samedi 4 mars 2023

Uh oh! The crypto collapse has reached the real financial system

Liquidity trouble? | Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Silvergate, one of the most important banks in crypto, is in big trouble. Maybe existential trouble.

Silvergate didn’t start in crypto. It started in real estate. But in January 2014, the bank jumped into Bitcoin, a volatile year — Bitcoin started the year at $770 and closed above $300 in December. “Some of the companies that were being formed at the time to provide services to this budding Bitcoin space, many of them were struggling to find and maintain bank accounts,” said Silvergate CEO Alan Lane in a June 2022 episode of the Odd Lots podcast. “So that was really where we started.”

The focus at the bank was institutions — other companies, some of which work with consumers. For instance, Genesis, the now-bankrupt crypto-lending subsidiary of DCG, was among Silvergate’s early clients. The bank developed the Silvergate Exchange Network, which was a way for crypto institutions such as Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken to transact in dollars 24/7. “We’ve got all of them,” Lane said in 2022. “All of the major ones. Anybody who is serious about regulation.”

Also among Lane’s clients: FTX. Federal prosecutors are now examining Silvergate’s role in banking Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen empire. The more pressing problem is that the collapse of FTX spooked other Silvergate customers, resulting in an $8.1 billion run on the bank: 60 percent of its deposits that walked out the door in just one quarter. (“Worse than that experienced by the average bank to close in the Great Depression,” The Wall Street Journal helpfully explained.)

In its earnings filing, we found out that Silvergate’s results last quarter were absolute dogshit, a $1 billion loss. Then, on March 1st, Silvergate entered a surprise regulatory filing. It says that, actually, the quarterly results were even worse, and it’s not clear the bank will be able to stay in business.

In response, Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Crypto.com, Circle, and Paxos have said they will stop using Silvergate — as did other, less notable clients. Tether, the controversial stablecoin that has had its own problems with banking, helpfully popped up to remind us it was not using Silvergate.

The laundry list of customers helps to explain why Silvergate’s woes are frightening. Very few banks will touch crypto because it’s so risky — and most traditional banks don’t let crypto clients transact in dollars 24/7. Access to banking that moves at the pace crypto does is rare, and only one other US bank can do it.

“If Silvergate goes out of business, it’s going to push funds and market makers further offshore,” Ava Labs president John Wu told Barron’s. The issue is how easy it is to get into actual cash dollars, which in finance-speak is called liquidity. Less liquidity makes transactions more difficult. Already there is a broader gap between the price at which a trade is expected to go through at and the actual price at which it executes, Wu said.

So Silvergate’s troubles are a problem for the entire crypto industry.

Stablecoins

Silvergate’s SEN was an important on- and off-ramp from the almighty dollar (and the almighty euro) into crypto. In 2022, Lane said all the “regulated, US-dollar backed stablecoin issuers” banked at Silvergate.

But for stablecoins issued by Circle, Paxos, and Gemini, among others, the SEN was important for making and burning their tokens, which were issued when someone deposited a dollar in their Silvergate bank accounts, Lane said.

Silvergate was a pass-through point for crypto. Stablecoins that are backed by dollars at least theoretically have cash or cash-like assets sitting in reserve somewhere. (The reason Tether is controversial is that there are questions about the existence and value of that reserve.) Silvergate’s job was to create a token when someone put a dollar into, say, USDC and to burn a token when someone took a dollar out. “We are this critical piece of infrastructure where folks, as they’re exiting the ecosystem and wanting to go to cash — those dollars pass through Silvergate,” Lane said in 2022.

You’ll notice I’m saying “was.” That’s because on March 3, Silvergate announced it was suspending SEN, effective immediately.

The dollar side of the transaction meant that Silvergate’s clients had to keep a bunch of cash on hand at the bank in order to pay each other and anyone who wanted to cash out. To make money here, Silvergate could do a few things. The safest is to buy, like, one-month Treasury bills at the Fed and call it a day.

Now, this being finance, taking more risk also may mean more profit. So Silvergate seems to have bought bonds. (Verge favorite Matt Levine at Bloomberg has a more in-depth analysis of how this worked if you want the gory details.) The problem is not that the bonds were super risky — it is that FTX sparked a mass exodus into dollars, and Silvergate suddenly had to come up with a bunch of money. Unfortunately, that meant selling its bonds at a loss in order to pay its obligations. Ironically, the bonds were pretty safe — “if its depositors had kept their money at Silvergate, its bonds would have matured with plenty of money to pay them back,” notes Levine.

Silvergate has another way of touching stablecoins besides serving as the on- and off-ramp for their transactions. It bought assets from Facebook’s doomed stablecoin attempt Libra, later renamed Diem, in January 2022. At the time, Silvergate said it would start making Diem available by the end of the year. The goal was a digital payments network.

Of course, that was before FTX blew up, and the Enron guy said it was worse than Enron. That’s the kind of thing that tends to change the regulatory environment.

Lending against Bitcoin

One of the other services Silvergate offered was the ability to lend dollars against Bitcoin. Now, Silvergate said in January on its fourth quarter earnings call that “all of our SEN Leverage loans continued to perform as expected, with no losses or forced liquidations.” Maybe these loans are fine! Silvergate doesn’t appear to have done anything exceptionally risky elsewhere.

But if you want to use your Bitcoin to take out a dollar loan, I think that just got harder.

Real estate

Silvergate had a life before crypto: it was a tiny bank focused on real estate deals in southern California. During that time, it never had more than $1 billion in deposits, according to The Financial Times. And Silvergate needed deposits. When Lane steered the company into crypto, its business ballooned. By 2021, Silvergate had more than $10 billion. The bank went public in 2019 at $12 a share and peaked at over $200 a share in 2021. (Shares closed at $5.77 on March 3.)

Real estate became less and less of a focus because crypto was a rocket ship for the bank. But that real estate connection proved useful for Silvergate in 2022, though. In the last quarter of the year, Silvergate got at least $3.6 billion in funds from Federal Home Loan Banks, a 1930s-era system that also originally dealt in mortgages.

To pay that off, Silvergate sold off more bonds. This is not ideal, and it is part of the reason Silvergate is in trouble. “If you are a bank you do not want to be pointing in the wrong direction, because that becomes self-fulfilling,” writes Bloomberg’s Levine. And indeed, this is why many of Silvergate’s major customers are spooked. Levine thinks that this may get some regulators interested in crypto banking.

