News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

THIS WEEK

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Study: Developers Using AI Coding Assistants Suffer from 41% Increase in Bugs

A recent study by Uplevel, a firm that analyzes coding metrics, has revealed that AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot are not significantly improving developer productivity or preventing burnout, despite the hype surrounding these tools.

TechSpot reports that the rise of generative AI has led to a surge in the development of AI coding assistants, with tools like GitHub Copilot promising to revolutionize the way developers work. These assistants are designed to make coding faster and easier, with the expectation that they will boost productivity and reduce the risk of burnout among developers. However, a recent study by Uplevel, a firm that specializes in analyzing coding metrics, has found that these promised benefits are not materializing.

The study, which tracked around 800 developers over three-month periods, compared their output with and without the use of GitHub Copilot. Surprisingly, the results showed no meaningful improvements in key metrics such as pull request cycle time and throughput for those using the AI coding assistants. This finding contradicts the claims made by GitHub and other proponents of AI coding tools, who have touted massive productivity gains.

Matt Hoffman, a data analyst at Uplevel, explains that the team had initially expected developers using AI tools to write more code and introduce fewer defects, as the assistants would help review code before submission. However, the study’s findings defied these expectations. In fact, developers using Copilot were found to introduce 41 percent more bugs into their code compared to those not using the tools. Additionally, Uplevel found no evidence to suggest that AI assistants were helping to prevent developer burnout.

These revelations run counter to a GitHub-sponsored study that had earlier claimed a 55 percent increase in coding speed for developers using Copilot. While it is possible that developers are seeing some positive results, as evidenced by reports showing nearly 30 percent of new code involving AI assistance, another possibility is that coders are developing a dependency on these tools and becoming lazy.

In the field, experiences with AI coding assistants have been mixed so far. Ivan Gekht, CEO of custom software firm Gehtsoft USA, told CIO that AI-generated code has been challenging to understand and debug, sometimes making it more efficient to rewrite from scratch. This observation is backed by a study from last year, which found that ChatGPT got over half of the programming questions it was asked wrong, although the chatbot has since improved with multiple updates.

Soros Gets Approval for Controlling 200 Radio Stations

FCC Democrats Approve ‘Unprecedented’ Soros Scheme to Control 200 Radio Stations

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday approved a license deal delivering leftist billionaire George Soros control over 200 Audacy radio stations; dissenting commissioners called it “unprecedented.”

Breitbart News reported last week the Democrat majority at the FCC “fast-tracked” a deal to allow Soros to acquire more than 200 radio stations despite Republican objections.

Soros reportedly took foreign investment to make his bid for the 200 Audacy radio stations, which covers 40 media markets, and asked the commission to make an exception to the normal review porcess.

This is reportedly the first time a fast-tracked deal has gone through the commission without a typical national security review process, which normally would take up to a year or more.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a written statement on Monday:

In this decision, we approve the assignment of licenses held by Audacy, which has been under the control of a bankruptcy court, to the new Audacy, so that the company can emerge from bankruptcy proceedings. The process we use to facilitate this license transfer is identical to the one recently used by the agency in the bankruptcy proceedings of Cumulus Media in 2018, iHeart Media in 2019, Liberman Television in 2019, Fusion Connect in 2019, Windstream Holdings in 2020, America-CV Station Group in 2021, and Alpha Media in 2021. To suggest otherwise is cynical and wrong, as this precedent clearly demonstrates. Our practice here and in these prior cases is designed to facilitate the prompt and orderly emergence from bankruptcy of a company that is a licensee under the Communications Act.

FCC Republican-nominated commissioners slammed the decision to fast-track the order, believing it ignores the national security needs to review the deal.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a written statement:

The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented. Never before has the Commission voted to approve the transfer of a broadcast license—let alone the transfer of broadcast licenses for over 200 radio stations across more than 40 markets—without following the requirements and procedures codified in federal law. Not once. And yet the Commission breaks this new ground today without seeking public comment on altering our established regulations, without actually changing the rules on the books, and without seeking the feedback of other federal agencies with relevant equities.
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Federal law requires applicants with excessive foreign ownership to file a petition for declaratory ruling at the same time that they seek FCC approval for the relevant license transfers, they must then complete that process before the FCC can approve the  assignment of licenses, and that process must enable Executive Branch agencies with national security and specific policy expertise to weigh in.

