Typos are kryptonite to Alphabet’s anti-trolling API
“Don’t read the comments” is a cardinal rule of the internet. They’re often hotbeds of toxicity and abuse, and rarely does a person come away from them feeling enlightened. Jigsaw, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is working to combat this problem through a project called Perspective, an API that uses machine learning to spot harassment online. But, researchers have discovered that it’s easy to game the system.
Perspective assigns a “toxicity score” to comments based on the perceived impact they might have on a conversation. Type the sentence, “It’s stupid and wrong,” for example, and Perspective might rate it 89 percent toxic. Researchers at the University of Washington’s Network Security Lab found they could trick the API into consistently lowering the toxicity score, however, by subtly modifying phrases. They added intentional misspellings (“iidiot” instead of idiot) and inserted punctuation into words (“stu.pid” or “s c r e w”). They also discovered that a benign phrase like “It’s not stupid and wrong” scored almost as high as the abusive one.
In a statement first reported by Ars Technica and confirmed to Engadget, Perspective’s project manager, CJ Adams, praised the study:
It’s great to see research like this. Online toxicity is a difficult problem, and Perspective was developed to support exploration of how ML can be used to help discussion. We welcome academic researchers to join our research efforts on Github and explore how we can collaborate together to identify shortcomings of existing models and find ways to improve them.
Perspective is still a very early-stage technology, and as these researchers rightly point out, it will only detect patterns that are similar to examples of toxicity it has seen before. We have more details on this challenge and others on the Conversation AI research page. The API allows users and researchers to submit corrections like these directly, which will then be used to improve the model and ensure it can to understand more forms of toxic language, and evolve as new forms emerge over time.
It looks like websites like Engadget will be waiting a while before unleashing Perspective on our comments sections.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: University of Washington (.pdf)
iFixit teardown reveals what’s inside a Nintendo Switch
Now that Nintendo’s newest console is on store shelves you may be familiar with the outside of it, but what’s inside? The crew at iFixit has completed its teardown of the Switch, pulling apart the console and those Joy-Con controllers. Within, they predictably came across its NVIDIA Tegra CPU, a total of 4GB of RAM and a 16Wh battery.
It appears that things came apart rather easily, so if you should happen to drop one while using it in tablet mode then repairs may not be that difficult. There’s a small fan, along with a heatpipe and metal casing that serves to diffuse heat along the rear. They even dug into its base, complete with x-ray shots, if that’s what you’re into.
Source: iFixit (YouTube), iFixit
Facebook ‘City Guides’ help you plan your travels using tips from friends and locals
Why it matters to you
Facebook is giving select users a way to source travel recommendations and reviews in one convenient place on its app. Here’s how you can find out if you have access to the new City Guides tab.
Facebook is testing a “City Guides” feature on its mobile apps that offers travel recommendations in the vein of TripAdvisor.
As is the norm for the company’s experiments, the update is tucked away in the “more” navigation tab on the Facebook app. It’s actually a neat little feature that curates local sights and places (such as bars, restaurants, and attractions) using city Pages data and tagged locations your friends have visited. You can bookmark the listings you’re interested in, which will then appear in their own “saved” tab — the bookmark function wasn’t working for us when we tried it out on iOS, so hopefully Facebook will get around to fixing it.
More: Give your friends a Glympse of you location with this helpful GPS app
The recommendations are split into several sections: at the top are places your friends have been, which can be accessed by tapping on the circular tiles that correspond to each person’s profile. Below that are places locals go, and at the bottom of the display are popular attractions. Tapping on a suggestion will bring up its Facebook Page, allowing you to then access its location on a map, find contact details, see photos, read reviews, and more. If you don’t see the city you’d like to explore on the tab’s home page, you can find it via the search bar at the top.
An earlier version of the feature was first spotted in December by The Next Web’s Matt Navarra. It is unclear at present if City Guides is being tested out in select regions. Facebook did not give us any details on the range of the experiment, but a spokesperson for the company did say the following: “We’re testing a redesigned surface on city Pages that showcases information about your city. This content already exists on Facebook, and during this test we’ll be centralizing it in a way that is more personalized and relevant…So, this new feature can help people get a better sense of their city, or a city they’re visiting through their friends’ eyes.”
The best way to check if you have the feature is to log in to the app, head into the “more navigation” tab, and select “see more” from the “Explore” section. City Guides is located at the bottom of the list.
