grabey

[grabey]

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Justice Department has filed charges against Facebook for allegedly discriminating against US workers in its hiring practices. The complaint, filed on Thursday, alleges that the company maintained a separate job listing process for visa-eligible job postings, both limiting the visibility of the job listing online and insisting that job seekers submit their applications by mail.

According to the Justice Department, the result was a systematic effort to discourage US workers from applying for an entire class of jobs at Facebook.

“Facebook’s discriminatory recruitment and hiring practice is routine, ongoing, and widespread,” the complaint reads. “It discriminates against U.S. workers because of their immigration or citizenship status, and it harms them by limiting their ability to apply, to be considered, and to be hired.”

In simple terms, prosecutors believe Facebook was hiding job listings reserved for visa-bound workers that the company had already contacted and knew it wanted to hire. But in its rush to clear the lane for its preferred applicant, the company allegedly violated important labor rules.

The Justice Department’s case focuses on permanent labor certifications at Facebook, which enable visa holders to work in the United States indefinitely (as opposed to guest worker visas like the H-1B that must be renewed every few years). US law requires an extensive process for permanent labor certification and approves applications only after a company attests that it could not find a qualified US worker for the position.

But when a guest worker at Facebook expressed interest in a permanent position, the complaint alleges, “Facebook diverged from its normal recruiting protocols by not advertising the position on its external website, Facebook.com/careers, by not accepting online applications, and by requiring interested applicants to apply to the position by mail.”

In one particularly strange note, the complaint notes that visa-linked job openings were listed in the print version of the San Francisco Chronicle but not the paper’s website, even though the Chronicle offers free online listing for every ad.

Prosecutors say the double standard has been in place since at least the beginning of 2018 and has yet to be remedied. Facebook received more than 2,600 permanent labor certifications for its employees during the named period.

Reached for comment, Facebook said it was cooperating with the Department of Justice but disagreed with its findings. “Facebook has been cooperating with the DOJ in its review of this issue,” a representative said, “and while we dispute the allegations in the complaint, we cannot comment further on pending litigation.”

from Blogger The Justice Department suing Facebook for violations of labor law

[grabey]

Photo by Zhang Liyun/Xinhua via Getty Images

China’s Chang’e 5 mission, tasked with bringing a sample of lunar dirt back to Earth, successfully landed on the Moon on Tuesday, marking the third time that China has placed a robotic spacecraft on the lunar surface. The lander will soon begin digging up samples of lunar soil, which will be returned to our planet later this month.

Chang’e 5 launched from China’s Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on November 23rd, flying to space on top of a Long March 5 rocket. It’s a complex mission consisting of four main spacecraft that will all work together to bring between 2 to 4 kilograms of lunar dirt back to Earth. The quartet traveled to the Moon attached together and got into lunar orbit on November 28th.

Two of those four spacecraft include a lander and an ascent vehicle, which are stacked on top of each other. On November 28th, the pair separated from the third spacecraft, Chang’e-5’s service module, which remained in orbit around the Moon. The lander and ascent module touched down on the lunar surface today, according to CGTN, though a time was not provided.

Now over the next few days, the lander will use a robotic arm to drill into the lunar dirt and scoop up rocks, storing them inside a sample container. Once the sample is collected, the robotic arm will transfer the container to the ascent module on top of the lander. Then it’ll be time for Chang’e-5’s second takeoff, with the ascent module blasting off from the lander with the sample in tow. The ascent module will meet up with the service module in orbit, and together the spacecraft will head back to Earth.

The sample will eventually be transferred to the fourth spacecraft, a reentry capsule tasked with bringing the material to the ground. It’s unclear exactly when that landing will take place, but it could occur around December 16th or 17th. China is targeting somewhere in Inner Mongolia for the landing spot.

If all goes to plan, China will become one of three countries to bring back samples from the Moon. US astronauts retrieved lunar soil samples during the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s, and the former Soviet Union brought back lunar material through a series of robotic missions in the 1970s. In fact, the last successful lunar sample return mission occurred in 1976 with the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission. With Chang’e-5, China could bring the first material back from the Moon in nearly half a century.