Netflix CEO Supports Kamala & it Pays a Heavy Price

Netflix Cancelations Spiked After CEO Reed Hastings Pledged Millions to Kamala Harris

Netflix cancelations have reportedly spiked after the streaming platform’s CEO Reed Hastings announced he’d donate millions to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.

Netflix’s rate of cancelations nearly tripled in the United States after supporters of former President Donald Trump called for action against the streaming giant following its CEO’s donation to Harris, according to a report by Bloomberg.

While U.S. consumers were already canceling their Netflix subscriptions at a higher rate than usual in July — in large part due to the company’s decision to phase out its cheapest, advertising-free tier — the five-day period after Hastings endorsed Harris saw “unusual” numbers of cancelation, “even for July,” the outlet noted.

On July 23, the Netflix CEO endorsed Harris in an X post, writing, “Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win.”

Hastings’ congratulatory remark was in reference to President Joe Biden having recently ended his reelection campaign — after being ousted by his own Party — making Harris the soon-to-be Democrat Party nominee.

After issuing his congratulatory X post, Hastings told The Information that he donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC. After that, Trump supporters began calling on customers to end their subscriptions alongside the hashtag #CancelNetflix.

Then, on July 26 — three days after Hastings’ donation to the pro-Harris super PAC became public — Netflix experienced the single worst day of cancellations this year, Bloomberg noted.

This is not the first time Netflix was hit with a wave of cancelations as a result of the streaming service’s behavior.

In 2020, the streaming giant’s cancelations surged in reaction to the film, Cuties, which generated a firestorm over its highly sexualized depiction of underage girls.

In recent years, conservatives have found that boycotts can actually work.

Last summer, sales of Bud Light beer tanked after transgender influencer and biological male Dylan Mulvaney was featured in a cringeworthy and patronizing March Madness advertisement.

Moreover, Americans suffering due to inflation under the Biden-Harris administration don’t appear to be influenced by celebrities and others in the entertainment industry with regards to politics or the upcoming presidential election — and are willing to put their money where their mouths are in order to make that known.

Verizon's Phones Out of Service?

‘SOS Mode:’ Nationwide Verizon Cell Outage Impacts Millions of Americans

Verizon suffered a nationwide outage on Monday morning, leaving millions of customers across the U.S. in SOS mode, unable to send and receive calls or text messages all morning and afternoon — with no end in sight for those still impacted.

The outage appeared to kick in at around 9:30 a.m. EST with Verizon customers flooding DownDetector — a site that monitors tech issues — to report their cell service being stuck in SOS mode, while others noted they had bars, but were unable to send and receive calls or texts.

By 10:15 a.m. EST, more than 100,000 customers reported Verizon outages with DownDetector, which suggests that the outage has impacted many more across the country.

While Verizon has 114.2 million U.S. users, the amount of people impacted by the outage remains unclear. The issue also appears to be nationwide, with customers reporting problems everywhere from New York to California.

“In Miami. Still SOS since 11 AM EST,” one customer reported.

“No voice/text/data since this morning in Mid-Michigan,” another revealed.

“I’m in Dallas,” another disclosed. “Started with just no incoming calls around 8:45am CT. then progressed to no outgoing calls an hour or so later. Now I’m unable to receive texts.”

Similar reports from customers across the country flooded into DownDetector.

As the day went on, Verizon customers became increasingly furious with the phone provider, expressing their dismay on DownDetector all afternoon.

“This is fricken ridiculous!! I have a VERY important call coming and I can’t miss it!! Verizon get your stuff together! Ugh!! 5+ hours going now,” one customer exclaimed.

“Have been down since 10:01 am in Warren, Ohio. My Husband is a Truck Driver, this is not acceptable,” another wrote.

“I need my phone for work! Lost out on so much business today,” another lamented.

At 3:30 p.m. EST, one customer wrote, “6 hours and counting… this is unreal,” while another commented, “Damn, didn’t expect it to be down this long.”

“There’s no way this big of a company should be down for this long, I know y’all got people for this stuff,” another surmised.