Beam’s next update makes game livestreams more interactive
Seven months after snapping up Twitch competitor Beam, Microsoft is unveiling a major update to its interactive tools for video game streamers. Called Interactive 2, the new system is “built from the ground up” to improve interactive features for both game streamers and the folks who watch them, starting in March of this year.
The newly announced features focus on removing the friction between streamer/content providers and their audience. Beam already has low-latency technology that allows easy, real-time communication as well as rewards for watching streams. You can earn experience points as well as “sparks, which let you level up your account and act as currency for the Beam community, respectively.
Interactive 2 focuses even more on the interactivity front, with tools that empower influencers to give their audience more control over the game being played. You can add new buttons and interactive elements that float over your stream video, and new controls will let you know who’s pushing your buttons while they watch. You can also group your players into teams to provide them with a customized set of controls for each group, and you can use either the new Interactive Studio or a web-based system to set up your stream for interactivity. The Beam team is also providing new and updated SDK access to the platform as well.
Beam is already pretty easy to use, and is available on mobile and Apple TV along with Xbox Live, as well as on the web with a Flash-free HTML 5 experience. The new Interactive 2 updates will continue to further Microsoft’s streaming goals, removing even more friction between the technicalities of streaming and the community doing the streaming.
Source: Beam
How to take a screenshot on your Xbox One
The Xbox One is capable of producing some truly jaw-dropping experiences, and sometimes, you can’t help but stop and marvel at your television display. Whether you’re feasting your eyes on a beautiful in-game vista or celebrating a particularly lopsided victory in online multiplayer, you might want to share the moment with anyone and everyone. Thankfully, the process for capturing screenshots on your Xbox One is extremely simple.
More: How to connect your smartphone to an Xbox One with the Xbox app
Capturing a screenshot using an Xbox One controller
First, double-tap the Xbox button in the center of your controller — aka the big, circular button that lights up. Doing so will automatically capture a screenshot. A menu should then pop up on your display, prompting you to either “save screenshot” or “record that.” In order to save a screenshot, simply hit the “Y” button in the upper-right corner of your controller. That’s it!
How to delete your Instagram account
You cannot deny Instagram can be a ball-and-chain. Maybe you’re sick of feeling like you have to capture every single moment of existence, or perhaps you’re tired of the strain that comes from juggling multiple accounts or waiting for those minute-long videos to load on the bus. If you’re like us, however, maybe it’s just seeing the sudden influx of minestrone and salad pics flooding your feed that’s suddenly, and understandably, got you caught up in a tizzy.
More: #ThrowbackThursday is only the start: Instagram hashtags for every day of the week
Thankfully, deleting your Instagram account requires nothing aside from a few quick clicks and confirmations on the Instagram website. However, Instagram doesn’t really want you to leave, so it’s requiring you to jump through a few hoops.
Deleting your account isn’t for the faint of heart or those already hesitant about making the plunge, since doing so will permanently delete your account – photos, videos, comments, likes, friendships, and anything else associated with your profile. Instagram claims it cannot — or will not — reactivate your account should you wind up changing your mind three days later when the hashtag withdrawals finally kick in. Likewise, you (nor anyone else) will ever be able to sign up with the same username again. Bum deal.
If you are unsure about the possibility of wanting to regain access to your Instagram account at a later time, Instagram offers a temporary deactivation feature. This allows you to deactivate your account momentarily, all while allowing you to come back to it later. If that doesn’t sound appealing, however, we’ve outlined how to deactivate your account below.
Step 1: Log in to your Instagram account
You cannot delete your Instagram account from directly within the mobile app, meaning you must visit the Instagram website. First, head to the Instagram homepage and click the blue Log In text where it says “Have an account.”
Afterward, log in using your username and password before clicking the Log In button below the text fields. Alternatively, click the blue Forgot and follow the instructions to reset your password. You will need to know your username or the email that’s associated with your account.
Step 2: Access your profile settings
Go to your profile page by clicking on the icon that resembles a person, at the top-right. Click the Edit Profile button located at the top of your profile page, next to your username.
Step 3: Navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page
There is no way to easily navigate to the page where you must submit your deletion request. Instagram would rather you temporarily deactivate your account, so in order to actually delete it, you have to do a bit of work. Follow the instructions below — or click here to jump straight to the “Delete Your Account” page.
First, click on the blue link that says, “Temporarily disable my account.” Once you open that page, you can temporarily disable your account. If you want to completely delete your Instagram profile, however, then you’ll need to change the URL in your browser.
