Google, Apple ban X-Mode tracking
Google and Apple are banning apps with X-Mode tracking software that collects location data believed sold to US government contractors.
Hello and welcome to The Download, The Australian’s technology blog for the latest tech news.
4.00pm: Google joins Apple to ban X-Mode
Google has confirmed it is banning location tracking software developed by data collection firm X-Mode Social from apps on Android-powered mobile devices, which dominate the global market.
Apple is also barring X-Mode from its coveted iOS devices, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
US-based X-Mode has been the subject of recent media scrutiny for its links to the country’s defence sector, particularly for selling data to government contractors involved in national security, counter-terrorism and even coronavirus response.
Vice News reported last November that X-Mode was collecting the location data of people using apps intended for Muslim audiences, particularly the dating platform Muslim Mingle.
Google sent developers a warning giving them seven days to rid their apps of X-Mode software or request more time if doing so is technically complex, according to a spokesman.
“If X-Mode is still present in the app after the time frame, the app will be removed from Play,” the Google spokesman said, referring to the internet giant’s online shop for mobile apps and digital content.
Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.
However, according to the Journal, it also gave developers a warning that X-Mode tracking software must be removed from smartphone apps which otherwise risk being blocked.
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate the world smartphone market.
The two tech giants reported their decisions on X-Mode to a team working for US Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, whose office is investigating the sale of location data to government agencies, the Journal said.
X-Mode did not respond.
AFP
Chris Griffith 3.30pm: Wastewater treatment technology a safeguard in COVID detection
A study by CSIRO and the University of Queensland have found that untreated sewage testing can detect COVID-19 in communities three weeks before people present with symptoms. The technology offers a warning sign that COVID could be still lurking in the community.
This is welcomed research, even though the world may be close to mass vaccination. Even with a vaccine, it will be months or more than a year before we are clear of COVID, especially if early vaccines treat the disease but don’t stop the virus spreading.
The CSIRO/UQ study looked at wastewater samples collected in February and early March in Brisbane.
“When analysed for this study, researchers found the archived samples were able to detect the genetic fingerprint of the virus up to three weeks before the first COVID-19 cases were publicly reported through the limited clinical testing available at the time,” CSIRO says in a statement.
CSIRO chief executive Dr Larry Marshall said wastewater testing technology is one of the critical science-driven tools that can help open up borders to drive Australia’s recovery and reduce future disruption.
The study found that people start shedding fragments of the virus into the wastewater system through their faeces before they know they’re infected.
Director of CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, Professor Trevor Drew, said people can become infected and shed SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, before they may show any clinical signs.
CSIRO says only two other studies have been published globally confirming the virus detection between one and four weeks before people show clinical symptoms.
2.00pm: Space X rocket explodes
An unmanned SpaceX Starship rocket has exploded on landing after soaring 13km above the company’s testing facilities in South Texas.
The Starship SN8 rocket, a prototype of a 49 metre high spaceship Mr Musk plans to use in taking satellites into Earth’s orbit, shuttling people between cities and eventually establishing a human settlement on Mars, exploded in a burst of flames and smoke.
“Incredible job team, nice work,” a voice on the SpaceX livestream could be heard saying seconds after the explosion.
Mr Musk was bullish after posting footage of the landing on social media. Immediately after the crash he tweeted praise of the launch, saying: “Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point!”
He added: “Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!
Mars here we come!” he tweeted.
Supporters also posted video of the footage, congratulating Mr Musk for “belly-flopping a rocket.”
Despite the crash landing, the flight marked the highest test flight yet of SpaceX technology. Before the rocket launched Mr Musk tweeted that SN8 rocket had only a one in three chance of landing safely back on earth.
David Swan 11.20am: Regtech ramps up
Regtech is set to become a key focus of Australian entrepreneurs post-COVID, as businesses re-evaluate their need for compliance and governance amid a widespread digital shift.
New research from Juniper estimates Regtech spending to reach $127 billion by 2024, with companies flocking to more reliable compliance utilities.
Melbourne-based Regtech outfit FrankieOne, which has rebranded from Frankie Financial, said that demand has reached fever pitch with financial institutions including Xinja, Volt, FlareHR and BeforePay signing on to its platform.
The start-up’s chief executive and founder Simon Costello said more efficient and comprehensive compliance utilities had become vital to onboarding new clients among high-growth companies, especially in the midst of a pandemic when physical ID checks and face-to-face screening were paused.
“Financial institutions like banks are the most well known for asking for 100 points of ID regardless of the client risk profile, but in the middle of a lockdown, it can be difficult to assess the validity of these documents digitally,” he said.
“To date, compliance and identity verification have been a costly, time consuming, and frustrating experience for both the institution and the customer. For instance, using legacy systems, adding a $10 deposit requires the same level of onboarding checks as someone taking out a $100,000 loan. For fast-moving companies, the cost of building their own fraud prevention systems just isn’t a smart use of capital,” he said.
Flare product manager Brod Gaggi said reliable Regtech had been critical to the company‘s recent $22 million capital raise.
“In less than five years, Flare has raised $51.5 million, which in part, can be attributed to the fact that investors trust us and the credibility of the product,“ he said.
“Rather than divert our development time towards building proprietary fraud systems, we recognised quickly that more value and reliability could be achieved with a specialist partner like FrankieOne, and I think this is a growing trend. The companies that are raising the biggest rounds are using FrankieOne because we know that smart money uses platforms- not building everything in-house.”
David Swan 8:40am: NAB gives receipts the Slyp
NAB has launched what it says is a first for Australian banks, launching Slyp Smart Receipts in its mobile app in a bid to replace paper receipts.
The functionality, developed in partnership with retail fintech start-up Slyp, founded by former PayPal executives, means customers will automatically receive itemised smart receipts from participating retailers when they make a purchase.
