> > > A $1 million fine imposed by Australia's online safety regulator is "unfair and disproportionate", according to online messaging platform Telegram. > >

---

> > > In March 2024, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant gave Telegram, WhatsApp, Google, Reddit and X legally enforceable transparency reporting notices. > > > > The notices required each platform to answer questions about measures they had in place to tackle terrorist and extremist material on their sites. > > > > Telegram and Reddit were also specifically asked about the measures they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material, a topic other services had already been asked about in previous reporting notices. > > > > All other platforms engaged by the May 2024 deadline, but Telegram provided a response five months later and was in turn fined $957,780. (emphasis added) > >

Video here (11m55s): https://youtube.com/watch?v=4rR57tXdOHQ

> In short: > > Australian researchers have detected more than 20 mysterious signals in space using new technology developed by CSIRO. > > The technology, CRACO, examines trillions of pixels it receives by telescope to identify anomalies. > > The study results have been published in the peer-reviewed Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

archive.org

> > > In short: > > > > A dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) act should be created that can regulate the most high-risk technologies, a bipartisan committee has agreed. > > > > It also accused tech giants of stealing from Australian creators, and urged the government to develop a scheme to ensure fair remuneration when creative work is used by AI tools. > > > > What's next? > > > > The federal government is developing a model to address high-risk AI technology. > >

> The move came after employees working for OPTF were approached by the Victoria police and Australian federal police over several months including via help chat messages, letters and phone calls. Victoria police also visited the apartment of an employee late last year, asking questions about the app and its encrypted messaging, the company says. > > Under anti-terrorism laws passed in 2018, law enforcement can issue notices requiring developers to assist with an investigation. This can include technical assistance which could require companies to build capability for law enforcement to break the encryption used in their services. > > But the powers have rarely been used. And if they had, neither the AFP or the services targeted can divulge what an organisation has been ordered to do.

> The office of the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, was approached for comment. > > The Greens digital rights spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge, said it was a problem if Australia had policies hostile to end-to-end encryption while privacy law was failing to protect people’s personal information. > > He said the AFP approaching Session employees was “seriously troubling”. > > “Are police now taking the view that just trying to protect your privacy makes you potentially guilty? > > “We need a sovereign tech industry that delivers safe and secure products for local users and to make this happen the industry is telling us they urgently need an effective suite of privacy and data laws.”

Good to see this getting some coverage in mainstream outlets, and by the Greens.

Did the image need to be a spooky-scary guy, though?

Slightly old news (the announcement was made on 9 Oct) but I figured it's still worth posting so people can check out some Australian-made games.

There are several sources covering the same report with differing slants - I'd say this is one of the more negative pieces.

See also:

• Digital Transformation Agency: the reports themselves
• Digital Transformation Agency: Evaluation of whole-of-government trial into generative AI: Now available
• ACS Information Age: Govt flags 'challenges' of Microsoft Copilot AI trial
• The Decoder: Australian government pilots Microsoft Copilot with mixed results
• ARN: DTA trial of Microsoft Copilot flags integration, data permission issues

Was looking on the Telstra page teaching customers about the benefits of 5G and found this gem.

> > > Session, the encrypted messaging app known for its commitment to privacy and decentralization, announced a change of base from Australia to Switzerland. > >

[...]

> > > The move to Switzerland follows a tense period in Australia, where law enforcement scrutiny of encrypted apps like Session has intensified. According to a report by 404 Media, Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers visited the home of a Session employee last year, inquiring about the app’s operations and one of its users. This incident, along with Australia’s new surveillance laws, pushed Session to relocate. > >

---

See also:

• [login-walled] 404 Media: Encrypted chat app ‘Session’ leaves Australia after visit from police (archived link)
• Bruce Schneier: Australia threatens to force companies to break encryption (from September)

> In short: > > Swinburne University of Technology astrophysicist Matthew Bailes has won the 2024 Prime Minister's Prize for Science. > > He was recognised for his work in discovering fast radio bursts with colleagues Duncan Lorimer and Maura McLaughlin. > > Professor Bailes now leads the OzGrav centre to coordinate Australia's research into gravitational wave science.

