Twitter is tweaking its Birdwatch crowdsourced fact-check feature, adding aliases so contributors can conceal their identities when notating someone’s tweet. The company says its goal in having people append anonymously is “keeping focus on the content of notes rather than who’s writing them,” reducing bias and tempering polarization. To ensure aliases don’t overshadow accountability, all Birdwatch accounts now have profile pages that aggregate past contributions, and the ratings those contributions received from other Birdwatchers, accruing credibility to contributors whose notes and ratings are consistently found helpful by others. Continue reading Twitter Formalizes Its Birdwatch Program with Aliases, Profiles

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon not only added workers to keep up with surging demand, it nearly doubled the size of its fulfillment network, adding 450 new facilities for storage, sorting and shipping, according to MWPVL International, a supply chain logistics consultancy. The e-commerce giant now has 930 facilities across the U.S. where it employs more than 950,000 people, according to its Q2 earnings report. While it’s hiring and infrastructure expansion have largely been concentrated near big cities, which helps mitigate supply-chain disruptions while also speeding shipping times, Amazon is still urging holiday shoppers to order early. Continue reading Amazon Positioned for Holiday Crunch with Network Buildout

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has resigned as the company’s CEO, with chief technology officer Parag Agrawal promoted to fill that slot. Dorsey, who was concurrently serving as CEO of financial services firm Square and has recently become active in cryptocurrency, will retain his Twitter board seat until expiration of his term at the 2022 shareholders meeting. “I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it,” Dorsey said in a tweet yesterday. “There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move.” Continue reading Jack Dorsey Steps Down, Parag Agrawal New CEO of Twitter

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital assets stored on the blockchain, hit $10.7 billion in trading volume during the third quarter. It’s a serious pot of money and Hollywood wants a piece. Quentin Tarantino’s efforts to sell NFTs associated with his 1994 feature “Pulp Fiction” and Miramax’s lawsuit to prevent him from doing so without its own financial participation could prove seminal. While studios have undoubtedly begun adding “NFT” to contracts in express terms, the rulings as this first-in-class lawsuit wends its way through the courts will impact NFT rights for all previously made films. Continue reading Miramax’s Tarantino Lawsuit Forges a Path for Industry NFTs

The Parliament of Australia is preparing to crackdown on social media trolls by preparing legislation that will hold companies legally responsible for defamatory material posted to their sites. A draft of the proposed law would require companies to have formal complaint processes in place to report online abuse and require they provide complainants with the identities of alleged bullies once certain criteria are met. The proposed legislation is scheduled to be released this week, and expected to come before the Parliament next year. It is part of the country’s broader effort to overhaul defamation laws. Continue reading Australia Is Opening Door to Social Media Defamation Liability

Spotify has launched a Netflix Hub designed to extend the experience of enjoying one’s favorite streaming films and shows through official soundtracks, playlists, podcasts and  exclusive Spotify content. Spotify explained the evolution of the pre-existing partnership by pointing out that within two weeks of the premiere of Netflix’s “Squid Game,” Spotify listeners “created more than 22,500 unique themed playlists.” The new Hub will include “experiences” like the recent Netflix collaboration on an “enhanced album” for the revisionist Western “The Harder They Fall,” featuring producer Jay-Z in a behind-the-scenes look at the soundtrack. Continue reading Spotify Launches Netflix Hub with Soundtracks and Podcasts

TikTok parent ByteDance has announced the establishment of six new divisions to monitor the worldwide dissemination of its short-form video apps. The units include online learning; collaboration tool Lark, (the ByteDance version of Slack); game development arm Nuverse; and B2B division BytePlus, selling white-label versions of  proprietary algorithms to enterprise customers. ByteDance also operates Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The change from a flat hierarchy and haphazard business approach is prompting speculation that ByteDance aspires to be known for much more than video sharing. Continue reading TikTok Owner ByteDance Aspires to Become a Global Leader

