Facebook shared user data with 52 tech companies

https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/30/facebook-shared-user-data-with-52-tech-companies/


Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

It’s no secret that Facebook shared user data with device and software makers as part of its partnerships. Now, however, the scope of those deals has become clearer. Facebook has responded to a House Energy & Commerce Committee request for data with a 747-page response detailing the social network’s data sharing deals with other companies. All told, Facebook has shared user info with 52 firms, including Chinese firms like Alibaba, Huawei, Lenovo and Oppo — some of these were already known. It has ended already partnerships with 38 of them (some due to companies ending relevant business, like HP/Palm and Inq), with seven more due to expire in July 2018 and one more in October.

Three partnerships are due to continue, Facebook said. Apple has an agreement that extends past October, Amazon also has a deal, while Tobii needs its partnership for an eye-tracking app that makes Facebook accessible to ALS patients. There are also ongoing alliances with Alibaba, Mozilla and Opera to enable Facebook notifications in browsers, although those won’t include access to friends’ data.

Facebook also acknowledged that it gave 61 third-party app developers as much as six months of extra time to wind down their data collection practices after implementing tougher sharing controls in 2014, including Hinge and Spotify. Another five developers might have had access to “limited friends’ data” through a beta test, but it didn’t explain what that involved.

While these partnerships weren’t necessarily nefarious in intent, there are concerns Facebook has been using semantics to share data beyond an FTC consent decree requiring the site to obtain permission before collecting more data than a person’s privacy settings allow. It contended that vendors in these partnerships were suppliers, not third parties, and claimed that it still wasn’t violating the decree in its new response.

The document comes roughly two weeks after Facebook gave Congress a 452-page set of answers to questions Mark Zuckerberg didn’t immediately answer during his testimony. It still doesn’t explain everything, though. The Washington Post noted that Facebook didn’t explain why it didn’t audit apps like the “thisismydigital life” app from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, or whether or not it had considered charging a fee instead of displaying ads. It also passed on hundreds of questions California Representative Anna Eshoo had collected from users. This new batch of answers may be helpful, but it still won’t satisfy everyone demanding to know the full extent of Facebook’s data practices.

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

June 30, 2018 at 02:09PM

Plús Hús is a Scandinavian inspired, 320 sq. ft. flat packed prefab home

https://www.treehugger.com/modular-design/prefab-flat-pack-plus-hus-minarc.html

We’ve written before about how accessory dwelling units (ADUs or “secondary suites”) are making inroads into cities like Portland, consisting of smaller homes built in backyards, helping to ease the shortage of affordable housing somewhat.

In response to the city of Los Angeles recently approving new regulations for ADUs, local design firm Minarc has launched a new, 320-square-foot prefabricated home that could easily go up in one’s backyard as an ADU, which can then be rented out for extra income or used as a work studio, or more.

Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray

Dubbed Plús Hús (or “plus house”), the name is a nod to the designers’ Icelandic roots. Manufactured right in Los Angeles, the 16-foot by 20-foot structure comes flat packed, minimizing waste, noise, transportation costs and assembly time.

Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray

It comes in three different versions: the Plús Hús Open features three walls and a sliding glass door; Plús Hús Open+ incorporates a bathroom; while the fully featured Plús Hús Full comes with a bathroom and a kitchen along the back wall.

Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray

According to the firm, the units are built using mnmMOD, an energy-efficient, recyclable and sustainable no-wood prefab panel system that is zero-VOC, pest- and moisture-proof, consists of 30 percent recycled material.

Art Gray© Art Gray
Art Gray© Art Gray

Plús Hús units are priced between USD $37,000 to $49,000 (just for the unit itself and not including site work, delivery and installation) and are fully customizable. To find out more, visit Plús Hús.

via TreeHugger https://ift.tt/2v7tbJp

June 29, 2018 at 02:37PM

California Lawmakers Pass Bill Stopping Companies Like Facebook From Selling User Data Without Consent

https://gizmodo.com/california-lawmakers-pass-bill-stopping-companies-like-1827219289

Assemblyman Ed Chau, left, and Sen. Bob Hertzberg celebrate after their internet privacy bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, June 26, 2018, in Sacramento.
Photo: AP

The California legislature just passed one of the most robust data privacy bills in the United States.