If your provider is unable to verify VoLTE support for your device, it may be blocked from Australian networks from the 1st of November 2024.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/17129254

> > > The federal government is encouraging more people to use artificial intelligence. But this blind hype dismisses the harms caused by the new technology. > >

---

> > > The Australian government this week released voluntary artificial intelligence (AI) safety standards, alongside a proposals paper calling for greater regulation of the use of the fast-growing technology in high-risk situations. > > > > The take-home message from federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, was: > > > > > > > > We need more people to use AI and to do that we need to build trust. > > > > > > > > But why exactly do people need to trust this technology? And why exactly do more people need to use it? > >

Petition EN6080 is the one that is posted to stopkillinggames.com, Ross Scott (Accursed Farms)'s campaign to end the practice of bricking games people have purchased, whenever the publisher doesn’t want to support it anymore.

It is open for signing by Australian Citizens and Residents, until May 20th 2024.

Please spread the word to your Australian friends and family who take interest in games, and please add your name to it to support this campaign to help preserve games in some form in perpetuity.

Thank you!

From the auda talk - Future Scenarios: navigating the digital world in 2044

Hi!

I used to have a non-.au domain with Gandi because they had a reputation of doing things right and doing the right thing.

My problem now is getting an .au domain because it's an extra $96 with them, apart from the domain fees.

Can you recommend me a good alternative that is also less-shady-than-the-average-big-company? Domain only, I already have hosting somewhere else.

Thanks!

My old xps13 is old in the tooth and the new ones have some things I don't like. So I am after recommendations. My preferences

• Linux (Ubuntu/Debian friendly). Happy to wipe and install and will check compatibility beforehand but if anyone has a Linux daily driver they love let me know
• good CPU and decent RAM (32gb would be nice)
• Lightweight - smaller preferred (currently on a 13" and happy)
• Touchscreen would be nice
• Usb-c
• Decent battery life

I have access to other machines for heavy GPU stuff that's not as important as CPU and RAM.

Uses:

• Programming/terminal use
• Reading docs and papers
• Watching movies etc
• No gaming

That's my wishlist. What do you suggest, Aussie tech friends?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.smeargle.fans/post/137291

> Show HN: Mapping almost every law, regulation and case in Australia > > HN Discussion

GPlates is desktop software for the interactive visualisation of plate tectonics.

GPlates offers a novel combination of interactive plate tectonic reconstructions, geographic information system (GIS) functionality and raster data visualisation. GPlates enables both the visualisation and the manipulation of plate tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time. GPlates runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. GPlates has an online user manual.

GPlates and pyGPlates are both free software (also known as open-source software), licensed for distribution under the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2.

GPlately is a Python package which enables the reconstruction of data through deep geological time (points, lines, polygons, and rasters), the interrogation of plate kinematic information (plate velocities, rates of subduction and seafloor spreading), the rapid comparison between multiple plate motion models, and the plotting of reconstructed output data on maps.

GPlates is developed by an international team of scientists and professional software developers at: the EarthByte group in the school of Geosciences at the University of Sydney with past contributions from: the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS) at Caltech the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway the Geodynamics Team at the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU).

I guess there has been a Google maps update. I relied on this for public transport trip planning. I'm baffled as to how to do this anymore. Anyone got any ideas?

I could not find any mentions of these problems online. The article itself has no technical detail.

Looking forward to seeing what the actual problems are. It seems this is the first product to market.

Guesses based off the general subject matter:

• Silica concentrations probably vary depending on the exact position of your head, especially since it's heavy material. If you mount this sensor even a few meters away from a worker then it's readings could possibly become invalid, eg because an angle grinder is firing dust a different direction to the sensor.
• Silica is a slang term for a very big category of materials. Some might look completely different to others under certain laser observations, leading to some getting missed (bad) and others materials triggering false positives (leading to the sensor's screams being ignored by workers).
• Self-cleaning routines might be needed to stop it clogging up, otherwise the sensor starts reporting a higher baseline. They could either choose to report this ("pls clean me" light comes on) or ignore it (bury head in sand mode).
• Alternatively it's performance might actually be fine, but perhaps it's still being spruked inappropriately. Government involvement in funding the project might (?) magnify this problem.

Ah yes, cause monopolies have never been bad for the customer (looks at supermarkets).