NAB executive Ana Marinkovic said the feature was a result of feedback from customers that receipts were either lost or not needed.
“COVID-19 has seen retailers move more and more to contactless payments. This feature will benefit both consumers and retailers as the use of digital payments continues to rise,“ she said.
“A business like Chemist Warehouse for example will be able to reduce their paper consumption and provide a much more personalised shopping experience. And if you‘re a customer, once you opt-in, you don’t need to worry about losing a receipt because it will automatically remain within the app.”
Slyp CEO and co-founder Paul Weingarth said his company‘s vision is to put Slyp in the hands of Australian, and that this technology was the first of its kind globally.
“Given the dynamics of the Australian [banking] market, which is fairly concentrated with less fragmentation gives us the ability to get that network effect happening rather quickly compared to other nations across the globe,” he said.
“NAB is our first and foundational banking partner to go to market but we also have partnerships with the other three major banks and we‘ll be rolling this out soon to the other banks.
He said Slyp Smart Receipts are already available in a number of national retailers including Chemist Warehouse, Barbeques Galore, Harris Farm, Industry Beans and Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, with hundreds of additional retailers expected to join the network in 2021.
Chemist Warehouse Group chairman and co-founder Jack Gance said Slyp would add value to the customer experience in his retail stores.
Chris Griffith 7:40am: Vaccine myths run riot online
News of the first COVID-19 jabs has sparked an avalanche of vaccine misinformation, says online mythbusting site NewsGuard.
They include claims that the mRNA vaccines being developed for COVID-19 will alter human DNA, that the vaccine will use microchip surveillance technology created by Bill Gates-funded research, and US immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci will personally profit from the vaccine.
Another myth is that the vaccine has been proven to cause infertility in 97 per cent of recipients.
“Vaccine candidates have recently been approved in some countries and are in the approval process in others, yet misinformation about the safety and effects of any future vaccine is already threatening its rollout,” says John Gregory from NewsGuard.
The site has published the false claims and debunked them.
“In this report, we catalogue the top myths about a COVID-19 vaccine that have appeared in NewsGuard’s ratings of more than 6,000 news and information sites worldwide.”
In the case of the vaccine altering human DNA, NewsGuard says several COVID-19 vaccine candidates rely on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which carries genetic information needed to make proteins, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
“These vaccines would instruct cells to produce a protein that resembles part of the COVID-19 virus, triggering the body’s immune system to respond and produce antibodies,” the site says.
“MRNA vaccines are a new technology, but it is not possible for those vaccines to alter your DNA. This cannot change your genetic makeup.”
It says Dr Dan Culver, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, told The Associated Press in September 2020: “The time that this RNA survives in the cells is relatively brief in the span of hours. What you are really doing is sticking a recipe card into the cell making protein for a few hours.”
7:20am: Google lifts political ad ban
Alphabet’s Google has told advertisers it is planning to lift its ban on political ads on Thursday after a blackout of more than a month because of concerns over misinformation, according to an email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Google told advertisers it will lift its so-called sensitive event policy and allow ads that mention a current state or federal officeholder or candidate, political party or ballot measure, as early voting in the Georgia Senate runoffs begins later this month.
The Georgia runoffs on January 5 will determine which party controls the US Senate when President-elect Joe Biden begins his administration.
“While we no longer consider the postelection period to be a sensitive event, we will still rigorously enforce our ads policies, which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process, among other forms of abuse,” Google said in the email.
Google, along with Facebook, are the biggest digital ad platforms in political advertising. Political campaigns and groups spent tens of millions of dollars advertising on Google, which owns YouTube, and on Facebook, which also owns Instagram, leading up to the general election to influence voters and get out the vote. But both platforms decided to limit political ads before and after the general election in an effort to tamp down the spread of misinformation
The Journal reported in mid-November that Google representatives told some advertisers it was unlikely to lift its ban in November or December. Facebook told advertisers at the time it would extend its political ad ban “another month” and update advertisers when it would lift, which has yet to happen. Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
YouTube said it would start removing content that misleads people about the outcome of the US presidential election since the so-called “Safe Harbour” deadline has passed — a formal step toward confirming Mr. Biden’s win — and enough states certified their election results, according to a blog post.
For instance, YouTube said it would remove videos “claiming that a presidential candidate won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors”.
YouTube said it would ramp up enforcement in the coming weeks.
“While problematic misinformation represents a fraction of 1 per cent of what’s watched on YouTube in the US, we know we can bring that number down even more,” YouTube wrote Wednesday.
“And some videos, while not recommended prominently on YouTube, continue to get high views, sometimes coming from other sites. We’re continuing to consider this and other new challenges as we make ongoing improvements.”
The Wall Street Journal
7:00am: Facebook faces multiple antitrust suits
Antitrust enforcers from a number of US states were preparing to file a lawsuit against Facebook alleging anti-competitive conduct in the social giant’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, a source familiar with the matter said.
An announcement was expected later in the day from New York State Attorney-General Letitia James and her counterparts from other state antitrust enforcement agencies.
The Washington Post reported earlier that the US Federal Trade Commission would be filing the case on behalf of the federal government, in the latest move ramping up antitrust pressure against Big Tech firms.
The Post reported that some 40 states were joining the effort alleging Facebook sought to squelch competition by acquiring the messaging applications — Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
The New York agency declined to comment.
AFP
Atlassian founders add $4bn to their personal fortunes
The personal fortunes of two of the nation’s richest businessmen rocketed by a massive $4bn on paper Friday when investors responded to their tech company beating revenue expectations.
How DeepSeek has exposed the short lifespan of monopolies
The top investors will tell you that monopolies are the best investments money can buy but as the emergence of China’s DeepSeek shows, assumptions about sectors can be short lived.