!) but is becoming increasingly popular in some US states.

Australia lacks a central register of websites blocked by government, Centrelink confirms use of Cellebrite tech to investigate clients, NLA's Trove secures ongoing funding at last

Something I Saw On The Internet

Marvel Stadium to get Amazon's "Just Walk Out" tech for food and drinks

As part of Melbourne's Dockland (aka Marvel) Stadium's redevelopment, the AFL is gonna use Amazon's "Just Walk Out" tech in two food and beverage outlets and a bar. This is the same technology used at those Amazon Go convenience stores in the USA where you just walk in, grab what you want and walk out. At the stadium, "fans will simply use their credit or debit card, or mobile wallet payment option at entry, collect their items, and leave the store without having to wait in line to checkout". This is the first implementation of this technology in the Southern Hemisphere, but is in use at stadiums in Boston and Seattle.

Bargains

Image Of The Day

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen were announced Monday, April 3 as the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The crew assignments are as follows: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch, Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. (NASA Johnson / Flickr)

The End

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