Latest news with #ByronKaye
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Australia court rules partly against Apple, Google in Epic Games lawsuit
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY: An Australian court found the smartphone app stores of Apple and Google-owned Android were uncompetitive, local media reported on Tuesday, in a partial victory for Fortnite game developer Epic Games against the tech giants. Amid a years-long legal dispute brought by Epic against the dominant smartphone makers in several jurisdictions around the world, Australia 's federal court found the phone makers' app stores had no protections against anti-competitive behaviour, the reports said. Epic Games had claimed Apple and Google 's fees for downloads of its games were too high, and that the phone makers made it impossible for users to download its alternative app store. The Australian judgment, which ran to 2,000 pages, was not released by the court on Tuesday, but media said a judge's summary included the finding that the smartphone companies had not intentionally breached the law. In a post on X, Epic said the Australian court "just found that Apple and Google abuse their control over app distribution and in-app payments to limit competition". Epic is a U.S.-based games studio with backing from China's Tencent . "The Epic Games Store and Fortnite will come to iOS in Australia!" the Epic post said. "This is a WIN for developers and consumers in Australia!" Apple said in a statement it welcomed the court's rejection of some of Epic's claims, but strongly disagreed with its ruling on others. "Apple faces fierce competition in every market where we operate," the California-based tech giant said. A Google statement said the company welcomed the court's rejection of some Epic Games claims but "we disagree with the court's characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape". "We will review the full decision when we receive it and assess our next steps."
Time of India
05-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Australia's internet network signs Amazon satellite service
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY: The Australian government-owned internet network hired Amazon 's untested startup satellite service to provide connectivity to people who cannot access its terrestrial network rather than Elon Musk's Starlink. From next year, low-Earth orbit satellites owned by Amazon's Project Kuiper will start replacing two Australian government-owned satellites due for decommissioning in 2032, NBN Co and Amazon said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, is designed to give high-speed internet to some 300,000 homes and businesses that NBN's terrestrial network does not reach. The thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites are connected to each other through optical links and communicate with antennas and other connection points on the ground. The deal represents a missed opportunity for Starlink, by far the world's biggest provider of such network services and which already has more than 250,000 customers in Australia , according to industry data. Australia's two biggest telecoms providers sell Starlink residential connection dishes and some government entities, including the Australian Electoral Commission, also have contracts with the company. Starlink, a unit of Musk's SpaceX rocket company, now has 8,000 fast-orbiting satellites since it began launching them in 2019, while Amazon's service has just 78 since its first launch in April. NBN and Amazon said Project Kuiper would ultimately have more than 3,200. NBN said the decision followed a rigorous procurement process, but did not say why it had chosen the Amazon service. Starlink was not immediately available for comment. "It is true that Amazon Kuiper has not launched services yet in Australia or globally, but they are reportedly pumping in about $15 billion into that programme," said Gavin Williams, chief development officer for regional and remote services at NBN. "We have every confidence that we've got a partner in Kuiper that will do what they say they're going to do," he added in an interview. Asked if Musk's ownership of Starlink played a part in the decision, Williams said only that NBN supplied critical infrastructure with regulatory and legal obligations and "technical, operational, and commercial imperatives that fall into that consideration were contemplated and ventilated through the procurement process."
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A second Australian IVF mix-up shakes clinic and industry
By Byron Kaye and Kumar Tanishk (Reuters) -One of Australia's top IVF providers mistakenly implanted a patient with her own embryo instead of her partner's in a second fertility clinic mix-up, heightening concerns about an industry that did not have much active government oversight until recently. Monash IVF said the error took place on June 5 at a clinic in Melbourne but did not provide further details such as how it learned of the bungle or what the couple planned to do next. The company said it was supporting the couple, who it did not identify. It said the patient's embryo was mistakenly implanted under a treatment plan which called for an embryo from the patient's partner to be transferred. The incident builds on a reputational maelstrom for Monash IVF which was already reeling from an April disclosure that an Australian woman had given birth to a stranger's baby after a fertility doctor accidentally implanted the wrong embryo to a patient in Brisbane in 2023. That mix-up sparked concerns about security protocols at IVF clinics and an industry which is only now in the process of being more regulated. Monash claimed the world's first IVF pregnancy five decades ago and is Australia's second-largest IVF provider, carrying out nearly a quarter of the country's 100,000 assisted reproductive cycles a year, according to industry data. "This mix-up, the second reported incident at Monash IVF, risks shaking confidence not just in one provider but across the entire fertility sector," Hilary Bowman-Smart, a researcher and bioethicist at the University of South Australia. Shares of Monash IVF were down 24% by midsession on Tuesday, against a rising broader market. The stock is just over half its value before the April announcement. "We had thought the Brisbane clinic embryo transfer error was an isolated incident," Craig Wong-Pan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a client note. "We believe there is now risk of a greater impact of reputational damage and market share losses to MVF's operations." Monash IVF had already hired a lawyer to run an independent investigation after the Brisbane incident, and said on Tuesday it has extended the scope of that investigation. It added that it was installing interim extra verification safeguards to ensure patient confidence. "Whilst industry-leading electronic witness systems ... are being rolled out across Monash IVF, there remains instances and circumstances whereby manual witnessing is required," the company said. It said it had reported the Melbourne incident to state regulator the Victorian Department of Health and industry licencing body the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC), part of industry group the Fertility Society of Australia. The health department and RTAC were not immediately available for comment. Reports of transferring a wrong embryo are rare, according to fertility experts, and Monash's Brisbane mix-up was widely reported as the first known case of its kind. ($1 = 1.5330 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Afterpay says some BNPL users told to close accounts, then sold credit cards
