Innholdsfortegnelse for #653 i Techlife News

Artists from Universal Music Group, which include Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, will be returning to TikTok as the two parties have struck a new licensing agreement following an approximately three-month long dispute. The two sides said Thursday that they are “now working expeditiously to return music by artists represented by Universal Music Group and songwriters represented by Universal Music Publishing Group to TikTok in due course.” Taylor Swift, whose recently released album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, had some of her songs make a return to TikTok last month, but the details of how that exactly happened are unclear, according to Variety. UMG said in January that it had not agreed to terms of a new deal with TikTok,…

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing for restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by the Transportation Security Administration, saying they are concerned about travelers’ privacy and civil liberties. In a letter on Thursday, the group of 14 lawmakers called on Senate leaders to use the upcoming reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration as a vehicle to limit TSA’s use of the technology so Congress can put in place some oversight. “This technology poses significant threats to our privacy and civil liberties, and Congress should prohibit TSA’s development and deployment of facial recognition tools until rigorous congressional oversight occurs,” the senators wrote. The effort, led by Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., John Kennedy, R-La., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., “would halt facial recognition technology at security checkpoints, which has proven…

The race to redefine modern home smart tech is underway, and industry giants like Apple are leading the charge. After discontinuing its ambitious Project Titan, the Cupertino company has refocused its efforts on transforming homes into intelligent hubs of connectivity. HOME OF THE FUTURE Apple is at the forefront of home technology with its robust portfolio of devices like Apple TV and HomePod. These tools enhance entertainment experiences and integrate seamlessly with other smart devices, creating a cohesive ecosystem within the home. And with the advent of new AI-driven projects, Apple aims to push these boundaries further. In secretive labs, Apple engineers are reportedly developing advanced projects to elevate the smart home experience. These innovations are expected to harness the power of AI to make the home—and indeed, the home…

Shares of Tesla stock rallied this week after the electric vehicle maker’s CEO, Elon Musk, paid a surprise visit to Beijing over the weekend and reportedly won tentative approval for its driving software. Musk met with a senior government official in the Chinese capital last Sunday, just as the nation’s carmakers are showing off their latest electric vehicle models at the Beijing auto show. According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Chinese officials told Tesla that Beijing has tentatively approved the automaker’s plan to launch its “Full Self-Driving,” or FSD, software feature in the country. Although it’s called FSD, the software still requires human supervision. Last week the U.S. government’s auto safety agency said it is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s…

Amazon reported this week strong results for the first quarter, driven by growth in its cloud-computing unit and new advertising dollars from its Prime Video streaming service. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said it brought in $143.31 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, a 13% jump compared to the same period last year. Net income came out to $10.43 billion, or 98 cents per share. That soundly beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations for 84 cents a share, according to FactSet. “It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and financial results,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. The nation’s biggest online retailer is coming off better-than-expected results for the holiday…

Twenty-three million families in the U.S. will have bigger internet bills starting in May. That’s because a federal broadband subsidy program they’re enrolled in is nearly out of money. Dozens of people joined Biden administration officials, advocates and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, at a Washington public library on Tuesday to make a last-ditch plea to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, a subsidy created by Congress and touted by President Joe Biden as part of his push to bring internet access to every U.S. household. The program, which is set to expire at the end of May, helps people with limited means pay their broadband bills. “They need access to high-speed internet just like they need access to electricity,” Sen. Welch told the gathering. “This is what…

The European Union said this week that it’s investigating Facebook and Instagram for suspected violations of the bloc’s digital rulebook, including not doing enough to protect users from foreign disinformation ahead of EU-wide elections. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it’s opening formal proceedings into whether parent company Meta Platforms breached the Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations designed to protect internet users and clean up social media platforms under threat of hefty fines worth up to 6% of annual revenue. European authorities are scrambling to safeguard elections amid official warnings that Russia is seeking to meddle with the vote in June, when citizens of the bloc’s 27 nations pick lawmakers for the European Parliament. The investigation includes an urgent request for Meta to provide information…

The rate of businesses in the U.S. using AI is still relatively small but growing rapidly, with firms in information technology, and in locations like Colorado and the District of Columbia, leading the way, according to a new paper from U.S. Census Bureau researchers. Overall use of AI tools by firms in the production of goods and services rose from 3.7% last fall to 5.4% in February, and it is expected to rise in the U.S. to 6.6% by early fall, according to the bureau’s Business Trends and Outlook Survey released this spring. The use of AI by firms is still rather small because many businesses haven’t yet seen a need for it, Census Bureau researchers said in an accompanying paper. “Many small businesses, such as barber shops, nail salons…

The U.S. Justice Department’s double-barreled antitrust attack on Google’s dominant search and Apple’s trendsetting iPhone is reviving memories of the epic battle that hobbled Microsoft before it roared back to yet again become the world’s most valuable company. The parallels to the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case in 1998 could provide a window into the potential breakthroughs that could be unleashed if regulators succeed in their attempts to crack down on Google and Apple. Federal lawyers have even gone as far as to assert Google and Apple may never have created so many popular products or become as powerful as they are now if Microsoft hadn’t been reined in a quarter century ago. In closing arguments of a Washington, D.C., trial that began last September, regulators applied the finishing touches…

