News of the Cyber World

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X Blocked in Brazil, Ruffalo Congratulates Lula

Avengers’ Star Mark Ruffalo Sides with Brazilian Dictator Censoring X/Twitter, Blasts ‘Weird Tech Bro’ Musk

Left-wing Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo has sided with Brazilian president Lula da Silva’s judiciary for blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app.

X missed a deadline imposed by Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the nationwide suspension.

De Moraes, the equivalent of what in the United States would be a Supreme Court justice, subpoenaed X and its owner, Elon Musk, in a post made on the site itself on Wednesday night — a move the STF itself reportedly described as “unprecedented,” as it marks the first time the Brazilian top court has subpoenaed someone on social media.

It marks an escalation in the months-long feud between Musk and radical leftist de Moraes over free speech and alleged misinformation, as Breitbart News reported.

The court order, which de Moraes digitally signed, came one week after X announced the closure of its office in Brazil. The decision, according to X’s global government affairs team, was in response to de Moraes allegedly threatening to arrest the platform’s Brazilian legal team if it did not comply with his censorship orders, as noted by Breitbart’s Christian K. Caruzo.

“Avengers” star Ruffalo has now supported the ban and taken Musk to task for refusing to cooperate with Brazil’s authorities. He wrote on X:

“@elonmusk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country,” de Moraes wrote.Because he is a weird and entitled billionaire tech bro. Tax him

Musk Prefers Not to Travel Much Now

Elon Musk: ‘Probably Wise to for Me to Limit’ Travel After Arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

Elon Musk says it’s “probably wise” for him “to limit” his travels to areas where free speech is “constitutionally protected.” The X owner’s comments come after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France in connection to a “lack of moderation” on his messaging app.

“Probably wise to for me to limit movements to countries where free speech is constitutionally protected,” Musk said in a response to an X user who suggested that he “consider the implications” of his travels in the wake of the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France.

“While I hate caving to bullies, given the developments in France, Brazil, the UK and elsewhere, please consider the implications of your travels, @elonmusk,” the X user wrote to Musk.

“Your safety is paramount for the future of innovation and free speech and we need your continued vision and leadership,” the X user added.

Notably, Durov was arrested last week after his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport in France. The Telegram CEO is being accuse of “various violations of his encrypted messaging service,” which French authorities say stem from a “lack of moderation” of his platform.

Musk reacted to Durov’s arrest, calling it an “ad for the First Amendment” that is “very convincing.”

The SpaceX CEO also wrote “Dangerous times” in response to another X user that pointed out the different ways in which “Free speech is under attack all across the globe.”

Apple & OpenAI

Apple in Talks to Invest in OpenAI as Part of Multibillion-Dollar Funding Round

Apple is in discussions to invest in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, joining a funding round that could value the company at over $100 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is reportedly in talks to invest in OpenAI, the artificial intelligence startup behind the popular ChatGPT language model, as part of a new multibillion-dollar funding round. The potential investment would further strengthen the ties between the two companies, following their recent partnership announcement for Apple’s new AI initiative called Apple Intelligence.

According to people familiar with the matter, the funding round is being led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital and is expected to value OpenAI at more than $100 billion. Microsoft, a key investor in OpenAI since 2019, is also anticipated to participate in this round. The exact investment amounts from Apple and Microsoft have not been disclosed.

The news comes just months after Apple revealed OpenAI as the first official partner for Apple Intelligence at its annual developer conference in June. Apple Intelligence is a system designed to integrate AI features across Apple’s operating system, including an enhanced Siri voice assistant, text proofreading capabilities, and the ability to create custom emojis. While some tasks will be handled by Apple’s proprietary AI technology, more complex functions like generating written messages will rely on OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Apple’s decision to invest in OpenAI underscores the company’s commitment to securing access to cutting-edge AI technology. OpenAI faces intense competition from other AI startups and tech giants, but ChatGPT remains a market leader in the field. Apple has also expressed interest in partnering with other companies, such as Google and its Gemini generative AI model, as well as AI startups like Anthropic and Perplexity.

