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Aujourd’hui — 28 mars 2024Ars Technica

Facebook secretly spied on Snapchat usage to confuse advertisers, court docs say

Facebook secretly spied on Snapchat usage to confuse advertisers, court docs say

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

Unsealed court documents have revealed more details about a secret Facebook project initially called "Ghostbusters," designed to sneakily access encrypted Snapchat usage data to give Facebook a leg up on its rival, just when Snapchat was experiencing rapid growth in 2016.

The documents were filed in a class-action lawsuit from consumers and advertisers, accusing Meta of anticompetitive behavior that blocks rivals from competing in the social media ads market.

"Whenever someone asks a question about Snapchat, the answer is usually that because their traffic is encrypted, we have no analytics about them," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who has since rebranded his company as Meta) wrote in a 2016 email to Javier Olivan.

Read 18 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Hier — 27 mars 2024Ars Technica

Pornhub prepared to block Florida if child safety law takes effect

Pornhub prepared to block Florida if child safety law takes effect

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

This week, Florida made headlines after passing HB 3, a law banning children under 14 from accessing social media without parental consent.

Much less attention was given to another requirement under the law obligating "pornographic or sexually explicit websites" to "use age verification to prevent minors from accessing sites that are inappropriate for children," as Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis explained the law in a statement.

But Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, has taken notice, with a spokesperson confirming to Ars that "we are aware of the passage into law of HB 3 in Florida, which unfortunately fails to protect minors online."

Read 16 remaining paragraphs | Comments

À partir d’avant-hierArs Technica

Cities: Skylines 2 gets long-awaited official mod support and map editor

View of a rooftop terrace with sun umbrella in Cities: Skylines 2's Beach Properties expansion.

Enlarge / Kudos to the designer of this umbrella-shaded rooftop terrace at Colossal Order, perhaps the only worker who can imagine a place that isn't overwhelmed by Steam reviewers. (credit: Paradox Interactive)

Under the very unassuming name of patch 1.1.0f1, Cities: Skylines 2 is getting something quite big. The sequel now has the modding, map editing, and code modding support that made its predecessor such a sprawling success.

Only time will tell if community energy can help restore some of the momentum that has been dispersed by the fraught launch of Cities: Skylines 2 (C:S2). The project of relatively small developer Colossal Order arrived in October 2023 with performance issues and a lack of content compared to its predecessor. Some of that content perception stemmed from the game's lack of modding support, which had contributed to entire aspects of the original game not yet available in the sequel.

When Ars interviewed Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen in December, she said that modding support was the thing she was most looking forward to arriving. Modding support was intended to be available at launch, but the challenges of building the new game's technical base, amid many other technical issues, pushed it back, along with console releases.

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Florida braces for lawsuits over law banning kids from social media

Florida braces for lawsuits over law banning kids from social media

Enlarge (credit: Lisa5201 | E+)

On Monday, Florida became the first state to ban kids under 14 from social media without parental permission. It appears likely that the law—considered one of the most restrictive in the US—will face significant legal challenges, however, before taking effect on January 1.

Under HB 3, apps like Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok would need to verify the ages of users, then delete any accounts for users under 14 when parental consent is not granted. Companies that "knowingly or recklessly" fail to block underage users risk fines of up to $10,000 in damages to anyone suing on behalf of child users. They could also be liable for up to $50,000 per violation in civil penalties.

In a statement, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said the "landmark law" gives "parents a greater ability to protect their children" from a variety of social media harm. Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who spearheaded the law, explained some of that harm, saying that passing HB 3 was critical because "the Internet has become a dark alley for our children where predators target them and dangerous social media leads to higher rates of depression, self-harm, and even suicide."

Read 19 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Starliner’s first commander: Don’t expect perfection on crew test flight

Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for fueling.

Enlarge / Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for fueling. (credit: Boeing)

HOUSTON—While it doesn't have the same relevance to public consciousness as safety problems with commercial airliners, a successful test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in May would be welcome news for the beleaguered aerospace company.

This will be the first time the Starliner capsule flies into low-Earth orbit with humans aboard. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are in the final stages of training for the so-called Crew Flight Test (CFT), a milestone running seven years behind the schedule Boeing said it could achieve when it won a $4.2 billion commercial crew contract from NASA a decade ago.

If schedules hold, Wilmore and Williams will take off inside Boeing's Starliner spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket after midnight May 1, local time, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. They will fly Starliner to the International Space Station for a stay of at least eight days, then return the capsule to a parachute-assisted, airbag-cushioned landing in the western United States, likely at White Sands, New Mexico.

Read 33 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Flying coach? At least you’ll be able to watch movies on an in-seat OLED TV soon

  • This is one of the Panasonic Avionics Astrova in-flight entertainment systems, set to debut in Icelandair, Qantus, and United Airlines flights in the next couple of years. [credit: Panasonic ]

Flying on commercial airlines today might be a lot more of a pain than it used to be, but new tech is going to bring some improvement to one part of the experience—in-flight entertainment. Panasonic Avionics' brand Astrova in-flight entertainment systems are starting to roll out on commercial flights on certain airlines, promising 4K HDR TVs and other features to the backs of seats that should be a huge upgrade over the abysmal screens we normally watch in-flight movies on.

Look at most commercial airlines today, and you'll find a tiny, terrible LCD TV embedded in the seat in front of you. These HD, standard dynamic range screens have terrible contrast and poor viewing angles, and they aren't bright enough to achieve a good viewing experience when the overhead lights are on.

They're bad enough that I always bring my own hardware for flights—most recently, I took three flights with Apple's Vision Pro headset, which I plan to write about later this week. But most people just bring a tablet.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Mozilla’s privacy service drops a provider with ties to people-search sites

Mozilla Monitor Plus dashboard

Enlarge (credit: Mozilla)

Mozilla's Monitor Plus, a service launched by the privacy-minded tech firm in February, notes on its pitch page that there is "a $240 billion industry of data brokers selling your private information for profit" and that its offering can "take back your privacy."

