Appeals Court Upholds Ban of TikTok

December 6, 2024Security, TikTokSecurityJenThorpe

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that TikTok can be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns, upholding a federal law requiring the popular social media app to shed its Chinese ownership to keep operating, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Congress has the power to take action against TikTok to protect U.S. interests.

The ruling rejected a First Amendment challenge brought by the app and several of its star users, who argued the ban was an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.

The sell-or-ban law — signed by President Biden in April— passed with bipartisan support after lawmakers reviewed classified briefings from the intelligence community about China’s ability to use TikTok to surveil Americans and spread Chinese propaganda.

“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote for the court.

TikTok, a U.S. entity owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has claimed that American security fears are speculative and overblown. The ban’s terms are set to take effect in mid-January, but that doesn’t mean that TikTok will necessarily disappear from app stores by that time.

CNBC reported: A federal appeals court on Friday cited national security concerns as it upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell the popular social media app TikTok next month or face an effective ban in the United States.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., rejected TikTok’s argument that the law is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans who use the app.

TikTok said later Friday that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court decision.

If ByteDance fails to sell TikTok by Jan. 19, the law would require app store companies, such as Apple, and Google, and internet hosting providers to stop supporting TikTok, which would effectively ban the app.

The Hill reported: A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the popular app or face a U.S. ban.

A three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the law does not violate the First Amendment, as TikTok argued. The decision brings a ban one step closer to reality, with about a month until the law goes into effect.

The divest-or-ban law moved rapidly through Congress earlier this year amid widespread bipartisan national security concerns over the app’s China-based parent company ByteDance. It was signed by President Biden in April.

In my opinion, it appears that lawmakers want make sure that TikTok is banned from the U.S., and are giving ByteDance short notice on when that should happen.

The Rise of ChatGPT: OpenAI’s Path to 300 Million Users #1784

December 5, 2024PodcastKirk

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has reached an impressive milestone with 1 billion daily messages and 300 million weekly active users. CEO Sam Altman shared this growth, highlighting its increasing role in daily life and its widespread adoption by over 1.3 million US developers. This marks a sharp rise from February 2023, when it first hit 100 million weekly users. OpenAI is also gearing up for 12 days of live streams showcasing new tools, possibly including the video-generating AI tool Sora. Users are advised to stay mindful of sharing personal data.

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Pantone Color of the Year 2025 is Mocha Mousse

December 5, 2024design2025, pantoneAndrew

For 2025 Pantone has announced Mocha Mousse as the Color of the Year. Officially PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, the colour is “a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.”

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, explains, “Underpinned by our desire for every day pleasures, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic, Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace aspirational and luxe. Infused with subtle elegance and earthy refinement, Mocha Mousse presents a discrete and tasteful touch of glamour. A flavorful brownshade, Mocha Mousse envelopes us with its sensorial warmth.”

This year’s Mocha Mousse follows on from last year’s Peach Fuzz and for the full story on this year’s color choice, there’s a comprehensive Pantone feature on the Color of the Year. I’d suggest that this year, going from Peach Fuzz to Mocha Mousse is more of a evolution in color rather than the distinctive breaks that are more usual.

It’s also 26 years of the Pantone Color of the year. Back in 2000, it was PANTONE 15-4020 Cerulean and for those paying attention, that was the colour namechecked in The Devil Wears Prada when Andy gets a dressing down from Miranda on her choice of jumper.

As with previous years, Pantone has worked with other partners to transform Mocha Mousse into more than just colours. Continuing the existing relationship, Motorola has introduced two special edition smartphones, the edge 50 neo and the razr 50 ultra. They’re currently out of stock but you can be notified when they’re ready. In addition to this year’s Color of the Year, there are other Pantone color choices for the phones such as Poinciana and Nautical Blue.

Although there doesn’t seem to be a formal arrangement with Microsoft which was in place for 2022’s Very Peri, there are plenty of Mocha Mousse wallpapers to download. Stay bang on trend in your next online meeting.

If you are a designer, all the colour standards are on Pantone’s site, including some downloads for Adobe products. The codes for PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mouse are sRGB: 164 120 100 and Hex: #A47864.

Mocha Mousse imagery courtesy of Pantone. Edge and Razr photos courtesy of Motorola.

Waymo Robotaxies Are Coming To Miami

December 5, 2024carsWaymoJenThorpe

Fresh off of successfully becoming a fixture on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles despite the please of pedestrians, Alphabet-owned robotaxi service Waymo announced plans to set up a shop in Miami starting next year, according to an announcement made by the company Thursday, Gizmodo reported.

Waymo has tested its vehicles in Florida in the past but said it will be “reacquainting” itself with the Sunshine State by rolling out Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles equipped with its autonomous driving technology starting in early 2025. It plans to make rides widely available in 2026, allowing Miami’s to order a ride through its Waymo One app.

The Miami fleet will be managed by Moove, an African-based mobility fintech company that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing, logistics, and delivery drivers. The company, valued at $750 million netted a $100 million investment from Uber earlier this year.

CNBC reported: Waymo is setting its sights on its next location: the Sunshine State.

The Alphabet-owned company announced Thursday that it will be hitting the roads in Miami. Waymo said it will first begin cruising through the Florida city with human safety drivers in 2025 before opening doors to riders for its robotaxi service through Waymo One app in 2026.

The expansion into Miami is indicative of Waymo’s growing confidence in operating its self-driving vehicles in harsher weather conditions in large metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Waymo first tested in Miami in 2019, which the company said helped improve the ability of its self-driving vehicles to navigate in wet and rainy conditions.

“We deepened our learning and understanding of the Waymo Driver’s performance in adverse weather conditions,” a company spokesperson said.