Known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, the bill largely mirrors protections offered to European citizens under the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is likely to drastically change the ways that American companies store and trade in consumer information, at least for Californians.

With lawmakers facing intense pressure, the bill was passed with overwhelming support in both the California State Senate and Assembly. It will now go to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, where it’s expected to be signed.

Among other provisions, the new law will require companies to declare the types of data they collect from users and with whom that data is shared. It further grants consumers the ability to opt out of having their data sold by companies like Facebook and will prevent those companies from charging consumers money, or providing them with fewer services, if they choose not to allow their data to be sold.

Companies that violate the law, when and if it goes into effect, may face financial penalties imposed by the state for doing so. Moreover, it enables consumers to sue companies for up to $750—under certain circumstances—if there’s an unauthorized breach of their data.

Lawmakers faced intense pressure to vote on the bill Thursday. If they hadn’t, a much stronger version would’ve appeared on the state ballot in November. Over 600,000 Californians signed a petition to get the privacy act on the ballot over the past year, thanks in large part to a $3 million campaign funded by Alastair MacTaggart, a San Francisco Bay Area real estate developer.

In a statement this week, MacTaggart said he planned to withdraw his initiative if the California legislature passed its own solution enhancing Californian’s privacy rights. Even lawmakers who openly opposed the legislative option—some argued, for instance, that it opened companies up to a flood of frivolous lawsuits—ended up voting for the bill to prevent the ballot measure, which polls indicated was likely to pass.

Top internet and telecommunications companies, including Facebook, Amazon, Google, AT&T, and Verizon, all of which profit by selling data belonging to users, at least initially opposed the ballot measure, though Facebook and Verizon both dropped their opposition in May. The bill was likewise opposed by Uber, which, along with Facebook, has been the subject of a recent federal investigation into data-handling practices.

Assemblyman Ed Chau, of the bill’s sponsors, said it put California “ahead of the curve when it comes to online consumer privacy rights,” thanking among others, Common Sense Media, Consumer Attorneys of California, and Consumer Watchdog, and the Center for Humane Technology, for their help in crafting the bill.

“You know what everybody? They never thought we could do it,” said State Senator Robert Hertzberg, a very animated public figure, who also sponsored the bill. “That is what’s great and that’s one of the reasons that we had such a problem in the negotiations because it was hard to get people to the table to think that we were serious…”

“This is a huge step forward for California,” Herzberg added, “a huge step forward for people all across the country.”

via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com

June 28, 2018 at 04:51PM

Juul Raising $1.2 Billion to Get More Teens Hooked on Vaping

https://gizmodo.com/juul-raising-1-2-billion-to-get-more-teens-hooked-on-v-1827251643

Juul Labs, the makers of the Juul e-cigarette that is popular among teens for its discreet design and addictive flavors of nicotine juice, is raising $1.2 billion to hopes of hooking a new generation to a maybe kinda slightly healthier version of smoking.

The fundraising effort, reported by Bloomberg, would value the company at $15 billion. Juul, which has already managed to capture a huge portion of the e-cigarette market in the United States despite launching just three years ago, would reportedly use the money to reach overseas markets in hopes of getting more people to suck down the nicotine-packed pods.

Juul’s fortunes have been considerably better than the rest of the tobacco industry. Bloomberg pointed out many of the industry giants have been slumping: Philip Morris has seen share prices dip 23 percent, British American Tobacco is down 24 percent, and Japan Tobacco is down 15 percent.

