Meta starts showing ads on WhatsApp in new revenue push
For years, that is what WhatsApp's 2 billion users — many of them in Brazil, India and other countries around the world — got. They chatted with friends and family unencumbered by advertising and other features found on social media.
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9 News
2 hours ago
- 9 News
Australia regulator says YouTube, others 'turning a blind eye' to child abuse material
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Australia 's internet watchdog has said the world's biggest social media firms are still "turning a blind eye" to online child sex abuse material on their platforms, and said YouTube in particular had been unresponsive to its enquiries. In a report released on Wednesday, the eSafety Commissioner said YouTube , along with Apple , failed to track the number of user reports it received of child sex abuse appearing on their platforms and also could not say how long it took them to respond to such reports. The Australian government decided last week to include YouTube in its world-first social media ban for teenagers, following eSafety's advice to overturn its planned exemption for the Alphabet-owned Google's GOOGL.O video-sharing site. Australia's internet watchdog has said the world's biggest social media firms are still "turning a blind eye" to online child sex abuse material on their platforms, with YouTube in particular, unresponsive to its enquiries (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett) "When left to their own devices, these companies aren't prioritising the protection of children and are seemingly turning a blind eye to crimes occurring on their services," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement. "No other consumer-facing industry would be given the licence to operate by enabling such heinous crimes against children on their premises, or services." Google has said previously that abuse material has no place on its platforms and that it uses a range of industry-standard techniques to identify and remove such material. Meta - owner of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, three of the biggest platforms with more than 3 billion users worldwide - says it prohibits graphic videos. Google has said before that its anti-abuse measures include hash-matching technology and artificial intelligence. (Smith Collection/Getty) The eSafety Commissioner, an office set up to protect internet users, has mandated Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Skype, Snap and WhatsApp to report on the measures they take to address child exploitation and abuse material in Australia. The report on their responses so far found a "range of safety deficiencies on their services which increases the risk that child sexual exploitation and abuse material and activity appear on the services". Safety gaps included failures to detect and prevent livestreaming of the material or block links to known child abuse material, as well as inadequate reporting mechanisms. It said platforms were also not using "hash-matching" technology on all parts of their services to identify images of child sexual abuse by checking them against a database. The Australian regulator said some providers had not made improvements to address these safety gaps on their services despite it putting them on notice in previous years. (Getty) Google has said before that its anti-abuse measures include hash-matching technology and artificial intelligence. The Australian regulator said some providers had not made improvements to address these safety gaps on their services despite it putting them on notice in previous years. "In the case of Apple services and Google's YouTube, they didn't even answer our questions about how many user reports they received about child sexual abuse on their services or details of how many trust and safety personnel Apple and Google have on-staff," Inman Grant said. national Australia social media youtube CONTACT US Property News: Rubbish-strewn house overtaken by mould asks $1.2 million.
Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Fugitive Transport manager takes delight at ‘dodgy contact' in WhatsApp exchange
Helmy, 38, is alleged to have pocketed $11.5 million in kickbacks – including bundles of cash, gold bullion and cryptocurrency – over 15 years from contractors, in return for them being awarded work. He failed to appear before the ICAC in May and police have a warrant out for his arrest. Loading ICAC counsel assisting Rob Ranken, SC, asked Harrison whether Helmy was referring to him in the WhatsApp messages, as well as whether it was obvious that the reason he was providing discounted concrete to the then-Transport official's friend was so that his company Kerway would get favourable treatment. In response, Harrison said he had no idea who the then-Transport for NSW procurement manager was referring to. 