Mozilla's most recent move to protect privacy has been to cut out one of the key providers of Monitor Plus' people-search protections, Onerep. That comes after reporting from security reporter Brian Krebs, who uncovered Onerep CEO and founder Dimitri Shelest as the founder of "dozens of people-search services since 2010," including one, Nuwber, that still sells the very kind of "background reports" that Monitor Plus seeks to curb.

Shelest told Krebs in a statement (PDF) that he did have an ownership stake in Nuwber, but that Nuwber has "zero cross-over or information-sharing with Onerep" and that he no longer operates any other people-search sites. Shelest admitted the bad look but said that his experience with people search gave Onerep "the best tech and team in the space."

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Users ditch Glassdoor, stunned by site adding real names without consent

Users ditch Glassdoor, stunned by site adding real names without consent

Enlarge (credit: DigiPub | Moment)

Glassdoor, where employees go to leave anonymous reviews of employers, has recently begun adding real names to user profiles without users' consent, a Glassdoor user named Monica was shocked to discover last week.

"Time to delete your Glassdoor account and data," Monica, a Midwest-based software professional, warned other Glassdoor users in a blog. (Ars will only refer to Monica by her first name so that she can speak freely about her experience using Glassdoor to review employers.)

Monica joined Glassdoor about 10 years ago, she said, leaving a few reviews for her employers, taking advantage of other employees' reviews when considering new opportunities, and hoping to help others survey their job options. This month, though, she abruptly deleted her account after she contacted Glassdoor support to request help removing information from her account. She never expected that instead of removing information, Glassdoor's support team would take the real name that she provided in her support email and add it to her Glassdoor profile—despite Monica repeatedly and explicitly not consenting to Glassdoor storing her real name.

Read 38 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Facebook, Instagram may cut fees by nearly 50% in scramble for DMA compliance

Facebook, Instagram may cut fees by nearly 50% in scramble for DMA compliance

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

Meta is considering cutting monthly subscription fees for Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union nearly in half to comply with the Digital Market Act (DMA), Reuters reported.

During a day-long public workshop on Meta's DMA compliance, Meta's competition and regulatory director, Tim Lamb, told the European Commission (EC) that individual subscriber fees could be slashed from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros. Meta is hoping that reducing fees will help to speed up the EC's process for resolving Meta's compliance issues. If Meta's offer is accepted, any additional accounts would then cost 4 euros instead of 6 euros.

Lamb said that these prices are "by far the lowest end of the range that any reasonable person should be paying for services of these quality," calling it a "serious offer."

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50 injured on Boeing 787 as “strong shake” reportedly sent heads into ceiling

A Boeing airplane on a runway. The LATAM Airlines logo is printed on the side of the plane.

Enlarge / A LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner taxiing at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Chile on March 20, 2019. (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

About 50 people were injured on a LATAM Airlines flight today in which a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner suffered a technical problem that caused a "strong shake," reportedly causing some passengers' heads to hit the ceiling.

The plane flying from Australia to New Zealand "experienced a strong shake during flight, the cause of which is currently under investigation," LATAM said on its website today. LATAM, a Chilean airline, was also quoted in news reports as saying the plane suffered "a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement."

The Boeing plane, carrying 263 passengers and nine flight and cabin crew members, landed at Auckland Airport as scheduled. New Zealand ambulance service Hato Hone St. John published a statement saying that its "ambulance crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition." Twelve patients were taken to hospitals, the statement said.

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Report: Boeing may reacquire Spirit at higher price despite hating optics

Report: Boeing may reacquire Spirit at higher price despite hating optics

Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

Amid safety scandals involving "many loose bolts" and widespread problems with Boeing's 737 Max 9s, Boeing is apparently considering buying back Spirit AeroSystems, the key supplier behind some of Boeing's current manufacturing problems, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

Spirit was initially spun out from Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 2005, and Boeing had planned to keep it that way. Last year, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun sought to dispel rumors that Boeing might reacquire Spirit as federal regulators launched investigations into both companies. But now Calhoun appears to be "softening that stance," the WSJ reported.

According to the WSJ's sources, no deal has formed yet, but Spirit has initiated talks with Boeing and "hired bankers to explore strategic options." Sources also confirmed that Spirit is weighing whether to sell its operations in Ireland, which manufactures parts for Boeing rival Airbus.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Judge mocks X for “vapid” argument in Musk’s hate speech lawsuit

Judge mocks X for “vapid” argument in Musk’s hate speech lawsuit

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

It looks like Elon Musk may lose X's lawsuit against hate speech researchers who encouraged a major brand boycott after flagging ads appearing next to extremist content on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

X is trying to argue that the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) violated the site's terms of service and illegally accessed non-public data to conduct its reporting, allegedly posing a security risk for X. The boycott, X alleged, cost the company tens of millions of dollars by spooking advertisers, while X contends that the CCDH's reporting is misleading and ads are rarely served on extremist content.

But at a hearing Thursday, US district judge Charles Breyer told the CCDH that he would consider dismissing X's lawsuit, repeatedly appearing to mock X's decision to file it in the first place.

Read 21 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Maybe, just maybe, Boeing’s Starliner will finally fly astronauts this spring

Boeing's Starliner crew module for the upcoming Crew Flight Test was mated with the spacecraft's service module last year in Florida.

Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner crew module for the upcoming Crew Flight Test was mated with the spacecraft's service module last year in Florida. (credit: Boeing/Deborah Circelli)

We've heard this before, but Boeing appears to be a couple of months from finally launching astronauts into orbit aboard the commercial CST-100 Starliner crew capsule.