Chang’e-5 isn’t the only mission that could bring rocks from another world to Earth this month. Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission, which has been in space since 2014, is slated to return a sample of material from an asteroid named Ryugu this weekend. That means Earth could get two precious samples of unspoiled space rocks in December 2020.

from Blogger China's Chang'e 5 mission lands on the Moon to collect lunar soil

[grabey]

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Brevity is the soul of wit — and the heart of TikTok — but the company wants to see if giving people the ability to record longer videos is something its creators want to explore.

The company is reportedly rolling out the ability to record videos up to three minutes in length, according to social media consultant Matt Navarra. Navarra tweeted a screenshot of the update, which notes the feature is still in early access stages. The Verge has reached out to TikTok for more information.

Currently, TikTok allows all creators to upload videos up to a minute in length. It’s proven to be a successful length — longer than a Vine, shorter than most YouTube videos. The constraint of finding ways to make something funny within 60 short, sweet seconds is part of what makes TikTok work. Not having to focus more than a minute of attention on one video and being able to easily flip to the next right after is a welcome feature in a world dominated by longer content.

Three-minute videos on TikTok feel like a miniature replica of YouTube, back when YouTube videos were shorter than 10 minutes. Will this fill the space left by Quibi’s demise? Three minutes is a lot of time. It could allow for full movie trailers or makeup tutorials — things that are found more often than not on YouTube.

Look, it might not be the worst thing — people were upset when Twitter doubled the length of a tweet from 140 to 280 characters, but that’s mostly worked out fine. Still, trepidation is warranted. Short videos defined TikTok — I’m not sure I want to sit through someone’s three-minute recap of Riverdale just because they have the ability to do so.

from Blogger TikTok is reportedly rolling out the ability to record three-minute videos

[grabey]

Photo by Erin Schaff - Pool/Getty Images

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump threatened to veto an annual defense bill authorizing billions of dollars in military spending unless Congress agreed to strip away a pivotal internet law that provides Facebook, Google, and Twitter with legal immunity over content posted by their users.

The result is a standoff holding up one of Congress’ most vital pieces of legislation and placing Section 230 under an unusually imminent threat.

A foundational legal protection for online speech platforms, Section 230 has become controversial in recent years, and there is growing desire across the ideological spectrum to reform the law. During the primary campaign, President-elect Joe Biden said Section 230 “should be revoked, immediately,” responding to concerns that Facebook was shirking its responsibility to moderate the platform. Republicans have taken issue with 230 for the opposite reason, seeing it as granting platforms an inappropriately broad license to censor speech.

The issue became particularly urgent for President Trump in the days after the election, when he used Twitter to spread baseless accusations of election fraud. The platform responded by labeling the tweets as misinformation about a civic process (a specifically protected category on Twitter) and restricting their reach.

Now, the outgoing president has tied 230 repeal to defense funding, one of the few pieces of legislation that is seen as a “must-pass” by members of Congress. The National Defense Authorization Act primarily authorizes spending by the military and other national security agencies, so a failure to pass some version of the bill could have severe consequences for the nation as a whole.

The “must-pass” nature of the bill makes it the perfect target for lawmakers looking to sneak their own partisan priorities (known as riders) into a bill that will surely pass by the end of the fiscal year. It’s a long-standing process for lawmakers, but rarely attempted for an issue as delicate as 230 reform.

In a series of tweets last night, the president was unequivocal in his desire to attach a repeal of Section 230 to the bill. “Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to ‘Big Tech’ (the only companies in America that have it — corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security and Election Integrity,” Trump said. He continued, saying that if the “very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the [NDAA], I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk.”

As of publication, the first tweet in Trump’s Tuesday night thread was pinned to the top of his Twitter profile.

This year’s NDAA includes a provision to rename 10 military installations that currently honor Confederate military officers, a policy President Trump has strenuously opposed. In November, The New York Times reported that the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told NDAA negotiators in Congress that Trump could be open to signing a version of the bill that renamed Confederate-named military bases if Democrats agreed to repeal Section 230.

As of Tuesday, Republicans were also working to include bills like Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-MS) Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act, according to Axios. But Wicker’s bill doesn’t amount to a full repeal of the tech industry’s liability shield, and it’s unclear whether the White House would support a version of the NDAA with Wicker’s bill as a rider.