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) -Some customers of Australia's Afterpay have been asked to close buy-now-pay-later accounts to qualify for a mortgage and offered a credit card upon qualification, the BNPL provider said on Tuesday, underscoring fierce competition in the consumer finance sub-sectors. BNPL loans, on-the-spot interest-free short-term loans with minimal credit checks, exploded as an alternative for younger shoppers after the COVID-19 lockdowns and stimulus payments spurred an online shopping frenzy. Customers are incentivised to pay on time by the promise of maintaining or increasing their borrowing limit. In a survey of 1,000 of its customers, Afterpay said more than 10% reported being offered a credit card by the same bank or mortgage broker that told them to close their BNPL account to qualify for a loan, without specifying which banks or brokers. Owned by U.S. tech billionaire Jack Dorsey's Block, Afterpay leads Australia's BNPL market with more than 3.5 million active monthly users, half the country's total BNPL accounts, according to government figures. Lenders are required by law to make reasonable inquiries about an applicant's finances but may not give financial advice. Spokespeople for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the biggest lender, and No.3 lender National Australia Bank told Reuters that they did not tell applicants to close their BNPL accounts. A spokesperson for No.4 lender ANZ said the bank assessed BNPL liabilities alongside a person's other finances and "depending on the customer's overall financial position, goals, and objectives, they may choose to restructure or close certain debts – such as BNPL accounts – to support their application". TO RISK OR NOT TO RISK Afterpay claimed banks were capitalising on a perception of BNPL users as riskier than traditional borrowers to protect a declining lending category. Australian interest-accruing credit card debt is down 30% in half a decade as borrowers seek cheaper options. The company added that its survey found BNPL users had credit scores and on-time repayment records broadly in line with credit card users. The BNPL model has avoided regulation under Australian consumer credit laws so far as it doesn't involve interest. However, "if it looks and acts like credit, then it should be regulated as such," the Australian government had said last year. New legislation requiring BNPL firms to run credit checks on borrowers kicks in on Tuesday, which, Afterpay's Head of Public Policy Michael Saadat hopes, would improve transparency around user creditworthiness. The main reason Afterpay customers close their accounts is because their lender or broker told them to, and "this should not be something that is driven by misperception of the regulatory requirements," Saadat told Reuters in an interview. According to mortgage broker AFG, one in 10 Australian mortgages are arranged by brokers. Mark Hewitt, general manager of industry and partnerships at AFG, said the company does not distribute credit cards but responsible lending rules require it to "ensure adequate enquiry is made around an applicant's ability to meet their financial commitments".
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Afterpay says some BNPL users told to close accounts, then sold credit cards
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) -Some customers of Australia's Afterpay have been asked to close buy-now-pay-later accounts to qualify for a mortgage and offered a credit card upon qualification, the BNPL provider said on Tuesday, underscoring fierce competition in the consumer finance sub-sectors. BNPL loans, on-the-spot interest-free short-term loans with minimal credit checks, exploded as an alternative for younger shoppers after the COVID-19 lockdowns and stimulus payments spurred an online shopping frenzy. Customers are incentivised to pay on time by the promise of maintaining or increasing their borrowing limit. In a survey of 1,000 of its customers, Afterpay said more than 10% reported being offered a credit card by the same bank or mortgage broker that told them to close their BNPL account to qualify for a loan, without specifying which banks or brokers. Owned by U.S. tech billionaire Jack Dorsey's Block, Afterpay leads Australia's BNPL market with more than 3.5 million active monthly users, half the country's total BNPL accounts, according to government figures. Lenders are required by law to make reasonable inquiries about an applicant's finances but may not give financial advice. Spokespeople for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the biggest lender, and No.3 lender National Australia Bank told Reuters that they did not tell applicants to close their BNPL accounts. A spokesperson for No.4 lender ANZ said the bank assessed BNPL liabilities alongside a person's other finances and "depending on the customer's overall financial position, goals, and objectives, they may choose to restructure or close certain debts – such as BNPL accounts – to support their application". TO RISK OR NOT TO RISK Afterpay claimed banks were capitalising on a perception of BNPL users as riskier than traditional borrowers to protect a declining lending category. Australian interest-accruing credit card debt is down 30% in half a decade as borrowers seek cheaper options. The company added that its survey found BNPL users had credit scores and on-time repayment records broadly in line with credit card users. The BNPL model has avoided regulation under Australian consumer credit laws so far as it doesn't involve interest. However, "if it looks and acts like credit, then it should be regulated as such," the Australian government had said last year. New legislation requiring BNPL firms to run credit checks on borrowers kicks in on Tuesday, which, Afterpay's Head of Public Policy Michael Saadat hopes, would improve transparency around user creditworthiness. The main reason Afterpay customers close their accounts is because their lender or broker told them to, and "this should not be something that is driven by misperception of the regulatory requirements," Saadat told Reuters in an interview. According to mortgage broker AFG, one in 10 Australian mortgages are arranged by brokers. Mark Hewitt, general manager of industry and partnerships at AFG, said the company does not distribute credit cards but responsible lending rules require it to "ensure adequate enquiry is made around an applicant's ability to meet their financial commitments".
