Tech News Roundup for May 11, 2021
So, I've been bad at this for a couple weeks. Keeping going with this while balancing a full time job and regular life has been a challenge, but one I still want to take on. I still want to do these updates twice a week, but with the knowledge that I may miss one every so often, I’m moving forward.
Here are a few of the things that I’ve found interesting over the past little bit.
Bill C-10 Hits Pause After Controversy
There is a very controversial bill before the Canadian Parliament right now, with the most recent development seeing further work on the bill being paused while a legal review is being done.
In a nutshell, Bill C-10’s goal is to bring digital streaming services like Netflix more in line with traditional broadcasters, and broadcasters that operate in Canada. That would include forcing US based streaming companies to collect GST on Canadian customers, and making them fall under the regulation of the CRTC, which could compel companies to produce a percentage of content in Canada, with Canadian talent.
But the big controversy came after an amendment to the bill which would have allowed the CRTC to regulate user generated content. It was feared that the way the bill has been written is that the CRTC could regulate individual users of social media platforms like YouTube. The government has had mixed messaging on the bill, first saying that it had no intention on regulating individual users on platforms, then saying that they may use it to regulate certain users if they “got big enough on platforms,” which went over like a lead balloon.
After weeks of deadlock, the government finally allowed the legal review of the bill, which pauses any further action on it, but this won’t be the last we hear from it.
For the record, I think certain regulations on companies like Netflix is a good thing, and should be put in place, but the way the bill was worded, the CRTC could attempt to regulate any Canadian with an Instagram account, or YouTube channel, like they would regulate Netflix, or traditional companies like Bell Media, Rogers Media, and Corus. And that is not ok.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/charter-statement-bill-c10-1.6020833
Epic Games vs Apple Trial Continues
The trial between Epic and Apple began last week, and continues today. This trial is the result of Epic suing Apple for removing Fortnite off of the App Store when Epic introduced its own in app purchase system that circumvented Apple’s. Apple’s developer agreement and terms of service do specifically state that apps on iOS must use Apple’s payment system, which Apple takes a 30% cut of, and Apple is challenging that as an abuse of a monopoly power.
Smarter people than I am have said that this will be a hard case for Epic to win in terms of the law, but that the real goal may be to get confidential documents and statements into the public record in the hopes of influencing the court of public opinion, and lawmakers. This seems true after the first week of the trial. While it remains to be seen whether or not Epic has any realistic chance of winning based on how laws in the US are currently written, it is still something I’m following closely. I’m not providing a single link to the trial because there is news out of it every day, but I’m following it closely across various sources.
Colonial Pipeline Ransomeware Attack Causes Fuel Shortages in the US
A huge red flag as to just how vulnerable supply chains really are on this continent. Last Thursday, Colonial Pipeline (the name of the company, and also the main pipeline it operates) was hit by a ransomware attack. The attack targeted the offices of the company, and while it did not appear to be targeting the computer infrastructure that operated the pipeline itself, the company shut down the pipeline entirely as a precaution. With the shutdown lasting through the weekend, and the Colonial pipeline supplying much of of the fuel for vehicles and airplanes along the US east coast, shortages have already started. The pipeline is expected to be offline for almost a full week, which will only cause further shortages.
This shows just how vulnerable a lot of critical infrastructure is. Many critical utilities operate 24/7, which means it is much harder to ensure adequate security and protection against cyberattacks like this. Colonial Pipeline operates the largest single pipeline network in the US, but imagine if there was a single attack at the same time affecting the top 5. That would grind the US, and likely Canada as well, to a halt. It’ll be some time before we know the full picture of just how vulnerable critical infrastructure like this is, but the importance of taking cybersecurity protection seriously should be a key take away after this incident.
Amazon Pulls Two Brands Off the Platform
A few days ago, I noticed that a number of items I had saved in Amazon Wish Lists, disappeared, being replaced with a “This product is no longer available” text entry in the list. This happens from time to time, but it isn’t usually so many products at once. Now we know why. Amazon has essentially removed all products from the Aukey and Mpow brands off of their platform. Those brands may not be household names, but both sold affordable electronic gadgets like cheap headphones, portable batteries, and other various kinds of gadgets. Amazon says it removed the brands from the store for violating their terms of service by offering customers free products in exchange for favorable reviews.
I actually just ordered something from Amazon last week that was an Aukey product, and sure enough it came with a small card in the box encouraging customers to leave a good review of the product on the store. It doesn’t implicitly say doing so can result in free products, but Amazon says that some of those product inserts do. Amazon also alleges that Aukey and Mpow reach out to customers who leave reviews to offer free products in exchange for more reviews as well, which is a clear cut violation of Amazon’s terms of service.
I find this interesting because this is not exactly a new thing on Amazon, and I’ve seen little pamphlets and cards encouraging favorable reviews for years. The company must have pretty iron clad evidence against Aukey and Mpow to completely remove them from the platform, and this has the potential to sink those brands entirely.
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/aukey-kicked-off-amazon-following-fake-reviews-allegations
Intel 11th Gen H Series Laptop Processors Unveiled
A couple months ago Intel began the rollout of the 11th gen mobile processors with what is a new category, 35 watt “HS” processors that are more powerful than those found in thin and light ultraportable laptops, but less powerful than the high end. Today the full power “H” mobile processors are here. These are designed for gaming laptops, but also very good for users who need powerful laptops for content creation and other more “heavy” uses. Many companies also announced new laptops with these processors in them, and over the next few weeks I’m sure we’ll see just how much better they are than the HS parts we saw a couple months ago.