“Should we start looking for a new provider?” another customer asked.

Verizon addressed the issue in a Monday morning X post, writing, “We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.”

Brazil Demands X Pay $1.8 Million in Fines

Brazil Demands Twitter Pay $1.8 Million in ‘Fines’ After Elon Musk Free Speech Cave

The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) must pay a fine of ten million Brazilian reais (roughly $1.84 million) to restore its services in Brazil, Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes announced over the weekend.

The demand comes roughly one month after de Moraes, an “anti-fake news” crusader, banned access to the X platform in Brazil after it initially refused to comply with censorship orders against a group of users as well as appoint a new legal representative in the country.

After initially loudly condemning the Brazilian government’s demands, X announced that it would comply with Brazilian court-mandated censorship and reinstated Rachel de Oliveira Villa as its legal representative in Brazil. Twitter reportedly submitted a formal request to de Moraes to allow for its reinstatement in Brazil following compliance with the censorship orders and other court-mandated requirements.

De Moraes, in a ruling issued on Friday, confirmed that X has complied with all the censorship orders issued by the court and appointed a legal representative in the country as requested by the Brazilian top court. He, nonetheless, conditioned the reinstatement of the platform in the country to the payment of the new $1.8 million fine.

The fine, according to the ruling, was imposed in response to the platform’s “failure to comply, for two days” with the ban in mid-September. On that date, users were reportedly able to access the X platform from within Brazilian territory. X described the incident as “inadvertent and temporary” and attributed it to a switch in network providers in Latin America.

In addition to the $1.8 fine, the court fined the social media platform’s legal representative Rachel de Oliveira Villa 300,000 Brazilian reais (roughly $55,284). The amount, according to the ruling, stems from the accumulated sum of a daily fine of 20,000 reais (roughly $3,656) imposed on the legal representative in mid-August at a time when the X platform was in defiance of the court’s orders.

“According to the ruling, made in Petition (PET) 12404, X proved that it had fully complied with two requirements for the resumption of activities: the blocking of profiles and the appointment of a legal representative of the company in the country,” the STF announced. “However, it has yet to prove payment of the fines for non-compliance with the decisions.”

The ruling stated that the STF ordered the Central Bank of Brazil to block the accounts of the X social media platform and its legal representatives, asserting that “no amounts were found sufficient to guarantee” the payment of Oliveira Villa’s fine in her accounts. The court demanded X inform if it will use the amounts the court order blocked to pay the fine and withdraw appeals filed against both the initial ban and the fines.

“The end of the suspension of the operation of the X platform in national territory and, consequently, the immediate return of its activities depend solely on full compliance with Brazilian legislation,  the ruling read, “and absolute observance of the decisions of the judiciary, in respect for national sovereignty.”

X’s compliance with de Moraes’ censorship orders comes after a months-long feud between de Moraes and X owner Elon Musk directly, following Musk’s initial refusal to comply with the censorship orders. Musk accused the judge of rigging the 2022 Brazilian election, which far-left President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly won against then-incumbent conservative President Jair Bolsonaro.

DirecTV Now Acquiring Dish

DirecTV Buys Rival Dish as It Fights the Onslaught of Streaming Services

DirecTV is buying Dish and Sling, a deal it has sought to complete for years, as the company seeks to better compete against streaming services that have become dominant.

DirecTV said Monday that it will acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that includes a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt.

The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, with headlines about reported talks popping up over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked their owners’ then-$18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming giants, demand for more traditional satellite continues to shrink. And, although high-profile acquisitions have proven to be particularly tough under the Biden-Harris administration, that may make regulators more inclined to approve DirecTV and Dish’s pairing this time around.

DirecTV said Monday that the transaction will help it bring smaller content packages to consumer at lower prices and essentially provide a one-stop shopping experience for entertainment programming.

It’s hoping this will appeal to those who have left satellite video services for streaming. The company said that combined, DirecTV and Dish have collectively lost 63% of their satellite customers since 2016.

“DirecTV operates in a highly competitive video distribution industry,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement. “With greater scale, we expect a combined DirecTV and Dish will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of tv, which is to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests, and to be better positioned to realize operating efficiencies while creating value for customers through additional investment.”