Go to the end of the URL and replace the word “temporary” with “permanent,” as shown below. Then, press Enter to load the”Delete Your Account” page.
Step 4: Permanently delete your account
Once loaded, the “Delete Your Account” page will resemble the image below.
From here, select a reason for deleting your account and confirm your decision. Keep in mind, however, that there’s no way to get it back or use the same username after you’ve done the deed. Once you get through the confirmations, your Instagram account will removed from the social network forever.
This article was original published on November 2, 2013, and updated on March 3, 2017 by Anthony Thurston to account for recent software changes.
Weekly Rewind: The best of MWC, Samsung’s latest scandal, and a tattling teddy bear
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from what happened at Mobile World Congress 2017 to custom solar panel skins — it’s all here.
Digital Trends Top Tech of MWC 2017 Award Winners
Though it’s a beautiful place to visit, it’s not easy to get to Spain in late winter, and attending MWC is more expensive than buying a new iPhone. Well, we’re here to help. Our crack team of mobilers, led by DT Mobile Editor Malarie Gokey, has scoured the halls of the Fira Gran Via. If you just want to know what the hottest stuff is, we’ve got it for you. We’ve compiled a list consisting of our favorite phone, tablet, gadget, wearable, accessory, and piece of emerging tech at the show.
Read the full story here.
Following probe, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong indicted on bribery charges
The verdict is in, and it’s another blow to Samsung. After a months-long investigation into the role Samsung and its heir apparent Lee Jae-yong played in a political scandal that has rocked South Korea, prosecutors have announced that the Samsung executive will be indicted. He faces charges of bribery, embezzlement, perjury, hiding assets abroad, and concealing profit gained from criminal acts. If found guilty, Jae-yong could face years in prison.
Read the full story here.
Volvo Trucks previews a heavy-duty model that’s up to 30 percent more efficient
Volvo Trucks — a company completely independent of Volvo Cars — has introduced an experimental heavy-duty truck powered by a hybrid drivetrain. The prototype showcases realistic, close-to-production ways to begin weening the long-haul transport industry off of fossil fuels. Called simply Concept Truck, the model is an update of a prototype originally introduced in May of last year.
Read the full story here.
Why the future looks bright for Li-Fi, internet that travels through light
Internet access is fast becoming a basic human right, but there are problems with our current delivery systems. As we connect more and more devices to the internet, a spectrum crunch is increasingly inevitable. Li-Fi, which allows us to access the internet via light rather than the radio frequencies that Wi-Fi relies upon, could open up a lot of bandwidth. This year at MWC in Barcelona, we sat down again with PureLi-Fi COO Harald Burchardt to find out how far the team has come in the last 12 months.
Read the full story here.
Connected CloudPets teddy bears blab on owners, leak 2 million voice recordings
Remember when the worst thing that could happen to your doll was it losing an eye? How times have changed. In the latest toy scandal, it would appear that a connected teddy bear leaked the voice recordings of more than 2 million children and parents, along with email addresses and password information associated with more than 800,000 accounts.
Read the full story here.
Will everyone please shut up about 5G?
If we’ve learned anything from Mobile World Congress 2017, it’s that 5G is just around the corner and it’s going to revolutionize our smartphone experience. We’ll be able to download libraries of 4K High Dynamic Range movies in less than a second, upload our entire camera rolls to Facebook in the blink of an eye, stream incredible live VR events in real time, and hell, maybe even download a car. But the dawn of 5G, a standard that still has no agreed definition, is almost certainly at least three years away.
Read the full story here.
This machine pulverizes glass bottles, turns them into fine-grain sand in just 5 seconds
How do you dispose of a bottle of beer once you’re done drinking it? You crush it into fine-grain sand, right? Well, thanks to a smart new promotion created by New Zealand brewers DB Breweries — working alongside the ad agency Colenso BBDO New Zealand — it’s possible to do exactly that. “Two thirds of the world’s beaches are retreating as people across the world use non-renewable beach sand for construction, roading and other uses,” Simon Smith, brand PR and digital manager for DB Breweries, told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Absurd dating show ‘Game of Clones’ lets contestants design their ideal partner
What happens when you take the latest in avatar-building technology, cross it with lusty singletons, and add a pinch of Vertigo for good measure? Probably something like Game of Clones, an oddball, surprisingly techie new United Kingdom dating game show, which asks its participants to design their ideal partner, and then tracks down enough of them to fill a room. “I pitched this as, ‘If Alfred Hitchcock had made a dating show, it would look like this,” David Flynn told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Netflix teaser for ‘War Machine’ features Brad Pitt as a high-ranking general
Netflix grabbed our attention in 2015 when it paid $30 million for the rights to the upcoming Brad Pitt film War Machine, and we’re finally getting closer to seeing if the investment was a good one. The film is due out this spring, and the streamer released the first teaser on Wednesday. Billed as “an absurdist war story for our times,” the film is inspired by journalist Michael Hastings’ 2012 nonfiction book The Operators. Written and directed by David Michod, the movie fictionalizes real-life events, resulting in sharp satire.
