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Net neutrality may have hit its final roadblock. In a new decision filed today, the Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled that the FCC does not have the "statutory authority" to implement net neutrality rules. The court first blocked the rules in August 2024 when the lawsuit at the center of today's ruling was filed. Net neutrality broadly seeks to prevent internet service provides (ISPs) from giving preferential treatment to specific users or content. That prevents things like a service provider charging a streaming service for faster speeds, or the throttling of a specific website. Every app, website, and user is supposed to be treated equally under net neutrality, making the rules integral to a free, fair and open internet. Since net neutrality rules were first put in place in 2015, the FCC's argument has been that its classification of ISPs as "telecommunication services" under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 gives it broad authority to regulate them. The decision to redefine ISPs as "information services" during the first Trump Administration led to the repeal of net neutrality in 2017. The current FCC voted to restore net neutrality on April 25 of this year, but the difference between 2015 and now is the Supreme Court's recent, radical reinterpretation of an important legal doctrine. In June 2024, the Supreme Court filed two rulings that overturned the Chevron doctrine, a framework that basically said that if Congress doesn't weigh in on an issue, courts are supposed to defer to the interpretation of government agencies. Now, interpretation falls to the individual judge, and the Sixth Court doesn't agree with the FCC's argument. Net neutrality rules will remain in California and other states, but anything at the federal level will require either an act of Congress or for this case be appealed to (and succeed in front of) the Supreme Court. Engadget has reached out to the FCC to see if it plans on appealing and will update this article if we hear back. "Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement following the ruling. "With this decision it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality, and put open internet principles in federal law.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/us-court-of-appeals-rules-against-effort-to-restore-net-neutrality-205617210.html?src=rss
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Nick Clegg, the former British deputy prime minister turned Meta executive, is leaving after a seven-year stint with the social media company. Clegg announced his departure in posts on X and Threads, saying that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta. Clegg will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a longtime policy executive and former White House aide to George W. Bush known for his deep ties to Republican circles in Washington. As Chief Global Affairs Officer, Kaplan as Semafor notes will be well-positioned to run interference for Meta as Donald Trump takes control of the White House. Clegg joined Meta in 2018, a year after the British public deemed the former leader of the Liberal Democrats unelectable. The company then known as Facebook was looking to improve its political relationships after Cambridge Analytica and other scandals. In 2022, he was promoted to President of Global Affairs, a position that reported directly to Mark Zuckerberg (his previous role was overseen by Metas then-COO Sheryl Sandberg). The former politician played a key role in some of Metas most significant and controversial decisions. He publicly defended the companys decision not to apply its fact checking policies to politicians and authored its public statements about the suspension and reinstatement of Donald Trumps Facebook account. More recently, Clegg has criticized the European Unions handling of tech regulation, arguing that the bloc is hampering advancements in AI. My time at the company coincided with a significant resetting of the relationship between big tech and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector, Clegg wrote in a post on Threads. I hope I have played some role in seeking to bridge the very different worlds of tech and politics worlds that will continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe. Clegg said in a Facebook post that he will spend the next few months working with Kaplan and representing the company at a number of international gatherings in Q1 of this year before he formally steps away from the company. He didnt indicate what he may do next.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/nick-clegg-is-leaving-meta-after-7-years-overseeing-its-policy-decisions-204207077.html?src=rss
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Apple has moved to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit over Siri privacy. Reuters reports that the proposed settlement was filed on Tuesday in Oakland, CA. The company agreed to pay $95 million to class members, estimated to be tens of millions of Siri-enabled device owners. US District Judge Jeffrey White needs to approve the settlement before it becomes official. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 report that Apple quality control contractors could regularly hear sensitive info accidentally recorded by the voice assistants Hey Siri feature. The clips were said to include medical information, criminal activities and even sexual encounters. Reuters says Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the case. Engadget reached out to Apple for comment. Well update this story if we hear back. Two plaintiffs claimed their inadvertently recorded mentions of Nike Air Jordans and Olive Garden restaurants led to receiving ads for those products. After talking about it with his doctor, another plaintiff said he got ads for a brand-name surgical treatment. After the original story broke five-plus years ago, Apple highlighted its layers of privacy protections and stressed that the recordings werent tied to Apple accounts. It also said its quality control teams studied the clips in secure facilities and were bound by strict confidentiality agreements. After an internal review, Apple suspended the program and admitted it wasnt fully living up to its ideals. The company returned to reviewing Siri recordings soon after but with some big changes. It reportedly fired hundreds of quality control contractors and changed its policy so that only Apple employees could review private Siri data. It also moved to delete inadvertently triggered audio clips and began requiring users to opt in to sharing Siri recordings or transcripts. Reuters notes that the proposed $95 million in cash amounts to about nine hours of profit for the company. (Nice work if you can get it.) The settlements class period runs from September 17, 2014 when Apple launched Hey Siri in iOS 8 to December 31, 2024. If you owned a Siri-enabled mobile product during that period (and Judge White approves the settlement), you might get up to $20 per device. However, youll have to join the class, and it isnt yet clear how to do that.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-agrees-to-settle-a-2019-siri-privacy-lawsuit-for-95-million-195820723.html?src=rss
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