Apple agrees to pay $95 million over Siri eavesdropping lawsuit
Apple reached a $95 million settlement on Tuesday, Dec. 31, over a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of using its virtual assistant Siri to secretly record Apple users’ conversations via iPhones and other Apple devices. The lawsuit alleged that the recordings occurred even when people did not activate the virtual assistant using the key phrase: “Hey, Siri.”
The lawsuit goes on to claim that some of the recorded conversations were shared with advertisers in the hopes they would sell their products to interested customers. The allegations are in conflict with Apple’s long-running pledge to protect its customers privacy.
As part of the settlement, Apple does not have to admit any wrongdoing. The deal must be approved by a federal judge, and lawyers have proposed a Feb. 14 court hearing to review the legal terms.
If the settlement is approved by the federal judge, the agreement would award money to tens of thousands of Apple users who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year.
Each person would reportedly get $20 for each Siri-equipped device covered in the settlement, but would be limited to five devices they claim. The payment may be higher or lower depending on the number of claims filed. Court documents show that only 3% to 5% of eligible Apple customers are expected to file claims.
Lawyers who brought the lawsuit against Apple assert that the $95 million settlement reached is only a small fraction of the roughly $1.5 billion Apple would have paid if it were found guilty of violating wiretapping and privacy laws had the case gone to trial.
“Next stop launch,” Bezos said in a post on X that also featured a video of a rocket test.
New Glenn is reportedly set to lift off on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
The first mission is expected to be launching technology related to its Blue Ring program, which is a business venture that reportedly offers spacecraft to the Pentagon.
Project Kuiper involves deploying more than 3,200 low-orbit satellites over roughly a decade to provide global broadband access. Blue Origin is also working on certifying New Glenn with the U.S. Space Force for the National Security Space Launch program.
Congress releases framework for future AI regulation
A bipartisan congressional task force released a report containing guiding principles and policy proposals to ensure America is a world leader in responsible AI innovation. The task force hopes the report will be used by future Congress bodies to regulate a developing technology that lawmakers admit they don’t know much about.
“We’re advocating for a light touch regulatory environment where we enact the protections that need to be enacted to protect Americans from the malicious and harmful uses of AI, while it’s still creating a regulatory environment that allows AI innovation to flourish in America. And that’s the balance we’re trying to achieve,” Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., said.
Obernolte co-chaired the task force with Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.
The lawmakers want incrementalism. Congress is not going to pass a comprehensive regulatory package that’s meant to last forever. This is going to happen with small bills that are specific to new developments and changes in the industry.
“We don’t think it’s possible to know enough now about artificial intelligence to be able to pass one single bill of thousands of pages and accomplish everything all at once. We think it requires an incremental approach,” Obernolte said.
Lawmakers also know AI will one day be all encompassing. So they made specific suggestions for different sectors and issues.
If all goes to plan, AI will have a more utopian effect. For agriculture, AI can help increase crop yield by assisting with production, harvest and processing. AI could also help improve diagnostic accuracy in health care.
Private sector leaders in AI innovation applauded Congress’ effort to stay ahead of the game.
“We’ve long advocated for risk-based regulation promoting safe, trustworthy, and innovative AI. The task force’s findings are an important step in advancing a policy framework that fosters open and responsible AI innovation,” IBM Vice President Christina Montgomery said in a statement.
Chris Lehane, Open AI’s chief global affairs officer, stated, “I also appreciate that the report contains specific calls for increased government support for AI research and development, literacy and workforce training programs, and public-private partnerships designed to maximize America’s current lead in AI.”
There are dozens of AI related bills that have been introduced, most of which are in the earliest stages of the legislative process.
Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from TikTok on US ban in January
The U.S. Supreme Court said on Wednesday, Dec. 18, it will hear an appeal from TikTok challenging a U.S. law that could end up banning the social media app next month. The court’s announcement comes after an appeal by TikTok this week.
The Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on Jan. 10 before deciding on the law’s fate. Currently, the app used by millions of people is set to be banned in the U.S. come Jan. 19, unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells the company.
Earlier this year, Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed, a law that requires the China-based company to divest the app over national security concerns.
In an emergency filing, TikTok’s lawyers argued the law violated the First Amendment by banning the company’s right to free speech.
A lower court upheld the law earlier in December, siding with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), over concerns about Chinese influence on the company.
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, U.S. lawmakers recently sent a letter to Google and Apple that warns the tech giants to prepare to remove the platform from their app stores.
