Plus: Male version of women’s safety app practices feminism by also being hacked ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 07, 2025 | Read online
# Microsoft powering Gaza surveillance, 'ethical' internet vapourware and news-eating bots Plus: Male version of women’s safety app practices feminism by also being hacked
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Edition 2391
"Rather stylish all-in-one unit." (Flickr: tin-machine)
# The News
### Microsoft doing the back end for Israel’s mass surveillance of Palestinians
Microsoft is providing the infrastructure for mass phone surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza by providing cloud computing for Israel’s military surveillance agency (Guardian). Despite Microsoft’s claim there is no evidence that its products are “used to target or harm people”, Israel’s Unit 8200 reportedly told Microsoft it was storing up to 70% of all of its data (much of it audio) on Azure servers. This included hundreds of millions of intercepted phone calls used to “used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza”. This partnership started when the Unit’s head spy met personally with big dog Satya Nadella in 2021.
The Sizzle: Microsoft’s washing of its hands is fucking bullshit. This is exactly like Australian politicians saying we only supply “non-lethal” parts of F-35s (X). Every bit of these machines and technologies makes the whole possible. Maybe Microsoft didn’t know exactly what was happening until this report — nobody believes that but sure — but now there’s zero doubt that the company is knowingly profiting by helping to pull the trigger.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Aussie raises millions for non-existent “ethical” internet
A guy with a history of dodgy investment deals has bilked thousands of Australians out of $19 million to take part in a vapourware “ethical” version of the internet called the “Lightweb” (ABC News). David Dayan Sevelle has been revealed to be behind the Equilux Lightweb, a supposedly paedophile-free version of the internet using identity verification. He was able to get around an ASIC ban because, instead of selling shares, Sevelle sold “broadcast certificates” which are like advertising slots for this future internet that he promised would grow in value.
The Sizzle: Many people will say these investors were dumb for falling for it. I’m going to be a glass half full guy and say, wow, great to see so many people interested in alternate version of the internet. Maybe they would love the Sizzle…?
How good is this pitch. Take my money!
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### It’s crazy how often AI bots are hitting Aussie news websites
OpenAI bots scraped Nine entertainment’s seven times every second for the whole month of June, according to the company’s CEO (AFR, $). Matt Stanton said AI companies were crawling Nine’s websites — including smh.com.au, Nine.com.au, Stan etc — “tens of millions of time a month”. That’s despite banning the bots, via robots.txt presumably.
The Sizzle: It’s not a coincidence that Nine drops this info the day after the Productivity Commission report comes out. Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world, and the heads of those companies — Nine and News, mostly — are already going hard against suggestions to ditch copyright protections. The Albanese government has been very receptive to their demands so far, so I’m not surprised to see Industry Minister Tim Ayres quickly say there’s "no plans” to change copyright law now (InnovationAus, $).
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Chalmers, Productivity Commission bullish on AI, but others not so sure (Cyber Daily) Australia’s Productivity Commission has a plan to let tech giants use our work for free. It’s an act of cultural vandalism (The Guardian) NSW Corrections officer charged over alleged smuggling of encrypted phone into prison (Cyber Daily) After a disastrous July, Qantas says it has a baggage tracking fix (SmartCompany) Tesla, BYD, Kia and Smart EVs all fall short in Australian real world range tests (The Driven) AI adoption in Australian businesses - 2025 Q1 (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) 'A political blackmail' – the EU Parliament is pressing for new mandatory scanning of your private chats (TechRadar) Trump claims Apple to announce $100bn US investment (BBC News) Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc, ink deal with US gov to make AI safer (The Register) Trump Is Launching an AI Search Engine Powered by Perplexity (404 Media) What really happened with Trump, Apple, and that ‘new’ factory in Texas (The Verge) Google says AI Overviews aren’t tanking website traffic (The Verge) sure lol A Google Calendar Invite Can Hijack Your Gemini-Powered Smart Home (WIRED, $) Instagram is reportedly adding a way to repost other people’s content to your feed (The Verge) This 10,000mAh power brick is incredibly small and impressively sweet-colored – and yes, we want one (TechRadar) Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge rumored to be thinner with a bigger battery (The Shortcut)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Male version of women’s safety app practices feminism by also being hacked
After introducing you to the not-very-safe women’s safety app Tea that was repeatedly hacked last week, I thought it’s only fair to share this news: A male version of the app, called TeaOnHer, launched last week. It got filled with what looked like non-consensual sexual imagery. Then proceeded to get hacked too to reveal its users’ personal info (Tech Crunch).
I don’t think /we’re/ the people who “done fucked up”
Who said chivalry is dead!
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical and Electronics
Charmast 10000mAh Power Bank Built-in 4 Cables - $20.39 at Charmast AU Amazon AU Goweto Corded Compressed Air Duster - $39.99 at goweto Amazon Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - $94.99 at Costco 85" QLED 4K 144Hz Smart AI Google TV - Q98G - $1699 at Kogan
Computing
Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6E System White 3pk - $325 at Amazon AU Kogan Infinity 34" Curved Ultrawide WQHD 240Hz 1ms FreeSync Gaming Monitor (3440 x 1440) - $399 at Kogan Galax GeForce RTX 5080 1-Click 16GB OC SFF - $1799 at Centre Com Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 10 (AMD Ryzen 7 350, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, RTX 5060) + Legion R27qe Monitor + Bag - $2053 at Lenovo Edu
Mobile
Unlimited talk, text and mobile data capped at 40 Mbps - $20/m no lock in at Felix Mobile (on the Vodafone network)
# The End
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