However, investing directly in OpenAI could potentially complicate Apple’s efforts to maintain a neutral stance as a partner with other AI companies. This move is also unusual for Apple, which rarely invests in startups. In the past, Apple has made investments in manufacturing partners to secure component supplies for its devices, as well as strategic investments in SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Chinese ride-hailing startup DiDi Chuxing.

Apple Has Plenty of Money But It's Still Laying Off 100 Workers

Kamalanomics: Even Apple Is Laying People Off Now

Tech giant Apple has laid off employees from its digital services group, primarily affecting those working on the Apple Books app and Apple News.

The Verge reports that Apple, the tech giant behind the iPhone and many other popular products that have made it one of the world’s most valuable companies, has recently made job cuts across its digital services group, according to a report by Bloomberg. The layoffs, which have aready affected around 100 employees, are said to be part of a “shift in priorities” for the division.

The majority of those laid off were working within the team that runs the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore, with the remaining cuts being made to some engineering roles and services like Apple News. Despite these job cuts, sources familiar with the matter have stated that the layoffs are not a sign that Apple is shifting its focus away from services like Apple Books, and the app is still expected to receive future updates for new features.

While Apple’s services division, which includes offerings such as Apple TV Plus, Apple News, and Apple Music, has been a significant revenue driver for the company in recent years, Apple reportedly does not consider the Books app to be a major part of the lineup. This could explain why the Books team was hit harder by the layoffs compared to other digital services.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously stated that cutting jobs is a “last resort” for the company, and layoffs have been relatively rare or smaller in scale compared to those affecting other tech giants. However, this is not the first time Apple has made job cuts in recent years. In April, at least 600 job cuts were reportedly made to Apple’s canceled car and smartwatch display projects, and an undisclosed “small number” of roles were eliminated from its corporate retail teams in 2023.

The recent layoffs in the digital services group may be part of Apple’s ongoing efforts to streamline its operations and focus on core products and services. As the tech industry continues to evolve rapidly, companies like Apple must adapt and make difficult decisions to remain competitive and innovative.

TikTok Not Under Section 230

Appeals Court Rules China’s TikTok Not Shielded by Section 230 in ‘Blackout Challenge’ Death Lawsuit

An appeals court has revived a lawsuit against China’s TikTok, reversing a lower court’s ruling that Section 230 immunity shielded the app from liability after a child died participating in the dangerous viral “blackout challenge.”

In a significant ruling with potential implications for all social media platforms, Ars Technica reports that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that TikTok is not protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in a lawsuit related to the death of a child who participated in the “blackout challenge.” The challenge, which encouraged users to choke themselves until losing consciousness, tragically claimed the lives of several children including a 10-year-od Pennsylvania girl.

Tawainna Anderson, the mother of 10-year-old Nylah Anderson who died after taking part in the challenge, attempted to sue TikTok in 2022. However, the initial ruling stated that TikTok was not responsible for recommending the video that led to Nylah’s death.

The appeals court has now overturned that decision, with Judge Patty Shwartz stating in her opinion that Section 230 does not bar Anderson from arguing that TikTok’s algorithm, which curates and recommends content to users, is an “expressive product” that communicates to users that the selected videos will be of interest to them. This ruling is based on a recent Supreme Court decision that held that a platform’s algorithm reflecting “editorial judgments” about compiling and presenting third-party content is the platform’s own “expressive product” and thus protected by the First Amendment.

Crucially, while Section 230 shields platforms from liability for third-party speech, it does not protect platforms’ own speech or “expressive activity.” As TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) algorithm decides which content to include, exclude, and organize, it counts as TikTok’s own “expressive activity” and is therefore not shielded by Section 230, according to the ruling.