The NDAA is typically approved by veto-proof majorities. So even if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would agree to placing this year’s NDAA on the floor, Congress could easily overrule Trump’s veto. But according to reporting from The Washington Post last month, McConnell has a policy against taking bills to the Senate floor for a vote when they’ve received a veto threat.

Still, some lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the original architects of Section 230, seem to think that Trump’s 230 threat holds little weight.

“I’d like to start for the Blazers, but it’s not going to happen either,” Wyden said in a statement Wednesday. “It is pathetic that Trump refuses to help unemployed workers, while he spends his time tweeting unhinged election conspiracies and demanding Congress repeal the foundation of free speech online.”

from Blogger Trump calls for last-minute 230 repeal as part of defense spending bill

[grabey]

Photo credit should read TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

Google violated US labor laws by spying on workers who were organizing employee protests, then firing two of them, according to a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today.

The complaint names two employees, Laurence Berland and Kathryn Spiers, both of whom were fired by the company in late 2019 in connection with employee activism. Berland was organizing against Google’s decision to work with IRI Consultants, a firm widely known for its anti-union efforts, when he was let go for reviewing other employees’ calendars. Now, the NLRB has found Google’s policy against employees looking at certain coworkers’ calendars is unlawful.

Several other employees were fired in the wake of the protests, but the NLRB found that only the terminations of Berland and Spiers violated labor laws.

“Google’s hiring of IRI is an unambiguous declaration that management will no longer tolerate worker organizing,” Berland said in a statement. “Management and their union busting cronies wanted to send that message, and the NLRB is now sending their own message: worker organizing is protected by law.”

Spiers was fired after she created a pop-up for Google employees visiting the IRI Consultants website. “Googlers have the right to participate in protected concerted activities,” the notification read, according to The Guardian. The company said Spiers had violated security policies, a statement that hurt her reputation in the tech community. Now, the NLRB has found the firing was unlawful.

“This week the NLRB issued a complaint on my behalf. They found that I was illegally terminated for trying to help my colleagues,” Spiers said. “Colleagues and strangers believe I abused my role because of lies told by Google management while they were retaliating against me. The NLRB can order Google to reinstate me, but it cannot reverse the harm done to my credibility.”

If Google chooses not to settle, the complaint will go before an administrative judge in the coming months, according to The New York Times. The company could be forced to pay back wages to both Berland and Spiers, and rehire them, if it loses the case.

Google, once known as the happiest company in tech, has been roiled in scandal in recent years. The company paid former executive Andy Rubin $90 million in the wake of a sexual harassment investigation, which set off a wave of protests at offices across the globe. More than 20,000 employees and contractors participated in the walkouts.

Workers have also protested the company’s decision to work with the Department of Defense on Project Maven, an AI initiative that could help the US improve its drone strike capabilities. In 2018, more than 3,100 employees signed a petition urging CEO Sundar Pichai to pull out of the project.

In a statement emailed to The Verge, a Google spokesperson doubled down on the company’s position. “We’re proud of that culture and are committed to defending it against attempts by individuals to deliberately undermine it — including by violating security policies and internal systems,” they said. “We’ll continue to provide information to the NLRB and the administrative judge about our decision to terminate or discipline employees who abused their privileged access to internal systems, such as our security tools or colleagues’ calendars. Such actions are a serious violation of our policies and an unacceptable breach of a trusted responsibility, and we will be defending our position.”

from Blogger Google company policies violated labor law - illegally spied on workers

[grabey]

Image: Apple

It might be happening a bit later than usual, but Apple has just announced the iPhone 12. Featuring the same 6.1-inch display size as the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR before it, the latest “main” iPhone — and likely the model most people will gravitate toward — is making the transition from an LCD screen to OLED. And as rumored, the phone has flat aluminum sides for an overall look that more closely matches the iPad Pro and iPad Air (plus the iPhone 4 from years ago).