Bizarre transactions

In fact, the Justice Department is already interested. There are some questions around bizarre transactions that took place at Silvergate.

For instance, Binance. Its supposedly independent arm, Binance.US, transferred more than $400 million to a trading firm called Merit Peak Ltd, Reuters reported. That firm is managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. “The CEO of Binance.US at the time, Catherine Coley, wrote to a Binance finance executive in late 2020 asking for an explanation for the transfers, calling them ‘unexpected’ and saying ‘no one mentioned them,’” Reuters wrote. Those transfers took place on Silvergate’s special network, SEN.

This is similar to some of the problems Silvergate faces around FTX. Alameda Research, the trading firm also owned by Bankman-Fried, opened an account with Silvergate in 2018. Bankman-Fried admitted he used Alameda accounts for FTX funds, commingling customer funds with those for the trading firm.

I don’t know if Silvergate did anything wrong. Possibly it didn’t! But having the Feds start poking around, asking questions? That is a headache and a distraction. It is the last thing a troubled bank needs.

What to expect

A lot of companies that banked with Silvergate have been out here talking about how they have minimal exposure to it, which is historically not a great sign. (See: Bankman-Fried’s notorious “FTX is fine. Assets are fine” tweet.)

But you know what? In this specific case, I’m inclined to believe them. First of all, just a fuckload of money has already left Silvergate. But second, SIlvergate was a pass-through bank for crypto; it didn’t hold onto reserves, and it didn’t pay interest. The problem here is less that some exchange or stablecoin is going to suffer a massive loss of customer money and more that it is now even harder for crypto companies to get banking.

The crypto industry desperately needs banks. But both of Silvergate’s competitors, Metropolitan and Signature, were pulling away from the sector even before this debacle. Metropolitan said in January that it was getting all the way out of crypto. And in December, Signature said it was going to get rid of $8 billion to $10 billion in digital asset-related funds.

I don’t know whether Silvergate is going to come through this. But I strongly suspect it has just gotten a lot harder to get into dollars from crypto and out of crypto into dollars. Silvergate dealt in liquidity, and a liquidity problem can become a solvency problem real fast. The entire crypto industry just got a lot more fragile.

vendredi 3 mars 2023

TikTok ‘acting too slow’ to tackle self-harm and eating disorder content

Organisations including NSPCC say app has chosen to deny the problem and must take meaningful action

TikTok has been urged to strengthen its content moderation policies around suicide and eating disorder material by organisations including the NSPCC and the Molly Rose Foundation.

The groups claimed TikTok had not acted swiftly enough following the publication of research suggesting the app’s recommendation algorithm pushes self-harm and eating disorder content to teenagers within minutes of them expressing interest in the topics.

In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk.

UK chip designer Arm chooses US-only listing in blow to Rishi Sunak

PM had held talks with firm’s owner SoftBank in effort to make London first choice for tech flotations

The Cambridge-based chip designer Arm is to pursue a US-only listing this year, dealing a major blow to Rishi Sunak’s ambitions to make London the first choice for tech company flotations.

The company, which is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, confirmed its preferred plan of seeking a US-only main listing later this year, spurning the UK despite heavy lobbying by successive prime ministers.

Labor board decision could force Google to negotiate with YouTube contractors

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, should be considered a joint employer for a group of YouTube Music contractors. The workers are currently attempting to organize with the Alphabet Worker’s Union, and the NLRB’s decision could mean that the tech giant has to negotiate with them if they vote to unionize in an upcoming election.

The workers are directly employed by a company called Cognizant, which acts as an Alphabet subcontractor. However, the NLRB believes that Google has enough control over their “benefits, hours of work, supervision, and direction of work” that it counts as a partial employer, according to Bloomberg.

“We are proud to win a precedent setting victory not just for ourselves, but also for workers across the country,” said Sam Regan, a union organizer and YouTube Music contractor, who was quoted in a press release from the AWU. “Technology companies in particular have innovated new ways to deny responsibility for their workers’ livelihoods through subcontracting, gig work, and other poor employment practices.”

For its part, Alphabet intends to appeal the NLRB’s decision. “We simply don’t control these workers’ employment terms or working conditions,” spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told Bloomberg.

In addition to the union drive and fight to get Alphabet recognized as a joint employer, the contractors went on strike in February to protest return to office orders — the first strike at the company, according to the AWU. The dates for the union election haven’t been publicly announced yet.

Apple’s business-oriented ‘Mac notebook upgrade program’ has been discontinued

An Apple ad highlighting its $30 per month Mac upgrade program — Image: @MaxWinebach

Apple partnered with a bank in 2021 to let small businesses lease new M1 Macs for as low as $30 per month, with easy options to upgrade if and when more powerful devices are released. Now that’s no longer being offered, and businesses that had signed up will now have to sign up for a different program from CIT Group, the bank Apple partnered with, or go another route to get their computers.

A business that reached out to The Verge shared an email from CIT Group (aka First Citizens Bank) confirming the Mac Upgrade Program has ended. Now the bank is requesting the business to switch to its FMV lease or continue to lease the equipment at the same monthly rate — though it would run indefinitely with no buyout option. The Verge contacted both CIT and Apple to confirm the program’s status, but neither has responded at time of publication.

While the Mac Notebook Upgrade Program is no more, CIT Group still has Apple hardware leasing options that include a “$1 buyout lease.” Although the terms are not fully disclosed on the page, Apple has an active business financing page that seems to describe CIT’s offering.

The current offering includes “flexible” leasing options, 12 / 24 / 36-month terms, a $4,000 order minimum, financing for up to 25 percent of the value on accessories, and buyout options. The now-defunct program offered low monthly payments starting with the 13-inch MacBook Air for $30, 13-inch MacBook Pro for $39, 14-inch MacBook Pro for $60, and 16-inch MacBook Pro for $75. Immediate upgrades were available if a new MacBook Air or Pro with newer chips were released at any time after the first 90 days of the lease.

