Energy giant AGL is disputing $25m fine for wrongly taking welfare money from hundreds as ‘excessive’

Energy giant AGL is disputing a “manifestly excessive” $25m fine for using the Centrepay debit system to wrongly take welfare money from hundreds of vulnerable Australians. It argues that a judge should not have used the massive financial penalty to try to “provoke some attention” from the company’s board and executive leadership.Late last year, the federal court imposed the hefty fine and excoriated AGL for wrongly taking money from 483 welfare recipients via Centrepay, the scandal-plagued, government-run system that allows automatic diversion of social security payments to essential services, like electricity bills and rent.A Guardian Australia investigation last year revealed deep flaws with the system, including that some of Australia’s biggest electricity retailers had used Centrepay to continue receiving welfare money from the pockets of departed customers long after they left.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailIn AGL’s case, the company used Centrepay to receive and retain an average of about $1,000 from the welfare payments of 483 former customers between early 2016 and late 2020

Consumers don’t have a debt problem. The US government does | Gene Marks

A recent report from the Federal Reserve warned that consumer debt is now more than $18tn and the people are worried. Americans’ “credit card and household debt reach all-time high”, reports Fox News. Consumers are “finding it harder and harder to pay off their debt”, claims CNN. A “third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings”, says Marketplace.Yes, consumer debt has ticked up this year

Telegram fined nearly $1m by Australian watchdog for delay in reporting about terrorism and child abuse material

Encrypted messaging app Telegram has been fined nearly $1m by Australia’s online safety regulator for failing to respond on time to questions about what the company does to tackle terrorism and child abuse material on its platform.The notice was issued to Telegram, among other companies, in May last year, with a deadline to report back in October on steps taken to address terrorist and violent extremism material, as well as child exploitation material on its platform.Because Telegram failed to respond for nearly 160 days, eSafety has issued an infringement notice to the company for A$957,780.“If we want accountability from the tech industry we need much greater transparency. These powers give us a look under the hood at just how these platforms are dealing, or not dealing, with a range of serious and egregious online harms which affect Australians,” the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said in a statement

Hackers steal $1.5bn from crypto exchange in ‘biggest digital heist ever’

The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has called on the “brightest minds” in cybersecurity to help it recover $1.5bn (£1.2bn) stolen by hackers in what is thought to be the biggest single digital theft in history.The Dubai-based crypto platform said an attacker gained control of a wallet of Ethereum, one of the most popular digital currencies after bitcoin, and transferred the contents to an unknown address.Bybit immediately sought to reassure its customers that their cryptocurrency holdings were safe, while its chief executive said on social media that Bybit would refund all those affected, even if the hacked currency was not returned

Antoine Dupont to the fore as France run riot with 11-try thrashing of Italy

If there were questions over France’s ability to finish teams off after coughing up numerous chances against England a fortnight ago, they have been thoroughly put to bed. A ruthless 11-try demolition of a handy Italy side on their own patch served as a reminder that, on their day, there are few better outfits in rugby than a French team in full flow.Fabien Galthié, the head coach, made some bold selection decisions, dropping his ace wing Damian Penaud and fly-half Matthieu Jalibert from the match-day 23. A seven-one bench split was a sign of the plan and France’s power game duly delivered. They stomped over the gainline with just about every carry, unloaded six heavies off the bench in one go on 48 minutes and pulverised the Italians, who sparkled on rare occasions but were totally outgunned

Steve Borthwick may focus on results but England fans want to see an identity | Gerard Meagher

About an hour after the final whistle on Saturday, England’s victorious players still swigging from the Calcutta Cup, Steve Borthwick was deep inside Twickenham discussing how his players finally got their hands back on the trophy. He was justifying their route-one tactics, explaining why England showcased so little with ball in hand; essentially, why they seemed to revert to a tactical approach that wins matches but few admirers.Borthwick was asked a perfectly reasonable question – was it the coaches’ decision to do so or the players adapting on the hoof in response to Scotland’s gameplan? – and he did not answer it properly. He was bristling, looking for hidden meaning in the question that just wasn’t there. He was asked it again and once more failed to provide an answer