The iPhone 12 will come in black, white, blue, red, and green. Pricing starts at $829. Preorders start this Friday, and the iPhone 12 will be available on October 23rd. For storage, you can pick between 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. Aside from the flat sides, it still largely resembles the iPhone 11. There’s still a notch at the top that houses Apple’s Face ID technology, though the bezels around the screen have been reduced — another perk of the OLED switch. (Crushingly, the combo Touch ID / power button from the new iPad Air didn’t make it to the iPhone this year.) Around back, the iPhone 12 has two cameras housed in a matte glass squircle, which makes for a nice contrast with the rest of the glossy back panel.

The iPhone 12’s OLED screen has a peak brightness of 1200 nits and supports Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and HLG. The glass is coated with what Apple describes as a “ceramic shield” for better durability when dropped. Water resistance has also been improved.

Apple’s latest iPhone is powered by the company’s new A14 Bionic processor, which the company says is the first smartphone chip built on a 5nm process, leading to improved performance and efficiency. Apple claims it’s “up to 50 percent faster” than the leading chips in Android smartphones. Same goes for the GPU, which Apple says is the best in any mobile phone.

The iPhone 12 represents Apple’s first major foray into 5G cellular technologies. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg was on hand during the event to announce the nationwide launch of the carrier’s sub-6 5G network. Apple says it has designed the iPhone 12 lineup to achieve ideal network performance while balancing battery life. A “smart data mode” uses LTE when your current activity doesn’t demand 5G speeds. Apple says it has tested 5G performance with 100 carriers across 30 countries to ensure a smooth launch. The iPhone supports both millimeter wave and sub-6 5G. The former offers ultra-fast speeds (but spotty coverage), while the latter provides a more consistent signal — but at speeds that very between good LTE and 500Mbps.

The iPhone 12 has a 12-megapixel f/1.6 main camera — the fastest aperture in any iPhone yet — and a 12MP ultrawide. Apple says low-light performance has improved, and the company has continued its advancements in computational photography to maximize detail and dynamic range. The front camera on the iPhone 12 is gaining Night Mode, as well.

Apple has also sought to improve wireless charging on the iPhone 12, which contains a “MagSafe” system with built-in magnets to guarantee that the iPhone properly lines up with supported MagSafe accessories. Cases, charges, and other accessories snap onto the iPhone 12 magnetically. Apple is introducing a dual wireless charger for the iPhone and Apple Watch that utilizes the new MagSafe tech.

 Image: Apple

As rumored, Apple is removing the charging brick from its iPhone 12 boxes, a move it says is meant to push forward the company’s environmental goals.

Alongside the 6.1-inch iPhone 12, Apple also introduced a smaller 5.4-inch model that it calls the iPhone 12 mini.

from Blogger Apple announces iPhone 12 with OLED screen and 5G speeds

[grabey]

Apple has just finished its “Hi, Speed” event, where it finally took the wraps off the four new iPhone 12 phones, which have all-new designs and will all support 5G wireless networks. Apple also unveiled the HomePod mini, a smaller and more affordable version of the HomePod smart speaker.

If you want to read the play-by-play of the event, check out our live blog with commentary from Dieter Bohn and Nilay Patel. But if you just want to read the biggest news from the show, we’ve got you covered right here.

Image: Apple

APPLE UNVEILS THE IPHONE 12, WHICH HAS A BRAND-NEW DESIGN AND 5G

The iPhone 12 has a new design with flat edges that harkens back to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. The standard 6.1-inch iPhone has two rear cameras, and both of them will now support night mode. It, and the entire iPhone 12 line, support 5G. And the iPhone 12 lineup’s screen also has a new “Ceramic Shield” glass cover that Apple claims will make the screen more durable. You can preorder the iPhone 12 on October 16th for $829 ahead of its October 23rd release.

Image: Apple

THE IPHONE 12 MINI IS A SMALLER IPHONE WITH AN EDGE-TO-EDGE SCREEN

Apple also revealed a new smaller iPhone, the iPhone 12 mini, which has a 5.4-inch screen and similar specs to the full-sized iPhone 12. You can preorder it on November 6th for $729, and it will be released on November 13th.

Image: Apple

THE IPHONE 12 PRO MAX IS APPLE’S BIGGEST IPHONE EVER

Apple announced a new Max-size iPhone, and its 6.7-inch screen is the biggest on an iPhone yet. The iPhone 12 Pro Max has three back cameras that offer a 5X optical zoom range, a LIDAR sensor for things like improved augmented reality apps and faster autofocus, and a stainless steel outer band. It will be available to preorder on November 6th for $1,099 and will launch on November 13th.