It also seemed like a part of Apple’s overall service-oriented shift, following the iPhone Upgrade program that has existed for consumers for several years, bundling AppleCare Plus and the ability to swap your phone annually, or the also consumer-aimed Upgrade Plus financing setup Apple offers for laptops purchased from Best Buy. It’s unclear if this program has shut down due to a lack of interest or a change in strategy, but there was a rumor that Apple might launch a full subscription program for the iPhone, perhaps by the end of this year.

Although Apple and CIT Group aren’t offering the Mac Upgrade Program anymore, Apple is still supporting small businesses on the services side with its Business Essentials IT management package. Businesses (and K-12 / High Ed) can also still order hardware directly from Apple’s special Business or Education store site and build POs — but normally for the full price.

Apple is also expected to launch its buy now, pay later service this year. Whether it launches or not, individuals — and perhaps individuals that own a small business — could always use an Apple Card and pay 0 percent financing on new Apple computers.

From Ghostbusters and Aliens to Lego Star Wars: 10 great video games based on movies

As Oscars night approaches, we pick out some of the rare movie tie-ins that don’t make you want to throw popcorn at your screen

Designed by ex-Atari luminary David Crane (Pitfall, Decathlon), Activision’s wonderful tie-in captured the humour and spirit of the classic comedy. Players set up their own ghostbusting franchises, buying equipment before setting out to capture spooks. With its use of digitised speech and a jaunty reproduction of the film’s soundtrack, it showed that games really could provide an authentic movie experience.

Sony might be forced to reveal how much it pays to keep games off Xbox Game Pass

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Sony might be forced to detail its PlayStation exclusivity deals and how much it pays for “blocking rights” to keep games off rival services like Xbox Game Pass. The FTC has sued to try and block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition and kicked off a legal discovery process with Microsoft sending subpoenas to Sony to force it to reveal records, internal documentation, and emails from the company’s PlayStation unit.

Kotaku spotted that the FTC’s chief administrative judge D. Michael Chappell has now sided with Microsoft’s request for details of Sony’s PlayStation exclusivity deals. The request cover deals made after January 1st, 2019, including fees or agreements that prevented publishers from placing games on Xbox Game Pass. The judge’s decision comes after Microsoft previously accused Sony of paying for “blocking rights” to stop developers from adding their content to Xbox Game Pass.

Here are Microsoft’s latest claims, summarized in the word’s of Judge Chappell:

Microsoft argues that the Complaint in this case makes a number of allegations regarding high-performance video game console developers’ exclusivity arrangements with video game publishers. Microsoft states that it is aware that SIE requires many third-party publishers to agree to exclusivity provisions, including preventing the publishers from putting their games on Xbox’s multi-game subscription service, and that understanding the full extent of SIE’s exclusivity arrangements and their effect on industry competitiveness will assist in its defense.

“The nature and extent of SIE’s content-licensing agreements are relevant to the Complaint’s allegations of exclusivity arrangements between video game console developers and video game developers and publishers,” said Judge Chappell.

Microsoft had also been trying to get details on Sony’s deals dating back to 2012, but Judge Chappell labeled this “excessive,” and granted Sony’s request to limit the applicable time for document requests to 2019 instead.

It’s incredibly rare for details on such exclusivity deals to be made public, but the FTC case could open up some of the secrecy of the games industry in court hearings. The last time we saw similar details revealed by a court case was Epic Games vs. Apple in 2021. That case showed how Microsoft had explored reducing its Xbox store cut to shake up console gaming, how Sony had implemented cross-play platform fees, and that Fortnite was a PS4 cash cow.

The FTC case is still at the document discovery stage, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for August 2nd, so we’re months away from seeing any potential new details.

Elsewhere, Microsoft’s Activision deal is likely to be approved by EU regulators. The combination of a binding 10-year agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms and a similar deal with Nvidia has reportedly convinced the European Commission to approve the acquisition. Microsoft still faces scrutiny from UK and US regulators though, with Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) offering possible remedies last month that include forcing Microsoft to sell off Activision Blizzard’s business associated with Call of Duty.

As A.I. Booms, Lawmakers Struggle to Understand the Technology

As A.I. Booms, Lawmakers Struggle to Understand the Technology Tech innovations are again racing ahead of Washington’s ability to regulate them, lawmakers and A.I. experts said.

jeudi 2 mars 2023

CNET editor-in-chief Connie Guglielmo will step down to work on AI-generated content

A graphic showing a robot performing multiple functions — Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Following monthslong questions about how CNET uses artificial intelligence tools, longtime CNET editor-in-chief Connie Guglielmo will step down from her role and take on a new job: senior vice president of AI content strategy and editor-at-large, according to an internal draft memo circulated today, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge.

In her new role, Guglielmo will work on machine learning strategy at Red Ventures, the private equity-backed media company that acquired the tech news site in 2020. Adam Auriemma, the former editor-in-chief of a different Red Ventures outlet, NextAdvisor, will become editor-in-chief. NextAdvisor, a personal finance outlet, appears to no longer be active — the site’s Twitter account hasn’t posted since January, it no longer appears on Red Ventures’ list of brands, and its website redirects to CNET.

Guglielmo’s move to her artificial intelligence role comes just hours after The Verge reported that mass layoffs were underway at CNET. At least a dozen employees lost their jobs, including some longtime figureheads at the company, according to sources with knowledge of the layoffs. The full extent of the layoffs is not yet clear as staff work to figure out which colleagues are affected — the number could be as high as 26 or more, sources say.

After Futurism revealed in January that CNET had been quietly publishing dozens of articles generated using AI, Guglielmo and other Red Ventures leaders defended the use of automation tools despite public concern around how the practice was implemented. The tool’s use was temporarily paused while Red Ventures conducted an internal audit of all AI-generated content across its sites. Soon after, more than half of the articles were updated with corrections.

Guglielmo, who has been CNET editor-in-chief for nine years, has defended the use of AI tools at the outlet. In late January, she said in a blog post that though the AI-generated stories were halted, the newsroom would continue testing AI tools that would “help [CNET’s] teams.”

Multiple former CNET staff told The Verge that editorial independence was chipped away under Guglielmo’s leadership and Red Ventures’ ownership. Former staff recounted multiple instances of employees being pressured to change their work to appease advertisers, and other team members were repeatedly asked to work on ads and prioritize work that served marketing purposes and ranked highly in Google search.

The latest round of layoffs is far from the first: former CNET staff told The Verge that some teams have been decimated by past cuts to the workforce, while other staffers have been pushed out over time.