It was about two months prior to this mission's previous launch date last July when Boeing and NASA officials decided to put a hold on launch preparations. During their final reviews to certify Starliner for flight nearly a year ago, engineers discovered two technical issues that somehow escaped detection for years.

One of these issues involved parts of Starliner's parachute deployment system that did not meet required safety specifications. The other was a revelation that Boeing installed flammable tape wrapped around wiring bundles throughout the spacecraft, creating a potential fire hazard. These were the latest in a line of technical problems that have plagued the Starliner program, delaying the new spacecraft's first test flight with astronauts from 2017 until this year.

Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Rocket Report: Starliner launch preps; Indian rocket engine human-rated

The first stage of United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket was lifted onto its launch platform this week in preparation for an April liftoff with two NASA astronauts on Boeing's Starliner Crew Flight Test.

Enlarge / The first stage of United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket was lifted onto its launch platform this week in preparation for an April liftoff with two NASA astronauts on Boeing's Starliner Crew Flight Test. (credit: United Launch Alliance)

Welcome to Edition 6.32 of the Rocket Report! I'm writing the report again this week as Eric Berger is in Washington, DC, to receive a well-earned honor, the 2024 Excellence in Commercial Space Journalism Award from the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Cape Canaveral is the world's busiest spaceport, and this week, three leading US launch companies were active there. SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket, and a few miles away, Blue Origin raised a New Glenn rocket on its launch pad for long-awaited ground testing. Nearby, United Launch Alliance began assembling an Atlas V rocket for the first crew launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in April. 2024 is shaping up to be a truly exciting year for the spaceflight community.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Astroscale inspector satellite launched by Rocket Lab. Astroscale, a well-capitalized Japanese startup, has launched a small satellite to do something that has never been done in space, Ars reports. This new spacecraft, delivered into orbit on February 18 by Rocket Lab, will approach a defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket that has been circling Earth for more than 15 years. Over the next few months, the satellite will try to move within arm's reach of the rocket, taking pictures and performing complicated maneuvers to move around the bus-size H-IIA upper stage as it moves around the planet at nearly 5 miles per second (7.6 km/s).

Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Snapchat isn’t liable for connecting 12-year-old to convicted sex offenders

Snapchat isn’t liable for connecting 12-year-old to convicted sex offenders

Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

A judge has dismissed a complaint from a parent and guardian of a girl, now 15, who was sexually assaulted when she was 12 years old after Snapchat recommended that she connect with convicted sex offenders.

According to the court filing, the abuse that the girl, C.O., experienced on Snapchat happened soon after she signed up for the app in 2019. Through its "Quick Add" feature, Snapchat "directed her" to connect with "a registered sex offender using the profile name JASONMORGAN5660." After a little more than a week on the app, C.O. was bombarded with inappropriate images and subjected to sextortion and threats before the adult user pressured her to meet up, then raped her. Cops arrested the adult user the next day, resulting in his incarceration, but his Snapchat account remained active for three years despite reports of harassment, the complaint alleged.

Two years later, at 14, C.O. connected with another convicted sex offender on Snapchat, a former police officer who offered to give C.O. a ride to school and then sexually assaulted her. The second offender is also currently incarcerated, the judge's opinion noted.

Read 28 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Darwin Online has virtually reassembled the naturalist’s personal library

Oil painting by Victor Eustaphieff of Darwin in his study at Down House with one of his bookcases that made up his extensive personal library reflected in the mirror.

Enlarge / Oil painting by Victor Eustaphieff of Charles Darwin in his study at Down House. One of the many bookcases that made up his extensive personal library is reflected in the mirror. (credit: State Darwin Museum, Moscow)

Famed naturalist Charles Darwin amassed an impressive personal library over the course of his life, much of which was preserved and cataloged upon his death in 1882. But many other items were lost, including more ephemeral items like unbound volumes, pamphlets, journals, clippings, and so forth, often only vaguely referenced in Darwin's own records.

For the last 18 years, the Darwin Online project has painstakingly scoured all manner of archival records to reassemble a complete catalog of Darwin's personal library virtually. The project released its complete 300-page online catalog—consisting of 7,400 titles across 13,000 volumes, with links to electronic copies of the works—to mark Darwin's 215th birthday on February 12.

“This unprecedentedly detailed view of Darwin’s complete library allows one to appreciate more than ever that he was not an isolated figure working alone but an expert of his time building on the sophisticated science and studies and other knowledge of thousands of people," project leader John van Wyhe of the National University of Singapore said. "Indeed, the size and range of works in the library makes manifest the extraordinary extent of Darwin’s research into the work of others.”

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EU accuses TikTok of failing to stop kids pretending to be adults

EU accuses TikTok of failing to stop kids pretending to be adults

Enlarge (credit: Matt Cardy / Contributor | Getty Images Europe)

The European Commission (EC) is concerned that TikTok isn't doing enough to protect kids, alleging that the short-video app may be sending kids down rabbit holes of harmful content while making it easy for kids to pretend to be adults and avoid the protective content filters that do exist.

The allegations came Monday when the EC announced a formal investigation into how TikTok may be breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA) "in areas linked to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, as well as the risk management of addictive design and harmful content."

"We must spare no effort to protect our children," Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, said in the press release, reiterating that the "protection of minors is a top enforcement priority for the DSA."

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Air Canada must honor refund policy invented by airline’s chatbot

Air Canada must honor refund policy invented by airline’s chatbot

Enlarge (credit: Alvin Man | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

After months of resisting, Air Canada was forced to give a partial refund to a grieving passenger who was misled by an airline chatbot inaccurately explaining the airline's bereavement travel policy.

