Google begins releasing its secret FBI subpoenas
Back in October, Google stated that the FBI lifted a gag order, allowing them to officially disclose they’d been served one National Security Letter (NSL), a type of secret subpoena, by the FBI. This was news because every company is restricted from revealing more than a very broad range of NSLs it has received. But a 2015 Congressional act requires the government to periodically check whether each request’s non-disclosure agreement is still necessary. After several of these limits were lifted, today Google confirmed and released several NSL requests to shed light on what kind of user information the FBI requests in the name of national security.
The first batch includes eight formal requests, each paired with an FBI letter notifying Google when the agency had lifted their non-disclosure requirements. In all, these NSLs ask for subscriber information “limited to name, address and length of service” on 23 accounts — the names of which Google opted to redact for privacy reasons. Some of the requests limited their inquiry to a certain period of time while others asked for info from the account’s inception until the present day.
The earliest was sent to Google on March 1st, 2010, while the latest was September 21st, 2015. Crucially, each NSL urged Google not to change or suspend access to these accounts lest it tip off the users that their info was being shared with the FBI.
The USA Freedom Act, which Congress passed in 2015 to amend the Patriot Act, gives Google a little leeway in reporting that these requests have been made, allowing the search giant to list a loose range of NSL inquiries. It also requires the Department of Justice to regularly review which NSL’s non-disclosure limits are no longer necessary, which allowed Google to release the requests today. Curiously, the search giant could have
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know how many NSLs Google can’t (or possibly won’t; disclosure is optional) also release. According to the range they’re allowed to publish, they received “0-499” requests from January to June 2016; counting up the previous years, the search giant has received anywhere from zero to 1,000 requests for every six-month period since 2009. Even if the DOJ doesn’t lift non-disclosure restrictions on substantially more NSLs, at least we have a window in to the content and frequency of user information Google is handing over to the FBI.
Source: Google
Tech workers unite against a potential US Muslim registry
Employees from large organizations across the technology industry have pledged to never help build a government database targeting individuals by race, religion or national origin, in response to extreme immigration proposals from US President-elect Donald Trump. The signatories come from companies including Google, IBM, Twitter, Mozilla and NVIDIA, though they don’t represent the organizations themselves.
“We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration’s proposed data collection policies,” the pledge reads. “We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.”
The commitment, which resides at neveragain.tech, explains that tech workers are the gatekeepers of “data about people.” It recognizes technology’s role in aiding catastrophic human rights abuses in the past, specifically mentioning IBM’s work with Nazi Germany during World War II. The pledge includes a commitment to engage in whistleblowing, if necessary, and to advocate for the responsible use of data outside of the tech industry.
Trump has toyed with the idea of establishing a national database of all Muslims and said he plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants. It’s already clear that Trump’s proposed immigration policies would be detrimental for the US technology industry, but the neveragain.tech pledge looks beyond the workforce.
“We recognize that mass deportations precipitated the very atrocity the word genocide was created to describe: the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey,” the pledge reads. “We acknowledge that genocides are not merely a relic of the distant past— among others, Tutsi Rwandans and Bosnian Muslims have been victims in our lifetimes. Today we stand together to say: not on our watch, and never again.”
Source: neveragain.tech
Google makes it easier to get Internet of Things devices online
It’s relatively easy to build your own Internet of Things hardware, but the software is another story. How do you connect it to cloud services, push updates or just write code? Google might help. It’s trotting out a developer preview of Android Things, a toolbox that theoretically makes connecting IoT devices as straightforward as writing an Android app. Think of it as a more mature, more accessible Project Brillo. You’re not only using ordinary Android developer tools (Android Studio and the official SDK), but tapping into Google Play Services and Google Cloud Platform. In theory, most of the heavy lifting is done for you — future versions in the months ahead will even grab regular updates (both from you and Google) and use Google’s ad hoc Weave networking.
This is ostensibly designed for companies building custom hardware, but you don’t need pro engineering skills to get started. Android Things already works with Intel’s Edison, Raspberry Pi 3 and NXP’s Pico, so you can whip up a Google-powered gadget with minimal effort.