Red Ventures didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

Here are the best Kindle deals right now

The Kindle Paperwhite lying on a bunch of physical books while turned on. — *The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite Kids is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy starting at just $104.99.* | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.

Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon looks to be moving beyond books and into the realm of writing — something that should make future Kindles function more akin to physical paper.

Below, we’ve listed each model currently available. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one or any of the products, but we’ve mentioned the most recent sale price in those instances. Also, keep in mind that Amazon offers 20 percent off all of its Kindles when you trade in select devices, as well as $20 off when you purchase two (at least in some cases), so there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are available at a discount.

Best Kindle deals 2023

The best Kindle (2022) deals

In case you missed it, Amazon announced a new entry-level Kindle last year, one that’s designed to replace the 2019 model. The latest Kindle — which starts at $99.99 — puts Amazon’s base e-reader more in line with the most recent Kindle Paperwhite, providing a number of quality-of-life improvements in the process. The new model features longer battery life, a 300ppi screen, and now charges via USB-C instead of Micro USB. It also touts 16GB of storage by default and comes in a new “denim” color, which resembles the soft blue you might associate with jeans.

Although the new Kindle recently dropped to $74.99 in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, it’s currently only available at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Target with ads and up to four months of Kindle Unlimited for $99.99, its standard retail price. It’s also available in its ad-free configuration at Amazon for $119.99 or with a power adapter and a fabric cover starting at $149.97, neither option of which is discounted. Regardless of whether you choose the standalone model or the bundle, however, the new Kindle remains a worthwhile option if you’re looking to pick up an e-reader for $40 less than the current price of the latest Paperwhite.

The best Kindle Kids (2022) deals

The new base Kindle wasn’t the only e-reader Amazon introduced in September. The new entry-level model has arrived alongside a new Kindle Kids, which is identical to the standard model but comes with a handful of accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books. Like the last-gen Kindle Kids, the new model retails for $20 more than the base model, bringing the MSRP to $119.99.

In terms of add-ons, the new Kindle Kids edition consists of four items: the device, a case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and one year of Amazon Kids Plus. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns, as it allows parents to grant their child access to a digital library of kid-friendly books like Percy Jackson and the entire Harry Potter series at no additional cost.

On the discount front, we recently saw the 2022 Kindle Kids drop to $84.99 ($30 off), which remains the e-reader’s all-time low. Right now, however, it’s only available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for its full retail price of $119.99.

*The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.*

The best Kindle Paperwhite (2021) deals

Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is its 11th-gen model, which comes with USB-C support, longer battery life, and a larger 6.8-inch display. The e-reader launched more than a year ago, and it's starting to receive steep discounts at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. That said, you can also still occasionally pick up the last-gen model from 2018 at a discount.

The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite comes in three main configurations: an 8GB model with ads for $139.99, an 8GB model without ads for $159.99, and a 32GB ad-free Signature Edition for $189.99. The latter is identical to the standard Paperwhite except it also features Qi wireless charging and a sensor that will automatically adjust the backlight when needed. Amazon has also rolled out a Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition for $159.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and a year of Amazon Kids Plus, much like the aforementioned Kindle Kids. All 2021 models are also similar to the 2018 model in that they feature a waterproof design and Audible audiobook support.

Amazon’s latest Paperwhite recently dropped to an all-time low of $104.99 in the run-up to Valentine’s Day. As of right now, though, the e-reader is only available in the ad-supported configuration at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy starting at $139.99, or in its ad-free variant at Amazon starting at $159.99.

As for bundles, Amazon is offering the base Paperwhite from 2021 as part of a package that contains a power adapter and your choice of a fabric cover for $169.97, a leather cover for $179.97, or a “cork” cover for $189.97, all of which are $20 off.

As for the 32GB ad-free Signature Edition, it’s available at Amazon and Best Buy right now for its full retail price of $189.99, or about $60 more than the e-reader’s all-time low. If you prefer a bundle, Amazon is currently selling it in three configurations: one with a cork cover and a wireless charging dock starting at $239.97 ($20 off), one with a fabric cover and a wireless charging dock starting at $219.97 ($20 off), and one with a leather cover and a wireless charging dock starting at $229.97 ($20 off).

Lastly, if you’re looking for the Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition, it’s available at Amazon and Best Buy starting at $159.99, which is the e-reader’s standard retail price and $55 more than its most recent low. If want to outfit your child with additional storage, the 16GB model is also available at Best Buy, Amazon, and Target for $169.99 (its full retail price).

The best Kindle Oasis (2019) deals

The Kindle Oasis is the most expensive of the lineup, starting at $250. The device comes in two storage configurations, 8GB or 32GB, and like the other models, you can get it with or without ads on the lock screen.

The 2019 Kindle Oasis looks very similar to the previous model. It retains its waterproof 7-inch 300ppi E Ink display and supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth. However, unlike previous models, it can adjust the color temperature to a yellow-toned display, making it easier to read at night.

In the past, we’ve seen the 8GB Kindle Oasis drop to as low as $174.99, which remains the lowest price to date for the standalone configuration. Unfortunately, the ad-supported Oasis is only retailing at Amazon and Best Buy right now starting at $249.99. If you prefer the model without ads, you can pick it up on Amazon for $269.99 with three months of Kindle Unlimited. Lastly, if you need additional storage, the 32GB model is available on Amazon with ads for $279.99 or for $299.99 without.

As for bundles, the 8GB Kindle Oasis is currently on sale in its ad-supported configuration at Amazon with a power adapter and a fabric cover for $279.97, a leather cover for $289.97, or a “premium” leather cover for $304.97, all of which are $30 off.

The best Kindle Scribe deals

The ad-free Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s biggest e-reader to date — one that also represents a departure from past Kindle models. It packs a 10.2-inch display with 300 dpi, along with the same great battery life for which Kindles have become known. What separates the Scribe from other models, however, is that it comes with one of two styli, which can be used to annotate books, doodle, or jot down notes. We found the e-reader’s note-taking capabilities lacking in our testing, but Amazon has already started to improve the software via free OTA software updates, helping bring it up to speed with other E Ink competitors.