Apple is also launching a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, which will cost $999 and will be available for preorder on October 16th ahead of an October 23rd release date.

Image: Apple

APPLE EXPANDS THE HOMEPOD LINE WITH THE NEW HOMEPOD MINI

The new HomePod mini is smaller than the original model with a new rounded shape. Like the full-size HomePod, the mini has touch controls on the top, integration with Siri, and comes in two colors (space gray and white). It’s powered by an S5 chip, which first debuted in the Apple Watch Series 5. The HomePod mini will be out on November 16th for $99, and you can preorder it on November 6th.

VERIZON ANNOUNCES ITS NATIONWIDE 5G NETWORK

Verizon said that it’s now rolling out its nationwide 5G network, which it says will reach 200 million people. Previously, Verizon 5G exclusively used mmWave technology, which can be very fast but has limited coverage. Verizon’s nationwide 5G will take advantage of dynamic spectrum sharing” (DSS) technology, which allows the carrier to run both LTE and 5G side by side.

MAGSAFE IS BACK AS A NEW WIRELESS CHARGING OPTION FOR THE IPHONE 12

Apple has reintroduced MagSafe charging, though this time, it’s in the form of wireless charging pads for the new iPhone 12 lineup. There are two different options: the MagSafe Charger for charging one device at a time and the MagSafe Charger Duo for charging two at a time, including a flip-up spot to charge your Apple Watch.

Apple’s iPhone 12 cases also have a magnet inside so you can still use MagSafe chargers and also attach additional accessories like a wallet clip.

APPLE IS REMOVING THE WIRED HEADPHONES AND WALL CHARGER FROM THE IPHONE’S BOX

Like with the Apple Watch, Apple has chosen to remove the wall charger from the iPhone 12’s box, and the wired EarPods won’t be included, either. The included cable will be USB-C to Lightning.

from Blogger 7 biggest announcements of Apple's iPhone 12 event

[grabey]

A former Bletchley Park employee, Jean Valentine, handles part of the Turing Bombe — an electromechanical computer used to crack Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during WWII.

 Photo by Rui Vieira / PA Images via Getty Images

Facebook is donating £1 million ($1.3 million) to Bletchley Park, the UK center for Allied code-breaking during World War II that now operates as a museum.

The Bletchley Park Trust, a registered charity, announced in August that the site was facing a revenue shortfall of £2 million because of falling visitor numbers caused by the coronavirus. Because of the drop in revenue (amounting to 95 percent of annual income), the park announced it was considering 35 redundancies, constituting a third of its workforce. Facebook’s donation will save some of these jobs, but it’s not clear how many.

Facebook said it made the donation in recognition of Bletchley Park’s “ongoing legacy as a birthplace of modern computing.” The park’s code-breakers and mathematicians not only cracked the Enigma codes used by the Nazis, an achievement that some historians say shortened the length of the war by two to four years, but they also made key theoretical and engineering breakthroughs. These include the creation of Colossus, the world’s first programmable digital computer, and the work of Alan Turing, the English mathematician who is seen as the father of modern computer science and artificial intelligence. At its height, the code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park included some 10,000 employees, with women constituting roughly 75 of the workforce.

“The historic achievements of Alan Turing and the Bletchley team have benefited all of us greatly, including Facebook, and we’re thrilled to help preserve this spiritual home of modern computing,” said Steve Hatch, Facebook’s vice president of Northern Europe, in a press statement. The UK is Facebook’s biggest engineering hub outside the US, home to more than 3,000 employees, with more than half working in engineering roles.

In a press statement, Bletchley Park CEO Iain Standen said the site was “very grateful to Facebook” for its donation. “With this significant support, the Bletchley Park Trust will be better positioned to operate in the ‘new world’, and keep its doors open for future generations,” said Standen.

from Blogger Facebook is donating £1 million ($1.3 million) to Bletchley Park

[grabey]

 The US Army is trialing a new technology that could “fundamentally change how military canines are deployed in the future” — a pair of augmented reality goggles for dogs.