Read the full story here.
Solar Skins could help aesthetics-conscious homeowners go green
If you find that solar panels break the lines of your home’s aesthetic, or feel that covering your roof in solar cells is a waste of advertising space, Sistine Solar’s new solar skins could be what you’re looking for. They let you make your rooftop panels look like whatever you want, without much impact on efficiency. Winner of the 2013 MIT Clean Energy Prize, Sistine Solar’s design is a relatively simple one: placing a thin, printable layer within the panel itself. That lets owners match their panels to their roof, or go for a custom color scheme altogether.
Read the full story here.
Weekly Rewind: The best of MWC, Samsung’s latest scandal, and a tattling teddy bear
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from what happened at Mobile World Congress 2017 to custom solar panel skins — it’s all here.
Digital Trends Top Tech of MWC 2017 Award Winners
Though it’s a beautiful place to visit, it’s not easy to get to Spain in late winter, and attending MWC is more expensive than buying a new iPhone. Well, we’re here to help. Our crack team of mobilers, led by DT Mobile Editor Malarie Gokey, has scoured the halls of the Fira Gran Via. If you just want to know what the hottest stuff is, we’ve got it for you. We’ve compiled a list consisting of our favorite phone, tablet, gadget, wearable, accessory, and piece of emerging tech at the show.
Read the full story here.
Following probe, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong indicted on bribery charges
The verdict is in, and it’s another blow to Samsung. After a months-long investigation into the role Samsung and its heir apparent Lee Jae-yong played in a political scandal that has rocked South Korea, prosecutors have announced that the Samsung executive will be indicted. He faces charges of bribery, embezzlement, perjury, hiding assets abroad, and concealing profit gained from criminal acts. If found guilty, Jae-yong could face years in prison.
Read the full story here.
Volvo Trucks previews a heavy-duty model that’s up to 30 percent more efficient
Volvo Trucks — a company completely independent of Volvo Cars — has introduced an experimental heavy-duty truck powered by a hybrid drivetrain. The prototype showcases realistic, close-to-production ways to begin weening the long-haul transport industry off of fossil fuels. Called simply Concept Truck, the model is an update of a prototype originally introduced in May of last year.
Read the full story here.
Why the future looks bright for Li-Fi, internet that travels through light
Internet access is fast becoming a basic human right, but there are problems with our current delivery systems. As we connect more and more devices to the internet, a spectrum crunch is increasingly inevitable. Li-Fi, which allows us to access the internet via light rather than the radio frequencies that Wi-Fi relies upon, could open up a lot of bandwidth. This year at MWC in Barcelona, we sat down again with PureLi-Fi COO Harald Burchardt to find out how far the team has come in the last 12 months.
Read the full story here.
Connected CloudPets teddy bears blab on owners, leak 2 million voice recordings
Remember when the worst thing that could happen to your doll was it losing an eye? How times have changed. In the latest toy scandal, it would appear that a connected teddy bear leaked the voice recordings of more than 2 million children and parents, along with email addresses and password information associated with more than 800,000 accounts.
Read the full story here.
Will everyone please shut up about 5G?
If we’ve learned anything from Mobile World Congress 2017, it’s that 5G is just around the corner and it’s going to revolutionize our smartphone experience. We’ll be able to download libraries of 4K High Dynamic Range movies in less than a second, upload our entire camera rolls to Facebook in the blink of an eye, stream incredible live VR events in real time, and hell, maybe even download a car. But the dawn of 5G, a standard that still has no agreed definition, is almost certainly at least three years away.
Read the full story here.
