Twitter joins Facebook in supporting the Honest Ads Act

Twitter has officially announced its support for the Honest Ads Act a week after Facebook did the same via the latter’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Which is appropriate given the bill exists because election-influencing ads ran rampant on both platforms leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The legislation was introduced last year to enforce transparency about who backed and paid for online political ads.

Twitter is pleased to support the Honest Ads Act. Back in the fall we indicated we supported proposals to increase transparency in political ads.

— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) April 10, 2018

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Amy Klobuchar introduced the bill last October as a direct response to Russian attempts to influence elections. Specifically, it would do this by:

• Amending the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002’s definition of electioneering communication to include paid Internet and digital advertisements.
• Requiring digital platforms with at least 50,000,000 monthly viewers to maintain a public file of all electioneering communications purchased by a person or group who spends more than $500.00 total on ads published on their platform. The file would contain a digital copy of the advertisement, a description of the audience the advertisement targets, the number of views generated, the dates and times of publication, the rates charged, and the contact information of the purchaser.
• Requiring online platforms to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that foreign individuals and entities are not purchasing political advertisements in order to influence the American electorate.

Twitter’s call to back the Honest Ads Act came hours before Facebook CEO Zuckerberg went before a Congressional committee to answer for user data mismanagement with Cambridge Analytica and others. Sen. Warner took to Twitter to applaud the platform’s support of his legislation, and hoped that Google — another host for Russian advertising that sought to interfere with American elections — would follow soon.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Twitter Public Policy

Sprint and T-Mobile Revisit Merger Talks

Sprint and T-Mobile have once again entered into talks over a potential merger, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The revitalization of the discussion comes just five months after the two companies officially called off plans for a merger following an inability to reach “mutually agreeable terms.”

At the time, Sprint parent company SoftBank was not satisfied with the deal because of ownership terms, with SoftBank concerned about losing control of the combined company after T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom requested a controlling stake.

The current discussions are said to be in a preliminary stage, and it’s not clear what terms the two companies are considering, nor if the current administration would allow the deal to go through. Talks between the two companies have fallen apart several times before, and the same could be true of this round of discussions.

Should T-Mobile and Sprint be able to establish a satisfactory deal, the combined company would have close to 100 million customers, putting it ahead of AT&T and just behind Verizon.

When the last deal fell through in November of 2017, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said it was best for Sprint to move forward on its own and that the company would be “accelerating significant investments” to ensure its continued growth.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said that a deal between T-Mobile and Sprint would need to “result in superior long-term value for T-Mobile’s shareholders,” and that T-Mobile would continue to disrupt the industry.

Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile
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82% of Teens Surveyed Now Own an iPhone, 84% Plan to Purchase

The iPhone continues to be the most popular smartphone by far among teens, according to new data gathered by investment firm Piper Jaffray for its most recent semiannual teen survey in the United States.

82 percent of teens surveyed own an iPhone, up from 78 percent in the fall of 2017, while 84 percent of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone, up from 82 percent in fall 2017. Teen ownership and interest in iPhone has grown steadily over the past several years, as demonstrated in the chart below.

The Apple Watch is also becoming more popular among teens and saw its highest teen survey share yet in the spring of 2018. 12 percent of upper income teens said Apple Watch was their preferred watch brand, up from just seven percent in the fall of 2017. Among all watch brands, Apple Watch was the second most popular after Rolex.

20 percent of teens said they plan to buy an Apple Watch in the next six months, up from 17 percent in the year-ago survey. Strong growth in Apple Watch interest in the current quarter suggests Apple’s Series 3 and Series 1 models are popular among teens.

Interest in both Apple Watch and iPhone could see improvement in the coming fall 2018 survey, as major changes are rumored for both devices.

The Apple Watch Series 4 could bring the first design changes for the wrist-worn device, while rumors suggest Apple will be introducing three iPhones in 2018, including a 5.8-inch iPhone X followup, a larger 6.5-inch OLED device that can be thought of as an “iPhone X Plus” and a 6.1-inch LCD device that’s expected to carry a lower price tag.

All three iPhones are rumored to include an iPhone X-style design with an edge-to-edge display that does away with Touch ID in favor of Face ID.

For the spring 2018 teen survey, Piper Jaffray surveyed a total of 6,000 teens with an average age of 16.4 and an average household income of $66,296. 45 percent of teens surveyed were female, while 55 percent were male.

Tags: Piper Jaffray, teen survey
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Facebook Debuts ‘Data Abuse Bounty’ Offering Rewards From $500 to $40,000 for Discovering Data Breaches

Facebook today announced the launch of a new data abuse bounty program that will see it rewarding Facebook users who discover instances of companies using unauthorized data.