Although we recently saw the Kindle Scribe drop to $194.99, the 16GB base model is currently only available at Amazon and Best Buy with up to four months of Kindle Unlimited and a Basic Pen starting at $339.99, its typical retail price. The 16GB base model with the Basic Pen is also available on Amazon bundled with a fabric cover and a power adapter for $379.97 or with a leather cover and a power adapter for $399.97, both of which are $40 off.

Samsung’s new foldable hinge might look nicer, but it probably won’t have a longer life span

Galaxy Z Fold 4 folded in half on a desk with hinge facing outward. — *The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s U-shaped hinge might make way for a new shape this year.* | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

We have good reason to believe that Samsung will put a new kind of hinge in its next flagship foldable, and a South Korean trade publication has just supplied more confirmation. Spotted by 9to5Google, The Elec reports that Samsung has started reliability testing a new water drop-style hinge for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5.

The new hinge design would make the folded phone thinner and help reduce the appearance of a crease with the main screen unfolded. But according to this report, Samsung is testing the hinge to withstand 200,000 folds like the last one, which falls short of longevity claims from recent competitors like the Honor Magic VS and Oppo Find N2 — both rated to 400,000 folds.

The Elec’s report does mention that the hinge would be tested to a maximum “limit” of 300,000 folds, but 200,000 folds seems to be the main bar that this design needs to clear. After folding 200,000 times (which takes four to five days!), the hinge needs to maintain at least 85 percent of its original strength. That test, in theory, represents about five years of daily use if you open the phone a little more than 100 times per day. The Magic VS and Find N2, on the other hand, would last for around 10 years, which is roughly an eternity in consumer electronics years.

An image showing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in an unfolded state — *The Z Fold 4’s hinge design leaves a noticeable crease in the main display — hard to see straight-on, but it’s visible at an angle.*

In fairness to Samsung, the Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 boast IPX8 water resistance ratings — neither the Find N2 nor Magic VS has an IP rating of any kind. If you drop your non-water-resistant foldable phone in a puddle two years into ownership, it’s not much comfort knowing that it would have kept folding for another eight years.

Still, we’re hoping to see Samsung pushing the limits of its folding devices a little further this year. It’s been basically running unopposed for Foldable of the Year the past couple of years in the US, where competition is scarce. With more candidates (hopefully) in the mix this year, it would be nice if Samsung felt a little more pressure to innovate — we’ll just keep our fingers crossed for bigger cover screens and better cameras.

Best podcasts of the week: Words of wisdom from Michelle Obama and her famous friends

In this week’s newsletter: Personal stories and platitudes abound in the former first lady’s The Light We Carry podcast. Plus: five of the best shows to help you organise your life

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Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast
Audible, all episodes out on Tuesday
We could all do with some of the formidable former first lady’s words of wisdom being fed into our ears from time to time. These eight recordings of conversations Michelle Obama conducted as part of her most recent book tour for The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times provide exactly that. Speaking to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, she serves personal stories to learn from and on-brand platitudes to live by.
Hollie Richardson

Fujifilm announces the new Instax Mini 12 instant camera

White, purple, pink, blue, and green Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 instant cameras against a white background. — *The Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 comes in a variety of colors.* | Image: Fujifilm

Fujifilm has announced the newest instant camera in its Instax Mini lineup: the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12. The Instax Mini 12 is a new iteration of the Instax Mini 11 — our current top instant camera pick — and will be available around mid-March for $79.95.

Save for a few minor feature and design updates, the Instax Mini 11 and Instax Mini 12 look identical. However, the lens structure is the most notable change. You can now, for instance, twist the lens to enter the Close-Up Mode instead of pushing a button, much as you would a traditional point-and-shoot. I’ve only just started testing the camera, but based on my first impression, this makes zooming in just a little more fun and intuitive as a result.

You can also now power the instant camera on and off by simply twisting the lens to clearly labeled “on” and “off” settings. Previously, you had to click a button on the side to turn the camera on and pop the lens out and then push it back to turn the camera off. That’s not exactly intuitive, and I imagine that, combined with the lack of clear “on” and “off” labels, may have made it a little harder for kids to use the Instax Mini 11.

Still, while I like the fact that it’s now more intuitive to turn off the camera, I prefer using the Instax Mini 11’s button to turn it on. That’s because the Close-Up mode is close to the “on” and “off” settings. This makes it easy to accidentally turn the Instax Mini 12 off, which I did while trying to switch the lens to Close-Up Mode. It’s possible, though, things will improve after I test the camera more and adjust to the change.

Fujifilm’s also made some changes to the flash that are worth pointing out. Though, unfortunately, you still can’t turn the flash off, Fujifilm says the new automatic flash control should better optimize image quality in bright and low light environments. I’ll have to do further testing to see if that claim holds true, but I hope it is since that was one of my main issues with its otherwise excellent predecessor.

A green Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 instant camera against a white background. — *The new green Fujifilm Instax Mini 12*

Finally, as mentioned before, the Instax Mini 12 features a few design changes. Most noticeably, the body is more rectangular than square, though with the same rounded edges as its predecessor. It also lacks the Instax Mini 11’s curved side and is less wide, which makes holding it while taking photos easier. In addition, Fujifilm’s swapped out the black colorway with a new and fun mint green shade that may appeal more to the younger crowd.

In addition to the Instax Mini 12, Fujifilm has announced the launch of a new free downloadable INSTAX UP! smartphone app that will be released soon. Users can digitally scan, import, organize, and store their pictures in the app no matter which Instax print or camera they own, which means Instax Mini 12 users will also be able to use it.

I’ll soon be updating our instant camera guide after I finish testing the Instax Mini 12 and will add my thoughts about how it stacks up against rivals from Polaroid and Kodak, so stay tuned.

‘They’re more concerned about profit’: Osha, DoJ take on Amazon’s grueling working conditions

The federal workplace safety agency has issued citations against the company at multiple warehouses for various violations

The US’s top workplace safety regulator and the justice department are pressuring Amazon to explain safety practices that have led to injury rates for warehouse workers that are on average close to twice as high as the company’s competitors and in one case five times higher.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) issued citations against Amazon at six warehouses in December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023 over unsafe working conditions, ergonomic hazards and failure to properly report injuries.