Dogs are put to many uses in modern militaries, from detecting explosives and searching for targets to accompanying infantry patrols in dangerous areas. Usually, handlers issue commands to their dogs using hand signals or laser pointers, but these techniques require line of sight with the dog, limiting how far canines can stray from their humans.

AR reality goggles, though, could let military dogs operate at a distance without handlers losing control. The goggles have a built-in camera that transmits live footage remotely, and a heads-up display that can be used to show commands to the dogs. A dog could be directed to search a specific location, for example, while their handler stays hidden.

The prototype goggles are being tested on a rottweiler named Mater. 

Image: US Army

The goggles are just a prototype for now and are being developed by Command Sight, a Seattle-based private company. The work is being overseen by the Army Research Laboratory. The prototype goggles are wired, but future versions will be wireless. According to a report from Stars and Stripes, the goggles’ command system works by simulating what a dog would see when following instructions via a laser pointer.

“Augmented reality works differently for dogs than for humans,” Army Research Laboratory senior scientist Stephen Lee said in a blog post. “AR will be used to provide dogs with commands and cues; it’s not for the dog to interact with it like a human does. This new technology offers us a critical tool to better communicate with military working dogs.”

The founder and CEO of Command Sight, A. J. Peper, said the work was in its early development but “extremely promising.”

“Much of the research to date has been conducted with my rottweiler, Mater,” said Peper. “His ability to generalize from other training to working through the AR goggles has been incredible. We still have a way to go from a basic science and development perspective before it will be ready for the wear and tear our military dogs will place on the units.”

The AR goggles themselves are adapted from an established piece of kit for military canines: protective goggles known as Rex Specs. Each pair of goggles has to be customized for its wearer, with 3D scans used to ascertain where exactly to place the HUD for optimal viewing angles. The familiarity of the Rex Specs, though, makes the goggles easy to adapt to, says Peper.

from Blogger The US Army is testing augmented reality goggles for dogs

[grabey]

Woot is offering one of the best pre-Prime Day 2020 deals so far. Apple’s AirPods Pro wireless earbuds are $190, which is the best price we’ve seen yet. This model usually costs $250, and Woot says this discount will last all day, or until it sells out.

If you were in the market for a set of AirPods, you’ll get the most for your money with this model. Unlike the less expensive AirPods, the AirPods Pro ship with silicon tips that provide a more comfortable fit that isolates more sound. Additionally, they feature better sound quality than the standard model, as well as active noise cancellation and an interesting Spatial Audio feature that can make content more immersive.

WOOT$190 (24% OFF)

So far, Woot is the only retailer to offer a sizable discount on the AirPods during Prime Day 2020 week. It’s possible that we’ll see some more AirPods deals as the week goes on, though that might not happen.

from Blogger Apple's AirPods Pro are cheaper than ever today at Woot

[grabey]

  TikTok and the John Lennon estate (alongside Universal Music) are marking the late singer’s 80th birthday by partnering to give creators access to several of his most popular songs.

“Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” “Imagine,” “Mind Games,” “Beautiful Boy,” “Woman,” “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” “Give Peace a Chance,” “Stand By Me,” “Nobody Told Me,” “Remember,” and “Gimme Some Truth” are all available now, according to the company. There’s also a dedicated John Lennon account, which currently boasts more than 23,000 followers. The first video was posted in September.

“We are absolutely thrilled and honored to bring John Lennon’s music to a new generation, and are eager to see how the TikTok community will be inspired to create to the sounds of Lennon’s repertoire,” Corey Sheridan, head of TikTok’s music partnerships and content operations, said. “Lennon’s timeless lyrics are as relevant now as when they were written.”

Lennon’s estate is the latest to partner with TikTok. TikTok partnered with the Prince estate in June to bring the singer’s catalog of songs to the app. It marked the first time that the Prince estate partnered with a shortform video app. Although Prince’s songs haven’t particularly taken off on the app — none have achieved the viral success on TikTok that songs from other artists have — it seems like an attempt by the estate and labels to try to make a play for a younger generation of music listeners. Adding several of Lennon’s songs, and hoping they pick up, is further testament to how important labels and estates view having an artist’s work on TikTok.

from Blogger TikTok partners with John Lennon estate to bring classic songs to creators

[grabey]

Twitter disabled some sharing options on a tweet from President Trump on Sunday, and labeled it for violating its rules against spreading coronavirus misinformation. In the tweet, the president said he had “A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can’t get it (immune) and can’t give it. Very nice to know!!”

