If you missed me on the radio Wednesday night, my appearance on 3RRR's Byte Into IT is now available as a podcast! I suggest subscribing to it as it's a great Australian tech podcast if you're looking for some local voices to listen to.
Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), the CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, plead guilty to criminal charges of failing to adhere with "basic anti-money laundering steps". That failure allowed terrorist groups like al-Qassam, al-Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas to fundraise via Bitcoin. It allowed almost US$899m to be traded by people in Iran, as well as Cuba, Syria and Russian occupied areas of Ukraine - all against US sanctions. Binance also enabled "tens of millions" in ransomware transactions and US$106m in darknet marketplace transactions. Probably the worst of all would be more than "1,000 transactions took place involving three marketplaces that dealt in child pornography and related material". Binance and CZ really did not give a shit, did they? Binance will pay a US$4.3b fine, while CZ has quit as CEO and was fined US$50m, I don't know if he will face much jail time - this WSJ article claims "a maximum prison sentence of 18 months under federal sentencing guidelines", which seems low to me?
Uruguay amended their copyright law to add a requirement for artists to get "fair and equitable remuneration" for their recorded material and that "social networks and the internet" are treated as "formats for which, if a song is reproduced, the performer is entitled to financial remuneration". As soon as that amendment was passed, Spotify announced it'll stop operating in Uruguay by February 2024 as "any additional payments would make our business untenable". Spotify's is concerned if the additional costs are the responsibility of rights holders or if it's the streaming platform, as Spotify might be required "to pay twice for the same music". I assume this means they pay for it when they license it from a label and then again when they pay the artist themselves rather than the label distributing the funds from the money they got from Spotify.
You know how when Optus and Medicare got popped and we were all like, "why the fuck do these companies hang on to all this data???". Well as part of the 2023-30 Cyber Security Strategy released this week, the government realised that it's one of the reasons businesses hold on to so much data for so long, with various laws requiring it, particularly the mandatory data retention legislation. As a result, the government will review "federal legislative data-retention requirements to determine whether existing provisions are appropriately balanced, with a view to minimising or simplifying retention requirements". It's too early to pre-empt any major changes, but at least they've realised the problem - unnecessary data hoarding. You can't leak what you don't have!
Umbrella Entertainment's Brollie streaming service is ready to watch! It makes Umbrella's amazing back catalog of Australian and cult/indie films, docos & TV shows easy to view, as heaps of this content just isn't available anywhere else. It'll be great to re-watch see some of my favourite movies that I've managed to see at film festivals, on SBS as a kid or on long lost DVDs and discover new titles I may have heard about but struggled to find, even on the big internet piracy machine. I had a quick peek Brollie's movie list last night and there's some bangers worth a watch if you've never seen them. I can recommend these: The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Police Story, Road Games, The Man From Hong Kong & Pusher. I can't wait to see what else Umbrella dig up as they grow the service.
Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.
On 1 September 2022, the Royal Australian Mint released a limited edition fifty cent commemorative coin to celebrate the Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) 75th anniversary. Fifty thousand coins were produced for purchase by coin collectors and the Australian public, but have since sold out. (Australian Signals Directorate / me, this is my coin!)
📻 Shoo-In - Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol
😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.
💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.
👋 Forums not your thing? The Sizzle has a Slack group you can procrastinate in and chat with other nerds bored at work.
💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the customer portal.
🎁 Make someone's day and buy them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.
📚 Browse The Sizzle Archive. A few issues are missing and it's not searchable, but it's better than nothing.
🫂 Friends of The Sizzle is a small group of businesses or organisations operated by Sizzle subscribers. Support your fellow Sizzler!
💔 Tired of my bullshit? Unsubscribe and I'll never speak to you again.
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.