On the day Jake Moffatt's grandmother died, Moffat immediately visited Air Canada's website to book a flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Unsure of how Air Canada's bereavement rates worked, Moffatt asked Air Canada's chatbot to explain.

The chatbot provided inaccurate information, encouraging Moffatt to book a flight immediately and then request a refund within 90 days. In reality, Air Canada's policy explicitly stated that the airline will not provide refunds for bereavement travel after the flight is booked. Moffatt dutifully attempted to follow the chatbot's advice and request a refund but was shocked that the request was rejected.

Read 23 remaining paragraphs | Comments

AMC to pay $8M for allegedly violating 1988 law with use of Meta Pixel

AMC to pay $8M for allegedly violating 1988 law with use of Meta Pixel

Enlarge (credit: Henri Leduc | Moment)

On Thursday, AMC notified subscribers of a proposed $8.3 million settlement that provides awards to an estimated 6 million subscribers of its six streaming services: AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, SundanceNow, and HIDIVE.

The settlement comes in response to allegations that AMC illegally shared subscribers' viewing history with tech companies like Google, Facebook, and X (aka Twitter) in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

Passed in 1988, the VPPA prohibits AMC and other video service providers from sharing "information which identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider." It was originally passed to protect individuals' right to private viewing habits, after a journalist published the mostly unrevealing video rental history of a judge, Robert Bork, who had been nominated to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan.

Read 19 remaining paragraphs | Comments

How a musician accused of fraud got his music back on Spotify, iTunes

Musician Benn Jordan, who performs under the alias The Flashbulb, successfully defended his music against streaming fraud allegations.

Enlarge / Musician Benn Jordan, who performs under the alias The Flashbulb, successfully defended his music against streaming fraud allegations.

Last Friday, musician Benn Jordan assumed his phone was glitching when he tried to pull up one of his albums and couldn't find it on Spotify. Then he noticed all the notifications he'd gotten from fans asking why he'd removed his music on all the streaming platforms where his music could typically be found, including Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, and YouTube Music.

But Jordan had not made any such decision. By the time night fell on Friday, the gravity of what had happened finally sank in, and he realized something was "very, very wrong."

For the past 17 years, Jordan has paid his digital distributor, TuneCore, thousands of dollars to manage his music on streaming platforms. Under his alias The Flashbulb, Jordan had released more than a dozen albums, reaching 1.9 million listeners on Spotify who added his songs to more than 300,000 playlists last year alone. In total, he had earned over $400,000 in sales since signing up for TuneCore in 2007.

Read 29 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Backdoors that let cops decrypt messages violate human rights, EU court says

Building of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (France).

Enlarge / Building of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (France). (credit: SilvanBachmann | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that weakening end-to-end encryption disproportionately risks undermining human rights. The international court's decision could potentially disrupt the European Commission's proposed plans to require email and messaging service providers to create backdoors that would allow law enforcement to easily decrypt users' messages.

This ruling came after Russia's intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSS), began requiring Telegram to share users' encrypted messages to deter "terrorism-related activities" in 2017, ECHR's ruling said. A Russian Telegram user alleged that FSS's requirement violated his rights to a private life and private communications, as well as all Telegram users' rights.

The Telegram user was apparently disturbed, moving to block required disclosures after Telegram refused to comply with an FSS order to decrypt messages on six users suspected of terrorism. According to Telegram, "it was technically impossible to provide the authorities with encryption keys associated with specific users," and therefore, "any disclosure of encryption keys" would affect the "privacy of the correspondence of all Telegram users," the ECHR's ruling said.

Read 22 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Amazon hides cheaper items with faster delivery, lawsuit alleges

Amazon hides cheaper items with faster delivery, lawsuit alleges

Enlarge (credit: AdrianHancu | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

Amazon rigged its platform to "routinely" push an overwhelming majority of customers to pay more for items that could've been purchased at lower costs with equal or faster delivery times, a class-action lawsuit has alleged.

The lawsuit claims that a biased algorithm drives Amazon's "Buy Box," which appears on an item's page and prompts shoppers to "Buy Now" or "Add to Cart." According to customers suing, nearly 98 percent of Amazon sales are of items featured in the Buy Box, because customers allegedly "reasonably" believe that featured items offer the best deal on the platform.

"But they are often wrong," the complaint said, claiming that instead, Amazon features items from its own retailers and sellers that participate in Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), both of which pay Amazon higher fees and gain secret perks like appearing in the Buy Box.

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Some Calif. cops still sharing license plate info with anti-abortion states

Some Calif. cops still sharing license plate info with anti-abortion states

Enlarge (credit: moodboard | moodboard / Getty Images Plus)

Dozens of California police agencies are still sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state authorities without a warrant, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has revealed. This is occurring despite guidance issued by State Attorney General Rob Bonta last year.

Clarifying a state law that limits state public agencies to sharing ALPR data only with other public agencies, Bonta's guidance pointed out that "importantly," the law's definition of "public agency" "does not include out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies."

Bonta's guidance came after EFF uncovered more than 70 California law enforcement agencies sharing ALPR data with cops in other states, including anti-abortion states. After Bonta clarified the statute, approximately half of these agencies told EFF that they updated their practices to fall in line with Bonta's reading of the law. Some states could not verify that the practice had ended yet, though.

Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Judge rules against users suing Google and Apple over “annoying” search results

Judge rules against users suing Google and Apple over “annoying” search results

Enlarge (credit: SOPA Images / Contributor | LightRocket)

While the world awaits closing arguments later this year in the US government's antitrust case over Google's search dominance, a California judge has dismissed a lawsuit from 26 Google users who claimed that Google's default search agreement with Apple violates antitrust law and has ruined everyone's search results.