Some lawmakers say the social media app is a threat to the country’s security, noting laws in Beijing that require social media platforms to work with the Chinese government when asked.
The DOJ also warns the app could be used by China to spy on Americans and steal sensitive information. Other U.S. officials have voiced support for the app.
For instance, President-elect Donald Trump said following a meeting with TikTok’s CEO he has a “warm spot” in his heart for the platform, despite efforts during his first term to ban the app.
Trump said, “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that. So, I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart, I’ll be honest.”
Enormous demand for AI could lead to US and Canada blackouts
Growing demand for artificial intelligence could lead to blackouts across the United States and Canada as soon as next year. The warning on Tuesday, Dec. 17, came from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), an industry watchdog.
NERC predicts that electrical consumption will increase by 15% over the next decade. The report comes as AI resources like ChatGPT and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers expect to see data center power usage double in just the next four years.
Electricity regulators are concerned that the U.S. and Canada’s power grids won’t be able to keep up with demand, saying “the shortfall” could lead to “blackouts during peak demand periods” in the United States and Canada in 2025.
The watchdog’s prediction comes as the U.S. is currently facing challenges with a slowly growing renewable energy market and as the country tries to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.
Expanding the grid to make room for expanding AI data centers has reportedly been a national security priority for the outgoing Biden administration. The White House says that it is pushing to get clean energy deployed quickly so it can meet the enormous energy needs of AI.
Industry experts say they expect a surge of new data centers with the incoming Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut regulations on fossil fuel energy, which would boost the tech sector, and as the surge in AI demand continues, some AI companies have turned to nuclear energy to power their expanding operations.
Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump inauguration fund
Amazon will make a large donation to Trump’s inauguration fund. And more allegations of sexual assault against entertainer Sean “Diddy” Combs. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.
Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump inauguration fund
Another big tech company has announced a large donation to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund. Amazon confirmed Thursday night, Dec. 12, it is planning to donate $1 million to the fund.
This marks another sign of tech companies working on forming a closer relationship with Trump than they had during his first term in office. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is reportedly set to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida next week.
The Trump and Bezos relationship has been rocky in the past with the president-elect taking issue with reporting in the Washington Post –– another one of Bezos’ companies.
In addition to the $1 million cash donation, various reports indicate Amazon also offered a $1 million in-kind donation to stream the inauguration on its Prime Video service.
Amazon’s move comes a day after Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced a similar donation. Its founder, Mark Zuckerberg visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago just weeks ago.
Both Zuckerberg and Bezos were among the big tech executives to congratulate Trump on his election win in November.
After ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, President-elect Trump spoke with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on the trading room floor about working alongside major tech companies and their leaders during his second administration.
“Mark Zuckerberg’s been over to see me,” Trump said. “I can tell you that Elon [Musk] is another, and Jeff Bezos is coming up next week. I want to get ideas from them. We want them to do well. We want everybody [to do well] and we want great jobs. Fantastic salaries. We want people to love, and when they wake up in the morning, get up and [say,] ‘I love to go to work.’ We want people working and we want them working for a lot of money.”
Despite their strained history, Bezos in recent weeks has changed his tone when it comes to the president-elect. Last week, during a New York Times conference, he said Trump is “calmer than he was the first time and more confident, more settled.”
Inspector general’s probe finds FBI not involved in Jan. 6 attack
A new report released by the Justice Department inspector general Thursday found no federal agents were directly involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The long-awaited report found no evidence undercover FBI employees were among the thousands of Trump supporters who stormed the building.
The report also found 26 confidential informants for the FBI were among the crowd that day, but only three were assigned by the FBI to attend the rally. The report said none of them were directed by the bureau to “break the law” or “encourage others to commit illegal acts.”
One of the confidential human sources assigned by the FBI to be there was among four sources in total who entered the Capitol building that day. The other two assigned by the FBI entered the restricted area around the Capitol.
Republican Congressman Jim Jordan told Fox News, “The FBI had encouraged and tasked confidential human sources to be at the Capitol that day. Four entered the Capitol and weren’t charged, which is not the same treatment that other Americans received.”
The report said the bureau should have done a better job communicating with field offices nationwide before Congress met that day to certify the 2020 election results.
Trump made immigration and immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his 2024 presidential campaign, vowing mass deportations.
New York is the country’s largest sanctuary city and has laws in place limiting how local agencies cooperate with federal deportation efforts.