Facebook users who report companies for misusing data can receive rewards that range from $500 to $40,000 for major discoveries impacting at least 10,000 people. Companies who are discovered misusing data will have their app removed from the Facebook platform, will face a forensic audit of related systems, and could face legal action.

This program will reward people with first-hand knowledge and proof of cases where a Facebook platform app collects and transfers people’s data to another party to be sold, stolen or used for scams or political influence. Just like the bug bounty program, we will reward based on the impact of each report. While there is no maximum, high impact bug reports have garnered as much as $40,000 for people who bring them to our attention.

The social network says the new program is designed to protect people’s data on Facebook by helping identify violations of the company’s policies.

Facebook says all “legitimate reports” will be reviewed and responded to as quickly as possible. If data abuse is confirmed, the person who made the report will receive payment. Users must have first-hand knowledge of facts and cannot submit reports based on speculation.

You must have direct first-hand knowledge of facts showing that data collected by a Facebook platform app is or has been passed to another party. You cannot submit a report based on speculation, but must be aware of the facts yourself. The scenario we expect is one company that built an app to collect information that then passes that information to another company to be abused. You must have knowledge of both of these parties.

The new Data Abuse Bounty comes in the wake of the ongoing Cambridge Analytica scandal Facebook is facing, which has resulted in Facebook implementing stronger privacy policies. Cambridge Analytica used personal data acquired from Facebook in an illicit manner by a third-party app (“This is Your Digital Life”) to create targeted political advertisements during the 2016 election.

Just this morning, Facebook launched an official Help center tool that lets users see if their data was harvested by the app that supplied Cambridge Analytica with info. The tool is designed to let you know if you or someone you know installed the app and what was shared with Cambridge Analytica. 87 million users were impacted.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also testifying before Congress this afternoon, explaining Facebook’s role in the scandal and the changes it plans to make going forward to prevent it from happening again.

Tag: Facebook
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Google’s new ‘tablet mode’ further blurs the line between Chrome OS and Android

Google Pixelbook in tablet mode

With the launch of Chrome OS tablets, Google is going all-in with touch support by adding a tablet mode to its operating system. Although the platform was designed around a keyboard and mouse interface when it launched, Google has slowly embraced more touch features over the years. Most recently, Acer announced the Chromebook Tab 10 as the first Chrome OS-powered tablet in late March, and we now have a little more information on how Google plans to optimize Chrome OS for tablet use.

According to a report on XDA-Developers, code within Chrome OS reveals that device manufacturers can automatically enable a full-screen app launcher in tablet mode,  Currently, the Chrome OS app launcher shows just one row of recently used apps along with a search bar at the top, but the new tablet-optimized launcher would look more like the app drawer on Android smartphones.

With more Chrome OS-powered hardware launching with touch support — tablets, convertibles, and detachables are a few of the form factors that are available — the changes that Google makes to the app launcher will help users transition from the keyboard and mouse to a touchscreen-first experience.

While this new behavior will benefit tablet-only devices, like Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 and HP’s new Chrome OS tablet with a detachable keyboard, users of convertible Chrome OS devices with a 360-degree rotating screen like the Pixelbook will likely also benefit.

Additionally, when the tablet launcher is engaged, pressing on the home button will minimize all apps rather than open the launcher.

In recent years, Google has brought more touch features to Chrome OS, and the touch-optimized app launcher is a natural progression. Most notably, Google allowed Android apps to run on Chrome OS devices, blurring the lines between Android and Chrome OS even further. Manufacturers like Samsung are also contributing to the evolution of Chrome OS by adding pen support to the Chromebook Pro.

According to TechRadar, Chrome OS is also borrowing some of Android’s designs with rounded, tappable buttons — and a user interface with information cards. Currently, there is no release date for the new version of Chrome OS, but an updated Chrome browser with better touch support is slated for a September 2 launch.

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Bumped is an app that turns everyday purchases into company shares

If you’ve ever been interested in owning stocks from a company, but have been a little uncertain about how to navigate through brokers and the stock market, a new app aims to make things dead simple. In fact, with Bumped, you hardly need to do anything at all to earn a company’s shares.

About 54 percent of Americans own stocks, according to Gallup, which is down from an average of 62 percent before the 2008 financial crisis. Bumped — a startup coming out of stealth mode — wants to improve those numbers and turn everyone into a shareholder.  Its strategy is simple — when you spend money on a company’s products, you receive a percentage of a share from the company (generally around 1 to 5 percent). The idea is to receive shares from places where you’re already spending money, which in turn helps build brand loyalty as you’re more likely to continue shopping with the same brand.