The current deal could provide a key lifeline for EchoStar. The Colorado-based telecommunications company has reportedly faced the prospect of bankruptcy as it continues to burn through cash and see losses pile up.

In a recent securities filing, EchoStar disclosed that it had just $521 million in “cash on hand.” And the company forecast negative cash flows for the remainder of the year — while also pointing to major looming debt payments, with more than $1.98 billion of debt set to mature in November.

“With an improved financial profile, we will be better positioned to continue enhancing and deploying our nationwide 5G Open RAN wireless network,” EchoStar President and CEO Hamid Akhavan said. “This will provide U.S. wireless consumers with more choices and help to drive innovation at a faster pace.”

By shedding Dish, EchoStar will be able to focus its efforts elsewhere, like its wireless carrier Boost Mobile.

Assange Pleaded Guilty to Journalism

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Says He Pleaded ‘Guilty to Journalism’ to Be Freed

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Tuesday that he was freed after years of incarceration because he “pled guilty to journalism.”

Assange gave evidence of the impact of his detention and conviction to the legal affairs and human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The Parliamentary Assembly includes lawmakers from 46 European countries.

Assange was released in June after five years in a British prison after he pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concluded a drawn-out legal saga. Prior to his time in prison, he had spent seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he claimed asylum on the grounds of political persecution.

“I am not free today because the system worked,” Assange said in his first public remarks since he was released. “I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”

He added: “I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source. And I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was.”

The transition from years of confinement in a maximum security prison to addressing the European parliamentarians has been a “profound and a surreal shift,” Assange said as he detailed the experience of years of isolation in a small cell.

“It strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence,” he said, his voice cracking while he offered an apology for his “faltering words” and an “unpolished presentation.”

“I’m not yet fully equipped to speak about what I have endured – the relentless struggle to stay alive, both physically and mentally,” Assange said.

Texan Hospital Hacked, Victim of Ransomware Attack

America Unprotected: Texas Hospital Crippled by Ransomware Attack, Ambulances Redirected

The University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, a critical level-one trauma hospital, has been severely impacted by a ransomware attack, leading to the diversion of emergency patients to nearby facilities. With the only level-one trauma center within 400 miles crippled, West Texas residents have been placed at significant risk by America’s failure to fight cybercrime.

The Register reports that the University Medical Center (UMC) in Lubbock, Texas, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack, forcing the hospital to turn away ambulances and limit its operations. The cyberattack, which occurred on Friday, has caused significant disruptions to the hospital’s services, highlighting the growing threat of ransomware to critical healthcare infrastructure.

UMC, a non-profit hospital and the only level-one trauma center within a 400-mile radius, plays a crucial role in providing emergency care to severely ill patients. The hospital maintains a team of specialists around the clock to handle the most critical cases. Any disruption to its services could have life-threatening consequences for patients in need of urgent medical attention.

In response to the attack, the hospital has taken precautionary measures by temporarily diverting incoming emergency and non-emergency patients via ambulance to nearby health facilities until the issue is resolved. The hospital is working to minimize disruptions to patient care and critical services while the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

The attack on UMC is part of a disturbing trend of increasing ransomware attacks targeting healthcare organizations. According to cybersecurity firm Sophos, while the overall number of ransomware attacks across industries is slowly declining, attacks against healthcare facilities continue to intensify in both number and scope. In the past two years, two-thirds of surveyed healthcare facilities have suffered at least one ransomware infection, with over half paying criminals to regain control of their networks.

Ransomware attacks on hospitals are particularly insidious because they interfere directly with patient care. In 2021, Breitbart News reported that an a cyberattack on an Alabama hospital directly contributed to the death of a baby.

Meta as Innovator Not as Global Censor

Mark Zuckerberg Hopes Meta Will Be Remembered as an Innovator, Not for Surveillance and Censorship

Notorious censor and surveillance capitalism tycoon Mark Zuckerberg has a clear vision for how he wants his company Meta to be remembered decades from now — as a technology innovator, not for his apps and their negative impacts on society.

Business Insider reports that in a recent interview with content creator Tiffany Janzen, Mark Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on the legacy he hopes to leave behind with his company, Meta. The tech mogul emphasized that he sees Meta as a technology company focused on building fundamental platforms for human connection, rather than simply an app company.

