“After experiencing technical difficulties Friday, the Signal messaging app appears to be back up and running,” reports the Verge: The company tweeted Saturday night that it was “back,” although added that some users may still see error messages in their chats. The company didn’t explain what caused the outage. For users still seeing error messages in their chats — which the…
Tag: Authority
Dog Domestication May Have Begun Because Paleo Humans Couldn’t Stomach the Original Paleo Diet
A new theory described today in Scientific Reports posits that hunter-gatherers whose omnivorous digestive system prevented too much protein consumption likely shared surplus meat with wolves. Those scraps may have initiated a step toward domestication. Scientific American reports: [Maria Lahtinen, a senior researcher at the Finnish Food Authority and a visiting scholar at the Finnish Museum of Natural History] did not…
Google Ad Changes Face UK Probe in First Shot at Big Tech
Google is the U.K.’s first big post-Brexit antitrust target as regulators opened a probe into the company’s planned changes to curb publishers’ collection of advertising data. From a report: The Competition and Markets Authority said it’s investigating Google’s so-called privacy sandbox changes that could “undermine the ability of publishers to generate revenue and undermine competition in digital advertising, entrenching Google’s market…
Amazon Pledges $2 Billion To Affordable Housing
Amazon will direct $2 billion in loans and grants to secure affordable housing near three American cities where the company employs thousands of workers, the tech giant announced Wednesday. The Seattle Times reports: In a first step in the Puget Sound region, Amazon is promising $185.5 million, mostly in loans, to the King County Housing Authority to help buy affordable apartments…
Vietnam Targeted in Complex Supply Chain Attack
A group of mysterious hackers has carried out a clever supply chain attack against Vietnamese private companies and government agencies by inserting malware inside an official government software toolkit. From a report: The attack, discovered by security firm ESET and detailed in a report named “Operation SignSight,” targeted the Vietnam Government Certification Authority (VGCA), the government organization that issues digital certificates…
Edward Snowden Urges Donations to the EFF
In October, Edward Snowden was granted permanent residency in Russia. A new web page by the EFF applauds his past activities as a U.S. whistleblower. “His revelations about secret surveillance programs opened the world’s eyes to a new level of government misconduct, and reinvigorated EFF’s continuing work in the courts and with lawmakers to end unlawful mass spying.” And then they…
Amazon To Face US Union Push In Year Ahead
In 2021, Amazon.com is poised to face a renewed challenge from groups it has long countered: unions. Reuters reports: Energized by protests at Amazon’s U.S. warehouses and a more labor-friendly administration assuming office, unions are campaigning at the world’s largest online retailer to see if its warehouse or grocery workers would like to join their ranks. A major test is expected…
AI Just Controlled a Military Plane For the First Time Ever
On December 15, the United States Air Force successfully flew an AI copilot on a U-2 spy plane in California, marking the first time AI has controlled a U.S. military system. Dr. Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, reveals how he and his team made history: With call sign ARTUu, we trained uZero…
UK Seeks Site For World’s First Fusion Power Station
sciencehabit writes: The U.K. government today invited communities around the country to volunteer a site for a prototype fusion reactor, which would be the first — it is hoped — to put electricity into the grid. The project, called Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), began last year with an initial 222 million pounds over 5 years to develop a design….
Italy Fines Apple $12 Million For Unfair Claims About iPhone Water Resistance
Iwastheone writes: Italian regulators have fined Apple $12 million for making misleading and unfair claims about iPhone water resistance. The fine was imposed by L’Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which translates literally as the guarantee authority for competition and the market. This is the competition watchdog responsible for ensuring that companies treat both consumers and competitors fairly. First,…