News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

Quebec Appeal Court Rejects Fortnite Creator’s Challenge of Class-Action Lawsuit

The Quebec Court of Appeal has upheld a decision authorizing a class-action lawsuit by parents who claim their children became addicted to the popular online video game Fortnite.

Lawyers for Fortnite creator Epic Games had sought permission to appeal the decision, arguing that a Superior Court judge never should have authorized the class action because the plaintiffs didn’t present enough evidence about children being addicted.

Epic Games also argued that a second claim—that children who purchased an in-game currency were taken advantage of—should not have been allowed.

The lawyers argued the second claim had been suggested by the judge himself and that the company was not given a chance to argue against its inclusion in the class action.

Appeal Court Justice Guy Cournoyer said Friday that the company didn’t prove it had not been heard on the claim that the in-game money was allegedly exploitative, adding that there were no serious errors in the lower court judge’s overall decision to allow an appeal.

Canada Bans TikTok on Government-Issued Devices Over Security Concerns

“Effective February 28, 2023, the TikTok application will be removed from government-issued mobile devices. Users of these devices will also be blocked from downloading the application in the future,” said Fortier in a statement issued on Feb. 27.

Fortier said the government’s decision to ban the application from devices it issues comes following a review of TikTok by Chief Information Officer Catherine Luelo, who determined it “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”

Fortier added that Ottawa’s banning of TikTok is a precautionary measure given the application’s data-collection methods and said that there’s “no evidence at this point” suggesting any government information was compromised through the app.

“The decision to remove and block TikTok from government mobile devices is being taken as a precaution, particularly given concerns about the legal regime that governs the information collected from mobile devices, and is in line with the approach of our international partners,” the Treasury Board said.

Cost-cutting Alphabet is even laying off the robots that cleaned cafeteria

The tech giant pulled the plug on high-priced automatons — which separated trash and squeegeed cafeteria tables — created by robotics subsidiary Everyday Robots as part of companywide budget cuts.
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“Some of the technology and part of the team will be consolidated into existing robotics efforts within Google Research,” she added

Everyday Robots once employed more than 200 people, according to Wired. But the division failed to articulate a clear vision as managers couldn’t decide if they wanted to focus on advanced research or whether they hoped to bring a product to market.

The robots that the division produced were too expensive for ordinary customers, with each valued at tens of thousands of dollars.
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“The same robot that sorts trash can now be equipped with a squeegee to wipe tables and use the same gripper that grasps cups can learn to open doors,” Brøndmo wrote.
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In 2021, X closed down its Loon division, which manufactured balloons that were equipped with internet-beaming capabilities.

A year prior, Alphabet pulled the plug on Makani, which made kites that were capable of generating electricity through the use of mini-wind turbines.

Elon Musk tweets ‘hope you had a good Sunday’ as 200 Twitter employees fired

“Hope you have a good Sunday,” the Twitter owner tweeted. “First day of the rest of your life.”

Musk’s tweet coincided with the news that 10% of the remaining workforce at Twitter has been cut — including Esther Crawford, the loyal executive who bought into her new boss’s “extremely hardcore” work ethos.

Crawford was famously photographed sleeping on the floor of her corporate office during the early days of Musk’s stewardship of the San Francisco-based company.
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Crawford, who was put in charge of the Twitter Blue subscription service, was one of dozens of engineers and team managers to learn that they had been fired after attempts to log into their corporate computer systems failed, according to the tech-centered news site the Information.
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Musk has slashed the company’s 7,000-plus-strong workforce by an eye-popping 70%.

As of Monday, there were roughly 2,000 employees remaining at the company.

Italy pursues Facebook-owner Meta for $925 million in sales taxes

The investigation was opened by Milan magistrates at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which asked the Guardia di Finanza police and the Italian Revenue Agency to check if there is a case for user registrations to be subject to tax.

“We strongly disagree with the idea that providing access to online platforms to users should be charged with VAT,” a Meta spokesperson said.
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The two sources said that investigators believe that free membership on Meta platforms comes in return for access to user data and should be classified as an exchange of services, therefore subject to VAT sales tax.
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The most relevant point was the establishment of a link between free access and data transfer as a taxable transaction, which could have repercussions for other multinationals and other countries in Europe.
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In recent years, the Milan Prosecutor’s Office has opened several tax investigations against multinational tech companies such as Google and Apple.