Appropriately, Google is improving Weave itself. There’s a new device developer kit for certain kids of hardware (lights, switches and thermostats right now), and Weave devices can hook into services like Google Assistant. And it’s only going to get more ambitious: in addition to more device developer kit support, Google will both offer tools to help write mobile apps and merge its own take on Weave with Nest’s version. Between this and the Android Things release, it’s evident that Google doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines while Microsoft and others make their own IoT platforms. It wants Android at the heart of many of your connected devices, and that means removing as many hurdles as possible.
Source: Google Blog
Google spins out its self-driving car division
Google isn’t wasting much time validating rumors that it’s shaking up its self-driving car efforts. The internet giant is spinning out its self-driving project as a new company, Waymo, with current division head (and Hyundai veteran) John Krafcik as its CEO. It’ll still have access to the resources of Google’s parent company Alphabet, but it’ll act more as a “venture backed startup,” Krafcik said in a press conference. Appropriately, there’s much more talk of turning autonomous vehicle tech into a practical business.
Waymo sees its technology applying to numerous areas, including ridesharing, trucking and personally-owned cars. It could also be licensed out to car manufacturers, Krafcik adds. Also, there’s an emphasis on real-world improvements, such as a more comfortable (that is, less jarring) experience for passengers and support for driving in heavy rain and other harsh road conditions.
The move isn’t exactly a shock — there have been rumors of Google spinning out its self-driving division for roughly a year. Still, it’s an important step. It’s an acknowledgment that driverless tech has matured to the point where building a sustainable business around it isn’t just fantasy. Also, it’s no secret that Alphabet wants to see a better return on investment from its many experiments. The creation of Waymo should light a fire under the self-driving team, giving it a stronger incentive to make money and show that its research has tangible benefits.
Source: TechCrunch, Business Insider
Cuba signs deal with Google to speed up access to its services
A lot has happened since President Obama announced that Google would work with Cuba to speed up its internet. There’s a new president in waiting and Fidel Castro has passed away, but the pledge to boost the country’s connectivity is moving along thanks to a new agreement between the search giant and Cuba’s national telecommunications company ETECSA.
As part of the deal, Google will install servers on the island, allowing ETECSA to locally cache and serve the most popular high-bandwidth content, like YouTube videos. This reduces latency, giving Cubans who already have access to internet a better quality of service.
Over the past couple of years, Google has launched a number of its products in Cuba, including Chrome, Google Analytics and the Play Store. Its most recent deal will help those with internet access enjoy more content but it won’t improve Cuba’s aging infrastructure or increase the number of people going online, at least not right now.
Source: Google Blog
Google bought the firm behind that Amazon Alexa smartwatch
Cronologics, the company that developed what it hoped would be an alternative smartwatch OS to Android Wear, has been acquired by Google for an unknown sum. The startup was founded by former Google employees, ironically enough, and recently launched the Alexa-powered and Amazon-blessed CoWatch. The Cronologics OS that powers it is based on Android Lollipop, and can supposedly run almost any Android app, assuming the CoWatch could sideload them (it can’t).
Google didn’t reveal why it bought the company, and Cronologics just said (via a statement on its site) that “we see strong alignment with Android Wear’s mission and look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google.” It didn’t specifiy if it would continue to sell the CoWatch, though that seems unlikely given that Google Home competes directly with Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo products.
Hopefully, Google wants the Cronologics team to build Home features into the Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch OS (coming early next year), though that’s pure speculation on my part. What I do know is that smartwatches have failed to catch on with the public, so Google’s next OS release had better be a big improvement, or the whole category might remain in a niche.
Source: Cronologics
Google Scales Back Self-Driving Car Ambitions
Google is reported to have shelved plans to develop its own self-driving vehicle in favor of nurturing partnerships with existing car makers to continue its work in the automotive space.
According to The Information, the company’s autonomous car unit, known internally as Chauffeur, is working with established car companies to develop vehicles that will include self-driving features, while ditching earlier plans to remove the steering wheel and pedal controls. The news follows on from reports back in May that Google is actively working with Fiat Chrysler on automotive projects.