The case will now return to the district court to rule on Anderson’s remaining claims. Judge Paul Matey, concurring in part, noted that TikTok was aware of the dangers posed by the “Blackout Challenge” but took inadequate action to prevent the spread of the challenge and stop it from being shown to children on their FYPs. He encouraged a narrower interpretation of Section 230, stating that it should not permit companies like TikTok to display “casual indifference to the death of a 10-year-old girl.”

FAA on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

FAA Grounds the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Following Landing Mishap

The FAA has grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for the second time in less than two months following a failed booster landing attempt during the Starlink 8-6 mission.

SpaceFlightNow reports that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the first stage booster, suffered a hard landing during the Starlink 8-6 mission on August 28. The booster, which had successfully completed a record-setting 23 flights, was consumed in a fireball on the deck of the drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 250 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the FAA announced that while no public injuries or property damage were reported, they are requiring an investigation into the incident. This marks the second time in less than two months that the FAA has grounded SpaceX rockets, with a similar declaration made following a Falcon 9 upper-stage failure on July 12 during the Starlink 9-3 mission, resulting in the loss of 20 satellites.

Jon Edwards, SpaceX vice president of Falcon Launch Vehicles, expressed sadness over the loss of the booster in a social media post, stating, “Losing a booster is always sad. Each one of them has a unique history and character. Thankfully this doesn’t happen often, due to the robust design and vigilance of the team.” He further added that SpaceX is working diligently to understand the root cause and implement corrective actions as soon as possible, emphasizing that the incident was purely a recovery issue and posed no threat to the primary mission or public safety.

The booster failure occurred in the same week that SpaceX had to postpone the launch of the Polaris Dawn astronaut mission twice, first due to a helium leak and then for recovery weather concerns at the end of the mission. Kiko Dontchev, vice president of launch, acknowledged the challenging week on X (formerly Twitter) and stated that the team will persevere, noting that lessons learned from recovery failures will improve both recovery and ascent reliability.

The timing of the next launch attempt for Polaris Dawn remains uncertain, as it depends on several factors, including the FAA’s investigation, landing weather conditions, and launch pad availability. The mission is set to launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, which is also needed for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, with a narrow planetary launch window opening on October 10. SpaceX requires approximately three weeks to reconfigure the pad from a Falcon 9 to a Falcon Heavy configuration, putting pressure on the Polaris Dawn mission to vacate the pad soon or face further delays.

Jordan on Zuckerberg's Letter

Jordan: Zuckerberg Facebook Censorship Disclosure ‘Timely’ Ahead of November Election

Wednesday on FNC’s “Hannity,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, highlighted the timing of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission that the federal government leaned on Facebook to restrict the dissemination of the so-called Hunter Biden laptop story, which comes ahead of the November presidential election.

Jordan speculated the timing was an effort to prevent a similar instance later in the current presidential election cycle.

“Now, you tell me is that the deep state? Is that our intelligence community, our FBI, our DOJ putting cinder blocks on the scales of a presidential election?” host Sean Hannity asked. “Did they flip the election into Joe Biden’s favor?”

“Right, right, Sean,” Jordan replied. “That’s why the timing of this letter from Mark Zuckerberg to us is so important because we don’t know what they all might have had in lined up for this October. What was the October surprise? What’s it going to be this time? We want to make sure it’s not censoring information that the American people have a right to see and know when they’re making the most important decision we make — who’s going to be commander-in-chief of our country? So understand what Mark Zuckerberg put in that letter. He said, A, the Biden-Harris regime sent — pressured Facebook to censor material. Second, they in fact did censor material largely conservative.”

“And then third, that he talks about how they throttled back the very thing you were talking about the Hunter Biden story, they throttled it back because they had done the whole pre-bunking, our government had met with big tech, Twitter, Facebook, all this now big tech, and prepped them for this,” he continued. “And then fourth, and just as importantly, he says he will not be doing the Zuckerbucks this time around this election. Thank goodness for that. So, four key facts he pointed out in that letter, but I think the timing is so important because we don’t know what they may have in store this election. What are they going to try in October? Let’s make sure it’s not censoring information that the American people need to know before voting in an election.”