Plus: Inside a couples retreat for people and their AI chatbots ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 27, 2025 | Read online
# Facebook cash, P*rn age check in UK and... Australia? + WSU hack arrest Plus: Inside a couples retreat for people and their AI chatbots
Edition 2362
Flickr: blakespot
Hello Sizzlers! I write to you from the lobby of VFS Global, the private company that handles visas for India. I have defeated its 90s-ass website and a library printer this morning. I will not leave until I can submit my visa. I am number “2” in the queue, and they are up to…. 42
I also have a message from the Sizzlefather himself:
| decryption @decryption.bsky.social |
I'm firing up the printer to make more cute Mac themed stickers! If you'd like a set, donate to the Australian Computer Museum Society. Donate before June 30th & it's tax deductible this FY and your donation will be matched by other ACMS donors! Visit stickers.decryption.net.au for how to donate.
11:37 PM • Jun 26, 2025
1 Like 1 Repost | 1 Reply
# The News
### Time to get that sweet Facebook data theft cash
If you were an Australian Facebook user in the mid-2010s, you might be eligible for a little bit of cash because Cambridge Analytica stole your data (OAIC). The $50 million of Meta’s settlement with the Information Commissioner agreed to last year (OAIC) is now being handed out for people who used Facebook in Australia for at least 30 days between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015 whose friend used the app used by Cambridge Analytica for data harvesting (Facebook Payment Program). Meta is proactively emailing those affected, but you can still get some money even if you deleted your account — just find an email from Facebook and file a claim here.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### P*rnhub is doing age checks in the UK. No one noticed but similar rules begin in Australia from today….
Major p*rn¹ websites are introducing “government approved age assurance methods” in the UK starting from the end of next month (BBC). Aylo, the adult content giant formerly known as MindGeek that runs just about every major tube site like P*rnhub, says it’ll start using a “variety of flexible methods of age assurance” by July 25, but we don’t know what those are yet. I’ve been saying this for a bit but it is getting almost 0 attention that the eSafety Commissioner literally today (eSafety) registered online regulations that include all search engines must implement “appropriate age assurance measures; and access control measures”. And, there’s draft rules that when approved will likely extend to web providers like Aylo.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Ex-WSU student arrested for allegedly hacking the university
Police arrested 27-year-old Birdie Kingston for allegedly hacking into Western Sydney University’s IT systems (ABC News). It is alleged that the former student used this access to get free parking, change her grades, before eventually downloading 100 gigs of data that she threatened to release on the dark web. Police say Kingston was asking for just $40K for the data — which is just enough to pay off WSU student fees. Pretty disappointing to see the way that they’re treating a woman in STEM!
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
eSafety urges schools to report deepfakes as numbers double (eSafety) Qld tables $1 billion for major whole-of-government tech overhaul (IT News) Big tax bill looms for ‘Canvanauts’ after company shuffle (AFR, $) Melbourne International EV Auto Show opens this weekend (TechAU) Apple overhauls EU App Store rules following penalty (The Verge) Apple iPhone Fold specs just leaked – here's what we know (The Shortcut) Reddit vows to stay human to emerge a winner from artificial intelligence (FT, $) AI Killed My Job: Tech workers (Blood in the Machine) Amazon Launches Gen AI-Powered Video Descriptions for Ring Devices (Yahoo News) Microsoft sued by authors over use of books in AI training (Reuters) Microsoft extends Windows 10 support by a year (Forbes) Microsoft confirms Family Safety blocks Google Chrome from launching (Bleeping Computer) Elon Musk reportedly fired a key Tesla executive following another month of flagging sales (Forbes) AFRINIC election annulled after ICANN writes angry letter to African regional internet registry after election suspended (The Register) RSS Server Side Reader (Matklad)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Inside a couples retreat for people and their AI chatbots
As you know, I’m very interested/terrified where the trend of AI companionship is going, which is why WIRED’s My Couples Retreat With 3 AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them has honestly chilled me to my bones. There was a report put out today by Anthropic saying that companionship is overhyped as a use (TechCrunch) but I think it’s misleading. Anyway, I really encourage you to set aside 20 minutes this weekend and read the WIRED’s piece if you want to despair about the future.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
Tozo NC9 Earbuds - $30 at Amazon BlueAnt X2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - $49.95 at Mobileciti Edifier Speakers W600BT for $39.99 at Edifier Australia R33BT for $59.99 at Edifier Australia MF200 for $69.99 at Edifier Australia R1580MB for $99.99 at Edifier Australia SmallRig 4-Section Lightweight Travel Tripod AP-02 - $115 at SmallRig AU Official eufy E340 Floodlight - $238 at goodbuyz Roborock Q7B Robot Vacuum - $269 at Mobileciti eBay Eufy Security S231 Smart Deadbolt Lock - $303 at Kogan Garmin Instinct 2 Sports Watch - Standard 45mm (Graphite) - $307 at Amazon UK via AU DJI Neo Fly More Combo - $358 at Mobileciti eBay Ausclimate 10L Desiccant Dehumidifier ACD200 with Wi-Fi - $375 at MYER Viture Pro Neckband 8GB/128GB for $407 12GB/256GB for $543 Roborock Q8 Max+ Robot Vacuum and Mop - $549 at Roborock Official eBay Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) - $679 at Techciti eBay eufy Security Indoor And Outdoor Home Security Bundle - $700 at Costco Hisense 55" U6qau PRO 4K Uled Mini LED TV 2025 - $995 at The Good Guys TCL 50" C7K Premium QD Mini LED Google TV 2025 - $995 at The Good Guys
Computing
NYM VPN $66 for a year $95 for 2 years D-Link M32 Eagle Pro AI AX3200 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router (3-Pack) - $90 at Mobileciti eBay Elgato Stream Deck Neo (White) – 8 Keys, 2 Touch Points - $118 at Amazon AU Philips E-Line 275E1S 27" 75Hz QHD 4ms FreeSync IPS Monitor - $125 at Harris Technology eBay TP-Link RE900XD AX6000 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender - $129 at PC LAN Kogan Frameless USB-C Monitor 27" UHD 4K IPS 60Hz for $189 at Kogan 32" for $279 at Kogan Alienware AW2725DM 27" QHD Gaming Monitor - $293 at Dell Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi - $479 at Hub Triforce Asus Vivobook 14 14" Copilot+ 16GB 512GB Laptop - $898 at The Good Guys LG 32'' 32GS95UE-B UltraGear Dual-Mode OLED 4K Gaming Monitor - $1399 at JB Hi-Fi Gaming PC: MSI RTX5080 Inspire OC / 7800X3D / 32GB 6000 C30 D5 / 850W ATX3.1 / 240MM AIO - $3280 at Evatech
Mobile
Boost Mobile $300 / 290GB 12 Month Prepaid SIM with $50 cashback - $255 Google Pixel 9a 128GB for $727 at Harvey Norman 9 128GB for $848 at Harvey Norman 9 Pro 128GB for $1078 at Harvey Norman 9 Pro XL 128GB for $1148 at Harvey Norman
# The End
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