Amar Toor | Vox

U.S., EU Release Details on Data Transfer Agreement

2019-03-06T05:40:08-05:00

The U.S. and the European Union today released the full text of a transatlantic data transfer agreement that was reached earlier this month, detailing new rules for American tech companies and intelligence agencies. The framework, known as the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, places tighter restrictions on how American intelligence agencies can access data on European citizens, and calls for the creation of an ombudsman to handle individual complaints of data misuse.

American and European officials agreed to the framework this month after a European court struck down the longstanding Safe Harbor agreement in October. Safe Harbor had been in place since 2000, but was invalidated amid concerns over mass surveillance in the U.S. European Union member states are expected to ratify the new agreement, though European data regulators have yet to approve it, and some privacy groups are planning to challenge it in court.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Amazon Is Now Selling Its Own ARM-Based Chips

2019-03-06T05:13:11-05:00

An Israeli company acquired by Amazon last year has announced a new line of semiconductors, marking Amazon’s first foray into the chipmaking market.

The company, Annapurna Labs, announced its Alpine line of ARM-based processors on Wednesday, nearly a year after Amazon acquired it for a reported $350 million. The company says that its chips are designed for Wi-Fi routers, media streaming devices, connected home products and data storage gear, and that they’ve already been used in commercial products from Asus, Netgear, and Synology.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Brazilian Court Lifts Ban on WhatsApp

2019-03-06T06:07:09-05:00

Brazil has lifted a temporary ban on WhatsApp, one day after a court in São Paulo ordered telecoms to block the popular messaging service for failing to comply with an order related to a criminal case. In a decision handed down today, Judge Xavier de Souza, who did not issue the original injunction, said “it does not seem reasonable that millions of users are affected” by the company’s failure to provide information to the court, and ordered that the ban be lifted. He recommended that a higher fine be imposed against the company, which failed to comply with two court orders pertaining to the case.

The ban went into effect at midnight local time on Thursday and was due to last for 48 hours. The Facebook-owned app is immensely popular in Brazil, where more than 100 million people use it as a free messaging alternative to expensive mobile plans. Brazilian telecoms have urged the government to crack down on WhatsApp, arguing that its free voice call service is unregulated and illegal, though officials have yet to implement new regulations.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Belgians Respond to Terrorist Threat With Cat Photos

2019-03-06T05:38:18-05:00

Brussels entered the third day of a city-wide lockdown today, as Belgian police continue to search for suspected terrorists accused of planning an “imminent” attack. Authorities announced that 16 suspects had been detained in a counter-terrorism raid last night, though Salah Abdeslam, who is believed to have been involved in last week’s Paris attacks, was not one of them.

Prior to last night’s raid, Belgian police asked that internet users not tweet anything about the operation, for fear that the information would tip off their targets. Apparently, it worked. Instead of posting details about the raid, Belgians flooded the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag with photos of their cats.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Uber Partners With TomTom for Map, Traffic Data

2019-03-06T06:05:32-05:00

Uber will begin using mapping data from the navigation company TomTom, under a partnership announced Thursday. Under the multi-year deal, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing service will license TomTom’s maps and traffic data for use in its smartphone app. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Uber has made a concerted effort to expand its mapping capabilities in recent months. Earlier this year, the company offered $3 billion for Nokia’s mapping business, before it was eventually sold to a consortium of German car makers.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Using WhatsApp to Defy Rabbis’ Internet Ban

2019-03-06T06:04:42-05:00

Like most people, Moshe spends a lot of his time messaging friends on his smartphone. Unlike most people, he can’t openly talk about it.

As a Hasidic Jew living in Brooklyn, Moshe’s online activities are extremely limited. His ultra-orthodox sect has long banned Internet use, on the grounds that exposure to the secular world would lead to moral corruption, sexual promiscuity and infidelity. The insular community has allowed for some exceptions, acknowledging that smartphones and computers are now essential for business, though its leadership still requires members to install Web filters on their devices, blocking all social media services and all but a few whitelisted websites. Internet use among children remains strictly forbidden.

Moshe, like many other Hasidim, regularly skirts these rules with WhatsApp, the popular messaging application that Facebook acquired for $19 billion in 2014. On his second, unfiltered smartphone, he uses the app to share news articles and local gossip across several group chats, some of which include more than 100 members.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Europe Votes on the Future of Its Internet Tomorrow

2019-03-06T05:36:50-05:00

Europe’s Internet is about to go on trial, and activists are very worried about its future.

On Tuesday, European lawmakers will vote on a proposal that aims to protect net neutrality — the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all Web traffic equally, without discriminating against some services in favor of others. The proposed legislation broadly prohibits ISPs from charging websites for faster connections, ostensibly keeping the Web open and equal. But it also includes major loopholes that could undermine the very principle that it claims to protect.

If lawmakers approve the regulations tomorrow, they will become law across the EU, replacing existing net neutrality laws already implemented in the Netherlands and Slovenia. And if the proposal is passed without amendments, experts say it could have devastating impacts on innovation, market competition and consumer privacy.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Facebook Will Use Satellite to Deliver Internet to Sub-Saharan Africa

2019-03-06T05:42:04-05:00

Facebook today announced a partnership with French satellite operator Eutelsat to provide broadband internet to sub-Saharan Africa. Under a multiyear agreement with satellite communications firm Spacecom, the two companies will use the AMOS-6 satellite to beam Internet connections across “large parts” of sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite is expected to come online during the second half of 2016.

The announcement marks the latest development in Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring free Web services to underserved countries. The organization has begun testing solar-powered drones as a way of delivering internet connections to developing countries, and recently opened up its platform to more mobile operators.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Amazon Will Now Pay You to Deliver Packages

2019-03-06T06:03:06-05:00

Amazon today launched a new service that pays part-time drivers in exchange for delivering packages. The service, called Amazon Flex, launches today in Seattle, and will soon come to Manhattan, Chicago and seven other U.S. cities, according to its website.

Drivers will be paid $18 to $25 an hour to deliver packages ordered with Amazon Prime Now, the company’s one-hour delivery service, though the site suggests it will eventually expand to include other Amazon deliveries.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

France’s Highest Court Upholds Ban on Uber’s Low-Cost Service

2019-03-06T05:41:25-05:00

France’s highest court today upheld a law that bans Uber’s low-cost car-hailing service, UberPop, nearly three months after taxi unions staged nationwide protests against the service. The decision marks another setback for Uber, which has faced regulatory hurdles in several countries as it continues to expand. It also comes nearly a week before two Uber France executives are due to stand trial for deceptive business practices and other charges based on the law upheld today.

The law in question, passed late last year, states that only taxi services and certified chauffeurs can operate systems that put clients in touch with drivers. Uber had contested the constitutionality of the law, arguing that it was unfairly broad and that it limited competition. Unlike Uber’s other services, UberPop connected users with non-professional drivers.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.