The U.K. says loot boxes are a form of gambling and shouldn’t be sold to kids
A report from the United Kingdom parliament says loot boxes found in many video games are a form of gambling and recommends banning the sale of loot boxes to children. The report from U.K. Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee condemned the practice of selling them to kids.
The Trump administration will move to ban flavored e-cigarettes
Amid vaping-related lung illnesses and multiple deaths around the United States, President Donald Trump's administration is gearing up to ban flavored e-cigarettes nationwide, officials announced Wednesday. The move comes as a mystery vaping illness has killed at least 6 people in the U.S.
California’s gig economy bill could fundamentally change Uber and Lyft
Legislators in California just passed a bill requiring app-based companies like Uber and Lyft to treat their contractors the same as regular employees. Under the bill, contractors would be eligible for basic protections like minimum-wage requirements, health benefits, and Social Security.
Elon Musk says SpaceX is getting ready to fly its Starship into orbit
SpaceX is getting ready to launch its orbital Starship rocket, pending approval from the FCC, according to CEO Elon Musk. The test will include an experimental launch, landing, and recovery of the Starship suborbital test vehicle.
KFC’s Colonel Sanders dating sim is real and coming out on Steam soon
As part of the fast food chain's latest marketing stunt, KFC will soon release a dating simulator featuring Colonel Sanders on Steam. "I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator" puts you in the shoes of a culinary student trying to woo your fellow classmate, Colonel Sanders.
Apple will conduct three new crowdsourced health studies using Apple Watch
Apple announced a new Apple Research app during Tuesday’s "By Innovation Only" event that will pair with the Apple Watch to crowdsource health data for future research. The company hopes that anyone with an Apple Watch will be able to share their data with scientists, enabling them to improve their research.
On World Suicide Prevention Day, Facebook announces it will ban self-harm images
Facebook announced changes to its policies that are geared toward improving how it handles suicide and self-injury content. Steps include banning self-harm images and making it harder for people to search for this type of content. There's also a new Suicide Prevention page that provides resources.
14 women sue Lyft after drivers allegedly sexually assaulted them
Fourteen women have filed a lawsuit against Lyft for allegedly being raped and sexually assaulted by their rideshare drivers. The victims are alleging that the ridesharing company doesn’t do enough to protect female passengers and have failed to cooperate with law enforcement. They also say Lyft could add more features to improve safety.
Facebook Dating launches in the U.S. and will link to Instagram
If you’re sick of continuously swiping, there's a new addition to online dating: Facebook Dating. Facebook users who are at least 18 can create a separate Dating profile from their regular Facebook profile within the mobile app. You can even integrate photos from your Instagram profile.
Twitter disables tweeting via SMS after CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked
Twitter announced that its temporarily disabling users’ ability to tweet via SMS. In a series of tweets, The official Twitter Support account made the announcement in a series of tweets, citing “vulnerabilities” that need to be addressed. . The move comes after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account was hacked last week.
Hackers who hijacked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account claim another victim
The hacker group that took over Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account has seemingly claimed another victim: this time, they've stolen actress Chloe Grace Moretz’s account. Her account was taken over Wednesday morning, though tweets by the hackers have since been deleted.
Millions of phone numbers linked to Facebook found in exposed database
Millions of phone numbers associated with Facebook accounts have been discovered in an exposed database. A server that wasn’t protected by a password was found to contain over 419 million records from Facebook users worldwide, including 133 million from the United States alone.
Michigan is the first state in the U.S. to ban flavored ecigarettes
Michigan is the first state to ban flavored ecigarettes, amid rising health concerns for vaping and underage use. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered the ban in response to increased vaping in youth. The prohibition will apply to flavored vape products both online and in stores.
YouTube slapped with $170 million fine for violating children’s online privacy
The FTC has fined YouTube $170 million as part of a settlement for the video platform’s treatment of kids. YouTube allegedly collected personal information used to track internet users from viewers on channels aimed at children. The FTC alleges YouTube collected this information without notifying parents.
