Technology

Buzzfeed News reports: On Wednesday, Twitter will begin testing a feature, called “Fleets,” that will allow you to post photos, videos, and text that disappear after a short period of time. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s nothing other than the long-awaited debut of stories on the social platform. When Snapchat invented stories in 2013, people loved the way …

The Verge reports: Apple has tentatively agreed to a $500 million settlement after admitting to slowing down older phones. The deal would provide small payouts for many iPhone owners in the US, plus greater compensation for named class members and attorneys. It covers people who bought any product in the iPhone 6 and 7 lineup — which Apple secretly throttled …

Variety reports: WhatsApp now has more than 2 billion users globally, according to Facebook — and the company says it “will not compromise” on the messaging app’s end-to-end encryption, despite warnings from law enforcement officials. WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for $19 billion in 2014, uses strong crypto to keep information sent over the service private, “helping protect you from hackers …

The Associated Press reports: YouTube is making clear there will be no “birtherism” on its platform during this year’s U.S. presidential election. Also banned: Election-related “deepfake” videos and anything that aims to mislead viewers about voting procedures and how to participate in the 2020 census. The Google-owned video service clarified its rules ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday. The company …

The New York Post reports: Chinese authorities are taking coronavirus surveillance to new heights — using drones to scold citizens who go outside without face masks. “Yes, auntie, this is the drone speaking to you. You shouldn’t walk about without wearing a mask,” says the caption of a video posted Friday on Twitter by the Global Times, the English-language newspaper …

Engadget reports: Delivery giant UPS has ordered 10,000 electric trucks from Arrival, a technology company based in the UK. Some of the vehicles will be trialed in London and Paris later this year, building on a similar experiment that was run by the two companies in 2018. The pair then hope to deploy the trucks across Europe and North America …

Axios reports: Tinder will debut a feature later this month that will allow users to hit a panic button if they feel physically unsafe on a date gone wrong, the Wall Street Journal reports. Why it matters: Critics have previously called out Tinder for not doing more to ensure the safety of users and filtering out possibly dangerous users, especially …

TechCrunch reports: Cruise unveiled Tuesday evening a “production ready” driverless vehicle called Origin, the product of a multi-year collaboration with parent company GM and investor Honda that is designed for a ride-sharing service. The shuttle-like vehicle — branded with Cruise’s trademark orange and black colors — has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed to travel at highway speeds. …

CNBC reports: Technology giant Amazon is working to allow customers to connect their credit card information to their hands, so that they can scan for purchases with their palms at checkout areas in physical stores. While Amazon’s plan is in the early stages, the company has reportedly begun working with Visa on testing out the terminals, and has discussed the …

The New York Times reports: Popular dating services like Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder are spreading user information like dating choices and precise location to advertising and marketing companies in ways that may violate privacy laws, according to a new report that examined some of the world’s most downloaded Android apps. Grindr, the world’s most popular gay dating app, transmitted user-tracking …

The Associated Press reports: The National Security Agency has discovered a major security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system that could allow hackers to intercept seemingly secure communications. But rather than exploit the flaw for its own intelligence needs, the NSA tipped off Microsoft so that it can fix the system for everyone. Microsoft released a free software patch …

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr declared on Monday that a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., was an act of terrorism, and he asked Apple in an unusually high-profile request to provide access to two phones used by the gunman. Mr. Barr’s appeal was an escalation of an ongoing …

The New York Times reports: An entire fleet of New York City’s newest subway cars was abruptly pulled out of service on Wednesday after two recent episodes raised concerns that doors could open while trains were moving, according to people involved in the transit system who were told about the defects. The MTA , which runs the subway, did not …

Wired Magazine reports: Whereas Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have developed lengthy policies covering hundreds of circumstances, TikTok provided a short list of bullet points addressing only the most extreme content. Amid growing scrutiny over censorship and its Chinese ownership from regulators, the company has pledged that more transparency would be forthcoming. Now, it’s here. On Wednesday, TikTok released a comprehensive …

The Associated Press reports: Facebook says it is banning “deepfake” videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools, as it steps up efforts to fight online manipulation. The social network said late Monday that it’s beefing up its policies to remove videos edited or synthesized in ways that aren’t apparent to the average person, and …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. retailers including Walmart Inc will add “Do Not Sell My Info” links to their websites and signage in stores starting Jan. 1, allowing California shoppers to understand for the first time what personal and other data the retailers collect, sources said. Large U.S retailers are rushing to comply with a new law, the California Consumer …

The Associated Press reports: The new year will bring new charges for some owners of electric vehicles, as an increasing number of states seek to plug in to fresh revenue sources to offset forgone gas taxes. In Hawaii, the charge will be $50. In Kansas, $100. In Alabama and Ohio, $200. For the first time, a majority of U.S. states …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Amazon and Ring, the home security company owned by Amazon, will soon have to answer for their hacking incidents, according to a new lawsuit brought against the companies. John Baker Orange filed a class-action lawsuit on Dec. 26 in California, alleging that Amazon and Ring’s “lax security standards” and “defective design” left their cameras vulnerable to …

Agence France-Press reports: The Russian space agency Roscosmos is planning to install a nuclear-powered observatory on its future moon base to held spot deadly Earth-threatening asteroids. Establishing a permanent presence near the lunar south pole has been a priority for Roscosmos ever since NASA announced plans to return to the moon earlier this year. The base’s telescopes will work in …

Business Insider reports:  The Federal Trade Commission is mulling whether to file an injunction against the social networking giant that could block it from its plans to stitch together its WhatsApp messaging service with the chat features of Instagram and those of its core Facebook app. The injunction could also block the company from enforcing its rules about how apps …