This machine pulverizes glass bottles, turns them into fine-grain sand in just 5 seconds
How do you dispose of a bottle of beer once you’re done drinking it? You crush it into fine-grain sand, right? Well, thanks to a smart new promotion created by New Zealand brewers DB Breweries — working alongside the ad agency Colenso BBDO New Zealand — it’s possible to do exactly that. “Two thirds of the world’s beaches are retreating as people across the world use non-renewable beach sand for construction, roading and other uses,” Simon Smith, brand PR and digital manager for DB Breweries, told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Absurd dating show ‘Game of Clones’ lets contestants design their ideal partner
What happens when you take the latest in avatar-building technology, cross it with lusty singletons, and add a pinch of Vertigo for good measure? Probably something like Game of Clones, an oddball, surprisingly techie new United Kingdom dating game show, which asks its participants to design their ideal partner, and then tracks down enough of them to fill a room. “I pitched this as, ‘If Alfred Hitchcock had made a dating show, it would look like this,” David Flynn told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Netflix teaser for ‘War Machine’ features Brad Pitt as a high-ranking general
Netflix grabbed our attention in 2015 when it paid $30 million for the rights to the upcoming Brad Pitt film War Machine, and we’re finally getting closer to seeing if the investment was a good one. The film is due out this spring, and the streamer released the first teaser on Wednesday. Billed as “an absurdist war story for our times,” the film is inspired by journalist Michael Hastings’ 2012 nonfiction book The Operators. Written and directed by David Michod, the movie fictionalizes real-life events, resulting in sharp satire.
Read the full story here.
Solar Skins could help aesthetics-conscious homeowners go green
If you find that solar panels break the lines of your home’s aesthetic, or feel that covering your roof in solar cells is a waste of advertising space, Sistine Solar’s new solar skins could be what you’re looking for. They let you make your rooftop panels look like whatever you want, without much impact on efficiency. Winner of the 2013 MIT Clean Energy Prize, Sistine Solar’s design is a relatively simple one: placing a thin, printable layer within the panel itself. That lets owners match their panels to their roof, or go for a custom color scheme altogether.
Read the full story here.
Weekly Rewind: The best of MWC, Samsung’s latest scandal, and a tattling teddy bear
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from what happened at Mobile World Congress 2017 to custom solar panel skins — it’s all here.
Digital Trends Top Tech of MWC 2017 Award Winners
Though it’s a beautiful place to visit, it’s not easy to get to Spain in late winter, and attending MWC is more expensive than buying a new iPhone. Well, we’re here to help. Our crack team of mobilers, led by DT Mobile Editor Malarie Gokey, has scoured the halls of the Fira Gran Via. If you just want to know what the hottest stuff is, we’ve got it for you. We’ve compiled a list consisting of our favorite phone, tablet, gadget, wearable, accessory, and piece of emerging tech at the show.
Read the full story here.
Following probe, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong indicted on bribery charges
The verdict is in, and it’s another blow to Samsung. After a months-long investigation into the role Samsung and its heir apparent Lee Jae-yong played in a political scandal that has rocked South Korea, prosecutors have announced that the Samsung executive will be indicted. He faces charges of bribery, embezzlement, perjury, hiding assets abroad, and concealing profit gained from criminal acts. If found guilty, Jae-yong could face years in prison.
Read the full story here.
Volvo Trucks previews a heavy-duty model that’s up to 30 percent more efficient
Volvo Trucks — a company completely independent of Volvo Cars — has introduced an experimental heavy-duty truck powered by a hybrid drivetrain. The prototype showcases realistic, close-to-production ways to begin weening the long-haul transport industry off of fossil fuels. Called simply Concept Truck, the model is an update of a prototype originally introduced in May of last year.
Read the full story here.
Why the future looks bright for Li-Fi, internet that travels through light
Internet access is fast becoming a basic human right, but there are problems with our current delivery systems. As we connect more and more devices to the internet, a spectrum crunch is increasingly inevitable. Li-Fi, which allows us to access the internet via light rather than the radio frequencies that Wi-Fi relies upon, could open up a lot of bandwidth. This year at MWC in Barcelona, we sat down again with PureLi-Fi COO Harald Burchardt to find out how far the team has come in the last 12 months.
Read the full story here.
Connected CloudPets teddy bears blab on owners, leak 2 million voice recordings
Remember when the worst thing that could happen to your doll was it losing an eye? How times have changed. In the latest toy scandal, it would appear that a connected teddy bear leaked the voice recordings of more than 2 million children and parents, along with email addresses and password information associated with more than 800,000 accounts.
Read the full story here.
Will everyone please shut up about 5G?