“I would guess that if you look back, you know, 20, 30 years from now, we’re still going to be a technology company,” Zuckerberg stated. “We’re not an app company.” He highlighted his long-term commitment to this vision, adding, “So we’re focused on primarily building the underlying technology platform and I think that that’s going to be true, for probably — and like, certainly as long as I’m doing this.”

Zuckerberg expressed his desire for Meta to be remembered as a company that “builds awesome things” and takes bold risks. “I would like people to look back on us and say, ‘Oh, they took a bunch of really big swings. And maybe not everything that they did worked. But a bunch of the stuff that they did really kind of pushed the industry and pushed the world in different directions and that was cool.'”

In a recent interview on the Acquired podcast, Zuckerberg reiterated his view of Meta as a technology company focused on human connection. “For me, building this kind of glasses to enable the future of people being able to feel present with another person no matter where they actually physically are, is the natural continuation of the kind of apps that we build today,” he explained.

Despite Zuckerberg’s wishes to be known as a technology company, it was his harnessing of the surveillance capitalism business model that propelled his personal wealth beyond $200 billion, an exclusive club with just a handful of other members.

Taylor Swift's Endorsement Makes Her Lose Listeners

Report: Taylor Swift Loses 2 Million Spotify Listeners After Kamala Harris Endorsement

Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is shaping up to be a costly move for the pop superstar.

Since publicly endorsing Kamala Harris on September 10, the night of the presidential debate, Taylor Swift has lost more than 2 million Spotify listeners, according to data that was shared by Chartmetric, a music streaming analytics company, to the outlet The Wrap.

In addition, the number of people viewing Swift’s YouTube videos in the U.S. reportedly dropped nearly 10 percent post-Harris endorsement.

Just prior to the debate, Swift had 94 million unique Spotify listeners who had streamed at least one of her songs in the past month. As of September 27, Swift’s monthly unique listeners had reportedly dropped to 91.9 million.

For Swift, the drop will likely represent a hit her bank account, since Spotify compensates artists based on the number of streams they generate.

The 2 million decline in Spotify listeners comes as Taylor Swift’s popularity has taken a hit among all voters.

As Breitbart News reported, a recent NBC News poll showed Swift’s favorability among all registered voters fell from last year, decreasing from 40 percent in 2023 to 33 percent this year. While 16 percent had negative feelings about her in 2023, 27 percent say they do now.
About 26 percent of independents have a positive attitude toward Swift, a drop from 34 percent in 2023.

YouTube & Your Mental Health Crisis

Arkansas Lawsuit: Google’s YouTube Fuels Youth Mental Health Crisis

Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company Google, accusing the video-sharing platform of deliberately fostering addiction and contributing to a mental health crisis among the state’s youth.

AP News reports that in a new lawsuit, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin ® has sued YouTube and Google parent company Alphabet in state court, alleging violations of Arkansas’ deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit asserts that the video-sharing site is intentionally designed to be addictive, leading to increased mental health issues among young people and causing the state to spend millions on expanded mental health services and other resources for its youth.

According to the complaint, “YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue. As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube.” The lawsuit claims that YouTube’s algorithms direct young users to harmful adult content and facilitate the spread of child sexual abuse material.

Google, which owns YouTube and is also named as a defendant in the case, has denied the allegations. In a statement, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said, “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls. The allegations in this complaint are simply not true.”

Currently, YouTube requires users under 17 to obtain parental permission before using the site, and accounts for users younger than 13 must be linked to a parental account. However, it is possible to watch YouTube content without an account, and children can easily misrepresent their age.

Arkansas has previously filed similar lawsuits against TikTok and Facebook parent company Meta, alleging that these social media companies misled consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and the protection of users’ private data. These cases are still pending in state court. Additionally, Arkansas enacted a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts, although this measure has been blocked by a federal judge.

Bank of America Lost Your Money!?

Bank of America Customers Reporting Zeroed Out Balance in Account

Bank of America confirmed that some customers were having trouble “accessing their accounts and balance information,” according to CBS News.

The bank explained in a statement that “some clients” were dealing with a glitch that was preventing them from being able to access “their accounts and balance information,” according to the outlet.

