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Zoom adds support for end-to-end encryption, but when it's enabled several features like cloud recording, telephone dial-in, and 1:1 private chat will not work — Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
Apple says App Store prices for apps and IAPs in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa will increase in the next few days — Apple announced today that the App Store prices in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa will be increased in the next days.
Sources: Apple is working on third-generation entry-level AirPods without noise cancellation and a smaller second version of the AirPods Pro — - New AirPods earbuds planned to be announced as early as 2021 — Hit accessory sees new competition from Amazon, Google, others
PayPal terminates account of web hosting service Epik, home to right-wing sites like the Proud Boys domain and Gab; source says over Epik's digital currency — PayPal, Hunter Biden, Bloomberg News, and several Avengers were targeted in a series of unhinged open letters from Epik after PayPal terminated its account.
The 2020 election may be among the most consequential in modern memory, but it’s not just candidates that are on the ballot. Voters in 34 states are deciding on 129 measures, including several that touch on the way we use technology.
Among these are three initiatives in California, Massachusetts, and Michigan that could affect access to and control of data, with national implications for both citizen and consumer rights.
State and local initiatives are typically bellwethers, with successful ones serving as models for other states. And in areas such as data and technology, where there aren’t always federal regulations, state laws can often become the de facto national policy when companies choose to match the highest regulatory standard.
Here are three ballot initiatives worth watching on November 3.
California’s Proposition 24, the “Consumer Personal Information Law and Agency Initiative,” seeks to expand the state’s data privacy law, the California Consumer Protection Act. The CCPA went into effect in January and already represents the country’s most comprehensive privacy bill.
Prop 24 would close several perceived gaps in the current law. It would create an enforcement agency, change its “Do not sell” provision to “Do not sell or share,” and expand the type of sensitive information that users could opt out of sharing with advertisers, like data on health, race, genetics, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and union membership. Additionally, Prop 24 would allow the new enforcement agency to take immediate action, including fines, for CCPA violations, rather than wait out the 30-day grace period that companies currently receive to “cure” the breach.
But these expanded privacy measures come at a cost. Consumers would still have to opt into the protections, rather than opt out, and companies would be allowed to charge more for goods and services to make up for revenue they lose by not getting to sell data. This could make it harder for low-income and other marginalized groups to exercise their privacy rights.
Prop 24 has divided privacy- and rights-oriented groups like the NAACP (which is for the bill), the ACLU (which is against it), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (which has remained neutral, calling it “a mixed bag of partial steps forward and backwards”). Tech companies and associations like the Internet Association and chambers of commerce have remained surprisingly quiet.
Spending on the Yes campaign has vastly outstripped No, with most money coming from Bay Area real estate developer Alastair Mactaggart, who was behind both this proposition and the earlier one that led to the CCPA. An October poll commissioned by the Yes on Prop 24 campaign showed that 77% of Californians were in favor of the measure.
But regardless of the outcome, other states will likely follow suit. California’s CCPA led to at least nine similar regulations across the country, in states including Maryland, Nevada, and Massachusetts.
While voters in California are considering how best to protect consumer data, Question 1 in Massachusetts asks voters to consider how, and with whom, consumer data should be shared.
The data in question is the wireless information transmitted by cars, known as telematics. If the question passes, cars made in 2022 or later and sold in Massachusetts would be required to have standardized, open-access telematics systems accessible to the owner or anyone else. In practice, this means third-party repair shops, who are leading the support for the bill.
Ultimately, the debate is about consumers’ right to choose who gets to repair their devices.
Massachusetts passed the country’s first right-to-repair law in 2013, requiring car manufacturers to sell diagnostic data to third-party shops. But that did not include wireless data, which would be covered by this measure.
Car manufacturers are opposed, saying the measure does not give them enough time to safely update car systems without exposing them to security risks. But each side also has broader support at the national level. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration echoes concerns about cybersecurity, while Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as consumer groups like Consumer Reports, support the legislation. Warren, the state’s senior senator, has called for national right-to-repair legislation.
The outcome of this ballot initiative will have broad implications outside Massachusetts; the 2013 law led car manufacturers to share their data across the country.
While the ballot initiatives in California and Massachusetts have support and opposition on both sides, voters in Michigan are expected to overwhelmingly support the state’s Proposition 2, which would require a search warrant for electronic data and communications. According to Ballotpedia, the proposal has no known opposition.
It joins a number of other state regulations explicitly regulating police access to electronic data. In 2014, Missouri became the first state to protect electronic communications from search and seizure, and New Hampshire passed a similar bill in 2018; both were overwhelmingly popular, with support from 80% of voters in Missouri and 75% in New Hampshire.
In 2019, Utah went a step further, becoming the first state to protect electronic data collected from third parties or remote servers—including social-media data, search histories, and cell-phone location data—from warrantless access. It also passed unanimously.
Oculus owners will lose all store purchases and account information if they delete their Facebook accounts — If you've linked your Oculus account to Facebook and decide you want to delete your Facebook account, your purchases on Oculus will be lost as well.
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Weibo users describe how political discussions on the platform have become even more muted amid pervasive censorship, as some resort to using burner accounts — Thousands of Weibo accounts have been deleted as China's government cracks down on free speech.
Profile of Palantir CEO Alex Karp and the controversies around Palantir's trustworthiness; Karp claims his progressivism offsets Thiel's relationship with Trump — The tech giant helps governments and law enforcement decipher vast amounts of data — to mysterious and, some say, dangerous ends.
Zest AI raises $15M for its AI-powered tech that it claims can help financial institutions reduce bias in loan portfolios, bringing its total VC funding to $87M — Zest AI, a company developing AI-powered loan decisioning products, today closed a $15 million funding round led by Insight Partners.
FinLocker, whose software helps consumers expedite the mortgage approval process, raises $19.8M Series A and announces a commercial agreement with TransUnion — FinLocker, a Clayton-based financial technology company, has raised $19.8 million in venture capital and reached a commercial agreement with a major credit bureau.
Zoom deleted events planned for Oct. 23 on alleged censorship by the company after Zoom canceled an SFSU talk in Sept.; Zoom says the events violated its TOS — Zoom shut down a series of events meant to discuss what organizers called “censorship” by the company.
Lee Kun-hee, who was chairman and chief executive of Samsung Electronics from 1998 to 2008 and its chairman since 2010, has died at age 78 — Mr. Lee was convicted — and pardoned — twice for white-collar crimes, in a sign of the ills in South Korea's relationship with its business dynasties.
Fitbit CEO James Park says its app reached 500,000 paid subscribers this year and talks about expectations for life under Google, competing with Apple, more — Fitbit CEO James Park discusses the company's new products and competition as it prepares to close its acquisition by Google
DoorDash is investing in a restaurant, Oakland's Burma Bites, for the first time, says the investment will help it build a more permanent delivery model — For the first time in the company's history, the food delivery app DoorDash has co-invested in a restaurant.
Rokt, which helps e-commerce companies make personalized marketing offers during and after transactions, raises $80M Series D, at a valuation of $450M+ — Rokt tools let companies make personalized marketing offers during and after transactions — Rokt Pte Ltd., an eight-year-old e …
Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 17 on their platforms' handling of NY Post story and the election — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 17th.
Lyft says riders will have the option to pay for and split fares using Venmo in the coming weeks — Lyft riders will soon have the option for paying and splitting fares using Venmo, the company said in a blog posting this morning. Venmo joins Lyft's other payment methods of PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, Lyft Cash and more.
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