1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the 4 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: Tech Are Yet It's time for the tech News for Thursday, 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: November ninth, twenty twenty three, and let's start off this 6 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: episode with a sincere get well soon for Apple co 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: founder Steve Wozniak. Reuter's reports that while in Mexico City, 8 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: Wosniak admitted himself to the hospital. There are actually conflicting 9 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: reports as to what prompted this move, and in the 10 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: absence of solid information, I think it just makes sense 11 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: for us to say we hope you feel better very soon, 12 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: mister Wosniac. For those of you who are not familiar 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: with his name, Wosniak was the other Steve who created Apple, 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: the other one, of course, being Steve Job and between 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: the two of them, Wozniak was really the big tech geek. 16 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: He was the programmer, he was the phone freak. He 17 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: was the mischievous man who always wanted to know how 18 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: stuff worked. And he's been sort of this kind of 19 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: beloved figure in the tech world for several decades and 20 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: hopefully he'll be right his reign very soon. CNN's Brian 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: fun has a piece titled Mark Zuckerberg personally rejected Meta's 22 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: proposals to improve teen mental health. Court document's allege as 23 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: that headline indicates, this is pretty ugly stuff. So according 24 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: to these documents, these internal documents from Meta, numerous people 25 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: inside the company, including top executives like Adam Massari, the 26 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: CEO of Instagram, repeatedly brought matters relating to teen mental 27 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: health and well being to Zuckerberg's attention, only to be 28 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: shut down. The article really paints Zuckerberg as a tech 29 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: executive unconcerned about what impact his company might have on 30 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: its users. That really plays into this popular perception of 31 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: Zuckerberg as sort of an unfeeling, robotic sort of person 32 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: who has a reputation for expecting his you know, his 33 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: staff to carry out his decisions without objections. Now, one 34 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: example that was cited in the article relates to the 35 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: beauty filters on Instagram. I'm sure most of y'all are 36 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: familiar with these, but just in case you're not, these 37 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: are digital filters that apply some alterations to images. So 38 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,079 Speaker 1: you take an image with your phone, the filter changes 39 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: them slightly, and the whole goal is to make the 40 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: final image appear more attractive. So the argument goes that 41 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: as teens encounter picture after picture of impossibly perfect people, 42 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: their own sense of self begins to suffer. There's a 43 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: worry that these kinds of users will start to feel 44 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: like they're an ugly outsider when all the folks on 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: the phone seem to live perfect lives, have perfect skin, 46 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: and travel to perfect places. Of course, any of y'all 47 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: who have actually interacted with an influencer, you probably have 48 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: this all figured out. They're just as messed up as 49 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: the rest of us are, sometimes even more so. I'm 50 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: actually reminded of a recent walk I took in a 51 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: park where I saw a young person doing the whole 52 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: influencer thing and working very hard to make a completely 53 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: artificial scene appear to be something they just naturally happened upon. 54 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: I can tell you the process to get to that 55 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: final picture was anything but natural, but that's obviously just anecdotal, 56 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: it's not really evidence. The point is, it appears as 57 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: though Zuckerberg has consistently and repeatedly scuttled any efforts to 58 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: make changes to Meta's various platforms out of a concern 59 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: for the well being of users. Now, I don't think 60 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: we can go so far as to say that Meta 61 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: is a company ruled by a person who is only 62 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: can concerned with that company, or that all the other 63 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: leaders in Meta are somehow these valiant warriors trying to 64 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: do what's right. It's obviously way more complicated than that. 65 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: But this is, as the kids used to say, not 66 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: a good look for mister Zuckerberg. He and the company 67 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: are in an ongoing lawsuit. That's why these documents were 68 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: even uncovered in the first place. It's all part of 69 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: that lawsuit that was brought against the company by the 70 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: state of Massachusetts, and we'll have to see how these 71 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: revelations affect the case. RDIBT at zd net has an 72 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: article titled Microsoft reveals plans to protect elections from deep 73 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: fakes and other misinformation. So here on tech stuff, I've 74 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: talked about concerns regarding say, generative AI and deep fakes 75 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: and other technologies that have the capacity to threaten the 76 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: process of democracy. Because when you get down to it, 77 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: you don't even really have to directly attack democracy in 78 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: order to weaken it. You just have to show that 79 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: it's possible to attack democracy, because if people are convinced 80 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 1: that nothing they see is reliable, they lose faith in 81 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: the system and the whole thing starts to crumble. Now 82 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: we're not quite there yet, and that's why efforts to 83 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: push back against technology that does pose a threat to 84 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: fair elections and other democratic processes is important. Microsoft's approach 85 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: is to institute what they call a five part plan 86 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: to fight back. Now, among those parts, there's one that 87 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: is about introducing a new kind of tool that they're 88 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: calling the Content Credentials as a Service tool. This would 89 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: let someone who creates some form of digital content sign 90 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: that work digitally, and that digital signature would travel with 91 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: the content wherever it happens to go, so if someone 92 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: clicks through, they'll see the person responsible for that piece 93 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: of content. It's meant to ensure things like transparency and accountability. 