YouTube simplifies video quality preferences for data and Wi-Fi

YouTube gives users a host of resolutions for consuming content all the way from the lower 240p up to 4K i.e., 2160p. However, choosing from so many options may be a daunting task for some and leaving it on Auto may pick a resolution lower to your liking. In order to address such concerns and also to simplify the resolution selection, it looks like YouTube has implemented new options. You can choose what quality the video plays back on YouTube and you can choose different options for mobile network and Wi-Fi

New video playback quality settings on YouTube

Clicking on the three dots when playing a video on your smartphone, then clicking on the quality button used to throw up a number of resolution options. Now all you get are four options: Auto, Higher Picture Quality, Data Saver and Advanced.

Auto: This setting “Adjusts to give you the best experience for your condition”. While on this setting, most videos for me stuck to the 480 resolution even though the device in question is an iPhone XR. The same on the 2020 iPad Air (review) would keep the resolution at 720p as well for me. 

The next option is the Higher Picture Quality mode which uses more data. The iPhone XR here set the resolution to 720p for me even though higher options are available and that kind of made sense since the XR display has an 828 x 1792 pixel resolution. But you can manually go into advanced and change the resolution to a higher one if you like. Know that this will consume more data. 

On the iPad Air 2020, the High Picture Quality resolution was set to 1440p which also makes sense since the device has a resolution of 1640 x 2360 pixels. 

Next up is the Data Saver Mode which as the name suggests lowers the quality. On the iPhone, it dropped the quality to 240p. 

The last option is Advanced which brings up all the resolutions the video is available in and you can manually choose what resolution to play the content in. This is the exact same as what we had before the new update. 

Another thing to note is that when you change any of the video quality settings while watching a video, it affects the settings of that video only. To make a universal change, you need to open the YouTube app. Click on the icon in the top right corner that represents your account, then click on Settings, and make the universal change in the Video Quality Preferences tab. Note that this tab has a (BETA) written signifying that it isn't available to all. So, if you don't see it here on your device, then the feature hasn’t rolled out to you. 

While it's nice to see YouTube simplify the video quality settings, those that know exactly the resolution they want need to click a few more times on screen to get to the detailed resolution menu and this can get a little annoying. However, since this feature is in beta, we think it may see some changes before the final rollout.

 

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ByteDance asks federal appeals court to vacate U.S. order forcing it to sell TikTok

In a new filing, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance asked the federal appeals court to vacate the United States government order forcing it to sell the app’s American operations.

President Donald Trump issued an order in August requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. business by November 12, unless it was granted a 30-day extension by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In today’s filing (embedded below) with the federal appeals court in Washington D.C., ByteDance said it asked the CFIUS for an extension on November 6, but the order hasn’t been granted yet.

It added it remains committed to “reaching a negotiated mitigation solution with CFIUS satisfying its national security concerns” and will only file a motion to stay enforcement of the divestment order “if discussions reach an impasse.”

Security concerns about TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company were at the center of the executive order Trump signed in August, banning transactions with Beijing-headquartered ByteDance.

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The executive order claimed that TikTok posed a threat to national security, though ByteDance maintains that it does not. But in order to prevent the app, which has about 100 million users in the U.S., from being banned, ByteDance reached a deal in September to sell 20% of its stake in TikTok to Oracle and Walmart. With the Biden administration set to take office in January and ByteDance’s ongoing legal challenge against the divestment order, however, the future of the deal is now uncertain.

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The new filing is part of a lawsuit TikTok filed against the Trump administration on September 18. It won an early victory when the court stopped the U.S. government’s ban from going into effect on its original deadline that month.

In a statement emailed to TechCrunch, a TikTok spokesperson said it has been working with the CFIUS for a year to address its national security concerns “even as we disagree with its assessment.”

“Facing continual new requests and no clarity on whether our proposed solutions would be accepted, we requested the 30-day extension that is expressly permitted in the August 14 order,” the statement continued.

“Today, with the November 12 CFIUS deadline imminent and without an extension in hand, we have no choice but to file a petition in court to defend our rights and those of our more than 1,500 employees in the US.” 

TikTok asks U.S. federal appeals court to vacate U.S. divestment order by TechCrunch on Scribd

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Why Biden tapped several Big Tech staffers for his transition team

Enlarge / Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at a "Build Back Better" Clean Energy event on July 14, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. (credit: Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images)

On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden announced a roster of policy experts who will help ensure "a smooth transfer of power" and enable the new Biden administration to "hit the ground running."

