Hello, readers of the data sheet. Just as we were putting the finishing touches to today’s edition, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it was taking legal action to stop Microsoft from acquiring the game developer for $68.7 billion. Activision Blizzard video.
We’ll hear more about this major development tomorrow as details of the FTC case emerge and reaction comes in from across the industry. For now, you can read the first draft of today’s news here, and yesterday’s issue of Data Sheet looking at how Microsoft tried to avoid this outcome.
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Apple further cemented its reputation on Wednesday as a privacy pioneer, and in doing so, invited even more scrutiny from policymakers around the world.
The iPhone maker has announced plans to immediately start rolling out end-to-end encryption to most data stored in its iCloud, including photos, backup files and content typed into the app. Ratings. The company already offers end-to-end encryption on iMessages sent between Apple devices.
The new feature, dubbed Advanced Data Protection, will be available to US users by the end of the month, with global customers having access in early 2023. Apple Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps will not be included in Advanced Data Protection as they are not included. is not technologically compatible.
Apple’s latest development allows privacy advocates and government authorities to rehash long-standing claims about the merits of end-to-end encryption. The security feature ensures that only users of the device and recipients of messages and files sent by the user can access the data.
Privacy advocates believe that end-to-end encryption provides unparalleled protection against hackers, spies and government snoops, a value that outweighs the benefits of law enforcement officials having the ability to access personal data. Many police departments and some politicians, however, respond that end-to-end encryption hampers law enforcement authorities in their efforts to end child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, terrorism and to other crimes.
What’s most interesting about Apple’s announcement is the timing. The expansion of end-to-end encryption comes amid a global debate over the government’s role in allowing or restricting the security feature.
The discussion did not go beyond the din in the United States, where law enforcement cannot order tech companies to decrypt messages or files. Four Republican members of Congress have sponsored separate House and Senate bills that would require tech companies to decode encrypted information in response to a court order, but neither piece of legislation has gone anywhere.
Australian and European lawmakers, however, have held vigorous deliberations in recent years over similar proposals targeting tech companies.
Lawmakers in the country Down Under, where citizens are more deferential to the government than the United States, passed a controversial bill in 2018 that allows law enforcement to access previously encrypted communications. Critics of the legislation argued it was ill-advised and hastily drafted, although a committee of Australian lawmakers and intelligence officials broadly backed the law after a review of its impact in late 2021.
“Agencies have argued that these powers remain necessary to address serious national security threats, and some of the industry’s worst fears at the time of the switchover have not materialized,” committee chair James said. Paterson, following the review.
Policymakers in the European Union and the United Kingdom have not gone as far as their Australian counterparts, although they have spent recent years embroiled in similar debates.
A series of terrorist attacks and the reported increase in child pornography crimes in Europe have intensified calls for a crackdown on encryption. At the same time, European officials have aggressively pursued policies designed to increase user privacy and undermine the powers of big tech companies.
The European Union has not enacted sweeping decryption laws, although member states have various rules relating to law enforcement and encryption on their books. UK lawmakers are debating the role of encryption in their landmark online security bill, which is still under review after it was introduced in mid-2021.
“On the face of it, existing legislation in Australia and impending legislation in the UK would appear to give those governments the power to tell Apple in those countries not to,” said Ciaran Martin, former head of National Cyber UK Security Center. , say it the wall street journal.
Naturally, Apple isn’t waiting for lawmakers to settle their encryption squabbles. As the democratic process unfolds, Apple is once again delivering on its promise of customer privacy, a key pillar in its rise to the world’s most valuable company.
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Jacob Charpentier
NEW
Wealth sharing. The Pentagon wins $9 billion cloud computing contract at Amazon, Google, Microsoftand Oracle, ending a protracted and contentious fight for federal government business, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The four companies will each complete parts of the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability Project, a multi-year endeavor to modernize Pentagon military operations. Federal officials had awarded the entire contract to Microsoft during the president’s tenure donald trumpbut the Pentagon canceled the award and re-offered the project last year, citing a change in technology needs.
Even more problems for SBF. Federal authorities are investigating whether the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried manipulated the market for TerraUSD and Lunarelated cryptocurrencies that crashed earlier this year, the New York Times reported Wednesday. Manhattan prosecutors are in the early stages of an investigation into whether Bankman-Fried’s large number of sell orders on TerraUSD was designed to spur a separate bet on Luna’s price drop, a source said. source familiar with the case. Time. TerraUSD and Luna then went worthless, triggering a broader cryptocurrency selloff that accelerated FTX’s demise last month.
Sunny receives a dozen bakers. Ancient Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison Wednesday for his role in defrauding the blood testing company’s investors and patients, the Associated Press reported. The sentence is slightly longer than the 11-year prison sentence handed down last month against the former business partner and lover of Balwani, the founder of Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes. Prosecutors have requested a 15-year prison sentence, while Balwani’s lawyers have requested a prison term of less than a year.
It’s half bad. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong waiting for his cryptocurrency exchange revenue will drop by 50% or more year-over-year in 2022 following a broad sell-off of digital assets in recent months, Bloomberg reported. Armstrong had yet to provide a year-end outlook for the company, although his comments in an interview with Bloomberg suggest Coinbase’s 2022 revenue will approach analyst estimates of around $3.2 billion. . Coinbase shares are down 83% year-to-date.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Of two minds. As Fortune“wrote Lila MacLellan last week, it’s not easy to make the co-CEO arrangement work in large companies. Salesforce seemed to be navigating this tricky terrain with Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor sharing the highest position, but the the wall street journal reported on Wednesday that all was not well behind the scenes. In the months leading up to Taylor’s announcement last week of his impending departure, the two executives have increasingly clashed over time management and the division of staff oversight, sources told the Log. The relationship was further complicated by Taylor’s position as chairman of Twitter’s board of directors, a role that required a greater-than-expected time commitment amid Elon Muskprolonged takeover of the company.
From article:
Mr. Benioff, who is also a co-founder, grew frustrated with the way Mr. Taylor was spending his time, the people said. One of his concerns was whether Mr. Taylor was spending too much time in a new role as president of Twitter Inc., too much time with other CEOs and customers, and not enough time on product and engineering. from Salesforce, the people said.
While the two had worked well together, cracks have started to form in recent months, creating friction between the men, people familiar with the matter said.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
AI luminaries expressed admiration and caution at tech’s breakthrough momentby Alexei Oreskovic
Senate Banking Committee: Sam Bankman-Fried will be subpoenaed if he does not agree to attend FTX hearingby Leo Schwartz
‘If you’re in tech, buckle up – it’s going to be a tough ride’: Analyst who says Big Tech layoffs show ‘new reality’ sees ‘more cuts’ to comeby Alena Botros
Lina Khan’s Aggressive Campaign Against Meta Heads To Trial – And Zuckerberg Should Testifyby Barbara Ortutay and The Associated Press
Wordle dominates Google searches in 2022by Chris Morris
I am an expert on diversity in mainstream media. Here’s why quitting Twitter helps racistsby Marcus Ryder
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
A question for the ages. Editors really want to know if they are the asshole. Fortune‘s Chris Morris reported on Friday that After Reddit users flocked this year to the hugely popular r/amitheasshole subreddit than any other community on the platform, according to data produced by the company. The subreddit, billed as a “catharsis for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us,” allows users to debate who is wrong when everyday dilemmas arise. Subreddits r/askreddit and r/worldnews ranked second and third respectively, while topics related to outer space and climate change saw a huge surge in interest, officials said. ‘company. In total, Reddit saw a 14% year-over-year increase in posts and a 7% increase in comments.