US government agencies demand fixable ice cream machines
Enlarge / Taylor's C709 Soft Serve Freezer isn't so much mechanically complicated as it is a software and diagnostic trap for anyone without authorized access. Many devices have been made difficult or financially nonviable to repair, whether by design or because of a lack of parts, manuals, or specialty tools. Machines that make ice cream,…
ByteDance unlikely to sell TikTok, as former Trump official plots purchase
Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Pool Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is reportedly assembling an investor group to buy TikTok as the US comes closer to enacting legislation forcing the company to either divest from Chinese ownership or face a nationwide ban. "I think the legislation should pass, and I think it should be…
Epic asks court to block Apple’s 27% commission on website purchases
Getty Images | Justin Sullivan Epic Games yesterday urged a federal court to sanction Apple for alleged violations of an injunction that imposed restrictions on the iOS App Store. Epic cited a 27 percent commission charged by Apple on purchases completed outside the usual in-app payment system and other limits imposed on developers. "Apple is…
Amid paralyzing ransomware attack, feds probe UnitedHealth’s HIPAA compliance
As health systems around the US are still grappling with an unprecedented ransomware attack on the country's largest health care payment processor, the US Department of Health and Human Services is opening an investigation into whether that processor and its parent company, UnitedHealthcare Group, complied with federal rules to protect private patient data. The attack…
“Overwhelming evidence” shows Craig Wright did not create bitcoin, judge says
Enlarge / Dr. Craig Wright arrives at the Rolls Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice, on February 06, 2024, in London, England. "Overwhelming evidence" shows that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is not bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, a UK judge declared Thursday. In what Wired described as a "surprise ruling" at the closing…
FCC scraps old speed benchmark, says broadband should be at least...
Getty Images | Yuichiro Chino The Federal Communications Commission today voted to raise its Internet speed benchmark for the first time since January 2015, concluding that modern broadband service should provide at least 100Mbps download speeds and 20Mbps upload speeds. An FCC press release after today's 3-2 vote said the 100Mbps/20Mbps benchmark "is based on…
“Really bad timing”: Meta is killing misinformation analysis tool on August...
Meta is discontinuing data analysis tool CrowdTangle on August 14. The closure will come three months ahead of the next US presidential election and three years after it was reported that the platform used for spotting misinformation on Facebook and Instagram was causing internal strife. Meta acquired CrowdTangle in 2016. CrowdTangle has been used by…
Bill that could ban TikTok passes in House despite constitutional concerns
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill with a vote of 352–65 that could block TikTok in the US. Fifteen Republicans and 50 Democrats voted in opposition, and one Democrat voted present, CNN reported. TikTok is not happy. A spokesperson told Ars, "This process was secret and the bill was jammed through…
EU votes to ban riskiest forms of AI and impose restrictions...
Getty Images | BeeBright The European Parliament today voted to approve the Artificial Intelligence Act, which will ban uses of AI "that pose unacceptable risks" and impose regulations on less risky types of AI. "The new rules ban certain AI applications that threaten citizens' rights, including biometric categorisation systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted…
Meta sues “brazenly disloyal” former exec over stolen confidential docs
A recently unsealed court filing has revealed that Meta has sued a former senior employee for "brazenly disloyal and dishonest conduct" while leaving Meta for an AI data startup called Omniva that The Information has described as "mysterious." According to Meta, its former vice president of infrastructure, Dipinder Singh Khurana (also known as T.S.), allegedly…