94 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: That's one little example of what Microsoft is planning. Some 95 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: other parts of the plan include assisting and educating various 96 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: campaigns and candidates as they navigate a world that now 97 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: has this powerful AI enabled technology in it. To no 98 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: surprise at all, Microsoft's plan also includes really promoting bing 99 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: search as being the most reliable when it comes to 100 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: presenting real information and weeding out misinformation and AI generated stuff. 101 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: So we'll see how that goes, because so far Bing's 102 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: command of web search has been let's call it underwhelming. 103 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: Although at the same time, Google is currently involved in 104 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: a huge antitrust lawsuit that in part hinges on how 105 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: Google has used various measures such as paying enormous sums 106 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: to other companies like Apple, in order to guarantee that 107 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: Google Search would be a default option on lots of devices. 108 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: So maybe in the future Bing will have a larger 109 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: share of the market because Google will be forced to 110 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: break up. We'll have to see. If you're a Lego 111 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: fan and you have an account on the online marketplace Bricklink, 112 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: then it's time to hit those bricks because the company 113 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: has detected a breach in its systems and there has 114 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: been some quote unquote suspicious activity on the bricklink online marketplace. 115 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: So at this marketplace, folks can sell parts and accessories 116 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: with Lego. Other folks can obviously buy them. It's just 117 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: an online exchange place for that kind of stuff. And 118 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: apparently some bad actors, some hackers, got unauthorized access to 119 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: some seller accounts and started to sell stuff off at 120 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: insane discounts and divert payments to themselves as opposed to 121 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: the actual seller who should have been in control of 122 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: the whole thing. And the company says it's likely that 123 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: what happened was these hackers did some credential stuffing. They 124 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: found some compromised user names and words on the Internet, 125 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: they applied those over on Bricklink, and they found a 126 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: few that worked, and that that's what they've been doing. 127 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: They did announce that the hackers had issued a ransomware 128 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: demand from the company, but they said there's no evidence 129 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: that the hackers actually got access to any company systems. 130 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: So that's why they're saying, like, we think that this 131 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: is not an actual ransomware intrusion, but rather someone being 132 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: able to use passwords to hack into accounts. So they 133 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: do suggest that users who have a Bricklink account go 134 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: in and update their password to a strong password that's 135 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 1: unique just for that service. You should be doing that anyway. 136 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: You should not be reusing the same password over and 137 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: over again. Just a bad idea, because all it takes 138 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: is one thing to get compromised, and then they have 139 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: the skeleton key to all of your accounts. You don't 140 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: want to do that. So just thought that was interesting 141 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,559 Speaker 1: that it was hitting the lego community. Now, it should 142 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: come as no surprise that Amazon is reportedly working on 143 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: a massive artificial intelligence model. Of course it is. It's 144 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: a huge company, and all the other huge companies are 145 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,559 Speaker 1: likewise hard at work at creating language models. According to 146 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: Business Insider, the Amazon model currently has the code name Olympus, 147 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 1: which seems pretty darn humble. I mean, it's the home 148 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: of the gods and everything. The Information reports further that 149 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: Amazon plans to integrate this large language model into lots 150 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: of stuff that faces customers, like its online store and 151 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: in that smart speaker line of products that have that 152 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: woman's name that I won't say, just so I don't 153 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: accidentally set any off near you. Then, Reuter's reports that 154 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,839 Speaker 1: Olympus is actually a much larger large language model than 155 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: even open AI's famous GBT, in fact, twice as large. 156 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: That does not necessarily mean it's better, but it is bigger. 157 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: Rumor has it Amazon will be unveiling its plans for 158 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: AI next month, and that we might find out how 159 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: this could be incorporated into Amazon products moving forward, and 160 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: whether accessing those features will require some sort of additional 161 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:18,239 Speaker 1: subscription or something. On a semi related note, the Hollywood 162 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: strike with sag AFTRA has come to a close. This 163 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: is the one that involved the union represented actors in Hollywood, 164 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: So that strike is probably to a close, I should say, 165 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,680 Speaker 1: because the strike leaders were finally able to negotiate a 166 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: deal with the AMPTP, that's the organization that represents like 167 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: the producers in Hollywood studios. But there are a few 168 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: components that need to happen, like there has to be 169 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: a full vote from the union to support this deal 170 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: before it's well and truly in place. Most folks seem 171 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: to think that is going to happen this week. And 172 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: there's some things in that deal that touch on tech, 173 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: which is why talking about it. Part of it has 174 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 1: to do with things like residual payments for stuff that's 175 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: on streaming services as opposed to on more traditional media 176 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: like film or television. There were really established ways to 177 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: determine how much money an actor would receive from stuff 178 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: they had done continuing to perform well in movies or 179 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,560 Speaker 1: on TV or whatever, but there was less clarification in 180 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: the streaming world because that's a relatively new form of media, 181 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: so there's some elements of that in there, and there's 182 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: also elements that have to do with generative artificial intelligence. 