Users had argued that Google struck a deal making its search engine the default on Apple's Safari web browser specifically to keep Apple from competing in the general search market. These payments to Apple, users alleged, have "stunted innovation" and "deprived" users of "quality, service, and privacy that they otherwise would have enjoyed but for Google’s anticompetitive conduct." They also allege that it created a world where users have fewer choices, enabling Google to prefer its own advertisers, which users said caused an "annoying and damaging distortion" of search results.

In an order granting the tech companies' motion to dismiss, US District Judge Rita Lin said that users did not present enough evidence to support claims for relief. Lin dismissed some claims with prejudice but gave leave to amend others, allowing users another chance to keep their case—now twice-dismissed—at least partially alive.

Read 17 remaining paragraphs | Comments

“Don’t let them drop us!” Landline users protest AT&T copper retirement plan

A pair of scissors being used to cut a wire coming out of a landline telephone.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | CalypsoArt)

AT&T's application to end its landline phone obligations in California is drawing protest from residents as state officials consider whether to let AT&T off the hook.

AT&T filed an application to end its Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) obligation in March 2023. The first of several public hearings on the application is being held today by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which is considering AT&T's request. An evidentiary hearing has been scheduled for April, and a proposed decision is expected in September.

AT&T has said it won't cut off phone service immediately, but ending the COLR obligation would make it easier for AT&T to drop its phone lines later on. AT&T's application said it would provide basic phone service in all areas for at least six months and indefinitely in areas without any alternative voice service.

Read 25 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Data broker allegedly selling de-anonymized info to face FTC lawsuit after all

Data broker allegedly selling de-anonymized info to face FTC lawsuit after all

Enlarge (credit: Malte Mueller | fStop)

The Federal Trade Commission has succeeded in keeping alive its first federal court case against a geolocation data broker that's allegedly unfairly selling large quantities of data in violation of the FTC Act.

On Saturday, US District Judge Lynn Winmill denied Kochava's motion to dismiss an amended FTC complaint, which he said plausibly argued that "Kochava’s data sales invade consumers’ privacy and expose them to risks of secondary harms by third parties."

Winmill's ruling reversed a dismissal of the FTC's initial complaint, which the court previously said failed to adequately allege that Kochava's data sales cause or are likely to cause a "substantial" injury to consumers.

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eBay to pay $59M after DOJ ties pill press sales to fentanyl drug rings

eBay to pay $59M after DOJ ties pill press sales to fentanyl drug rings

Enlarge (credit: Iryna Imago | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

eBay has agreed to pay $59 million after the US Department of Justice accused the online marketplace of selling thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines, some of which were used by rings trafficking in illegal counterfeit pills.

It's the fourth largest settlement under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the first-ever settlement with an e-commerce company, a DOJ press release noted.

“Through its website, eBay made it easy for individuals across the country to obtain the type of dangerous machines that are often used to make counterfeit pills," Nikolas Kerest, US attorney for the District of Vermont, said. "Our investigation revealed that some of these machines were even sold to individuals who were later convicted of drug-related crimes."

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Zuckerberg says sorry for Meta harming kids—but rejects payments to families

Mark Zuckerberg discussed Meta's approaches to child safety at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing January 31, 2024.

Enlarge / Mark Zuckerberg discussed Meta's approaches to child safety at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing January 31, 2024.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing weighing child safety solutions on social media, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stopped to apologize to families of children who committed suicide or experienced mental health issues after using Facebook and Instagram.

"I’m sorry for everything you have all been through," Zuckerberg told families. "No one should go through the things that your families have suffered, and this is why we invest so much, and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer."

This was seemingly the first time that Zuckerberg had personally apologized to families. It happened after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked Zuckerberg if he had ever apologized and suggested that the Meta CEO personally set up a compensation fund to help the families get counseling.

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Apple warns proposed UK law will affect software updates around the world

Apple warns proposed UK law will affect software updates around the world

Enlarge

Apple is "deeply concerned" that proposed changes to a United Kingdom law could give the UK government unprecedented power to "secretly veto" privacy and security updates to its products and services, the tech giant said in a statement provided to Ars.

If passed, potentially this spring, the amendments to the UK's Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) could deprive not just UK users, but all users globally of important new privacy and security features, Apple warned.

"Protecting our users’ privacy and the security of their data is at the very heart of everything we do at Apple," Apple said. "We’re deeply concerned the proposed amendments" to the IPA "now before Parliament place users' privacy and security at risk."

Read 16 remaining paragraphs | Comments

NSA finally admits to spying on Americans by purchasing sensitive data

NSA finally admits to spying on Americans by purchasing sensitive data

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

The National Security Agency (NSA) has admitted to buying records from data brokers detailing which websites and apps Americans use, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) revealed Thursday.

This news follows Wyden's push last year that forced the FBI to admit that it was also buying Americans' sensitive data. Now, the senator is calling on all intelligence agencies to "stop buying personal data from Americans that has been obtained illegally by data brokers."

"The US government should not be funding and legitimizing a shady industry whose flagrant violations of Americans' privacy are not just unethical but illegal," Wyden said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines. “To that end, I request that you adopt a policy that, going forward," intelligence agencies "may only purchase data about Americans that meets the standard for legal data sales established by the FTC.”

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Instagram stops letting random adults send messages to teenagers

Instagram stops letting random adults send messages to teenagers

Enlarge (credit: Dmytro Betsenko | Moment)

Some teens will now have their Facebook and Instagram accounts defaulted to a setting that blocks strangers from sending direct messages, Meta announced on Thursday.

This default setting is designed to stop teens under 16 ("or under 18 in certain countries") from receiving "unwanted contact," Meta said. In addition to restricting "adults over the age of 19 from messaging teens who don’t follow them" on Instagram, the new policy also blocks teens from receiving direct messages from other teens they do not follow. On Facebook, it restricts any accounts from contacting teens on Messenger who appear neither on their Facebook friends list or in their phone's contacts.