While the sanctuary city status is determined by the city council, not the mayor, Adams has said he supports a bill to roll back parts of the city’s sanctuary policies.
“We’re going to protect the rights of immigrants in this city that are hardworking, giving back to the city in a real way,” Adams said after his meeting with Homan Thursday. “We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and longstanding New Yorkers.”
We are a city of immigrants, and we will always be true to those roots, but we also have to be honest and be clear that our immigration system is broken and a small number of repeat, violent offenders are taking advantage of that broken system. pic.twitter.com/Rp0ZITJNJt
Adams added, “We’re going to tell those who are here, who are law-abiding, to continue to utilize the services that are open to the city, the services that they have a right to utilize: educating their children, health care, public protection and the things that we have long been proud for in doing so. But we will not be a safe haven for those who commit violent acts.”
After the meeting with Adams, Homan sat down for an interview with TV personality Dr. Phil. Homan said he believes the things he and Adams discussed “may save lives.”
“This isn’t going to be neighborhood sweeps and military vehicles going through the city,” Homan told Dr.Phil. “I’m not asking him to be an immigration officer. I’m not asking NYPD to be immigration officers. I want them to be cops that work with cops to take public safety threats off the streets of New York and make New York safer. Migrant crime is sky high here.”
Just days after winning the election, Trump tapped Homan to serve as border czar. Homan is a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a proponent of tough border policies, such as rounding up and deporting migrants, who are in the country illegally and have committed crimes.
Adams seemed to agree on Thursday, saying, “it’s important to go after those who are committing serious crimes, particularly those dangerous gangs that have come from Venezuela and now we’re finding them on the streets of our country.”
UN: More than 1.1. million Syrians displaced since fall of Assad regime
More than one million people have been displaced since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria less than a week ago, according to the United Nations. It’s also reporting food shortages are now widespread in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city.
This weekend, Jordan will host a summit including foreign ministers from Western and Arab nations to discuss ways to support a smooth transition of power after rebels ousted the country’s long-time leader in a coup last Sunday, Dec. 8.
It also comes as the U.N. chief has voiced concerns over the country’s sovereignty after Israel launched hundreds of air strikes and deployed ground troops in Syria. Israeli officials claim they’re trying to prevent arms from falling into “the wrong hands” by destroying military installations and weapons sites.
Meanwhile, a man from Missouri reported missing in Hungary has been found in Syria. Missionary Travis Timmerman, 29, was reportedly found walking the streets of Damascus barefoot Thursday after being held in a prison there for several months. You can read Karah Rucker’s full report here.
3 men accuse Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexual assault
There are new accusations against hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Three men accused Combs of drugging and raping them during incidents that took place between 2019 and 2022 at a nightclub and ritzy New York hotels.
One of the men has been identified as a former employee of Combs. Their lawyer, who filed the anonymous lawsuits Thursday night, said Combs used his power and wealth to take advantage of them.
The men are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
In a statement, Combs attorneys said the claims are full of lies.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He remains in federal prison in Brooklyn after being denied bail.
Look up! Geminid meteor shower peaks this weekend
Stargazers, it’s the time of the year again to look up for the Geminid meteor shower. The annual December display will light up the night sky as it peaks this weekend.
Unlike most meteor showers which originate from comets, the Geminids come from an asteroid.
NASA said the Geminid is considered one of the best opportunities for young viewers since it starts around 9 or 10 p.m.
To best view the meteor shower, experts said you should find a dark spot and leave the binoculars at home and just watch with the naked eye. NASA said it may take around 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark before you can see the shower, but the show will last hours, and you will have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.
Trump’s FTC pick expected to stay tough on Big Tech but relax on mergers
President-elect Donald Trump has picked his competition cop. He’s appointing Andrew Ferguson as the next Federal Trade Commission chair, replacing antitrust firebrand Lina Khan.
In a post, Ferguson wrote, “…we will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech.”
“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country … [he] will be the most America First and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History,” Trump posted.
Ferguson is already an FTC commissioner and sworn in earlier this year. That means he does not need confirmation to become the chair.
Before his time at the FTC, he was solicitor general in Virginia, a congressional aide, an antitrust litigator and once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Trump’s pick for Ferguson’s commissioner seat is Mark Meador, a former Senate antitrust aide. This will give Trump the conservative majority he’s looking for at the FTC and push Khan out the door.