“Some clients are experiencing an issue accessing their accounts and balance information today,” Bank of America said. “These issues are being addressed and have largely been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Several people took to social media to share how the Bank of America glitch was affecting their bank accounts.

“My personal and business Bank of America accounts were wiped to $0.00 in this alleged cyber attack,” Elijah Schaffer, a journalist with Gateway Pundit wrote in a post.
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“Bank of America having a glitch and my acct being at $0 gave me a heart attack,” one person wrote in a post on X.
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Another person wrote that Bank of America was “down and showing $0 balances,” and wouldn’t let them log in to their banking app.

“Can’t call customer support either because they just hang up saying they can’t accept calls right now,” the person added. “Did they get hacked?”

Around 12:39 p.m., there were over 1,000 reports of outages with Bank of America, according to DownDetector.

By 1:09 p.m., there were more than 17,000 reports of outages with the bank.

As of 5:54 p.m., there are currently more than 2,000 reports of outages with Bank of America, according to DownDetector.

Netherlands: Foreign Gov Hacked Police Officer DB

‘Foreign Government’ Behind Hack of Police Officer Database, Netherlands Says

A cyberattack that broke into a police account and accessed work-related contact details of all Dutch police officers was almost certainly carried out by hackers working for a foreign government, the justice minister told lawmakers.

Dutch intelligence agencies “consider it highly likely that a state actor is responsible,” Justice and Security Minister David van Weel wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday night about the breach, which was first revealed last Friday.

He added that “police, together with national security partners, are doing everything they can to protect police employees and prevent further damage.”

Van Weel did not give further details, citing an ongoing investigation into the data breach. The Dutch police force is the country´s biggest employer with nearly 63,000 staff.

Nine Kooiman, chair of the Netherlands Police Union, called the hack “a nightmare. It is now important to protect data, protect colleagues” and track down the perpetrators.

The government said last week that the hack did not reveal personal details of police officers beyond their names or details about ongoing investigations.

Dutch police chief Janny Knol said she had spoken to staff about their concerns following news of the data breach, noting they were “concerns that I share, because in order to ensure safety outside, you have to feel safe inside.”

The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service warned last year in its annual report that countries including China and Russia were actively engaged in cyberattacks and espionage targeting national interests in the Netherlands.

California Law Banning Deepfake Videos Blocked

‘The Political Cartoons of Today:’ Judge Blocks California Law Banning ‘Deepfake’ Videos of Politicians

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a recently passed California law aimed at curbing the spread of AI-generated deepfakes depicting political candidates. In his decision, Judge John Mendez wrote, “While a well-founded fear of a digitally manipulated media landscape may be justified, this fear does not give legislators unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment.”

TechCrunch reports that just two weeks after being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, a key provision of California’s AB 2839 targeting AI deepfakes has been put on hold by a federal court. The law empowers California judges to order individuals spreading deepfakes of politicians to take them down or face potential penalties if the fakes are deemed likely to mislead voters.

In a decision issued this week, U.S. District Judge John Mendez sided with the plaintiff, Christopher Kohls, who had posted an AI-generated deepfake video depicting Vice President Kamala Harris. Kohls filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of AB 2839 just one day after it was enacted, arguing the faux Harris video was protected political satire under the First Amendment.

In his ruling, Judge Mendez expressed concerns that the California law was overly broad and subjective in its phrasing, potentially encompassing “vast amounts of political and constitutionally protected speech.” He noted that while concerns over manipulated digital content undermining elections may be valid, it does not give legislators free rein to restrict speech traditionally protected by the First Amendment.

“While a well-founded fear of a digitally manipulated media landscape may be justified, this fear does not give legislators unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment. YouTube videos, Facebook posts, and X tweets are the newspaper advertisements and political cartoons of today, and the First Amendment protects an individual’s right to speak regardless of the new medium these critiques may take,” Mendez wrote in his decision. He pointed out that other legal avenues, such as privacy, copyright, and defamation laws, already provide recourse for those whose reputations may be harmed by altered depictions online.