Ebay parcel was lost, but the courier can’t trace it

Using the platform to book an Evri delivery signs sellers up to Packlink

Before Christmas my husband used eBay to sell two toys, and went on the site to book the parcels firm Evri to deliver them. The problem is that they didn’t arrive. In the past we have been able to claim whenever a parcel got lost but not this time.

We have tried logging on via the website, chat, or the customer service phone line but to no avail. Whenever we give Evri the tracking number of our parcels, the company says they cannot be found and to follow “our protocols” for lost parcels.

mercredi 1 mars 2023

‘The internet’s sewer’: why Turkey blocked its most popular social site

Chaotic free speech on Ekşi Sözlük finally proved too much after devastating earthquakes hit country

Launched on the eve of the millennium, Turkey’s most popular homegrown social media website has weathered lawsuits, criticism from the highest levels of government and even death threats directed at one of its founders. A simple editable online dictionary turned national obsession, Ekşi Sözlük has for more than two decades spurred its own biting form of social satire while providing a rare haven for free expression on the Turkish internet.

But this year’s earthquakes that upended life across Turkey may prove to be the death knell for Ekşi Sözlük, which was abruptly blocked across the country in the weeks after the earthquakes first struck, without proper explanation.

TikTok will limit teens to 60 minutes screen time a day (but you can turn the limit off)

TikTok will also soon roll out similar features available to all users to allow for better screen time management. | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok has announced a batch of new features intended to reduce screen time and improve the well-being of its younger users.

In the coming weeks, a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes will be automatically applied to every TikTok user under 18 years old. Teens that hit this limit will be asked to enter a passcode to continue watching. They can disable the feature entirely, but if they do so and spend more than 100 minutes on TikTok a day, they’ll be asked to set a new limit.

TikTok claims these prompts increased the use of its screen time management tools by 234 percent during the feature’s first month of testing. Teens will also be sent an inbox notification each week that recaps their screen time, allowing younger users to be aware of how much time they spend on the app and requiring that they make active decisions to extend the recommended screen time.

TikTok says it consulted current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital when deciding how long the time restriction should be.

“While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognize that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently,” said Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok, in a statement.

The 60 minute time limit will also apply to children under the age of 13 using the “TikTok for Younger Users” limited app experience. In this instance, a parent or guardian will need to set or enter an existing passcode to enable 30 minutes of additional watch time on the account if the screen time limit is reached.

Four new features are also being added to Family Pairing, TikTok’s customizable parental controls that allow a parent or guardian to link their TikTok account to a younger user’s account. Custom limits can be applied, allowing restrictions to be adjusted based on what day of the week it is (or more widely extended over school holidays).

Family Pairing will also grant access to TikTok’s screen time dashboard that summarizes how much time a child has spent on the app, how often it was opened, and a breakdown detailing how much time was spent during the day and night. A new “Mute Notifications” setting will soon allow parents to set a schedule to mute app notifications on their children’s accounts. Push notifications are already muted automatically from 9PM for users between 13 and 15 years old, while 16-17 year-olds have push notifications disabled from 10PM.

Finally, TikTok says it’s developing new content controls that will allow caregivers to filter videos with words or hashtags they don’t want their children to watch. The company is working with “parenting, youth, and civil society organizations” over the coming weeks to design the feature.

Outside of Family Pairing, TikTok said some of these settings will be available widely to all accounts “soon,” allowing any user to schedule mute notifications and set customized screen time limits for each day of the week. A sleep reminder is also being introduced that allows users to set a time to be reminded to close the app and go to bed.

TikTok has not said when exactly the new features announced today will roll out to users. We’ve reached out to TikTok to request a release timeline, and will update this story should we hear back.

Metroid Prime was astonishingly ahead of its time. I can’t put it down

Unlike a lot of throwbacks, a new remastered version of the 3D space adventure plays even better than it did two decades ago. Plus, your gaming questions answered

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Welcome back to Pushing Buttons! First up – last week’s newsletter had a few errors in it. Most obviously, I referred to the Meta Quest 2 headset as the now-discontinued Oculus Go (even though I’d just been playing with the Quest 2, to compare it with PSVR2 – nice job, brain). I also gave some incorrect pricing info. A corrected version is on the Guardian site. Apologies for the mistakes.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how bringing games back from the 1990s can be a difficult exercise, given how technologically hamstrung developers were in the early 3D era. Replaying games from that period today requires a kind eye and a willingness to accept compromising quirks. But sometimes, you play a game from a decades ago and think, this might actually hit better now. Metroid Prime Remastered is one of those games. I’ve been unable to play anything else for weeks, since I downloaded it on a whim after February’s Nintendo Direct. This game was astonishingly ahead of its time. In fact, I didn’t appreciate it in 2003, when I was a teenager, as much as I do now.

The next big Olympics esports competition will feature chess and Just Dance

SPAIN-IRAN-WOMEN-PROTEST-CHESS — Image: CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is taking its next steps into esports competitions, and it’s adding chess and Just Dance to the mix.

In June, the IOC will host Olympic Esports Week, which expands upon the Olympic Virtual Series it put on in 2021 with some new events. Like the Olympic Virtual Series, Olympic Esports Week will focus on virtual representations of physical activities. While that means you won’t see any Overwatch 2 gold medalists, the IOC is adding some entries to the lineup that adhere less to the traditional concept of “sport.”

New for Olympic Esports Week are archery, tennis, tae kwon do, Just Dance (Ubisoft’s hit dancing franchise), and chess, which will sit alongside returning competitions in motorsport (via Gran Turismo), cycling, baseball, and sailing. Chess, to me, feels particularly notable given how huge it has become on Twitch, and I think there could be a huge draw to watching the fight for the first Olympic esports chess champion.

Olympic Esports Week technically kicks off today, March 1st, with initial qualifiers. The competitions will conclude with an in-person event that’s set to take place in Singapore from June 22nd to 25th.

New mobile puck will allow smartphones to send texts via satellite

Low-cost device launched to solve mobile blackspots with SOS and two-way texting for Android and iPhone

The Defy Satellite link gives any Android or iPhone an instant upgrade with the ability to send and receive text messages via satellite, solving the problem of mobile dead zones for emergencies and wilderness adventures.