So whether you’re buying a coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts or paying your Netflix bill, Bumped will make sure you start earning shares from those respective companies shortly after you make a purchase; you’ll get a push notification noting “you just got Bumped 40 cents for paying your Netflix bill,” for example.

“We believe everybody deserves to be an owner,” David Nelsen, CEO of Bumped and former CEO of Giftango, told Digital Trends. “This concept of actually aligning interests between the customer and the store they care about, where they both win … is really a very different concept.”

‘We believe everybody deserves to be an owner.’

Nelsen said Bumped spent more than a year in stealth mode going through a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) process to become a broker-dealer, just like brokerages like the Charles Schwab Corporation and Fidelity Investments. But Bumped wants to separate itself from apps and services that are overloaded with charts, graphs, and all sorts of investing nomenclature that may go over many people’s heads.

“Those apps are more about trading,” Nelsen said. “[Bumped] really represents an app that is a brokerage, but it’s an app that really simplifies things and breaks things down to ownership. not trading, ownership. So rather than seeing a bunch of complicated charts,  you’re going to see yourself going from a quarter share, to a half share, to a full share of your favorite retailer.”

So how does it work?

After downloading the app, which works on iOS and Android, you’ll be asked to link a debit or credit card you normally use to make purchases. Then once you go and spend money at a participating retailer, Bumped will reward you 1 to 5 percent (depending on the brand) of a share from the company. Some companies may seek to offer a higher percentage of a share as a way to entice a customer to purchase their products.

You should see your investment within a day, but timing varies depending on your bank. While you won’t receive the money instantaneously, the notification works to let you know that a fraction of a share is being allocated right away. Bumped then watches the transaction until completion, and then purchases the fractional share of stock to distribute to you.

You’ll also be able to keep track of which companies you have been most loyal to in different categories — such as whether you shop more at The Home Depot than Lowe’s. Nelsen believes this will help build brand loyalty, as you’re more likely to shop at the place where you can earn shares.

Nelsen said while it depends on how much you spend, the goal is for Bumped users to earn about $100 in rewards per year. You can sell whatever amounts of a share you have whenever you want through the app.

As of right now, Bumped supports the following brands: AMC, Chipotle, DirectTV, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Fandango, Jamba Juice, Kroger, Michael’s, Netflix, Papa Johns’, Pizza Hut, Regal, Sears, Shake Shack, Target, The Home Depot, Walgreens, and Walmart. The company expects to bring on more companies for the official launch of the app once it’s out of beta, and there are plans to bring in small businesses down the road as well.

So what happens when shares fluctuate in the stock market? Nelsen said Bumped users likely won’t see much of an impact as the customer is constantly shopping with a retailer, and it may be only after some time — when they accrue a base of ownership in a company — that these fluctuations may show some repercussions.

Removing the barrier of entry

Bumped’s strategy is to remove barriers for people who don’t know how to invest. The stock itself is free — all people have to do is continue shopping. Not only is the app free to sign-up, but there aren’t any additional fees to pay unless you want to transfer the shares in your Bumped account to another brokerage firm (that will cost you $75).

“The last thing you want to do is use your personal money and do something overwhelming with it,” Nelsen said. “So how do you keep it really simple and how do you do it in a way that doesn’t present risk to people? Let’s strip out all of the crazy vernacular, let’s make this really simple and at its most basic level because we’re not a stock trading app, rather, it’s a story about owning stock in the companies you care about.”

But the key part is you’re allowing Bumped to get access to your transaction history. The company does collect this data, and it is shared with affiliated third parties. Any data used for purposes outside of tracking transactions to issue shares of stock will be “aggregated and anonymized.” It’s still a big ask, and if you’re uncomfortable with turning over this data, the service may not be for you.

So why would you want to do all this and own shares in a company? Long-term financial planning.

“We’re in a world right now where the day of pensions are gone,” Nelsen said. “Consumers have to figure out how to protect their future, they have to figure out how to participate in stock markets, and I think this is one of those apps that can help break down barriers by helping educate a consumer.”

If Bumped becomes popular and consumers become large shareholders, Nelsen thinks this new relationship could usher in a new era where “companies are really paying attention to how they service their customer, because their customer is in fact their shareholder.”

“They’re certainly going to be paying attention from two perspectives now rather than one,” Nelsen said. “I feel like we’re in an era where companies have to adopt those types of principles, because we are in an era of corporate social responsibility — the companies that embrace that are going to be very successful.”