YouTube deletes 30,000 videos for hate speech and promises new harassment policy
YouTube said that it removed more than 30,000 videos last month that contained hate speech content. According to YouTube, the videos containing hate speech content that were removed over the last month represented only about 3% of the views that videos about knitting had during the same time frame.
Facebook will stop using facial recognition by default on your photos
Facebook announced on Tuesday that it will stop using facial recognition by default when it suggests who you should tag in photos. The move comes after the social media company was issued a $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission, partially over how it deployed facial recognition technology.
Terrifying new Chinese app Zao lets anyone make a deepfake
Deepfakes have finally gone mainstream with the Chinese app Zao, which spiked on the iOS App Store over the weekend. The app uses facial recognition to replace celebrities’ faces with yours, but it's raising concerns about how your face is being used and who has access to deepfake technology.
Samsung is working on a secret phone that folds into a square
If you miss flip phones, you will like Samsung’s latest foldable phone that will reportedly debut early next year. According to reports, Samsung is working on its second foldable phone, which will fold like a flip phone. The screen would be 6.7 inches and would fold out into a compact square.
The FTC wants to know if Juul used influencers to target e-cigarettes at minors
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has started an investigation into marketing practices used by popular e-cigarette company Juul, but the company told Digital Trends that it spent very little on influencer marketing and never targeted teens.
Nike tightens its grip on smart shoes with new laces controlled by Siri
Nike's newest shoe is a modern take on a the classic Huarache sneaker with laces that can be controlled by Apple's Siri. The Nike Adapt Huarache, which the company announced on Thursday, uses FitAdapt self-lacing technology that is paired with Apple’s Siri to tighten or loosen your laces.
Apple apologizes for letting contractors listen to Siri recordings of sex
Apple issued a rare apology for allowing contractors to listen to Siri recordings and announced Wednesday they won't be listening to your Siri conversations by default anymore. The contractors had overheard recordings that included couples having sex, discussions of private medical information, and even drug deals
Facebook has strict new rules for political ads ahead of the 2020 election
Ahead of the 2020 election, Facebook announced changes to its ad policies that will require new disclosures for political ads that appear on the site and Instagram. Facebook said that they will ad “confirmed organization” disclaimers beginning mid-September.
Here’s your first look at Harley-Davidson’s new line of ebikes
Harley-Davidson introduced a new line of prototype electric bicycles, giving us our first look at the iconic motorcycle company's ideas for the world of ebikes. While described as future concepts, the images are an intriguing preview of where the company could be going with its ebike design.
The real reason fake social media accounts will haunt us for years to come
Over the past week, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have all disclosed that they've removed legions of fake accounts from their platforms. Phony accounts on social media are nothing new, but the problem seems to continue even though platforms say they're working to stop it.
Phone companies say they finally have a way to block robocalls for good
Twelve of the biggest American phone companies, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, took a pledge on Thursday to start using a new technology that would identify and block robocalls. The carriers are partnering with 51 attorneys general and will announce the pledge in Washington.
India’s Chandrayaaan-2 lunar lander sent back a gorgeous photo of the moon
India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft just captured a mesmerizing photo of its view of the moon. The spacecraft reached the moon’s orbit on August 20, after launching on July 22. On Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organisation tweeted the first photo of the moon the uncrewed mission has captured.
Instagram has more ads than ever and it’s all Facebook’s fault
If you’ve noticed more ads while scrolling Instagram, you're not alone. Last year, Facebook gave Instagram instructions to “roughly double” their ads. The Facebook-owned app displays its ads in the Stories feature, right in your feed, and in the Explore feature.
Is Facebook biased against conservatives? Here’s what a GOP-led report found
A new report by former Arizona GOP Senator Jon Kyl took a look at whether Facebook is biased against conservatives. The report found that conservatives don't trust Facebook, but found little in the way of anti-conservative bias on the platform.
Elon Musk likes Newt Gingrich’s $2 billion moon base prize
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk really likes former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's idea to award a $2 billion prize to anyone who can build and run a base on the moon. Gingrich proposed the contest, which would allow private space companies to compete to see who can establish and run the first lunar base.