The temporary injunction prevents California Attorney General Rob Bonta from enforcing the deepfake takedown provisions of AB 2839 against Kohls or any other online speakers, with the narrow exception of fraudulent audio content. While acknowledging the state has a strong interest in preserving election integrity, Mendez ruled this was outweighed by the potential First Amendment violations and speech chilling effects experienced by Kohls and other content creators under the law.

Google Bullying New Zealand!?

Google Bullies New Zealand over ‘Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill’

Google has issued a stern warning, threatening to remove links to New Zealand news content and terminate current agreements with local publishers if the proposed Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill becomes law.

The New Zealand Herald reports that global tech giant Google has threatened to sever ties with New Zealand news outlets if the government proceeds with the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. The proposed legislation, which aims to force tech companies like Google and Meta (Facebook) to pay publishers for their content, has been met with strong opposition from the search engine giant.

Caroline Rainsford, Google New Zealand’s country director, expressed the company’s deep concerns about the bill, calling it a “link tax” that would require Google to pay for simply linking to news articles. She stated, “If the Bill were to proceed on its current trajectory and became law, we would be forced to make significant changes to our products and news investments.”

These changes, according to Rainsford, would include discontinuing the linking of news content on Google Search, Google News, and Discover surfaces in New Zealand. Furthermore, Google would terminate its current commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers.

The news media industry has hit back at Google’s threats, accusing the company of deliberately misrepresenting the legislation and engaging in what the News Publishers Association has described as “corporate bullying.” Andrew Holden, the association’s public affairs director, emphasized that the Bill is not a tax but rather a means to create an environment for fair commercial negotiations between media companies and tech giants.

Holden cited recent cases against Google in the United States, quoting Attorney General Merrick Garland, who described one case as “a historic win for the American people” and stated that no company is above the law. The News Publishers Association believes that the New Zealand government should be able to make laws that strengthen democracy without being subjected to what he calls corporate bullying tactics.

However, not everyone is in favor of the proposed bill. Act leader David Seymour, whose party does not support the legislation, warned that the government is “playing chicken” with Google and that New Zealanders could be the ones to lose out if the search engine follows through with its threats. Smaller media outlets, in particular, could suffer as they would be denied the opportunity to connect with new audiences via search results.

Google’s New Zealand operation is substantial, with the company paying nearly $1 billion to its international parent in inter-company service fees for the year ending December 31, 2023. This figure serves as a true indication of the size of Google’s business in New Zealand.

Tesla Cybertrucks Recalled AGAIN

Tesla Cybertrucks Face Fifth Recall in Less Than a Year Since Release

Elon Musk’s Tesla has announced the fifth recall of the new Cybertruck within a year of its release, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officials announced.

The electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks over a failure to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) requirements for rear visibility, the NHTSA said on September 26.

Tesla alerted the administration to certain vehicles suffering from a delayed rearview camera display after shifting into reverse, “increasing the risk of crash.”

The company will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update to fix the issue, with owner notification letters expected to be sent by November 25.

Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 25, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla’s number for this recall is SB-24-00-016.

This makes for the fifth Cybertruck recall announced by the NHTSA since the vehicle officially rolled out in November 2023 after two years of delays, ABC News reported.

Just two months after the EV’s release, nearly 2.2 million Teslas across 35 models had to undergo an OTA fix due to an “incorrect font size” for warning lights violating FMVSS standards.

According to the NHTSA, the small font size could “make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read.”

In April 2024, 3,878 Cybertrucks were recalled over some vehicles experiencing a “trapped” acceleration pedal, leading to the trucks accelerating unintentionally and increasing crash risks.

Another recall was announced in mid-June for 11,688 Cybertrucks over an “excessive electrical current” that could cause the front windshield wiper motor controller to fail. Tesla is set to replace the faulty devices when the remedy “becomes available” sometime in October, the NHTSA noted.

On the same day, another recall was announced for “improperly adhered truck bed trims” that could “detach,” administration officials said.

Over 12,000 Cybertrucks were recalled, with owner notification letters going out in August.

North Korea's Electronic Warfare

North Korean Electronic Warfare Surges Under Kim: South

North Korea's use of electronic attacks against civil aviation in the South has surged by 15 times this year, data shows, with Kim Jong Un's regime doubling down on tactics that have raised concerns at the United Nations.