If you’re interested in trying out a beta version of Bumped, you can sign up to be on the wait list at Bumped.com. The company will be using the beta to focus on refining the user experience and making sure the app runs as smoothly as possible before setting an official launch date for the final version.

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Have a design that bears repeating? CorelDraw’s new symmetry tool makes it easy

Corel

Corel wants to turn complex aspects of vector design from hours-long processes into actions that are better measured in minutes. On Tuesday, April 10, the software company launched CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2018, a new Windows-compatible family of programs centered around the vector graphics program CorelDraw that both adds new tools and wraps new programs into the price, including the RAW photo editor AfterShot 3 HDR.

Corel says the 2018 version is one of the larger updates the graphics program has seen in the last few years, with a focus on working faster while tackling more projects. At the center of it is CorelDraw’s new symmetry tool. While symmetry has been introduced recently in other design programs, the feature is a first for vector design software, Corel says.

The symmetry tool will automatically create the repetitions inside patterns like kaleidoscopes and mandalas. The artist chooses the number of axes or repetitions, and what’s drawn on one axis is repeated on the others. A mirrored mode inside the tool repeats but flips the design — which could be used to design a symmetrical face, for example.

“What would have taken an hour you can do in minutes,” said John Falsetto, the senior director of products for CorelDraw. “At the end of the day, time is important to users, but without compromising on quality. We’re delivering more efficient ways to create so they can spend more time on other elements of the design or on other projects.”

Corel

Several smaller enhancements have also been made. The impact tool, previously available as a separate purchase, is is now built-in. It helps artists create motion effects quickly, such as creating lines showing direction or starburst effects. PhotoCocktail, which is used to create a photo collages in just a few clicks, has also been built directly into CorelDraw. Pointillizer has also been updated to allow artists to create pointillism graphics using more than just dots, including text characters and other shapes. Additional refinements include an updated drop shadow tool with more custom controls, changes to how vector nodes are managed, and the option to fit an object — not just text — to a path.

Beyond the software itself, users now have more input control options. Microsoft Surface Dial support has been added, and stylus users can take advantage of built-in erasers by flipping the pen over.

Artists can also move more seamlessly between CorelDraw and the included Photo-Paint with the option to edit the same bitmap in both programs. Photo-Paint also sees new perspective correction and envelop tools, the latter of which allows bitmaps to be distorted fit them to an existing design, useful for creating mock-ups of how a logo would look on a t-shirt or coffee mug.

For the first time, Corel is also including AfterShot 3, the company’s RAW photo editor, with the suite. Other included apps are the 2018 versions of Font Manager, PowerTrace, Connect, Capture, and BenVista PhotoZoom Pro 4.

Corel is keeping the option for a one-time purchase, but CorelDraw Graphics Suite is now also available via subscription. The full license is $499, with owners of earlier versions able to upgrade for $199 or a $99 a year option to get all the latest updates without a subscription. For subscribers, the software suite is $198 annually or about $30 monthly.

Downloads for the new suite begin today, while physical boxes will ship on April 27.

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True wireless charging is one step closer with WattUp’s FCC certification

Energous’s WattUp technology has now received Federal Communications Commisssion certification, bringing wireless charging from a distance another step closer.

Current methods of wireless charging involve placing a Qi-enabled device on a wireless charging pad, allowing for charging without attaching wires. This makes it easy to keep a device topped up, and makes it convenient for placing your phone down next to your bed at night. But since the device is effectively tethered to the charging pad, in terms of real convenience wireless charging isn’t much better than having a cable plugged in.

It’s this that Energous is seeking to change with its WattUp technology. Also called “Wireless Charging 2.0,” WattUp would be “true” wireless charging, with Energous claiming that charging will eventually be possible within a 15-foot radius around the charger. While this particular FCC certification isn’t anything to get really excited about — the “near field” charging certified is basically just a normal wireless charging pad — this news is combined with the “mid-field” charging (charging devices up to 3 feet away) certified by the FCC back in December, indicating that the tech is safe to use, and possibly almost ready for the public.

“Following the first FCC certification for our power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter under Part 18 rules, this approval represents a significant step forward in creating a fully compatible wireless charging ecosystem,” said CEO of Energous, Stephen R. Rizzone. “This FCC-approved near-field transmitter will serve as a production-ready reference design for many of the initial contact-based applications from our customers. This same transmitter is also undergoing similar testing and filings for international approvals as we provide a path for our top-tier customers to launch globally.”