“Her term expired in September, but she is allowed by law to remain on the commission until her successor is confirmed and comes to take office,” former FTC Chair William Kovacic explained. “So the speed with which she departs the commission will depend on her own personal preferences. Does she want to stay as part of a loyal opposition maintaining a three-vote block that could operate to retard the roll back of her program? On a personal level, it’s not enjoyable to go through that kind of demotion.”
Straight Arrow News interviewed Kovacic after the election about the direction Trump would take in antitrust enforcement.
“I think with respect to the Big Tech cases, those carry on without interference,” Kovacic said. “In other areas, he may back off some. I expect a more permissive approach towards mergers than the Biden enforcement agencies have taken, and that was one of the big irritants that even the Democratic donors expressed concern about, is that the deal-making environment has been made so much more difficult.”
Kovacic said, “without question,” Trump will relax merger enforcement.
California aims to protect kids with social media warning labels
A new bill introduced Monday, Dec. 9, in California’s Legislature, would, if passed, make it the first state to mandate mental health warning labels on social media sites. Supporters of the proposal say it is needed to protect children’s online safety and stop social media companies from viewing kids as a “commodity.”
Victoria Hinks, who says her 16-year-old daughter died by suicide after she was “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glorified eating disorders and promoted self-harm, supports the bill.
However, Big Tech is vowing to fight the measures, with industry officials arguing that the rule violates the First Amendment on the grounds it is “compelled speech.” They contend lawmakers should put their efforts toward online education and mental health resources.
State lawmakers have not given specifics on the bill but say the warnings could pop up once a week.
California’s past efforts to take on Big Tech involved the state suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in 2023 and TikTok in October. Both suits accused the companies of creating addictive features that keep children obsessed with their platforms.
Meta announces new AI data center, to be fueled by nuclear energy
Meta continues making moves in the AI space, announcing two big steps as it develops tech infrastructure across the country. The company said Wednesday, Dec. 4, it will be opening a $10 billion AI data center in northeastern Louisiana.
AI products like search assistants or image generators need massive facilities to house servers and computers that keep their AI services running. To power those AI advances, Meta is going nuclear and inviting developers to send in their proposals.
Tech companies are looking for space for new, larger AI data centers. Elon Musk’s xAI is also expanding its supercomputer project in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the city’s chamber of commerce.
In Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry, R, celebrated the announcement of Meta’s largest AI data center yet, calling it “game-changing.” And with AI set to potentially strain energy infrastructure, companies are turning to the renewable but pricey nuclear option.
Amazon ran into issues this year when it bought a Pennsylvania data center from energy company Talen Energy. It planned to power it with Talen’s nuclear plant next to the center.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the proposal, worrying about the potential effect on energy prices and electric grid reliability.
Microsoft reached an agreement earlier this year to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, with plant owner Constellation Energy, planning to bring it back online in 2028.
OpenAI has also signaled it’s looking to move forward with a massive data center expansion plan. In September, CEO Sam Altman pitched to the White House a plan that would build data centers that each require the same amount of energy as a major city.
Meta’s Louisiana plant announcement is raising concerns from environmental groups. They worry the plant is too reliant on fossil fuels and that plans to help power it through natural gas could lead to higher energy prices for local residents.
Google’s AI weather model outperforms traditional forecast models: Study
The artificial intelligence revolution is transforming weather forecasts and may potentially save lives. Google DeepMind unveiled its new AI weather prediction model on Wednesday, Dec. 4, known as GenCast, which researchers say improves the accuracy and speed at which forecasts are delivered. They say it could give those in harm’s way added time to prepare.
The AI model reportedly outperforms traditional forecasting methods and can predict extreme weather more accurately.
The study published in Nature on Wednesday, Dec. 4, reveals that GenCast formulates its predictions through four decades of data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF).
Researchers revealed the Google model outperformed the ECWMF 15-day forecast on 97.2% in 1,320 different scenarios and also outperformed the European model in determining temperature, wind speed and humidity.
Researchers say AI forecasting is also faster than traditional methods. They claim GenCast can generate a weather prediction in eight minutes compared to hours with traditional weather forecasting methods.
Scientists also note that GenCast could be enhanced to predict storm severity and can be upgraded over time.
The ECMWF called the innovation a “significant milestone in the evolution of weather forecasting,” and says it’s adding “key components” of the GenCast method to its own version of AI weather forecasting.
Meteorologists also appear to be embracing the new technology. Most are reportedly pursuing a hybrid approach between human predictions and AI models.