'You'll have to ask him,' Harrison responded. Harrison was also shown WhatsApp messages between Helmy and Taki in February 2024 in which Helmy said he was 'meeting bloody Wayne' and would be confirming 'the concrete things'. Asked whether it was the case that Helmy wanted to talk to him about squaring up matters about the concrete he had provided Taki, Harrison denied that was the case and said they were their WhatsApp messages. It has been alleged that Kerway Asphalting was awarded about $35 million of work by Transport for NSW between September 2019 and May this year as a result of corrupt dealings with Helmy. Rankin said it appeared that supplies of concrete to Taki had ended when ICAC's investigation had become public last year, which was a 'very odd coincidence'. Harrison rejected that assertion, and responded: 'Maybe he has finished his concreting.' Appearing as a witness late on Tuesday, former Transport for NSW senior project engineer David Liu confirmed that he received cash benefits in late 2021 from Jason Chellew, the founder of now-failed Grafton contractor Protection Barriers. Liu, who left Transport for NSW last April after about 17 years, said he came to receive the cash benefits after Helmy convinced him to become involved in the arrangement with contractors. He recalled a conversation during which Helmy joked that he should 'get on the bandwagon' and 'get in bed with contractors'. During a second conversation, Liu said Helmy got more serious and made suggestions about how he had 'this really safe way'. 'He said to me, 'you can inflate the rates'. I was shocked,' Liu said, clarifying that he was shocked that a Transport for NSW procurement officer could inflate contractors' rates given the oversight at the agency. 'He said, 'I just changed the rate' – clear as day.' Liu said Helmy wanted him to 'look the other way' if he wanted to add extra items to contractors' work, and sign off on it when an invoice was issued. Questioned about whether he thought what Helmy was suggesting at the time was improper, Liu said: 'I ask myself the question, 'why did you do this'?' Liu said the reasons he became involved were 'personal', explaining that he felt his career was 'going nowhere' after he had missed out on a promotion. The hearing continues.
The Age
8 hours ago
- The Age
Fugitive Transport manager takes delight at ‘dodgy contact' in WhatsApp exchange
Helmy, 38, is alleged to have pocketed $11.5 million in kickbacks – including bundles of cash, gold bullion and cryptocurrency – over 15 years from contractors, in return for them being awarded work. He failed to appear before the ICAC in May and police have a warrant out for his arrest. Loading ICAC counsel assisting Rob Ranken, SC, asked Harrison whether Helmy was referring to him in the WhatsApp messages, as well as whether it was obvious that the reason he was providing discounted concrete to the then-Transport official's friend was so that his company Kerway would get favourable treatment. In response, Harrison said he had no idea who the then-Transport for NSW procurement manager was referring to. 'You'll have to ask him,' Harrison responded. Harrison was also shown WhatsApp messages between Helmy and Taki in February 2024 in which Helmy said he was 'meeting bloody Wayne' and would be confirming 'the concrete things'. Asked whether it was the case that Helmy wanted to talk to him about squaring up matters about the concrete he had provided Taki, Harrison denied that was the case and said they were their WhatsApp messages. It has been alleged that Kerway Asphalting was awarded about $35 million of work by Transport for NSW between September 2019 and May this year as a result of corrupt dealings with Helmy. Rankin said it appeared that supplies of concrete to Taki had ended when ICAC's investigation had become public last year, which was a 'very odd coincidence'. Harrison rejected that assertion, and responded: 'Maybe he has finished his concreting.' Appearing as a witness late on Tuesday, former Transport for NSW senior project engineer David Liu confirmed that he received cash benefits in late 2021 from Jason Chellew, the founder of now-failed Grafton contractor Protection Barriers. Liu, who left Transport for NSW last April after about 17 years, said he came to receive the cash benefits after Helmy convinced him to become involved in the arrangement with contractors. He recalled a conversation during which Helmy joked that he should 'get on the bandwagon' and 'get in bed with contractors'. During a second conversation, Liu said Helmy got more serious and made suggestions about how he had 'this really safe way'. 'He said to me, 'you can inflate the rates'. I was shocked,' Liu said, clarifying that he was shocked that a Transport for NSW procurement officer could inflate contractors' rates given the oversight at the agency. 'He said, 'I just changed the rate' – clear as day.' Liu said Helmy wanted him to 'look the other way' if he wanted to add extra items to contractors' work, and sign off on it when an invoice was issued. Questioned about whether he thought what Helmy was suggesting at the time was improper, Liu said: 'I ask myself the question, 'why did you do this'?' Liu said the reasons he became involved were 'personal', explaining that he felt his career was 'going nowhere' after he had missed out on a promotion. The hearing continues.