Energous promises “interoperability between receivers and transmitters,” meaning that the system will be flexible enough to charge an Apple device from a Samsung transmitter. Energous also said in a previous statement that it was working on ways to incorporate the charging tech into existing household technologies, from computer monitor bezels, to smart lighting, and even TV soundbars. This could mean that any of your WattUp-enabled technology — phones, tablets, smartwatches, or fitness trackers — could stay topped up whenever you’re in the house, or are simply near an enabled charging location in the wider world.

While the FCC certification is a big step in the right direction for Energous, it’s still likely to be a little time before any of this charging tech is available to the public. Following the announcement of the news, the share price for Energous jumped up 5.25 percent.

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True wireless charging is one step closer with WattUp’s FCC certification

Energous’s WattUp technology has now received Federal Communications Commisssion certification, bringing wireless charging from a distance another step closer.

Current methods of wireless charging involve placing a Qi-enabled device on a wireless charging pad, allowing for charging without attaching wires. This makes it easy to keep a device topped up, and makes it convenient for placing your phone down next to your bed at night. But since the device is effectively tethered to the charging pad, in terms of real convenience wireless charging isn’t much better than having a cable plugged in.

It’s this that Energous is seeking to change with its WattUp technology. Also called “Wireless Charging 2.0,” WattUp would be “true” wireless charging, with Energous claiming that charging will eventually be possible within a 15-foot radius around the charger. While this particular FCC certification isn’t anything to get really excited about — the “near field” charging certified is basically just a normal wireless charging pad — this news is combined with the “mid-field” charging (charging devices up to 3 feet away) certified by the FCC back in December, indicating that the tech is safe to use, and possibly almost ready for the public.

“Following the first FCC certification for our power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter under Part 18 rules, this approval represents a significant step forward in creating a fully compatible wireless charging ecosystem,” said CEO of Energous, Stephen R. Rizzone. “This FCC-approved near-field transmitter will serve as a production-ready reference design for many of the initial contact-based applications from our customers. This same transmitter is also undergoing similar testing and filings for international approvals as we provide a path for our top-tier customers to launch globally.”

Energous promises “interoperability between receivers and transmitters,” meaning that the system will be flexible enough to charge an Apple device from a Samsung transmitter. Energous also said in a previous statement that it was working on ways to incorporate the charging tech into existing household technologies, from computer monitor bezels, to smart lighting, and even TV soundbars. This could mean that any of your WattUp-enabled technology — phones, tablets, smartwatches, or fitness trackers — could stay topped up whenever you’re in the house, or are simply near an enabled charging location in the wider world.

While the FCC certification is a big step in the right direction for Energous, it’s still likely to be a little time before any of this charging tech is available to the public. Following the announcement of the news, the share price for Energous jumped up 5.25 percent.

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App downloads and revenues continue to grow on Android and iOS

Global app downloads and spending hit new highs in the first part of 2018, according to a report from app data analyst company App Annie.

Despite having previously broken records in the last part of 2017, the app market shows no sign of slowing down its exceptional growth, with downloads on iOS and Android increasing by 10 percent to 27.5 billion in comparisons with the same quarter in 2017. Spending in apps has also increased compared to the same period, with both iOS and Android spending having increased by 22 percent, resulting in a staggering $18.4 billion in revenue.

The download numbers in particular are impressive, since App Annie only includes new installs of apps in its data, and excludes re-installs, updates, or the same customer installing the same app on a new phone. To put that another way, users on Android and iOS have installed 27.5 billion new apps in the first three months of this year. There really must be an app for everything.

We see something similar when breaking down the $18.4 billion in revenue as well. App Annie only counts money made from paid apps, in-app purchases or in-app subscriptions on both the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store, and does not count revenue made through in-app advertising, third-party stores, or m-commerce (mobile commerce, including ridesharing and shopping) — so the actual revenue flowing through the app ecosphere must be much higher than the already high figures reported.

Gaming has been a key component of growth in both app stores, with battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile being worthy of particular attention. App Annie also points to the increase in mobile shopping as another area of large growth, as retailers continue to migrate their shoppers to their apps.

App Annie

In terms of individual marketplaces, the Google Play Store led the way in overall downloads, exceeding 19.2 billion. The iOS App Store isn’t backing down without a fight, though, and has narrowed the gap between itself and the Play Store by 10 percent, exceeding 8.2 billion downloads. However, iOS users are continuing to spend more in apps than their Android cousins, though that gap has lessened by ten percent, thanks to spending growth of 25 percent on the Google Play Store versus 20 percent on the iOS App Store.

Finally, the iOS App Store saw its largest growth in downloads in the U.S., Russia, and Turkey, while the Google Play Store saw significant growth in developing markets like India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

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