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:

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

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

Computing

Mobile

The End

😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.

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The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.