In what could be bad news for companies such as Facebook and Google, the European Parliament has voted to toughen limits on the use of consumer data for advertising. The Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) voted overwhelmingly under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to support stricter consent requirements for how personal information is used to serve ads, expanding the draft legislation to include a ban on the commercial use of the personal data of minors. The proposed law blacklists some practices of Big Tech platforms and empowers the EU Commission to undertake investigations, adding sanctions for non-compliant behavior. Continue reading European Union Supports New Restrictions on Targeted Ads

With the success of “Red Notice” — the heist caper starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Godot and Dwayne Johnson described as Netflix’s first stab at a film franchise — the streaming service has turned a corner, quelling resistance to making the first-run theatrical window an afterthought for direct-to-TV and Netflix’s 214 million subscriber households worldwide. Netflix has said it would spend $17 billion on original content in 2021, making it a talent magnet and major spender in Hollywood. The company plans to produce even more originals in 2022 and have them spread more evenly throughout the year (since the pipeline presumably won’t be interrupted with COVID-19 shutdowns). Continue reading Netflix Increases Its Production Spending, Acquires VFX Firm

Nvidia is fast-tracking its cybersecurity efforts, emphasizing zero trust through new product integrations designed to protect enterprise customers from attack while supporting artificial intelligence, machine learning and server workloads that scale. Earlier this month Nvidia promoted its full-stack data center security solution: DOCA 1.2 accelerated software, running on BlueField-3 DPUs using the Morpheus AI framework — a configuration that can “secure a data center at every touchpoint,” including users, devices and the data itself, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang explained at Nvidia’s GTC 2021 event earlier this month. Continue reading Nvidia Introduces a Full-Stack Solution for Zero Trust Security

Samsung has announced plans to build a $17 billion chip plant in Taylor, Texas. The news comes on the heels of a government push to jump-start more U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and Senate approval of $52 billion in industry subsidies for new processor factories. The South Korea-based electronics giant already operates a chip fabrication plant in Austin, Texas, opened in 1997 and expanded in 2007. The Taylor facility will create new sourcing for chips, which have become precious amidst a global shortage, although the new factory is not expected to become operational until 2024. Continue reading Samsung Plans to Construct a $17 Billion Chip Plant in Texas

Supply chain woes have underscored a global shortage in high-end computer chips. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s claim of 53 percent of the world market is practically a political crisis, as China eyes Taiwan. Now, California-based Intel plans to reclaim its once preeminent title in chip manufacturing and design. Under new CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company has doubled its number of chips in development, abandoning the “fabless” future some envisioned for it, selling off factories and joining the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, which build on wafers supplied by foundries. Continue reading Intel Ramps Up Efforts to Reclaim Top Position in Chip Market

U.S. automakers are aiming to combat the global chip shortage by pursuing more decisive roles in their semiconductor supply chains. Ford CEO Jim Farley announced a relationship with GlobalFoundries that heralds Ford’s entre to chipmaking, describing the deal as “just the beginning, and a key part of our plan to vertically integrate key technologies and capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future.” GM president Mark Reuss emphasized North American manufacturing in unveiling seven companies with which his company will be working on the design and delivery of new processors. Continue reading Ford, GM Seek Greater Supply Chain Control with Chip Deals

Twitter has earned praise for transparency after it published “unflattering” research findings. The company analyzed “millions of Tweets” in an attempt to measure how its recommendation algorithms handle political content, and subsequently reported that it amplifies more content from right-wing politicians and media outlets than from left-wing sources. The findings, which were released in late October, were well-received at a time when social platforms are fast to tout positive findings, but quickly discredit critical data, as was the case with Facebook and whistleblower Frances Haugen. Continue reading Twitter Earns Praise for Transparency in Its Research Findings

Auto-dubbing, which uses artificial intelligence to translate content into different languages, is a technology on which the global entertainment industry has increasingly come to rely in finding audiences among the planet’s 7.2 billion people, speaking more than 7,000 languages in roughly 200 countries. Companies like Flawless, Deepdub and Papercup use different approaches to offload to computers much of the labor required to fill that distribution pipeline. Another company, Spherex, emphasizes cultural awareness and the need for heightened sensitivity in pursuit of hits that travel across borders. Continue reading AI Is Still a Work in Progress When It Comes to Auto-Dubbing