Plus: Granny’s been drafted for Australia’s cyber militia ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 25, 2025 | Read online
# Work laptop surveillance, Bluesky blocks US state and Chinese phones Plus: Granny’s been drafted for Australia’s cyber militia
{{OPEN_TRACKING_PIXEL}}
Edition 2403
"public access computer at Lockhart Shire Council 4 September 2018" (Flickr: State Library of NSW Public Library Services)
Hello from Sizzle’s Bengaluru bureau (an empty hotel business centre)! All systems are go here. Enjoy the edition - CW
# The News
### Company bugs employees’ home using work laptop but says it’s legal
Police are investigating a Victorian training company for secretly using company laptops to record audio of employees working from home (AFR, $). Safetrac used corporate surveillance software Teramind to record the screens and audio “within a few feet” of the laptop microphones of chosen employees for nearly two months. In response to legal claims from employees, Safetrac argues that its spying — which apparently captured everything from Microsoft Teams meetings and conversations with families — was legal because their contracts allow surveillance that “may capture images and sound.”
The Sizzle: There are some bosses and managers who feel that working from home has disconnected them from their employees (and maybe even made them feel less powerful). Surveillance tech gives them the ability to reassert that power, but just because they can doesn’t mean they should do so. Realistically, no one is going to turn down a job because its contract has a line saying “ʷᵉ ᵐᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ᵃ ᵗᵉᵉⁿˢᶦᵉ⁻ᵉᵉⁿˢᶦᵉ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˢᶜʳᵉᵉⁿ”, so this is a problem that needs to be solved by collective bargaining and workplace law reform.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Bluesky blocking an American state over age verification law
Bluesky is blocking Mississippi IP addresses because it says the “small team” doesn’t have the resources to comply with the onerous state age verification law (The Verge). The Bluesky team explained that Mississippi law’s requirement for social media companies to verify every user, adult or teen, is too onerous for them so they have no choice to block the state’s users (Bluesky blog).
The Sizzle: When we talk about the global push for online age verification as one big movement, there’s actually quite a lot of difference between policies. For example, Bluesky is complying with the UK’s law — which requires age checks for harmful content — by restricting some features like DMs and explicit content for local users. While some companies like 4Chan will fight anything (The Verge), we’re starting to see social media companies picking their battles.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Dispatch from India: look at these phones
When we drove on the motorway from Bengaluru Airport to our hotel on Sunday, the first three massive billboards along the motorway I saw were all for phones: Chinese manufacturer Oppo’s Reno 14, the iPhone and OnePlus 9 Pro 5G. Despite the geopolitical tensions, Chinese-made phones are massive here. While the lower prices compared to Samsung are a big factor, Oppo, OnePlus, and another brand vivo, have built big markets by catering to local audiences with features like camera apps “optimised for Indian skin tones”, courting the government with Indian-made campaigns and integrating local government apps (Fortune).
Odd image choice for an Indian skin phone feature but ok
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Academics raise alarm over suspected AI use in Deloitte report (AFR, $) Australia watchdog orders Binance unit conduct audit over money laundering (Reuters) eSafety Commissioner warns roulette-style video app OmeTV (eSafety) Kangaroos on camera: Ring’s new AI makes Aussie home security go wild (The Australian, $) How a phone call during a holiday in Tasmania led to a dream gig for this video game music composer (ABC News) Are laser gaming projectors using emulators and ROMs legal in Australia? (GadgetGuy) Fleet of high-tech solar cars head off under the Top End sun (The Driven) Apple to Launch Thinner iPhone 17, Pro and New ‘Air’ Model Next September (Bloomberg, $) This is why I don't use an AI browser. You can literally get prompt injected and your bank account drained by doomscrolling on reddit (X dot com) Deal to get ChatGPT Plus for whole of UK discussed by Open AI boss and minister (The Guardian) Since the breach, the BBC has found websites, apps and even a "game" featuring the leaked data which encourages harassment towards women who had joined the app. (BBC) Tesla insiders have sold more than 50% of their shares in the last year (Electrek) Elon Musk says xAI has open-sourced Grok-2.5 (TechCrunch) Happy 34th Birthday, Linux! (Reddit)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Granny’s been drafted for Australia’s cyber militia
My dear colleague David Swan wrote up some research by a Bond University professor into what an Australian “cyber reserve” might look like (SMH, $). Last year, the Defence Department reviewed its reserves program and found that it needs a cyber arm. One way to make this work, according to Professor Dan Svantesson? Recruit the elderly to be in a “cyber militia” to carry out activities like “making edits on Wikipedia or reporting misinformation on social media platforms.” Just a delightful mental image made even better by the inclusion of this incredible photo accompanying the article.
Watch out !!! there’s a cyber criminal behind you!!!!
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
17% cashback up to $150 at the Good Guys J.Burrows USB-C to C Cable 5A 100W 1.2m 3 Pack - $8 at Officeworks Veektomx 30W Fast Charge 10000mAh Power Bank & Wireless Apple Watch Charger - $20.79 at Amazon AU TP-Link Tapo C212 Pan/Tilt Smart Security Wi-Fi/Wired Camera - $43 at Amazon AU Huawei Sound Joy Portable Bluetooth Speaker - $48.30 at Mobileciti eBay Samsung Galaxy Fit3 Watch (Bluetooth, 40mm) - $67.05 at Samsung eBay Phillips SHP9500 HiFi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones - ~$75 at Famous Audio Store AliExpress Apple AirTag MX542ZP/A (4-Pack) - $104 at Techciti eBay Ecovacs Deebot N20 Black - $249 at Ecovacs AU DJI Mini 3 w/ DJI RC - $450 at digiDirect Dreame L10s Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo - $561 at Dreameofficialau eBay Dreame H15 Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner - $699 at Dreame Official AU via Amazon AU
Computing
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Mobile
Belong 100GB SIM Starter Kit - $20 at Woolworths Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE 5G 128GB Grey - $474 at Optus iPhone 16e 128GB (Black or White) - $837 at digiDirect
# The End
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