Media
White House brushes off Trump’s ‘piggy’ comment to reporter
While aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump brushed off questions about the newly released Epstein files, then stunned the press pack by cutting off Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey with “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
Now, as The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Koziol reports, when asked about the incident later, the White House defended Trump’s remark and offered no further explanation, leaving the controversy to roll on.
Social Media
Meta reveals its under-16 shutdown plan
Meta will block millions of Australian teens from Instagram, Facebook and Threads from 4 December.
According to the tech giant, access removal will begin within a fortnight, and will be completed by the federal government’s 10 December deadline
US congress calls in Australia’s online safety chief
Julie Inman Grant has been swept into Washington’s free speech fight, with US congress demanding she explain Australia’s Online Safety Act.
As Thomas Henry and Geoff Chambers report in The Australian, Trump ally Jim Jordan issued the summons, calling her a “zealot for global takedowns”.
Meanwhile…
Meta’s now probing an Instagram glitch blocking under-16 sign-ups, weeks before Australia’s new age-ban kicks in.
As Crikey’s Cam Wilson writes, the company insists it is not blocking teens yet and isn’t running any early tests.
Companies
REA Group appoints Andrew Cramer as new CFO
The Australian’s Ben Wilmot reports that REA Group has locked in a high-profile financial shake-up, bringing in senior News Corp figure Andrew Cramer as its next chief financial officer.
The announcement lands as the company reshapes its top team and prepares for a leadership transition early next year.
AI
Larry Summers steps off OpenAI board
The Australian Financial Review’s Rachel Metz writes that Larry Summers has quit the OpenAI board as part of a broader step back from public roles, triggered by the release of his correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
OpenAI acknowledged the resignation and thanked him for his contribution.
Entertainment
Baby Shark creator rides a fresh wave on market debut
Pinkfong’s chief executive Kim Min seok probably didn’t expect a 90 second kids’ clip to reshape his entire business back in 2016, but Baby Shark went on to become YouTube’s most watched video with more than 16 billion views.
As the BBC’s Osmond Chia writes, that journey has now taken Pinkfong to the South Korean stock market, where its shares jumped more than 9 percent on debut and delivered a valuation north of $400 million.