In its lawsuit, the US Department of Justice alleges that Apple is abusing its control of the iPhone app store to keep its users.

Furthermore, it gives the impression that the company is making its competitors’ products less available and appear less attractive to consumers.

Apple denies all accusations. This case is becoming one of the most serious problems facing the company. Complaints against its practices have increased in recent years.

The complaint alleges that Apple uses a series of policies to restrict access to its hardware and software. The company is said to be focusing on increasing its income by increasing prices for its customers and is trying to prevent its competitors from innovating.

“Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits but by violating federal anti-trust law”. “Customers should not have to pay higher prices because companies break the law.” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference announcing the suit.

The complaint lists 5 areas that the US Department of Justice says the company is infringing.

According to the US, Apple is preventing the development of super apps and streaming apps because it fears that they will drive users away from their need for the iPhone.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the tech giant prevents syncing between iPhones and smartwatches made by competing companies.

Additionally, the complaint describes Apple not allowing banks or financial companies to access iPhone payment technology. This action provides revenue for the company, which earns billions in fees for processing transactions through Apple Pay.

Apple, for its part, says that according to American law, the company is free to choose which business partners to cooperate with. The tech giant says its rules have been tweaked for security and privacy reasons.

“We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it,” the company announced.

Apple representatives announce that they will fight to have the court dismiss the complaint.

The rapid growth of generative AI, which can create text, images and video in seconds in response to prompts, has triggered fears that the new technology could be used to disrupt the elections across the world this year.

European Parliament elections will take place June 6-9.

“As the election approaches, we’ll activate an Elections Operations Center to identify potential threats and put mitigations in place in real time,” Marco Pancini, Meta’s head of EU affairs, said in a blogpost.

Experts from the company’s intelligence, data science, engineering, research, operations, content policy and legal teams will focus on combating misinformation, tackling influence operations and counter the risks related to the abuse of generative AI.

Meta, which currently works with 26 independent fact-checking organisations across the European Union covering 22 languages, will add three new partners in Bulgaria, France, and Slovakia.

According to internal company documents cited by The Verge, ByteDance has extensively utilized OpenAI’s application programming interface (API) throughout various stages of its AI product development. The ties between ByteDance and the Chinese government have already drawn considerable attention, leading to heightened federal scrutiny of TikTok’s operations in the United States.

ByteDance’s internal initiative, labeled “Project Seed,” has been a high-priority and secretive endeavor aimed at constructing its own large-language model—an AI tool trained on vast amounts of internet data. The report indicates that ByteDance not only employed OpenAI’s “GPT” for training its model but also for evaluating the ongoing development of its ambitious project.

“All API customers must adhere to our usage policies to ensure that our technology is used for good. While ByteDance’s use of our API was minimal, we have suspended their account while we further investigate”, said OpenAI spokesperson.

“If we discover that their usage doesn’t follow these policies, we will ask them to make necessary changes or terminate their account,” the spokesperson added.

ByteDance reportedly buys its access to OpenAI’s tools through Microsoft, the AI firm’s key investor and partner. Microsoft has similar terms of service.

In a blog post outlining a number of updates to the AI-related rules, YouTube said creators who don’t disclose whether they used AI tools to create videos will face penalties, including having their content removed or being suspended from the platform’s revenue-sharing program.

“Generative AI has the potential to unlock creativity on YouTube and transform the experience for viewers and creators on our platform. But just as important, these opportunities must be balanced with our responsibility to protect the YouTube community”, Jennifer Flannery O’Connor and Emily Moxley, vice presidents for product management, wrote in the blog post.

Under the latest changes, which will take effect by next year, YouTube users will get new options to indicate whether they’re posting AI-generated videos that, for example, depict a realistic event that never happened or show someone saying or doing something they didn’t actually do.

O’Connor and Moxley emphasized the heightened significance of these measures, particularly when the content delves into sensitive subjects like elections, ongoing conflicts, public health crises, or involves public officials.

To enhance transparency, modified videos will carry identifiable labels, prominently displayed on the YouTube video player for topics requiring sensitivity.

The platform is also leveraging artificial intelligence to proactively identify and remove content violating its rules. According to the company, this technology has proven effective in swiftly identifying “new forms of abuse.”

For YouTube music partners such as record labels or distributors, there is now a provision to request the removal of AI-generated music content that imitates an artist’s distinct singing or rapping style.

Furthermore, YouTube is updating its privacy complaint process to accommodate requests for the removal of AI-generated videos that replicate an identifiable person, encompassing both their facial features and voice.