This change comes after a whistleblower, Arturo Bejar—a senior engineer who formerly led online security, safety, and protection efforts at Meta—told Congress last November that he returned to work for Meta as a consultant after discovering that his 14-year-old child and her friends "repeatedly faced unwanted sexual advances, misogyny, and harassment" on Instagram. According to Bejar, his subsequent research documented "staggering levels of abuse" targeting young users, with at least 13 percent of users aged 13–15 reporting that they received unwanted sexual advances in a single week.

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Amazon Ring stops letting police request footage in Neighbors app after outcry

Amazon Ring stops letting police request footage in Neighbors app after outcry

Enlarge (credit: Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images North America)

Amazon Ring has shut down a controversial feature in its community safety app Neighbors that has allowed police to contact homeowners and request doorbell and surveillance camera footage without a warrant for years.

In a blog, head of the Neighbors app Eric Kuhn confirmed that "public safety agencies like fire and police departments can still use the Neighbors app to share helpful safety tips, updates, and community events," but the Request for Assistance (RFA) tool will be disabled.

"They will no longer be able to use the RFA tool to request and receive video in the app," Kuhn wrote.

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Mugger take your phone? Cash apps too easily let thieves drain accounts, DA says

Mugger take your phone? Cash apps too easily let thieves drain accounts, DA says

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Popular apps like Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App aren't doing enough to protect consumers from fraud that occurs when unauthorized users gain access to unlocked devices, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg warned.

“Thousands or even tens of thousands can be drained from financial accounts in a matter of seconds with just a few taps," Bragg said in letters to app makers. "Without additional protections, customers’ financial and physical safety is being put at risk."

According to Bragg, his office and the New York Police Department have been increasingly prosecuting crimes where phones are commandeered by bad actors to quickly steal large amounts of money through financial apps.

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Patreon: Blocking platforms from sharing user video data is unconstitutional

Patreon: Blocking platforms from sharing user video data is unconstitutional

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Patreon, a monetization platform for content creators, has asked a federal judge to deem unconstitutional a rarely invoked law that some privacy advocates consider one of the nation's "strongest protections of consumer privacy against a specific form of data collection." Such a ruling would end decades that the US spent carefully shielding the privacy of millions of Americans' personal video viewing habits.

The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) blocks businesses from sharing data with third parties on customers' video purchases and rentals. At a minimum, the VPPA requires written consent each time a business wants to share this sensitive video data—including the title, description, and, in most cases, the subject matter.

The VPPA was passed in 1988 in response to backlash over a reporter sharing the video store rental history of a judge, Robert Bork, who had been nominated to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan. The report revealed that Bork apparently liked spy thrillers and British costume dramas and suggested that maybe the judge had a family member who dug John Hughes movies.

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Meta relents to EU, allows unlinking of Facebook and Instagram accounts

Meta relents to EU, allows unlinking of Facebook and Instagram accounts

Enlarge (credit: Anadolu / Contributor | Anadolu)

Meta will allow some Facebook and Instagram users to unlink their accounts as part of the platform's efforts to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) ahead of enforcement starting March 1.

In a blog, Meta's competition and regulatory director, Tim Lamb, wrote that Instagram and Facebook users in the EU, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland would be notified in the "next few weeks" about "more choices about how they can use" Meta's services and features, including new opportunities to limit data-sharing across apps and services.

Most significantly, users can choose to either keep their accounts linked or "manage their Instagram and Facebook accounts separately so that their information is no longer used across accounts." Up to this point, linking user accounts had provided Meta with more data to more effectively target ads to more users. The perk of accessing data on Instagram's widening younger user base, TechCrunch noted, was arguably the $1 billion selling point explaining why Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012.

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Climate denialists find new ways to monetize disinformation on YouTube

Climate denialists find new ways to monetize disinformation on YouTube

Enlarge (credit: PM Images | DigitalVision)

Content creators have spent the past five years developing new tactics to evade YouTube's policies blocking monetization of videos making false claims about climate change, a report from a nonprofit advocacy group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), warned Tuesday.

What the CCDH found is that content creators who could no longer monetize videos spreading "old" forms of climate denial—including claims that "global warming is not happening" or "human-generated greenhouse gasses are not causing global warming"—have moved on.

Now they're increasingly pushing other claims that contradict climate science, which YouTube has not yet banned and may not ever ban. These include harmful claims that "impacts of global warming are beneficial or harmless," "climate solutions won’t work," and "climate science and the climate movement are unreliable."

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Facebook, Instagram block teens from sensitive content, even from friends

Facebook, Instagram block teens from sensitive content, even from friends

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Meta has begun hiding sensitive content from teenagers under the age of 18 on Facebook and Instagram, a company blog announced on Tuesday.

Starting now, Meta will begin removing content from feeds and Stories about sensitive topics that have been flagged as harmful to teens by experts in adolescent development, psychology, and mental health. That includes content about self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders, as well as content discussing restricted goods or featuring nudity.

Even if sensitive content is shared by friends or accounts that teens follow, the teen will be blocked from viewing it, Meta confirmed.

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iPhone survives 16,000-foot fall after door plug blows off Alaska Air flight 1282

The iPhone that fell from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, discovered by Seanathan Bates under a bush on the side of the road.

Enlarge / The iPhone that fell from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, discovered by Seanathan Bates under a bush on the side of the road. (credit: Seanathan Bates via X)

On Sunday, game developer Seanathan Bates discovered a working iPhone that fell 16,000 from Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on Friday. Flight 1282 suffered an explosive decompression event when a door plug blew off the plane. No one was seriously injured during the incident. The iPhone wasn't seriously injured, either—still unlocked and with a torn charging cable connector plugged in, it appeared largely undamaged and displayed information that matched the flight.