183 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 1: Now I can't give any details because so far the 184 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 1: terms of the deal are undisclosed, but the Union as 185 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: a whole will vote to ratify the deal pretty soon, 186 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: and assuming that happens, business will be back to whatever 187 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: passes for normal in Hollywood. Okay, we're going to take 188 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: a quick break. When we come back, we've got some 189 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: more tech news stories. We're back. So. While Google is 190 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: facing heavy legal pressure here in the United States in 191 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: that antitrust matter I mentioned earlier, the company is also 192 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: pushing against Apple over in the EU. Google reportedly is 193 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: petitioning lawmakers in the EU to force Apple to stop 194 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: gatekeeping the infamous I Message app. The EU has a 195 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: law called the Digital Markets Act, and Google argues that 196 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 1: Apple's I Message is not in alignment with that law, 197 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,559 Speaker 1: and that law says that Apple should allow I Message 198 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: to integrate seamlessly with all other messaging platforms. And this 199 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,719 Speaker 1: really comes down to text bubbles and what color they are, 200 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: right like, whether they're blue or green. It's crazy to 201 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: me that that's what it really comes down to it's 202 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: even crazier that people would actually judge someone if their 203 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: text bubble in a group chat was the quote unquote 204 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: wrong color that you know, somehow they're not as good 205 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: a person because they have a different kind of technology. 206 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: They don't have an iPhone, they're using an Android phone. 207 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. I mean, 208 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: after all, I've seen the exact same sort of tribalistic 209 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: behavior in the gaming community forever. Right. You just ask 210 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: a group of gamers what's better PlayStation or Xbox and 211 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: then you watch the blood fly. So I guess it 212 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: isn't that biggest surprise. It's just kind of pathetic if 213 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: you ask me. Anyway, Apple says that it already meets 214 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: the requirements of the Digital Markets Act, So I guess 215 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: we'll see if Google's push for this wins out or not. 216 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 1: If it does, it may mean that we won't have 217 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: those different colors of text bubbles in the future, and 218 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: we'll have to judge people on other things, you know, 219 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: like whether or not they're a good person. Meanwhile, Apple 220 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: is potentially facing a big old tax bill in the EU, 221 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: specifically the of tax breaks that the company got from Ireland. 222 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: So this matter has actually a very long history. The 223 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,840 Speaker 1: way it works is that several years ago the government 224 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: of Ireland extended some hefty tax breaks to Apple to 225 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: attract Apple to build a facility in Ireland, to essentially 226 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: make Ireland its foothold for Europe and other parts of 227 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: the world. But these tax breaks were themselves, according to 228 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: one court case, not entirely legal. So this whole mess 229 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: goes to court, and originally the court agrees that the 230 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: tax breaks were not legal, that Apple therefore owed billions 231 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: of dollars worth of back taxes, and then Apple appealed 232 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: this decision. Three years ago, another court overturned the earlier judgment, 233 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: and now a lawyer advising the European Union says that 234 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: the decision to overturn was itself incorrect, that it was 235 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: guided by a bunch of legal errors, and the court 236 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: made a mistake in overturning the original court's decision against Apple, 237 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: and that Apple should therefore end up forking over around 238 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: thirteen billion with a b euro worth of back taxes. 239 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: At the heart of the matter is whether or not 240 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: the tax breaks Ireland offer to Apple constitute what the 241 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: EU defines as quote unquote state aid. So every member 242 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: state in the EU actually governs its own tax laws, 243 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: but the EU as a whole has authority over matters 244 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 1: where a government offers government backed aid to say, a 245 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: giant corporation, so as obi Wan would put it, it 246 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: all depends upon your point of view. Obviously, Apple reps 247 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: argue that that interpretation is not accurate. The most recent 248 00:15:55,400 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: court decision to overturn the ruling against Apple is really 249 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: the right one, and that one should stand. Ireland's government 250 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: also protests being said that to have offered state aid 251 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: to Apple. Ireland says that's not what it did. It 252 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: created an incentive to bring Apple over to Ireland in 253 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: order to turn Ireland into kind of a high tech 254 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: hub for companies mostly originating from the United States, to 255 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: have a base of operations for the rest of the 256 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: European Union. The whole darn story is taxing, if you 257 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: ask me. Speaking of taxes, authorities in Italy say that 258 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: Airbnb and the landlords using Airbnb have not been paying taxes, 259 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: at least not to the level that they should be, 260 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: and as such, Italian authorities are getting ready to seize 261 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: more than eight hundred and thirty million dollars from Airbnb 262 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: as a result. Now, whether these authorities will also turn 263 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: their wrath to the actual landlords, that remains to be 264 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: seen so far, of just seen mention of only Airbnb. 