The claim alleges that UK developers are being deprived of money that could be spent on research and development to drive innovation in apps.

The claim is a class action, and this means that UK-based developers do not have to register to be included in any profits. The amount of compensation for each developer will be calculated based on their iOS app business – so the amounts paid out can vary widely and in some cases can even run into millions of pounds.

For its part, Apple continues to reject accusations that it is profiting at the expense of developers. The company claims that the fees it charges allow it to provide iOS users with a premium experience, noting that store administration includes reviewing apps for security and privacy, among other quality checks.

The FTC reached a settlement with the company that includes enhanced protections for child gamers. Additionally, the tech giant was found to have failed to inform parents of its data collection policies.

Will misuse of personal data and breach of privacy become a new trend? Just a few days ago, the same US commission fined Amazon $25 million for violating children’s privacy with its voice assistant Alexa.

The FTC said Microsoft violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by failing to obtain proper parental consent and retaining personal data of children under 13 for longer than unreasonable.
for accounts created before 2021.

The law requires online services and websites targeting children to obtain parental consent and inform them of the personal data being collected about their child.

To access certain services Xbox users must create an account, with information such as full name, email address and date of birth collected.

Only after obtaining personal information, such as the child’s phone number, does Microsoft ask the parent for permission.

“Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations and are committed to complying with the order to continue improving upon our safety measures,”

Microsoft’s Dave McCarthy, CVP of Xbox Player Services, wrote in an Xbox blog post.

As part of the settlement, Microsoft must also institute new safety protections for children. That includes maintaining a system to delete all personal data after two weeks if no parental consent is obtained.

The news was announced in a company’s tweet, saying:

“Remember when we began testing a new feature called Safety Mode? After months of feedback from beta users, we’re excited to expand this to some of you in several new English-speaking markets to gain more feedback and insights.”

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1493669586666930181

In September last year, Twitter introduced its Safety Mode feature which was presented as a helping tool which is temporarily blocking accounts that are using abusive and hateful speech.

Now, the company is working on adding new options which are supposed to make users’ experience on social media not only more pleasant but also safer.

The new system will mark accounts which are using inappropriate language and harmful comments and it will block them for a week. At that point half of the platform’s users from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland will be provided with an access to this option.

Also, one more option will be ready for use – Proactive Safety Mode. Its aim is to recognize potentially abusive replies and give people an opportunity to enable the mode.

The rules would replace current interim legislation that allows the voluntary reporting of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with a legal obligation to recognise, report and remove it.  EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper:

“I will propose legislation in the coming months that will require companies to detect, report, and remove child sexual abuse.”

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – Meta, would be particularly affected by any change in regulations, added Johansson. The company currently accounts for around 95 per cent of child sexual abuse notifications.

In 2020, internet service providers and social media platforms in the EU filed 22 million reports of child sexual abuse. This is thought to be just a fraction of the actual number of incidents.

According to a 2020 report by the Internet Watch Foundation, France, Latvia, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands appear among the top ten countries hosting child sexual abuse URLs.  Of those, the Netherlands was by far the leader, playing host to over 117,000 CSAM web pages.

“Our app is really bitter-sweet because, of course, we love that we’re busy. However, we really wish it didn’t have to exist. No-one wants to live in a world where we need a safety app, but sadly there is a place for it,”

The app, WalkSafe, is expecting its new feature – women will be provided with a live map where their friends and family will be able to chat with them and follow their journey. At that moment, the app gives an opportunity to plan the safest route to home, by looking at recent crime data.

According to her, the app encourages people to have precautionary measures to avoid crime, rather than reactionary measures when in an unfortunate situation. She also added:

“We have senior ex-Metropolitan Police detectives and crime analysts comb through this data, and categorize it into areas the user would want to know about. By looking at the crime patterns, users can identify crime hotspots so they can plan safer routes.”

Another safety product is a women’s smartwatch app called ‘Epower’. It is in the process of developing at the University of Bath. It will automatically send alerts every time when the user is in distress, as for that aim it will monitor the heart rate and body motion. E-J Roodt is the co-founder of that idea and admits that she came up with it while jogging in a badly-lit park, and worrying about the risk of an attack. She said:

“When I saw that smartwatches were being used to detect heart attacks I thought, well, maybe that technology could be applied to women’s safety,”

What is more interesting is that the application uses artificial intelligence in order to recognize distress, and respond if a user is attacked when walking or running alone. Ms. Roodt added:

“It occurred to us that a smartwatch with this app may be a way to alert others if a woman is restrained or struggling. The key is that it would all happen automatically, and an assailant would have little or no time to prevent this – which is not always possible with conventional panic buttons, rape alarms or your mobile phone.”