The list has more than 500 members, and technology companies are well-represented on the list. It includes current employees of Airbnb, Amazon, Dell, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Lyft, Salesforce, Stripe, and Uber. It also includes employees from the philanthropic organizations of three tech moguls: the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates), and Schmidt Ventures (former Google CEO Eric Schmidt).

The list also includes one representative from a technology-focused non-profit group: Gene Kimmelman of Public Knowledge will be part of the transition team for the Department of Justice.

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Chan Zuckerberg Initiative faces racial discrimination allegations from former employee

Ray Holgado, a former employee of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, recently filed a racial discrimination complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Holgado, who is Black, worked at CZI from September 2018 through August 2020.

“Despite its social justice rhetoric, CZI is not a welcoming environment for Black employees,” Holgado’s complaint states. “Black employees are underpaid, undervalued, denied growth opportunities, and marginalized. Black employees who want to advance within the organization are shut down and labeled as too assertive or aggressive, while non-Black employees are favored and encouraged. When Black employees have communicated these concerns to CZI leadership, CZI has responded defensively and failed to address the underlying issues. CZI has utterly failed to ‘build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future’ for its Black employees.”

In his complaint, Holgado alleges he was paid less than some of his colleagues doing similar work to him. According to the complaint, a recruiter denied Holgado’s request to negotiate his salary but later found out other, non-Black employees had been able to negotiate a higher salary. Holgado went on to describe other instances in which he was allegedly denied opportunities for promotions and growth, and was treated differently because of his race.

In addition to his own experiences, Holgado says the alleged issues of discrimination at CZI are systemic. According to the complaint, Holgado told CZI co-founder Priscilla Chan that the organization’s approach to diversity was successful in retaining Black people but didn’t do enough to empower Black employees “or integrate their perspectives into the work,” the complaint states. In response, according to the complaint, Chan acknowledged it was concerning but said “DEI may look different for each of us.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, CZI denied the claims.

“While we take any allegation of discrimination seriously and will do so here, this former employee’s specific allegations were previously raised internally, independently investigated, and found to be unsubstantiated,” the spokesperson said. “The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is committed to fair treatment, access, and advancement for all members of the CZI team. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, full stop.”

This complaint comes after a group of more than 70 employees in June asked CZI to commit to 12 changes that would make the philanthropy more inclusive. Then, in August, The Washington Post reported that some Black employees were pushing CZI to approach more work through a racial equity lens. They wrote a letter to Chan, describing how CZI has issues with systemic racism, discrimination and anti-Blackness. Holgado was part of that group.

“Unfortunately, Chan once again failed to grasp the seriousness of the issues the letter raised, refusing to meet several of the group’s requests, most notably declining to provide transparency into CZI’s pay equity data as it related to Black employees,” Holgado wrote today on the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.”Instead of working through the plan of action that was put forth by Black employees, she tasked a recently hired chief operating officer with devising and implementing an alternative course of action. Having witnessed the dynamics of passing the buck and placating employees with half measures play out multiple times at the foundation, I recognized that further efforts would be in vain.”

TechCrunch has reached out to CZI and will update this story if we hear back.

 

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England faces a proper “argy-bargy” in Pennyworth S2 trailer

Jack Bannon reprises his role as former British SAS soldier Alfred Pennyworth for the second season of Pennyworth on Epix.

An alternate London is once again threatened by a sinister society aiming to take over the British government in the trailer for the second season of Pennyworth, a crime drama/prequel series based on the character of Alfred Pennyworth, aka Bruce Wayne/Batman's loyal butler. Like Doom Patrol and the cancelled Swamp Thing series, which languished in the hinterlands of the DC Universe streaming service—Doom Patrol has since moved to HBO Max—Pennyworth being aired on Epix limited S1's audience reach. And that's a shame because it's a solid series, even if it only has a passing connection with the DC Comics characters who inspired it.

(Spoilers for S1 below.)

The series is set in an alternate London circa the 1960s. Jack Bannon stars as the titular Alfred Pennyworth, aka "Alfie," a former working-class British SAS soldier who has found work as a bouncer at an exclusive club and hopes to start up his own security firm.  Among his potential clients: an American businessman named Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), who is secretly a CIA agent working undercover with a group called the No Name League. Among the league's other American agents: Martha Kane (Emma Paetz), Batman's future mother.

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