Announced ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and produced by the British phone manufacturer Bullitt under the Motorola brand, the Satellite link connects to a normal smartphone via Bluetooth and uses an app to send not only SOS messages but general two-way chat via texts.

mardi 28 février 2023

‘We’re not taking care of it’: why film preservation should be prioritized

A new documentary acts as a cautionary tale urging us to be more aware of how we store and preserve what we film and watch

There’s a widely taken-for-granted consensus that in film lies immortality; in Damien Chazelle’s recent drama Babylon, a Tinseltown gossip columnist waxes rhapsodic about how actors captured on celluloid effectively live forever in posterity, her general sentiment reiterated in higher-minded terms by reams of film theory scholarship. Advertising lingo rebranded cherished memories as “Kodak moments” in response to our species’ innate desire to freeze a fleeting unit of time as a physical quantity we can revisit over and over at our leisure. This line of thinking is understandable, seeing as anyone can click over to the internet and watch 100-year-old footage of working-class daily life. But Inés Toharia needs everyone to know that it’s also fundamentally mistaken.

“We’re going so fast as a society that we don’t always realize what we’re leaving behind,” she tells the Guardian from her home in Spain. “We should pause to think about saving our digital materials, because they don’t last forever. And a lot of video today isn’t even meant to last, things like security camera footage, a lot of what’s on YouTube. We’re producing more than ever, but we’re not taking care of it. A friend shows me a video of their kid taking their first steps, I think, ‘Oh, that’s not going to last.’”

¿Cómo usa Twitter Elon Musk?

¿Cómo usa Twitter Elon Musk? Elon Musk suele decir que Twitter debe ser una plataforma más abierta en la que haya una gran diversidad de voces y puntos de vista pero, a menudo, su cronología se centra en memes, respuestas a los elogios que le escriben y controversias.

US Marshals Service Breached by Ransomware Attack

U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Drew Wade said in comments to news outlets on Feb. 27 that the agency received a ransomware demand and found a data exfiltration event that affected the agency's stand-alone computer system. The post US Marshals Service Breached by Ransomware Attack appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Twitter’s decentralized alternative Bluesky arrives as an invite-only iOS app

An image showing three side-by-side screengrabs of Bluesky on mobile — Image: Bluesky

Bluesky, the decentralized project that originated within Twitter, has arrived on the Apple App Store as an invite-only social network, as first reported by TechCrunch. The listing also gives us one of our very first glimpses at the app, which closely resembles Twitter down to the timeline and profile pages.

The project’s backed by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and has been working on an app powered by its open-source social protocol for months now, called the Authenticated Transfer Protocol, or “AT Protocol” for short. Bluesky describes it as a “federated social network” where separate networks exist within a single hub.

According to Bluesky, AT Protocol is built based on four main ideals: account portability; algorithmic; performance; and interoperability. This framework is supposed to allow you to easily transfer your account data to another Bluesky provider as well as give you more control over what you see on a network, among other things.

While Bluesky initially made the app available in a private beta for developers in October, it appears the company’s willing to expand the test just a bit more now that it’s on the App Store. The website doesn’t offer any details about when the app could become available to the general public or how many testers are allowed to use the app, but it lets users join a waitlist for access.

The project’s origins within Twitter raised concerns about what would become of Bluesky following Elon Musk’s takeover, as it relied on the social network for funding. However, last year, Bluesky spun off as a separate company, noting that “independence is important to the success of the project,” and added Dorsey to its board.

Judging by the screenshots posted on the App Store and the ones included in TechCrunch’s article as part of a hands-on experience, Bluesky looks promising so far, featuring separate tabs for home, search, and notifications in addition to a Twitter-like “repost” ability. We don’t know when (or if) Bluesky will come to Android, but I sure hope it does. With more Twitter alternatives like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Hive gaining traction, it almost feels like the golden age of social networks again.

Aventon Abound is an electric cargo bike with a lot of flexibility — and a great price

Aventon Abound electric cargo bike — Image: Aventon

Aventon announced a new electric cargo bike, the Abound, which the California-based company describes as “an efficient alternative to driving a car around town.” With a 750-watt motor, a variety of accessories, and a total weight rating of 440 lbs, the Abound is designed to be a versatile, safe, and affordable mobility option for anyone looking to do less driving in their life.

Aventon is mostly known for its fat-tired, adventure-themed road bikes, so a cargo bike was never a guaranteed addition to the company’s lineup. That said, Aventon brought a lot of the same attention to detail to the Abound as it did with previous models, which should help give the bike a bit of a leg-up compared to other low-cost models.

How low cost as we talking? Aventon says the suggest price for the Abound is $2,199, putting on par (if not slightly more expensive) with competitor cargo bikes like Rad Power Bikes’ RadWagon and Lectric’s newly released Xpedition. That should help spark interest among consumers who are looking to supplant car trips with a more sustainable mode of transportation, but don’t want to take out a second mortgage on the house in the process.

The Abound may be low priced compared to many of cargo bikes from legacy manufacturers, but it doesn’t skimp on features. A powerful 750W, rear-hub motor will propel the bike to a max speed of 20 mph (32km/h). There are four assist levels — Eco, Tour, Sport, and Turbo — and torque sensors deliver power nearly as soon as you start pedaling. And when you’re stuck at a dead stop with extra cargo weighing you down, there’s a thumb throttle to help get you started moving.

The removable 720Wh battery (48V / 15Ah) is rated up to 50 miles of range, but that will depend on how much assist you’re using. Like cruising around in the top Turbo mode? You should expect to get less range out of the Abound’s battery if that’s the case.

One of the features that makes Aventon bikes stand out from the rest of the pack is the inclusion of color displays, where you can see important information like speed, mileage, and battery percentages. Most budget e-bikes skimp in this area by offering only the most basic displays, but Aventon likes to splurge on the color LCD, and it’s hard to fault them for it when the price is so nice. Aventon also has its own smartphone app which can be linked to the bike via Bluetooth, for a more thorough breakdown of your bike’s performance.

Another surprising feature you’ll find on this bike are working turn signals in the integrated rear tail light. That certainly comes in handy when communicating your intentions to mostly clueless car drivers who often chafe at sharing the road with cyclists.

In fact, there are a host of top-shelf features to be found on this bike, which again, and I can’t stress this enough, is pretty rare on a bike in this price segment. These include adjustable front suspension, a nice dropper seat, hydraulic disc brakes of extra stopping power, and a 7-speed transmission.