If we’ve learned anything from Mobile World Congress 2017, it’s that 5G is just around the corner and it’s going to revolutionize our smartphone experience. We’ll be able to download libraries of 4K High Dynamic Range movies in less than a second, upload our entire camera rolls to Facebook in the blink of an eye, stream incredible live VR events in real time, and hell, maybe even download a car. But the dawn of 5G, a standard that still has no agreed definition, is almost certainly at least three years away.
Read the full story here.
This machine pulverizes glass bottles, turns them into fine-grain sand in just 5 seconds
How do you dispose of a bottle of beer once you’re done drinking it? You crush it into fine-grain sand, right? Well, thanks to a smart new promotion created by New Zealand brewers DB Breweries — working alongside the ad agency Colenso BBDO New Zealand — it’s possible to do exactly that. “Two thirds of the world’s beaches are retreating as people across the world use non-renewable beach sand for construction, roading and other uses,” Simon Smith, brand PR and digital manager for DB Breweries, told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Absurd dating show ‘Game of Clones’ lets contestants design their ideal partner
What happens when you take the latest in avatar-building technology, cross it with lusty singletons, and add a pinch of Vertigo for good measure? Probably something like Game of Clones, an oddball, surprisingly techie new United Kingdom dating game show, which asks its participants to design their ideal partner, and then tracks down enough of them to fill a room. “I pitched this as, ‘If Alfred Hitchcock had made a dating show, it would look like this,” David Flynn told Digital Trends.
Read the full story here.
Netflix teaser for ‘War Machine’ features Brad Pitt as a high-ranking general
Netflix grabbed our attention in 2015 when it paid $30 million for the rights to the upcoming Brad Pitt film War Machine, and we’re finally getting closer to seeing if the investment was a good one. The film is due out this spring, and the streamer released the first teaser on Wednesday. Billed as “an absurdist war story for our times,” the film is inspired by journalist Michael Hastings’ 2012 nonfiction book The Operators. Written and directed by David Michod, the movie fictionalizes real-life events, resulting in sharp satire.
Read the full story here.
Solar Skins could help aesthetics-conscious homeowners go green
If you find that solar panels break the lines of your home’s aesthetic, or feel that covering your roof in solar cells is a waste of advertising space, Sistine Solar’s new solar skins could be what you’re looking for. They let you make your rooftop panels look like whatever you want, without much impact on efficiency. Winner of the 2013 MIT Clean Energy Prize, Sistine Solar’s design is a relatively simple one: placing a thin, printable layer within the panel itself. That lets owners match their panels to their roof, or go for a custom color scheme altogether.
Read the full story here.
FCC waiver helps Jewish community centers ID bomb threats
Following a string of more nearly 70 anonymous bomb threats made to Jewish community centers in 27 states since the start of the year, the Federal Communications Commission issued an emergency order on Friday. The order, which takes effect immediately, waives the telecommunications restriction that prevents phone carriers from sharing the calling party number (CPN) with the call’s recipient.
“In this Order,” the rule change reads “we grant to Jewish Community Centers (JCCs)1 and any carriers that serve JCCs an emergency waiver of section 64.1601(b) of the Commission’s rules, which prohibits terminating carriers from passing the calling party number (CPN) to the called party where a privacy request has been made by the caller.” This change only affects Jewish community centers and will enable federal investigators to more easily track down whoever is making the calls. What’s more, though the order is currently temporary, the FCC is seeking commentary as to whether it should make the rule permanent.
The privacy rules stem from a 1994 decision by the FCC to require that carriers using Signaling System 7 (SS7) transmit the caller’s CPN to the connecting carrier on interstate calls. The FCC determined that “requiring CPN transmission would bring consumers more rapid and efficient service and encourage the introduction of new technologies and services to the public.”
The FCC also recognized that unrestricted transmission of CPNs would infringe on American’s privacy. As such, dialling *67 won’t return the phone number of a user who has requested a private line from the carrier. There are exceptions, however. “To the extent that CPN-based services are used to deliver emergency services,” the FCC determined, “we find that privacy requirements for CPN-based services should not apply to delivery of the CPN to a public agency’s emergency line, a poison control line, or in conjunction with 911 emergency services.”
This decision to waive the restrictions comes after Senate minority leader Charles Schumer of New York sent a letter to FCC chair Ajit Pai on Tuesday expressing concern about the threatening calls. The Senator also pointed out that the FCC has similarly waived that rule in the past.
Source: FCC
AIVAnet 