Rich Larsen is a man who believes that his app for smartphones called “bSafe” will help bring about prosecutions. His application has a voice-activated feature that automatically starts live-streaming video and audio to chosen contacts, and records everything that is happening. He said:

“These recordings could be used in evidence in court cases – like rape – which are often hard to prove.”

The reason for this feature is based on his daughter, Charlen, and her experience because she was raped. She chose not to hide and save her anonymity but chose to speak out on the issue. In her words, she wouldn’t be so ashamed if she had had bSafe back then.

The application has been of interest to other companies and in Mr. Larsen’s words, currently, he and his team are developing an API platform that can easily implement these features in other applications. The government also does not remain indifferent to this matter. In July the Home Office launched a £5 million fund to help improve the safety of women when they are in a public space, especially at night.

In Bristol police are using new kits which are supposed to test whether drinks have been spiked in nightclubs. On the other side, Cheshire police are improving current call handling technology which aims to provide an instant visible and reassuring response to a female who is calling for support. Access to an online link with safety information for women on public transport is promoted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Thanks to bus tracking, there is no longer a need to stand alone at a bus stop, for example.

Although technology is meant to help in that case, there still are people who will be trying to misuse it. That’s why the national anti-stalking advocacy service, Paladin, warns that tech companies need to give their best in order to protect victims of being misused. Rachel Horman-Brown, who is a chairwoman of the charity, said:

“Many victims are tracked and monitored through their phones or tablets by spyware. So actually stalkers don’t even need to physically get a tracking device on the victim to be able to monitor them. Spyware is concerning as it can enable a stalker to switch on the camera on a victim’s mobile phone, so that they can see and hear what is happening. They can also read and send text messages from the victim’s phone, as well as tracking their whereabouts.”

In her words, all these tracking devices which are meant to help you find your wallet, keys, or luggage, are the ones that make it quite easier for a stalker to track their victim’s whereabouts. But it is more than just an issue that can be solved by technologies, though. Farah Nazeer, who is a chief executive at Women’s Aid, says:

“Whilst technology – such as safety apps on phones and smartwatches – can play a role in helping women feel safer on the streets, these interventions are temporary sticking plasters, which ignore the real cause of male violence against women. Women feel unsafe on our streets, not because of a lack of street lighting or safety apps, but because of the culture of sexism and misogyny, which makes violence against women and girls all too common. It must not be tolerated any longer.”

He thinks that we must focus on challenging the sexist attitudes that are deeply rooted in these services and systems so that women can walk home feeling confident that they are safe and protected.

On Tuesday, Pornhub announced more details on how it plans to address abuse on its platform, including expanding its human moderation team, a transparency report, and introducing biometric technology to verify users who upload videos. This announcement came after claims that the platform hosted child sexual abuse material. Many major payment processors including Visa and Mastercard suspended services to Pornhub indefinitely following those allegations. Consequently sex workers who use the platform for income said this will deffinitely harm them.

https://twitter.com/the_dylanthomas/status/1356753730914291713

The announcement clarified that the verification will still be limited to people in Pornhub’s Model Program, and will be done by Yoti, a digital identity verification company, by providing a current photo and government -approved identification document. According to the statement:

“Yoti will check the validity of the ID document and match the user’s ID document to their photo using secure biometric technology“.  

Pornhub promised more details about how verification would work in the new year—while fetish and trans creators wondered if identity verification would exclude them from using the platform. On a Twitter post of the trans performer Dylan Thomas, Yoti clarified the current situation and linked the announcement of the partnership from 2019 that says the organizations are working together to make the process of proving one’s identity more inclusive.

Other portions of the expanded policies include details about how moderators will “regularly monitor search terms within the platform for increases in phrasings that attempt to bypass the safeguards in place.”

A Motherboard investigation in 2020 found that Pornhub users could bypass the platform’s moderation efforts with slightly modified search terms. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube have been criticized in the past about their poor labor practices for moderators who have to view violent or sexually explicit content all day.

“Much like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other tech platforms, Pornhub seeks to be fully transparent about the content that should and should not appear on the platform,” Pornhub said in the statement. “This report will be the first of its kind among adult content platforms, setting the standard for transparency and accountability in the industry.”

Motherboard reached out to Visa and Mastercard to ask if the expanded policies will affect their policies on payment suspensions. Visa said that the suspension for Pornhub remains in effect until it completes its ongoing investigation, Mastercard did not respond.