GPS interference in the form of jamming and "spoofing"—broadcasting false signals to purposely confuse global positioning software used by aircraft and ships—has been reported 578 times between January and August, according to South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.

There were only 39 cases last year, and 26 total cases in the three years before that, the report said. Previously, the most intense period of attack—more than 1,400 cases—happened from 2010 to 2013, around the time Kim, now 40, became North Korea's supreme leader. Newsweek could not reach the North Korean embassy in Beijing for comment before publication.

The South Korean government has traced over 90 percent of this year's cases back to the North, and it believes Pyongyang is responsible for the remaining instances, too, the paper quoted ruling party lawmaker Kwon Young-se, South Korea's former unification minister, as saying.

The cyberattacks are part of North Korea's maturing electronic warfare arsenal—potentially effective against unmanned aerial vehicles operated by American forces stationed in the South. They have not resulted in any major aviation accidents to date, but GPS interference can endanger commercial airliners flying in poor visibility and is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety.

The majority of incidents were reported across five consecutive days between May 29 and June 2, when hundreds of civilian aircraft and ships reported suspected GPS jamming around the de facto inter-Korean sea border in the west, known as the Northern Limit Line.
The interference was reported as lasting anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

They happened as North Korea launched several waves of trash-carrying balloons across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone into the South as retaliation for anti-North propaganda sent by rights activists via balloons.

LAST WEEK

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EU Fines Facebook

European Union Fines Facebook $102 Million for Password Security Failure

Meta was punished Friday with a fine worth more than $100 million from the social media giant’s European Union privacy regulator over a security lapse involving passwords for Facebook users.

The Irish Data Protection Commission said it slapped the U.S. tech company with the 91 million euro ($101.6 million) penalty following an investigation.

The watchdog started investigating in 2019 after it was notified by Meta that some passwords had been inadvertently stored internally in plain text, which means they weren’t encrypted and it was possible for employees to search for them.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said it’s “widely accepted” that user passwords should not be stored in plain text, “considering the risks of abuse.”

Meta said a security review found that a “subset” of Facebook users’ passwords were “temporarily logged in a readable format.”

“We took immediate action to fix this error, and there is no evidence that these passwords were abused or accessed improperly,” the company said in a statement. “We proactively flagged this issue to our lead regulator, the Irish Data Protection Commission, and have engaged constructively with them throughout this inquiry.”

It’s the latest in a series of hefty fines for Meta and its social media platforms from the Dublin-based watchdog, which is the company’s lead regulator under the 27-nation EU’s stringent data privacy rulebook. They include a 405 million euro fine for Instagram over mishandling teen data, a 5.5 million euro penalty involving WhatsApp and a 1.2 billion euro fine for Meta over transatlantic data transfers.

Google Files Complaint Against MS

Monopolists Pointing Fingers: Google Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft

Google has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, accusing Microsoft of using unfair licensing contracts to stifle competition in the cloud computing industry. Google’s charges become especially interesting in light of the fact that the internet giant has itself been the subject of two different antitrust cases this year.

CNBC reports that on Wednesday, Google lodged a formal antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, alleging that the software giant employs unfair licensing terms to “lock in” clients and exert control over the multibillion-dollar cloud computing market. The complaint comes amid growing competition between the two companies in the rapidly expanding cloud sector.

According to Google, Microsoft leverages its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products to make it difficult for its vast client base to use cloud infrastructure offerings other than its own Azure platform. The internet giant claims that restrictions in Microsoft’s cloud licensing terms hinder customers from moving their workloads from Azure to competing cloud services, despite the absence of technical barriers.

Google, which currently ranks third in the global cloud computing market behind Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, cited a 2023 study by CISPE, a trade body for the cloud computing sector. The study found that European businesses and public sector organizations have been compelled to pay Microsoft up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) annually in licensing penalties due to limitations on their ability to switch cloud providers.

The complaint follows a settlement agreement reached in July between CISPE, its members, and Microsoft, which would see the latter make changes to address competition concerns. However, Google, along with Amazon Web Services and Alibaba’s cloud unit AliCloud, chose not to participate in the settlement.

In a statement, Microsoft said it expects the European Commission to dismiss Google’s complaint, noting that it had “settled amicably similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google hoped they would keep litigating.”