In the not-too-distant future, automatic emergency braking will have to come standard on all new passenger vehicles in the United States, a requirement that the government says will save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of injuries every year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration unveiled the final version of the new regulation this week and called it the most significant safety rule in the past two decades. It’s designed to prevent many rear-end and pedestrian collisions and reduce the roughly 40,000 traffic deaths that happen each year. “We’re living through a crisis in roadway deaths,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview. “So we need to do something about it.” It’s the U.S. government’s first attempt to regulate automated driving functions and is likely to help curb some…

This spring, NBC News, The New York Times and National Public Radio have each dealt with turmoil for essentially the same reason: journalists taking the critical gaze they deploy to cover the world and turning it inward at their own employers. Whistleblowing isn’t unique to any industry. Yet the contrary outlook baked into many journalists — which can be a central part of their jobs — and generational changes in how many view activism have combined to make it probable these sort of incidents will continue. In the past few weeks, NBC reversed a decision to hire former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel as a political contributor following a revolt by some of its best-known personalities. An NPR editor was suspended and then quit after critiquing his company’s willingness…

Elon Musk’s move to lay off the department responsible for Tesla’s electric vehicle chargers has touched off worries in the auto industry that EVs from other automakers will have trouble joining Tesla’s network. Several leaders of Tesla’s Supercharger team posted social media messages saying they were told Monday night that entire group of about 500 had been laid off by CEO Musk, who seemed to confirm the move in a posting Tuesday on X, the social media site he now owns. “Unfortunately the charging organization at Tesla is no more,” Lane Chaplin, who identified himself at a former leader of Tesla real estate acquisition for charging in North America, posed on LinkedIn. The tech news site The Information, The New York Times and others reported that Musk told managers of…

TikTok is gearing up for a legal fight against a U.S. law that would force the social media platform to break ties with its China-based parent company, a move almost certainly backed by Chinese authorities as the bitter U.S.-China rivalry threatens the future of a wildly popular way for young people in America to connect online. Beijing has signaled TikTok should fight what it has called a “robbers” act by U.S. lawmakers “to snatch from others all the good things that they have.” Should a legal challenge fail, observers say Chinese authorities are unlikely to allow a sale, a move that could be seen as surrendering to Washington. Beijing may not want the U.S. action against the popular short-form video platform to set a “bad precedent,” said Alex Capri, senior…

Consumer groups are pushing Congress to uphold automatic refunds for airline passengers whose flights are canceled or delayed for several hours. Just last week, the Transportation Department announced a rule requiring airlines to pay quick and automatic refunds. President Joe Biden touted the rule, posting on X this week, “It’s time airline passengers got the cash refunds they’re owed, without having to jump through hoops.” But eight words in a 1,069-page bill that the Senate began debating Wednesday would keep the burden for refunds on consumers. The bill says airlines must pay refunds only “upon written or electronic request of the passenger.” Consumer advocates say travelers will lose money without automatic refunds. “How many average air travelers know what the (refund) rules are? How many of them know how to…

If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social video app merged with its competitor Musical. ly, TikTok has grown from a niche teen app into a global trendsetter. While, of course, also emerging as a potential national security threat, according to U.S. officials. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or to shut down. It’s not clear whether that law will survive an expected legal challenge or that ByteDance would agree to sell. Here’s how TikTok came to…

Matthew Shardlake steps out of the pages of the late C.J. Sansom’s popular historical mystery novels and into a new show, bringing with him disability representation. “We don’t see a lot of leading disabled characters,” says Arthur Hughes, who plays the title character. “Well, we might, but they might not be played by disabled actors.” Shardlake is a clever lawyer who solves puzzles and problems during the reign of King Henry VIII. He is also disabled. The character is referred to as a “hunchback” by a rude rival in the books — an example of the attitude of the Tudor period, with no allowance or acceptance of differences. “I really hope the disabled audience can see that and see maybe some of the parallels with the world we live in…

The Federal Communications Commission has leveraged nearly $200 million in fines against wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon for illegally sharing customers’ location data without their consent. “These carriers failed to protect the information entrusted to them. Here, we are talking about some of the most sensitive data in their possession: customers’ real-time location information, revealing where they go and who they are,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement released this week. Officials first began investigating the carriers back in 2019 after they were found selling customers’ location data to third-party data aggregators. Fines were proposed in 2020, but carriers were given time to argue against the claims before the fines were imposed. The FCC argues that the four firms are required to take reasonable measures to…

Samsung Electronics reported this week a 10-fold increase in operating profit for the last quarter as the expansion of artificial intelligence technologies drives a rebound in the markets for computer memory chips. The South Korean semiconductor and smartphone giant said its operating profit for the Jan-March quarter came in at 6.6 trillion won ($4.8 billion), up from the 640 billion won ($465 million) it earned during the same period last year. Revenue rose by nearly 13% to 71.9 trillion won ($52 billion), driven by higher prices for memory chips and robust sales of its flagship Galaxy S24 smartphones, the company said. The company earned 1.91 trillion won ($1.38 billion) in operating profit from its semiconductor business, marking the division’s first quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2022, as the…

Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI report released this week that shows a rise in losses through increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics to trick the vulnerable into giving up their life savings. Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 last year were up 11% over the year before, according to the FBI’s report. Investigators are warning of a rise in brazen schemes to drain bank accounts that involve sending couriers in person to collect cash or gold from victims. “It can be a devastating impact to older Americans who lack the ability to go out and make money,” said Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “People lose all their money. Some people become…