That’s in large part because cigarettes—long the target of surprisingly effective public ad campaigns that warn of the dangers of smoking—have fallen out of favor. Bloomberg reported cigarettes’ share of the smoking market has dropped four percent in the last year.

Where cigarettes have failed, vaping and e-cigarettes have succeeded. Juul’s market share is up 3.5 percent in the same period as cigarettes’ decline, and is up 700 percent in revenue from last year, according to Axios. Much of that success is with teens and young adults, who have taken to Juul so much that puffing on the e-cigarette is referred to as “juuling.” A 2017 study found one in four people under 24 recognized Juul, and 10 percent had tried it at least once.

That familiarity stems from a couple of different factors. As the Public Health Law Center pointed out, the product comes offers an “IT product design.” Essentially, the thing looks cool and functions like tech gear rather than something designed for a smoker. It’s easy to hide, the hits taste good because of the flavored juices, and the vapor smells good. Oh, and it very well may be addictive once they start using it.

Juul uses disposable pods that hold nicotine juices. That juice is heated by the device, which creates the vapor that the user inhales. In those pods is essentially the same amount of nicotine found in a pack of cigarettes. With a nicotine concentration of 59 mg/mL per pod, Juul pods offer nearly double the punch that many other vaping products provide.

Nicotine is an addictive substance, and exposing anyone—especially an adolescent who is still developing—to it in such a highly concentrated fashion is probably a bad idea. The 2014 Surgeon General’s Report found that nicotine has a negative impact on brain development and is associated with lasting cognitive and behavioral impairments, including harmful effects on the ability to concentrate, memorize, and learn.

Of course, these issues aren’t restricted to Juul but are present for e-cigarettes of all kinds. A study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, also suggested adolescents who use e-cigarettes are twice as likely to suffer respiratory symptoms—a persistent cough, bronchitis, congestion, and phlegm, among other ailments— as those who don’t. It’s also not clear that taking up an e-cigarette actually helps cut back on smoking cigarettes. A 2017 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found there’s some evidence to suggest teens who vape are more likely to take up smoking cigarettes.

For all those reasons, some investors have been hesitant to touch Juul—clearly the most successful company to come out of the e-cigarette boom. The Information reported earlier this month that a number of venture capital investors have opted to stay away from the company because of ethical concerns. But the company looks like it’s going to make a lot of money, and that’s undoubtedly reason enough for some to ease their ethics to make some bucks.

Those who decide to back Juul will have plenty of questions to account for in the company’s near-term prospects. While e-cigarettes are a growing industry—Wells Fargo projects the market will hit $5.5 billion this year—regulation looms. The Food and Drug Administration has already cracked down on sales of Juul devices to minors and has requested a number of documents from the company to determine if it is marketing its products to kids.

[Bloomberg]

via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com

June 29, 2018 at 06:57PM

LEGO Releases Official Pics Of It’s Upcoming 2,321 Piece Voltron Set

http://geekologie.com/2018/06/lego-releases-official-pics-of-its-upcom.php

lego-voltron-1.jpg

Years in the making (okay, two — it was originally proposed as a LEGO Ideas set in 2016, then approved for production about a year ago), these are the pics just unveiled by LEGO of their upcoming (August 1st) release of an official 2,321 piece Voltron construction set. The set will build five complete lions (black, blue, red, green and yellow), which can be combined to form a 15-inch tall Voltron with posable head, shoulders, arms and wrists. No word on price yet, but if it’s based on six-year old me’s personal excitement, it’ll be around a million bucks and I won’t be able to afford one. “It’s $180.” That’s a steal. “You’re cool with that?” No, I meant I’ll have to steal a friend’s.

Keep going for shots of all the individual lions.

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Thanks to Webdoctor (I have cancer, don’t I?!) and Jeffrey S, who can’t wait till we’re all hanging out in the basement building our Voltrons together. How sweet it will be!

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via Geekologie – Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome http://geekologie.com/

June 29, 2018 at 01:29PM