Monday, August 3, 2020

Redmi 9 Prime India to Launch in India Today: How to Watch Live

Redmi 9 Prime will launch in India today, August 4, at 12pm (noon). The company has been teasing the phone for several days now and will finally unveil it tomorrow through a livestream. The... https://ift.tt/33kbQxn

YouTube says the number of creators who no longer rely on ads for the majority of their earnings grew 40% between January and May (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
YouTube says the number of creators who no longer rely on ads for the majority of their earnings grew 40% between January and May  —  Two days before his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began, Jerry Dyer went live on YouTube to discuss his itinerary.



FCC invites public comment on Trump’s attempt to nerf Section 230

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has decided to ask the public for its thoughts on an attempt initiated in Trump in May to water down certain protections that arguably led to the creation of the modern internet economy. The nakedly retaliatory order seems to be, legally speaking, laughable, and could be resolved without public input — but the FCC wants your opinion, so you may as well give it to them.

You can submit your comment here at the FCC’s long-suffering electronic comment filing system, but before you do so, perhaps acquaint yourself with a few facts.

Section 230 essentially prevents companies like Facebook and Google from being liable for content they merely host, as long as they work to take down illegal content quickly. Some feel these protections has given the companies the opportunity to manipulate speech on their platforms — Trump felt targeted by a fact-check warning placed by Twitter on his unsupported claims of fraud in mail-in warning.

To understand the order itself and see commentary from the companies that would be affected, as well as Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who co-authored the law in the first place, read our story from the day Trump signed the order. (Wyden called it “plainly illegal.”)

For a bipartisan legislative approach that actually addresses shortcomings in Section 230, check out the PACT Act announced in June. (Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) says they’re approaching the law “with a scalpel rather than a jackhammer.”)

More relevant to the FCC’s proceedings, however, are the comments of sitting commissioner Brendan Starks, who questioned the order’s legality and ethics, likening it to a personal vendetta intended to intimidate certain companies. As he explained:

The broader debate about Section 230 long predates President Trump’s conflict with Twitter in particular, and there are so many smart people who believe the law here should be updated. But ultimately that debate belongs to Congress. That the president may find it more expedient to influence a five-member commission than a 538-member Congress is not a sufficient reason, much less a good one, to circumvent the constitutional function of our democratically elected representatives.

Incidentally, Starks may be who Pai is referring to in a memo announcing the commentary period. “I strongly disagree with those who demand that we ignore the law and deny the public and all stakeholders the opportunity to weigh in on this important issue. We should welcome vigorous debate—not foreclose it,” Pai wrote.

This may be a reference to Commissioner Starks’s suggestion that the FCC address the order quickly and authoritatively: “If, as I suspect it ultimately will, the petition fails at a legal question of authority, I think we should say it loud and clear, and close the book on this unfortunate detour,” he said. After all, public opinion doesn’t count for much if the order has no legal effect to begin with and the FCC doesn’t even have to consider how it might revisit Section 230.

Whatever the case, the proposal is ready for you to comment on it. To do so, visit this page and click, in the box on the left, “+New Filing” or “+Express” — the first is if you would like to submit a document or evidence in support of your opinion, and the second is if you just want to explain your position in plain text. Remember, this information will be filed publicly, so anything you put in those fields — name, address and everything — will be visible online.

To be clear, you’re commenting on the  NTIA proposal that the FCC draw up new rules regarding Section 230, which the executive order compelled that organization to send, not the executive order itself.

As with the net neutrality debacle, the FCC does not have to take your opinion into account, or reality for that matter. The comment period lasts 45 days, after which the item will likely go to internal deliberations at the Commission.

Zoom will halt direct sales to consumers in mainland China, only offering its tech via third-party partners starting Aug. 23 amid scrutiny over privacy concerns (Paayal Zaveri/Business Insider)

Paayal Zaveri / Business Insider:
Zoom will halt direct sales to consumers in mainland China, only offering its tech via third-party partners starting Aug. 23 amid scrutiny over privacy concerns  —  Foto: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan Zoom CEO Eric Yuan.  — Zoom is halting direct sales of its video conferencing products …



China to launch a state-run authentication system in Sept. for game makers to enforce game playing with real names; Tencent and NetEase use their own systems (Masha Borak/South China Morning Post)

Masha Borak / South China Morning Post:
China to launch a state-run authentication system in Sept. for game makers to enforce game playing with real names; Tencent and NetEase use their own systems  —  China's long-planned real name verification system for video games is almost ready for its nationwide launch Tencent and NetEase already …



Sunday, August 2, 2020

Microsoft: CEO Satya Nadella has talked to Donald Trump about buying TikTok

Microsoft confirmed it is in talks with Chinese company ByteDance to acquire the US arm of its popular video app TikTok and has discussed with President Donald Trump his concerns about security and censorship surrounding such an acquisition.​ https://ift.tt/33fuM0a

TikTok Parent ByteDance Accuses Facebook of 'Plagiarism and Smears'

TikTok owner ByteDance has accused Facebook of plagiarism as it talked about "complex and unimaginable difficulties" it faced while growing into a global brand, in a statement. https://ift.tt/39PmM7j

Amazon Prime Day Sale in India: How to Find the Best Deals

Amazon Prime Day 2020 sale event in India will start from August 6. The 48-hour sale will offer discounts and offers on a large selection of products including smartphones, laptops, speakers, and... https://ift.tt/2XopUlH

Money Heist Season 5 Will Be Its Final Season, Netflix Reveals

Money Heist season 5 will be the Spanish series' final season, Netflix revealed as it confirmed the show's return. Additionally, Netflix announced two new cast members in Miguel Ángel Silvestre... https://ift.tt/33mdP4i

Trump to Act on Chinese Apps Beyond TikTok in Coming Days, Says Pompeo

President Donald Trump will take action shortly on Chinese software companies that are feeding data directly to the Beijing government, posing a risk to US national security, Secretary of State Mike... https://ift.tt/30kp2jU

Trump to Give TikTok Parent ByteDance 45 Days to Negotiate Microsoft Sale

US President Donald Trump has agreed to give ByteDance 45 days to negotiate a sale of its popular short-form video sharing app TikTok to Microsoft, revealed sources. https://ift.tt/3gixMMV

Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale Begins on August 6: Top Deals Previewed

Flipkart has partnered with Citibank and ICICI Bank to offer 10 percent instant discount on purchases during the sale. Phones like the iPhone XR, Oppo Reno 2F, iPhone SE, and Redmi K20 Pro will be... https://ift.tt/2Pl6r0Q

Netflix Now Allows Android Users to Change Playback Speed

Netflix now allows Android users to change playback speed, with the option to pick a speed between 0.5x (50 percent slower) and 1.5x (50 percent faster) in increments of 0.25. Netflix will soon begin... https://ift.tt/31grZ4l

Realme 5 Pro, Realme 5/ Realme 5s, Realme 5i Get July 2020 Security Patch

Realme 5 Pro, Realme 5, Realme 5s, and Realme 5i have got the latest July 2020 update as per the community pages for each phone. The Realme 5 series gets the July 2020 security patch, along with some... https://ift.tt/3i4oDbs

Samsung Forges India Comeback as Anti-China Wave Surges

Samsung is forging a comeback in India's smartphone market with a new range of budget devices and a ramped-up online presence, aiming to recoup ground ceded to Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi. https://ift.tt/2Dd5FjY

Russia's finance minister says Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments to counter Western sanctions (Gleb Bryanski/Reuters)

Gleb Bryanski / Reuters : Russia's finance minister says Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in i...