Of course, all those features add up — literally. The Abound is a heavy bike, weighing in at 81 lbs without any accessories. Add a childseat, or rear rack railings, and those pounds will add up. The front handlebar folds down, for extra storage flexibility, but ultimately this is not a bike you want to be caught carrying up (or down) any stairs if you can avoid it.

Speaking of accessories, Aventon offers a lot to help you configure your ride to your specific needs. There’s a front and rear baskets, a rear seat pad for kids or adult passengers, pannier bags, a center compartment for extra storage, and options for a trailer. Of course, adding any of things to your bike will cause that suggested retail price to go up, so keep all that in mind when shopping.

But of course, a fully kitted cargo e-bike should not be compared to traditional bikes, or even other e-bikes, but rather to the car that you’re probably hoping to replace. E-bikes are always a better value proposition, in addition to being better for the environment and all around more fun to ride. Don’t take my word on it: just ask any kid who’s had the pleasure of riding with a parent or caregiver, and they’ll tell you just how much better it is seeing the world from the back of a bike than from a car.

Yes, we have no tomatoes: Why shelves are emptying in UK stores

From fresh produce to medicines and computer chips, a cocktail of problems is playing havoc with supply chains

Early on Saturday morning, as Paul Crane, a trader at London’s renowned Borough market, was arranging blood oranges from Valencia on his stall, he admitted that his industry is facing some of the toughest conditions in a quarter of a century.

The wholesale price of tomatoes, peppers and aubergines has quadrupled, and English cauliflowers are up too. Some stallholders are not even selling vine tomatoes because they are just too expensive.

lundi 27 février 2023

Will future computers run on human brain cells?

Will future computers run on human brain cells? A "biocomputer" powered by human brain cells could be developed within our lifetime, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers who expect such technology to exponentially expand the capabilities of modern computing and create novel fields of study.

‘Scanners are complicated’: why Gen Z faces workplace ‘tech shame’

They may be digital natives, but young workers were raised on user-friendly apps – and office devices are far less intuitive

Garrett Bemiller, a 25-year-old New Yorker, has spent his entire life online. He grew up in front of screens, swiping from one app to the next. But there’s one skill set Bemiller admits he’s less comfortable with: the humble office printer.

“Things like scanners and copy machines are complicated,” says Bemiller, who works as a publicist. The first time he had to copy something in the office didn’t exactly go well. “It kept coming out as a blank page, and took me a couple times to realize that I had to place the paper upside-down in the machine for it to work.”

Meta backs new tool for removing sexual images of minors posted online

Somone holding a mobile phone while using The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Take It Down tool. — Image: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has announced a new platform designed to help remove sexually explicit images of minors from the internet. Meta revealed in a blog post that it had provided initial funding to create the NCMEC’s free-to-use “Take It Down” tool, which allows users to anonymously report and remove “nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos” of underage individuals found on participating platforms and block the offending content from being shared again.

Facebook and Instagram have signed on to integrate the platform, as have OnlyFans, Pornhub, and Yubo. Take It Down is designed for minors to self-report images and videos of themselves; however, adults who appeared in such content when they were under the age of 18 can also use the service to report and remove it. Parents or other trusted adults can make a report on behalf of a child, too.

The past doesn’t have to define your future.

You can’t go back and unsend, but we can help remove your explicit images online so you can move forward.
Learn more: https://t.co/2QBSv9DqFV #SafeChildhood #NCMECTakeItDown pic.twitter.com/M528DDe9cm
— National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (@MissingKids) February 27, 2023

An FAQ for Take It Down states that users must have the reported image or video on their device to use the service. This content isn’t submitted as part of the reporting process and, as such, remains private. Instead, the content is used to generate a hash value, a unique digital fingerprint assigned to each image and video that can then be provided to participating platforms to detect and remove it across their websites and apps, while minimizing the number of people who see the actual content.

“We created this system because many children are facing these desperate situations,” said Michelle DeLaune, president and CEO of NCMEC. “Our hope is that children become aware of this service, and they feel a sense of relief that tools exist to help take the images down. NCMEC is here to help.”

The Take It Down service is comparable to StopNCII, a service launched in 2021 that aims to prevent the nonconsensual sharing of images for those over the age of 18. StopNCII similarly uses hash values to detect and remove explicit content across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Bumble.

In addition to announcing its collaboration with NCMEC in November last year, Meta rolled out new privacy features for Instagram and Facebook that aim to protect minors using the platforms. These include prompting teens to report accounts after they block suspicious adults, removing the message button on teens’ Instagram accounts when they’re viewed by adults with a history of being blocked, and applying stricter privacy settings by default for Facebook users under 16 (or 18 in certain countries).

Other platforms participating in the program have taken steps to prevent and remove explicit content depicting minors. Yubo, a French social networking app, has deployed a range of AI and human-operated moderation tools that can detect sexual material depicting minors, while Pornhub allows individuals to directly issue a takedown request for illegal or nonconsensual content published on its platform.

All five of the participating platforms have been previously criticized for failing to protect minors from sexual exploitation. A BBC News report from 2021 found children could easily bypass OnlyFans’ age verification systems, while Pornhub was sued by 34 victims of sexual exploitation the same year, alleging that the site knowingly profited from videos depicting rape, child sexual exploitation, trafficking, and other nonconsensual sexual content. Yubo — described as “Tinder for teens” — has been used by predators to contact and rape underage users, and the NCMEC estimated last year that Meta’s plan to apply end-to-end encryption to its platforms could effectively conceal 70 percent of the child sexual abuse material currently detected and reported on its platform.

“When tech companies implement end-to-end encryption, with no preventive measures built in to detect known child sexual abuse material, the impact on child safety is devastating,” said DeLaune to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

A press release for Take It Down mentions that participating platforms can use the provided hash values to detect and remove images across “public or unencrypted sites and apps,” but it isn’t clear if this extends to Meta’s use of end-to-end encryption across services like Messenger. We have reached out to Meta for confirmation and will update this story should we hear back.

As Oil Companies Stay Lean, Workers Move to Renewable Energy

As Oil Companies Stay Lean, Workers Move to Renewable Energy Solar, wind, geothermal, battery and other alternative-energy businesses are adding workers from fossil fuel companies, where employment has fallen.