"Found an iPhone on the side of the road," wrote Bates in a post on X. "Still in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim for #AlaskaAirlines ASA1282 Survived a 16,000 foot drop perfectly in tact!"

After the discovery, Bates contacted the National Transportation Safety Board, which took possession of the device and told him the iPhone was the second phone that had been found from the flight. During a press conference on Sunday, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy confirmed that two people had discovered cell phones that fell from flight 1281. The other cell phone was discovered in someone's yard.

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23andMe told victims of data breach that suing is futile, letter shows

23andMe told victims of data breach that suing is futile, letter shows

Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

23andMe is "shamelessly" blaming victims of a data breach impacting 6.9 million users, a lawyer representing victims pursuing a class-action lawsuit, Hassan Zavareei, told TechCrunch.

Zavareei shared a letter from 23andMe lawyers that urged users suing to "consider the futility of continuing to pursue an action in this case," because their claims are allegedly meritless and "the information that was potentially accessed cannot be used for any harm."

Last year, hackers accessed 14,000 accounts on 23andMe by using passwords that had been previously breached during security incidents on other websites. By using this tactic, known as credential stuffing, hackers could access the personal data of millions of 23andMe users who opted into a DNA Relatives feature, including genetic information like the percentage of DNA shared with compromised users.

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Crypto hedge fund CEO may not exist; probe finds no record of identity

A still from a HyperVerse video featuring CEO Steven Reece Lewis.

Enlarge / A still from a HyperVerse video featuring CEO Steven Reece Lewis. (credit: @cryptotech607 | YouTube)

For years, rumors spread on social media that Steven Reece Lewis, the chief executive officer of a now-shuttered cryptocurrency hedge fund called HyperVerse, was a "fake person" who "doesn't exist." After its investigation, The Guardian has confirmed that no organization cited on his resume "can find any record of him."

According to The Guardian, Reece Lewis's qualifications all appear to be falsified in an effort to woo investors to sink money into HyperVerse. After HyperVerse collapsed, accused of operating as a pyramid scheme, the company suspended withdrawals. According to blockchain analysts, Chainalysis consumer losses in 2022 were estimated to exceed $1.3 billion. Thousands of consumers lost millions, The Guardian reported.

In a December 2021 video, Reece Lewis was introduced as CEO and touted for making big moves before joining HyperVerse. He supposedly went from working at Goldman Sachs to selling a web development company to Adobe before launching his own IT startup.

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Pornhub pulls out of Montana, NC as age-verification battle rages on

Pornhub pulls out of Montana, NC as age-verification battle rages on

Enlarge (credit: Dmitry Mayer | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

To kick off the new year, Montana and North Carolina joined a growing number of states enforcing laws requiring age verification to access adult content online.

In the days before the laws took effect on January 1, Aylo—the owner of adult sites like Pornhub, Youporn, Brazzers, and Redtube—blocked access for users in both states, continuing to argue that requiring ID for every login makes adult sites less safe for everyone.

“As you may know, your elected officials in your state are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website," adult entertainer Cherie DeVille said in a public service announcement displayed to users attempting to access sites in Montana and North Carolina. "While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”

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FTC suggests new rules to shift parents’ burden of protecting kids to websites

FTC suggests new rules to shift parents’ burden of protecting kids to websites

Enlarge (credit: JGI/Jamie Grill | Tetra images)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently seeking comments on new rules that would further restrict platforms' efforts to monetize children's data.

Through the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the FTC initially sought to give parents more control over what kinds of information that various websites and apps can collect from their kids. Now, the FTC wants to update COPPA and "shift the burden from parents to providers to ensure that digital services are safe and secure for children," the FTC's press release said.

“By requiring firms to better safeguard kids’ data, our proposal places affirmative obligations on service providers and prohibits them from outsourcing their responsibilities to parents,” FTC chair Lina Khan said.

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An Interview with Cities: Skylines 2 developer’s CEO, Mariina Hallikainen

Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen

Enlarge / Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen, from the company's "Winter Recap" video. (credit: Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive/YouTube)

It's not often you see the CEO of a developer suggest their game is "cursed" in an official, professionally produced video, let alone a video released to celebrate that game. But Colossal Order is not a typical developer. And Cities: Skylines 2 has not had anything close to a typical release.

In a "Winter Recap" video up today for Cities: Skylines 2 (C:S2), CEO Mariina Hallikainen says that her company's goal was to prevent the main issue they had with the original Cities: Skylines: continuing work on a game that was "not a technical masterpiece" for 10 years or more. The goal with C:S2 was to use the very latest technology and build everything new.

"We are trying to make a city-building game that will last for a decade," Hallikainen says in the video. "People didn't understand; we aren't using anything from Cities: Skylines. We're actually building everything new." Henri Haimakainen, game designer, says Colossal Order is "like fighting against ourselves, in a way. We are our own worst competition," in trying to deliver not only the original game, but more.

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Yes, some cats like to play fetch. It’s science!

A cat owner throws a tinfoil ball a few feet in front of their expectant cat twice. The cat chases after the tinfoil ball and retrieves it back to the owner both times, carrying it in its mouth. Credit: Elizabeth Renner.

Cats have a well-deserved reputation for being independent-minded and aloof, preferring to interact with humans on their own quirky terms. So you'd never see a cat playing fetch like a dog, right? Wrong. That sort of play behavior is more common than you might think—one of our cats was an avid fetcher in her younger years, although she's slowed down a bit with age. However, the evidence to date for specific fetching behaviors in cats is largely anecdotal.

That's why a team of British scientists set out to study this unusual feline play behavior more extensively, reporting their findings in a new paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. The researchers concluded that most cats who like to play fetch learned how to do so without any explicit training and that cats are generally in control when playing fetch with their humans. Specifically, cats will play fetch longer and retrieve the thrown object more times when they initiate the game rather than their owners. In other words, cats are still gonna be cats.