TechCrunch reported it is partnering with Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers financing to gig workers, to handle fleet management operation for its robotaxi service in Phoenix, and soon, Miami.

The partnership marks several firsts. It will signal Waymo’s entry into Miami. And it’s also the first time Moove will enter the U.S. market and work with autonomous vehicles. Today, Moove operates in various cities across Africa, the Middle East, India, and the U.K., and has raised over $400 million from backers like Mubadala Investment Company and BlackRock. Earlier this year, Moove scored $100 million in a round led by Uber.

The partnership with Moove signals that Waymo signals that Waymo is keen to outsource the commercial side of the business and focus on developing the self-driving as a driver-as-a-service model.

In my opinion, Waymo’s robotaxi services could be very useful for people who want to ride in a Waymo vehicle. Ideally, it could make things easier for people who need a ride somewhere.

Amazon Sued By For Excluding Neighborhoods From Prime Delivery

December 4, 2024amazonamazonJenThorpe

Washington, D.C.’s attorney general sued Amazon on Wednesday, accusing the company of covertly depriving residents in certain ZIP codes in the nation’s capitol from access to Prime’s high-speed delivery, CNBC reported.

The lawsuit from AG Brian Schwalb alleges that, since 2022, Amazon has “secretly excluded” two “historically underserved” D.C. ZIP codes from its expedited delivery service while charging Prime members living there the full subscription price. Amazon’s Prime membership program costs $139 a year and includes perks like two-day shipping and access to streaming content.

“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one zip code is worth less than a dollar in another.”

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today sued Amazon.com. Inc. (Amazon) for deceiving District resident into paying for Prime delivery benefits they are not receiving, in violation of District consumer protection law. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that since 2022, Amazon has secretly excluded two ZIP codes east of the Anacostia River from its advertised fastest delivery service while continuing to charge approximately 48,000 Prime members living there the full Prime subscription price.

“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide. While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “We are suing to stop this deceptive conduct and make sure District residents get what they’re paying for.”

Gizmodo reported Amazon tricked customers in two predominantly Black zip codes in Washington, D.C. into paying for its faster Prime delivery service while actually outsourcing deliveries to slower providers, according to a new lawsuit filed by the district’s attorney general.

The suit accuses Amazon of making a secret internal decision in June 2022 to stop delivering to the zip codes 20019 and 20020, both east of the Anacostia River, using its Amazon branded trucks. Instead, the company began using slower services like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to bring back packages to those neighborhoods, which are 89 and 90 percent Black, respectively, according to census data.

Meanwhile, the company continued to advertise and promote its faster delivery times to the roughly 48,000 Prime members in those zip codes, according to the complaint.

In my opinion, it sounds like Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb is going to target Amazon because the company was forcing people to pay for Prime delivery benefits that they did not receive.

FTC Takes Action Against Companies Selling Consumer Data

December 3, 2024Federal Trade Commission, InformationFTCJenThorpe

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Gravy Analytics Inc.and its subsidiary Venntel Inc. for unlawfully tracking and selling sensitive location data from users, including selling data about consumers’ visits to health-related locations and places of worship.

Under a proposed order, settling the FTC’s allegations, Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive data in any product or service, and must establish a sensitive data location program.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data in any product or service, and must establish a sensitive data location program.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that Gravy Analytics and Venntel violated the FTC Act by unfairly selling sensitive consumer location data, and by collecting and using consumers’ location data without obtaining verifiable user consent for commercial and government uses.

TechCrunch reported two U.S. data brokers have agreed not to collect private location data on Americans as a pair of settlements with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which accused the companies of unlawfully tracking millions of people near to sensitive locations like healthcare facilities and military bases.

The two settlements, announced Tuesday, will prohibit Virginia-based Gravy Analytics and Georgia-based Mobilewalla from collecting and retaining people’s sensitive granular location data. This agreement was reached after the FTC accused the two data brokers — companies that profit form collecting huge amounts of people’s personal information and selling it to others – of selling millions of identifiable location data points, including where people visited clinics and places of worship.

The FTC alleges that Gravy Analytics, along with its subsidiary Venntel, collected and used consumers’ location data for commercial and government users without obtaining consent from the individuals. The organization allegedly continued to use this data even after learning that consumers hadn’t provided informed consent for their data to be sold.

Gravy Analytics also unfairly sold sensitive information about individuals, such as health or medical decisions, political activities and religious viewpoints, that had been derived and determined based on a person’s location data, according to the FTC.

NBC News reported the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against two location data companies after it said that they unlawfully tracked and sold private consumer information.

A complaint alleges that Venntel and Gravy Analytics violated the FTC Act by collecting and selling consumer data without proper consent. Gravy Analytics allegedly created a virtual geographical boundary to “identify and sell lists of consumers who attended certain events related to medical conditions and places of worship,” the FTC said in a news release.

The Virginia-based company also allegedly sold additional lists that linked consumers to other sensitive characteristics, the release states.

The FTC said sensitive location data the companies are banned from using including. Those pertaining to medical facilities, correctional facilities, religious organizations, military installations, schools and day care centers, and shelters that serve domestic abuse survivors, the homeless or refugees.

In my opinion, it appears that Gravy Analytics and Venntel are going to face consequences for their choice to steal consumer’s data.

Predicting Your Demise – The Death Clock App #1783

December 3, 2024PodcastKirk

Have you ever wondered when your time might come? The Death Clock app uses AI and data from 1,200 life expectancy studies to make educated guesses about your lifespan. By analyzing your habits and lifestyle, it provides predictions—and even offers tips to live longer (if you’re willing to pay). Is it science or just a curiosity? I would predict that most people don’t want to know their expected death timeline.