THE NEWS WRAP: Victorian government follows NSW lead with crackdown on Uber drivers

The Victorian government has been issuing $1700 fines to Uber ride-sharing drivers.

Fairfax reported representatives of Victoria’s Taxi Services Commission have been using the app to identify drivers in order to issue fines.

Samsung replaces its mobile design team head

Chang Dong-hoon, Samsung’s head of mobile design, offered to resign last week after a poor reception to the company’s Galaxy S5 smartphone launch.

Dong-hoon has been moved to the company’s Design Strategy Team and his old role has been filled by Lee Min-hyouk, formerly the company’s vice president for mobile design.

Leading investors say losing net neutrality would kill US startups

A group of leading venture capitalists have written an open letter to the US Federal Communications Commission arguing if large internet service providers were able to charge for an internet ‘fast lane’, it would be much to the detriment of young startups.

“If established companies are able to pay for better access speeds or lower latency, the Internet will no longer be a level playing field,’’ the letter says.

“Start-ups (sic) with applications that are advantaged by speed (such as games, video, or payment systems) will be unlikely to overcome that deficit no matter how innovative their service.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 32.43 to 16,550.97. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US93 cents.