Many different animal species exhibit play behavior, according to the authors, and it's most common in mammals and birds. When cats play, their behavior tends to resemble hunting behavior commonly seen in European wildcats and lynxes: rapid approach and retreat, leaping, chasing, pouncing, and stalking. Initially, as kittens, they engage in more social forms of play with their littermates like wrestling, and they tend to engage in more solitary play as adults—the opposite of dogs, who usually start playing with objects alone before transitioning to social play.

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AI companion robot helps some seniors fight loneliness, but others hate it

Par : Beth Mole
ElliQ, an AI companion robot from Intuition Robotics.

Enlarge / ElliQ, an AI companion robot from Intuition Robotics. (credit: ElliQ)

Some seniors in New York are successfully combating their loneliness with an AI-powered companion robot named ElliQ—while others called the "proactive" device a nag and joked about taking an ax to it.

The home assistant robot, made by Israel-based Intuition Robotics, is offered to New York seniors through a special program through the state's Office for the Aging (NYSOFA). Over the past year, NYSOFA has partnered with Intuition Robotics to bring ElliQ to over 800 seniors struggling with loneliness. In a report last week, officials said they had given out hundreds and had only 150 available devices.

ElliQ includes a tablet and a two-piece lamp-like robot with a head that lights up and rotates to face a speaker. Marketed as powered by "Cognitive AI technology," it proactively engages in conversations with users, giving them reminders and prompts, such as asking them how they're doing, telling them it's time to check their blood pressure or take their medicine, and asking if they want to have a video call with family. Speaking with a female voice, the robot is designed to hold human-like conversations, engage in small talk, express empathy, and share humor. It can provide learning and wellness programs, such as audiobooks and relaxation exercises.

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After hack, 23andMe gives users 30 days to opt out of class-action waiver

After hack, 23andMe gives users 30 days to opt out of class-action waiver

Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

Shortly after 23andMe confirmed that hackers stole ancestry data of 6.9 million users, 23andMe has updated its terms of service, seemingly cutting off a path previously granted to users seeking public accountability when resolving disputes.

According to a post on Hacker News, the "23andMe Team" notified users in an email that "important updates were made to the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section" of 23andMe's terms of service on November 30. This was done, 23andMe told users, "to include procedures that will encourage a prompt resolution of any disputes and to streamline arbitration proceedings where multiple similar claims are filed."

In the email, 23andMe told users that they had 30 days to notify the ancestry site that they disagree with the new terms. Otherwise, 23andMe users "will be deemed to have agreed to the new terms." The process for opting out is detailed in the site's terms of service, instructing users to send written notice of their decision to opt out in an email to arbitrationoptout@23andme.com.

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Apple admits to secretly giving governments push notification data

Apple admits to secretly giving governments push notification data

Enlarge (credit: Dilok Klaisataporn | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Governments have been secretly tracking the app activity of an unknown number of people using Apple and Google smartphones, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) revealed today.

In a letter demanding that the Department of Justice update or repeal policies prohibiting companies from informing the public about these covert government requests, Wyden warned that "Apple and Google are in a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps."

Push notifications are used to provide a wide variety of alerts to app users. A friendly ding or text alert on the home screen notifies users about new text messages, emails, social media comments, news updates, packages delivered, gameplay nudges—basically any app activity where notifications have been enabled could be tracked by governments, Wyden said.

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Unproven AI face scans may estimate age for porn access in UK

Unproven AI face scans may estimate age for porn access in UK

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AI face detection now counts among the tools that could be used to help adult sites effectively estimate UK user ages and block minors from accessing pornography, the UK's Office of Communications (Ofcom) said in a press release on Tuesday.

The only foreseeable problem, Ofcom noted: There's little evidence that the AI method of age estimation will be fair, reliable, or effective.

The UK's legal age to watch porn is 18. To enforce that restriction, under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will soon require all apps and sites displaying adult content to introduce so-called "age assurance" systems that verify and/or estimate user ages. Sites and apps risk potential fines if they fail to "ensure that children are not normally able to encounter pornography on their service."

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Hackers stole ancestry data of 6.9 million users, 23andMe finally confirmed

Hackers stole ancestry data of 6.9 million users, 23andMe finally confirmed

Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

It has now been confirmed that an additional 6.9 million 23andMe users had ancestry data stolen after hackers accessed thousands of accounts by likely reusing previously leaked passwords.

23andMe previously disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that 0.1 percent of users—approximately 14,000, TechCrunch estimated—had accounts accessed by hackers using compromised passwords.

After the cyberattack was reported, Wired estimated that "at least a million data points from 23andMe accounts" that were "exclusively about Ashkenazi Jews" and data points from "hundreds of thousands of users of Chinese descent" seemed to be exposed. But beyond those estimates, for two months, all the public knew was that 23andMe's filing noted that “a significant number of files containing profile information about other users’ ancestry" were also accessed.

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Meta’s “overpriced” ad-free subscriptions make privacy a “luxury good”: EU suit

Meta’s “overpriced” ad-free subscriptions make privacy a “luxury good”: EU suit

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

Backlash over Meta's ad-free subscription model in the European Union has begun just one month into its launch.

On Thursday, Europe's largest consumer group, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), filed a complaint with the network of consumer protection authorities. In a press release, BEUC alleges that Meta's subscription fees for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram are so unreasonably high that they breach laws designed to protect user privacy as a fundamental right.

"Meta has been rolling out changes to its service in the EU in November 2023, which require Facebook and Instagram users to either consent to the processing of their data for advertising purposes by the company or pay in order not to be shown advertisements," BEUC's press release said. "The tech giant’s pay-or-consent approach is unfair and must be stopped."

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