265 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: So a lot of places around the world have been 266 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: striking out against Airbnb recently. The City of New York has, 267 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,239 Speaker 1: you know, lots of other places. There are a lot 268 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: of places that have issues with housing availability that have 269 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,360 Speaker 1: been really critical of Airbnb. So the complaint is that 270 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: landlords are scooping up properties that should be going to 271 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: residents and instead they're using them for short term rentals. Meanwhile, 272 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: you've got an ongoing housing crisis in some of these places, 273 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: obviously in Italy. The issue also involves failing to pay 274 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: the appropriate amount in taxes on these rental agreements. Airbnb 275 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: reps say, unsurprisingly that they are disappointed by the decision 276 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 1: to go after their money. They also claim that they 277 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: have operated within the law. The company has the right 278 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: to appeal, which I can't imagine them not doing. I'm 279 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,959 Speaker 1: sure they will. And CNN Business indicates that the actual 280 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: process for the authorities to get this money is not 281 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 1: exactly straightforward. It's not like it's easy to do. So 282 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: it may be that this matter drags on for a 283 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: very long time, but it really extends beyond tech into 284 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: the political and financial realms. I just thought that was 285 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: worth talking about because, like a lot of other companies, 286 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 1: particularly in Silicon Valley, Airbnb would often get the label 287 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 1: of being disruptive, and I just think it's good to 288 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 1: remember that sometimes when you're disruptive, sooner or later the 289 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: establishment hits back, and it's usually much bigger than you are. 290 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: That's not saying that that's the right thing, but it's 291 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: certainly something that can happen, and I think that's what 292 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:49,640 Speaker 1: we're seeing with Airbnb now. Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed 293 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: investors in a recent earnings call, and one thing he 294 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 1: mentioned is that starting next month, the company will roll 295 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: out a beta test of a streaming app that combines 296 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,239 Speaker 1: both Disney Plus and Hulu into a service. This has 297 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: long been rumored to be in the works, and Disney 298 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: is currently in the process of acquiring comcasts thirty thirty 299 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: percent stake in Hulu for around eight point six billion 300 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: dollars at least. Eiger indicated that the plan is to 301 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: roll out the service in full sometime next spring. So 302 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: it sounds like only people who are currently subscribed both 303 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: to Disney Plus and to Hulu at the moment are 304 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 1: going to have access to this beta program in the 305 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 1: short term, which means I'm out. I'm just on Disney Plus. 306 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: I haven't done Hulu yet, so I'll have to keep waiting. 307 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: There's a bunch of stuff on Hulu I want to see, 308 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: but I've been dragging my feet because I was pretty 309 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: sure that this thing was going to happen. And lastly, 310 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: I want to pour one out for a may Goal, 311 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: the online service that would match strangers up in chats 312 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: video chats online. So even if you've never used a 313 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 1: may Go before, I bet you can guess that a 314 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: lot of people took the opportunity to being randomly matched 315 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: with a stranger in a semi anonymous way to engage 316 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,800 Speaker 1: in behavior, let's say, was questionable. There was never a 317 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: shortage of stories about people on Omego harassing folks or 318 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 1: using things like racist slurs, or exposing themselves that was 319 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: one that was frequently mentioned, or attempting to groom young users. 320 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: Really disturbing stuff like that. There are no shortage of 321 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: videos about that online too. But other folks made really 322 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: creative artistic uses of omegol. There's some great compilation videos 323 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: on YouTube of musicians who would delight strangers by playing 324 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: like a personal concert for them, just by being matched 325 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: up to them. That kind of stuff I think is 326 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: super awesome, and I'm sad that that's going to go. 327 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: I love the idea of strangers being able to connect 328 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: with each other and just have a conversation. You never 329 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,199 Speaker 1: know where that's going to go. The problem is the 330 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: bad actors were really, really bad, and that overall gave 331 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: a stain on omegl and the creator of omegol announced 332 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:02,880 Speaker 1: that it was just too much to try and keep 333 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: the site running, to fight against people who were abusing 334 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: the site, and to fight the organizations that had condemned 335 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: the entire site due to the behavior of these bad actors. 336 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: I recommend actually going over to omegle dot com and 337 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: reading the whole open letter yourself to draw your conclusions 338 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: about the whole thing. And that's it for the news 339 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: today for Thursday, November ninth, twenty twenty three. I hope 340 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: you are all well, and I'll talk to you again 341 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 1: really soon. Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production for more 342 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 343 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.