Even with the label, the tweet is still available for those who click through the warning, in keeping with Twitter’s position that keeping tweets from elected officials visible is in the public interest. And attempts to share the tweet bring up an alert that reads “We try to prevent a Tweet like this that otherwise breaks the Twitter Rules from reaching more people.” The labeled tweet is still able to be quote-tweeted, however.

The president’s assertion that he’s now “immune” since he already contracted the coronavirus is likely what got the tweet flagged, since there have been documented cases of coronavirus patients becoming reinfected. A man in Nevada had COVID-19 in March then recovered in April only to fall ill again in May. The first documented case of a coronavirus reinfection occurred in Hong Kong, where the patient showed no symptoms the second time around.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has limited information about reinfections, but says “a person who has had and recovered from COVID-19 may have low levels of virus in their bodies for up to 3 months after diagnosis,” and that the science “does not imply a person is immune to reinfection” from the virus.

A Twitter spokesperson said it was not the first time the platform has disabled sharing on a tweet by the president containing incorrect information. In addition to updating its policies last month that it would label or remove tweets with false information about election rigging and results, Twitter also said it would label posts from candidates prematurely declaring victory. And Twitter said back in March that it was taking a “zero-tolerance approach” to coronavirus misinformation on its platform.

Last week’s updates further tightened the rules around spreading misinformation, and encouraged people to quote-tweet and “add their own commentary” to tweets before retweeting someone. The update also included plans to flag or remove tweets meant to incite interference in the election or election results, and tweets from political figures with more than 100,000 followers — which includes President Trump — labeled as “misleading” are now more difficult to access

Twitter has labeled several of Trump’s tweets for violating its policy on manipulated media and civic and election integrity for tweeting falsehoods about mail-in voting.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday.

from Blogger Twitter flags Trump's tweet “immune” violated its rules against spreading coronavirus misinformation

[grabey]

Pakistan’s telecom regulator has banned 

TikTok, claiming the app failed to remove “immoral” and “indecent” content. The ban comes just over a month after the regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, banned dating apps, including Tinder and Grindr, for the same reason.

TikTok had been installed 43 million times in Pakistan, according to the analytics firm Sensor Tower. That made it the app’s 12th largest market in terms of installs. The firm estimates TikTok has been installed 2.2 billion times total across Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.

The ban comes just a few months after TikTok was removed in India over concerns around the app’s Chinese ownership. The United States is still moving to ban TikTok over those same concerns. The ban itself is currently on hold due to a court order, but other restrictions are set to go into place in mid-November.

TikTok has remained a cultural phenomenon even as it comes under immense pressure from regulators across the globe. But the ongoing bans — particularly, the pending ban in the US — pose real threats to the app’s growth, as they could indefinitely cut off new installs in major markets like the US and India.

Regulators in Pakistan said they gave TikTok “considerable time” to respond to their concerns, but the company “failed to fully comply.” A recent transparency report shows that government authorities in Pakistan asked TikTok to restrict 40 accounts during the first half of 2020, but the company only restricted two of them.

from Blogger Pakistan bans TikTok for ‘immoral’ and ‘indecent’ videos

[grabey]

Facebook has removed a post where President Donald Trump falsely claimed the novel coronavirus was less deadly than an ordinary flu. Earlier today, Trump wrote on Facebook and Twitter that America had “learned to live with” the upcoming flu season, “just like we are learning to live with” COVID-19 — which, Trump incorrectly asserted, is “in most populations far less lethal!!!” Facebook confirmed to CNN that the post was removed for breaking its rules against COVID-19 misinformation.

Twitter did not remove a tweet with the same message, but it added a warning label and restricted interactions with the post.

As CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan tweeted, Facebook has pledged to remove COVID-19 misinformation that can “contribute to imminent physical harm.” That includes false claims about “the location and severity” of COVID-19 outbreaks. We don’t know the exact mortality rate of the novel coronavirus, but there’s substantial evidence that it’s more deadly than the flu, and it’s almost certainly not “far less lethal” even for lower-risk populations. Trump also claimed that “sometimes over 100,000” people die from the flu each year, while the real number is between 24,000 and 62,000 American deaths in recent years. COVID-19 has killed over 210,000 Americans since March.

Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week and spent the weekend at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center before being discharged yesterday. He announced his departure by downplaying the severity of the virus. More generally, a recent study suggests that Trump has been a major driver of what misinformation experts have called the COVID-19 “infodemic” — a collection of false claims about the effects of the virus and the effectiveness of vaccines, mask-wearing, social distancing, and other measures.

  from Blogger Facebook removes Trump post about COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu

[grabey]

It’s finally here: Apple has announced that its iPhone event will take place on October 13th, with the invitation teasing the announcement with the phrase “Hi, Speed.”

It’s no surprise that this year’s iPhone event is a bit later than normal, as Apple said in July that the iPhone would miss its usual September launch window. The later launch is likely due to delays created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple hasn’t totally sat out of fall hardware season, though, unveiling new Apple Watches and iPads in a mid-September event.

The rumored iPhone 12 lineup is expected to have a new design with squared-off edges (perhaps similar to the iPad Pro) and support for 5G networks. It’s also supposed to come in four different models, including a new 5.4-inch size (which would be smaller than the iPhone 11 Pro) and a 6.7-inch size (which would be the largest iPhone ever). But if you were hoping that the new iPhones would have buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rates, well, you might have to wait for another year. If you want to know more about what’s rumored for the new iPhones, we’ve got a full roundup of everything we think we know right here.

Apple is rumored to have a number of other products in the works, including new over-ear headphones, a smaller and more affordable HomePod, and a competitor to Tile’s location tracking tags that are apparently called AirTags. There’s always the chance Apple shares more about those at the event. And Apple announced in June that it would be releasing its first ARM-based Mac by the end of this year, so we could learn more about that, too.

from Blogger On October 13th the next Apple iPhone will be announced

[grabey]

Shoemaker Cole Haan is collaborating with Slack, everyone’s favorite occasionally offline workplace messaging service on a new pair of limited-edition sneakers. The Slack-branded shoes are expected to be properly unveiled Wednesday when they’re set to “drop” (am I saying that right?). But for now Cole Haan has teased the designs in a dimly lit image posted to its social media channels.

I may live to regret saying this but... I actually don’t hate the look of them? Cole Haan is producing four different versions of the sneaker which each use one of Slack’s primary colors for their soles, and they all have small Slack logos on the heel cap. To be clear, I am absolutely not in the market for a pair of workplace-messaging-app-branded sneakers, but if I were then these are probably the ones I’d go for.

According to Cole Haan’s landing page for the sneakers, they were designed “with the Slack crew, over Slack.” It also notes that they’re limited edition, so don’t expect them to become a permanent fixture in Cole Haan’s shoe lineup. The shoemaker previously collaborated with Slack on a promotional video, in which Cole Haan talked about how it uses the messaging service.

If you’re looking to complete your Slack look, then might I suggest also investing in a pair of Slack branded socks? They’re available in your choice of cream or purple, and the listing advertises that they’re knitted “with care” in North Carolina.

from Blogger Slack is down... to collaborate on these limited-edition sneakers

[grabey]

Today’s announcement of a Dune delay meant that Warner Bros. would have to shuffle its schedule, and now we have new dates for the studio’s biggest upcoming movies. Deadline and Variety report that The Batman is getting delayed yet again, moving from the October 1st, 2021 date now occupied by Dune to March 4th, 2022.

That March 4th slot was intended to be for the as-yet unrevealed Minecraft: The Movie, which is now without a release date. Black Adam, the DC Comics movie starring Dwayne Johnson, has also been taken off the schedule after previously being set for December 22nd 2021.

Filling that slot is a movie that will actually now come sooner than expected: Lana Wachowski’s Matrix sequel. The Matrix 4 was originally planned for release on April 22nd, 2022.

The Batman was said to have hit a production setback recently when star Robert Pattinson reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

from Blogger The Batman is delayed until 2022 whileThe Matrix 4 is now coming next year