AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET The chief of Australia’s Federal Police has had a swift about-face over the finer details of proposed data retention legislation currently before parliament, saying police are not interested in using metadata to police piracy. The comments follow a press conference yesterday, during which AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin …
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AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Attorney-General George Brandis. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET Malcolm Turnbull has today introduced a bill for mandatory data retention into parliament, requiring telcos and ISPs to retain telecommunications data for a period of two years. The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014 [PDF] is the third and final piece …
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Optus Optus has announced additions to its home broadband bundles, adding a new mid-range plan and offering a tablet bonus on its all-you-can-eat unlimited data plan. The telco’s most popular offering, the Big Home Bundle, retains its AU$115 price tag, offering unlimited broadband data, unlimited standard local, national and 13/1300 calls to landlines (with line rental included), and Optus TV …
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Image by Alexandre Normand, CC BY 2.0 The AFP has confirmed it made a number of requests to block websites suspected of distributing malware, under a sub-section of the Telecommunications Act traditionally reserved for blocking child pornography sites. The disclosure came in the Australian Federal Police’s submission to a Parliamentary inquiry on Section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 — …
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“Dallas Buyers Club”. Focus Features iiNet is being taken to the Federal Court by the rights holders of the Oscar-winning “Dallas Buyers Club” to reveal the personal details of customers alleged to have pirated the film. The ISP revealed the details of the law suit in a blog post today, revealing that Dallas Buyers Club LLC — the owners of …
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CNET Apple is temporarily pulling a feature of its Health app, designed for tracking blood glucose levels, after it emerged the app was not compatible with standard measurements used in the UK and Australia. While Apple is releasing a software update to disable some elements of the app, this will be in advance of an expected fix for those who …
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goCatch Australia’s consumer watchdog has promised to scrutinise the use of taxi booking apps after cracking down on a taxi company that blocked drivers from accepting bookings via mobile phone and app. The news follows an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that heard allegations Townsville Taxis was breaching competition law by restricting its drivers from using third-party …
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CBS/AP Instagram has started rolling out advertising on its Australian service using Facebook data to target the ads that users see. From today, Instagram says all its users will “gradually see ads appear from a handful of carefully selected brands”, regardless of whether or not they follow these brand accounts. Photos and videos from paying companies will appear in the …
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Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET ABC’s dedicated 24-hour news channel was knocked off the air yesterday after the broadcaster’s Sydney studio fell victim to an “IT security issue” caused by ransomware. According to a statement from the national broadcaster, ABC News 24’s broadcast was affected for roughly half an hour yesterday, causing an interruption to the station’s live news programming. “There …
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A map showing mobile coverage black spots reported by members of the public. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET When it comes to black spots in mobile coverage, Victorians appear to be the worst off with complaints about patchy coverage in that state far outstripping mobile coverage problems across the rest of Australia. That’s according to a new black spot map, released …
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