A telco which pledges to stand up for its customers is facing nearly $300,000 in penalties and compensation after exposing consumers to identity fraud. Digital telco Circles.Life has been fined $199,800 by the communications watchdog for failing to conduct proper identity checks when transferring mobile phone numbers to its services. The company, established in 2019, has also offered to pay more than …

After being banned from several social media platforms, former US president Donald Trump has announced plans to launch his own app, TRUTH Social, in a bid to “stand up” to bigger companies. TRUTH Social will be created through a new company formed by a merger of the Trump Media and Technology Group and a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), both organisations said …

A nuclear-powered submarine colliding with an unknown “object” under one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes is rarely good news – but is the incident cause for concern? Submarine incidents are usually shrouded in secrecy, given how critical these sophisticated (and expensive) pieces of equipment are in military operations. We’ve talked to defence and security experts to help clarify what we know, what we …

From the “population crash” of the swift parrot to shrinking habitat for koalas and quokkas: It’s hoped a comprehensive database of threats to endangered species can help halt Australia’s terrible record of extinctions. Researchers across Australia have spent 18 months forming the database of threats forcing species to the brink of extinction. The list of more than 1,700 species was done to help wildlife …

An Australian infectious disease expert says Chinese authorities refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to a World Health Organization-led team probing the origins of the pandemic. The team had requested raw patient data on the 174 cases of COVID-19 that China had identified from the early phase of the outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019, as well …

The much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine being developed in the UK will resume human trials after being deemed safe. The trials were paused last week when a patient reported a side effect which required investigation to see if the problem was related to the vaccine. Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed Oxford University’s announcement that the trials would resume. “This pause shows we will …

A disturbing video purporting to show a suicide is reportedly doing the rounds on the popular short video app TikTok, reigniting debate about what social media platforms are doing to limit circulation of troubling material. According to media reports, the video first showed up on Facebook in late August but has been re-uploaded and shared across Instagram and TikTok — reportedly …

Free vaccinations for COVID-19 will be made available next year in Australia, depending on the outcome of “promising” drug trials, the Australian Government is expected to announce on Monday. In a statement released late on Sunday, the Federal Government said that contingent on the outcome of ongoing trials, vaccines would be made available “progressively” throughout 2021, following a $1.7 billion …

Google has warned Australians to expect “dramatically worse” services if the Federal Government follows through with plans to make it pay for Australian news content. Two weeks ago the Federal Government released a draft code of conduct for digital platforms and Australian media businesses that would make internet heavyweights Facebook and Google pay for the privilege of hosting Australian news. The …

Australian scientists hope to produce up to 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 as Queensland researchers sign a major partnership with pharmaceutical giant CSL. A deal between the University of Queensland, CSL and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations comes after promising early results in the laboratory and aims to fast-track the development of …