Despite the shift in gears for its car project, sources suggest Google still has plans to bring an autonomous taxi service to U.S. roads before the end of 2017. Its autonomous vehicles have already clocked over two million miles of tests on public roads.
Recent reports regarding Apple’s ambitions in the autonomous vehicle space appear to have taken a similar hard turn away from developing an own-branded electric car. The Cupertino company is said to have shelved its original automotive program “for now” in favor of building a self-driving software platform, possibly in partnership with existing car makers.
In a letter earlier this month to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Apple admitted to its interest in “machine learning and automation” as it pertains to transportation, and confirmed its desire to help define rules for the self-driving car industry in the future.
Tag: Google
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Netflix heads to VR again with Google’s Daydream
Last week we saw HBO and a slew of new apps land on Google’s Daydream VR platform — now, Netflix is joining the fray. The streaming company launched its Daydream app this morning, and it looks pretty similar to its existing Gear VR app. That’s probably not too surprising, since both platforms are based on Android. The Daydream Netflix app places you in a virtual log cabin, where you can peruse your queue and start watching videos as you normally do.
Unfortunately, there’s no offline Netflix support for the app yet, but hopefully that’s something that will be added soon. It would be particularly helpful for sitting back and catching up on Netflix during long flights, for example. Given that Netflix is only allowing downloads on its iOS and Android apps at the moment, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see it bring the feature to an Android-powered VR platform.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Play
University of Michigan teams with Google to track Flint water crisis
Thanks to the prolific ineptitude of elected officials, the water in Flint, Michigan has been tainted with lead and undrinkable for more than a year. And while the federal government has, just last week, finally gotten around to earmarking $170 million for infrastructure improvements in the blighted city, tangible relief for its residents is still months if not years away. A new app developed by the University of Michigan with backing by Google will help those living in Flint track the rebuilding progress.
Computer science researchers at U of M’s Flint and Ann Arbor campuses developed the Mywater-Flint app (as well as a website) with financial and technical support from the internet search giant. The app will provide tools so that residents can monitor water-testing results and the progress of pipeline replacements. Water and filter distribution centers will also be highlighted. The app can even predict where lead contamination levels are highest, based on the age and value of a home (hint: it’s the oldest houses in the poorest neighborhoods).
Hopefully, this new service will provide a modicum of transparency for those affected by the crisis, though given how little progress has been made to date, any insights gleaned going forward likely won’t do much to dissuade the public’s just and righteous anger with their elected officials.
Via: Popular Mechanics
Source: Mywater
Lexus’ insane LED-covered car, and more in the week that was
Transportation startup Lucid Motors is working on an electric car to rival the Tesla Model S, and it just announced plans to build a $700 million manufacturing facility to bring it to fruition. Meanwhile, Lexus unveiled a mind-blowing car covered with 41,999 LEDs that can change colors at a whim. Could the solution to congested streets lie in subterranean tunnels? That’s the idea behind these crazy CarTubes, which could move city traffic underground. Four major cities around the world pledged to ban diesel cars by the year 2025, and UPS just rolled out its very first e-bike delivery vehicle in Portland, Oregon.
Germany’s massive Wendelstein 7-X stellarator is attempting to harvest energy from the incredibly intense reaction that powers the stars, and according to recent reports it’s actually working. In other energy news, researchers at the University of Surrey are working on super batteries that could charge cell phones in seconds and electric cars in minutes. Google is driving a hard green line: It says it will run on 100-percent renewable energy by the end of next year. Myanmar launched a new program to provide all of its citizens with solar power by the year 2030, and Leonardo DiCaprio schooled Donald Trump on the benefits of renewable energy.
Architecture is incorporating technology in exciting new ways, and the buildings of the future are out of this world. Architect Saul Ajuria Fernandez has developed a solar-powered Droneport that could serve as a hub for flying delivery vehicles. Singapore’s latest skyscraper is a latticed tower that will one day be completely covered with living plants. China-based People’s Architecture Office developed a $10,000 tiny house that can be assembled in a day with a single hex key. And America’s first urban “agrihood” is feeding 2,000 households in Detroit for free.
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