Technology

TikTok makes its First Amendment case

Published

3 months ago

June 20, 2024

TikTok says that the government didn’t adequately consider viable alternative options before charging ahead with a law that could ban the platform in the US. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China, claims that it provided the US government with an extensive and detailed plan to mitigate national security risks and that this plan was largely ignored when Congress passed a law with a huge impact on speech.

In briefs filed at the DC Circuit Court on Thursday, both TikTok and a group of creators on the platform who’ve filed their own suit spelled out their case for why they believe the new law violates the First Amendment. The court is set to hear oral arguments in the case on September 16th, just a few months before the current divest-or-ban deadline of January 19th, 2025.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would effectively ban TikTok from operating in the US unless it divests from ByteDance by the deadline. The president has the option to extend that deadline slightly if he sees progress toward a deal. But spinning out TikTok is not entirely simple, given the limited pool of possible buyers and the fact that Chinese export law would likely prevent a sale of its coveted recommendation algorithm.

But lawmakers who supported the legislation have said that divestiture is necessary to protect national security — both because they fear that the Chinese government could access US user information due to the company’s China-based ownership and because they fear ByteDance could be pressured by the Chinese government to tip the scales on the algorithm to spread propaganda in the US. TikTok denies that either is happening or could happen in the future, saying its operations are separate from ByteDance’s.

The broad strokes of TikTok’s arguments have already been laid out in the complaints. But the new filings provide a more extensive look into how TikTok engaged the US government over several years with detailed plans of how it thought it could mitigate national security concerns while continuing its operations.

In an appendix, TikTok submitted hundreds of pages of communications with the US government, including presentations the company gave to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) when it was evaluating national security risks of its ownership setup. One deck explains the basics of how its algorithm figures out what to recommend to users to watch next, as well as a detailed plan to mitigate risk of US user data being improperly accessed. It goes as far as to include a floor plan of a “Dedicated Transparency Center,” through its collaboration with Oracle, where a specific group of employees in TikTok’s US data operations could access the source code in a secure computing environment. According to the slide deck, no ByteDance employees would be allowed in the space.

TikTok called the law “unprecedented,” adding, “[n]ever before has Congress expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum. Never before has Congress silenced so much speech in a single act.”

Courts usually apply a standard known as strict scrutiny in these kinds of speech cases — the government must have a compelling interest in restricting the speech, and the restriction must be narrowly tailored to achieve its aim.

TikTok claims that Congress has left the court “almost nothing to review” when scrutinizing “such an extraordinary speech restriction.” The company says Congress failed to produce findings to justify its reasoning behind the law, leaving only the statements of individual members of Congress for the court to go off of. (Many of those statements are included in an appendix filed by TikTok.)

“There is no indication Congress even considered TikTok Inc.’s exhaustive, multi-year efforts to address the government’s concerns that Chinese subsidiaries of its privately owned parent company, ByteDance Ltd., support the TikTok platform—concerns that would also apply to many other companies operating in China,” TikTok wrote in its brief. Lawmakers received classified briefings ahead of their votes, which some said impacted or solidified their final position on the bill. But the public still does not have access to the information in those briefings, although some lawmakers have pushed to declassify them.

The company also said that CFIUS, which was tasked with evaluating its risk mitigation plan in the first place, did not provide a substantive explanation for why it took such a hard line on divestment in March 2023. TikTok claims that when it explained why divestment wasn’t possible and asked to meet with government officials, it received “no meaningful responses.” CFIUS and the DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TikTok has said it’s already implemented much of its plans voluntarily through its $2 billion Project Texas

The text of the draft National Security Agreement that TikTok presented to CFIUS was included in an appendix that was filed in court. The draft included proposed changes like the creation of TikTok US Data Security Inc., a subsidiary that would be tasked with managing operations involving US user data, as well as heavy oversight by the agencies that make up CFIUS. TikTok has said it’s already implemented much of its plans voluntarily through its $2 billion Project Texas. Still, recent reporting has raised questions about how effective that project really is for national security purposes. In a report in Fortune from April, former TikTok employees said the project was “largely cosmetic” and that workers still engage with China-based ByteDance executives.

Terrence Clark, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, said in an emailed statement to The Verge that the agency and intelligence officials have “consistently warned about the threat of autocratic nations that can weaponize technology — such as the apps and software that run on our phones – to use against us. This threat is compounded when those autocratic nations require companies under their control to turn over sensitive data to the government in secret.”

Regardless, the court will have to consider whether the US government should have considered a less speech-restrictive route to achieving its national security aims, and TikTok says it should have. “In short, Congress reached for a sledgehammer without even considering if a scalpel would suffice,” TikTok wrote in its brief. “It ordered the closure of one of the largest platforms for speech in the United States and left Petitioners — and the public —to guess at the reasons why a wide range of less speech-restrictive alternatives were disregarded. The First Amendment demands much more.”

Technology

The messy WordPress drama, explained

Published

3 hours ago

September 28, 2024

Press Room

WordPress is essentially internet infrastructure. It’s widely used, generally stable, and doesn’t tend to generate many splashy headlines as a result.

But over the last week, the WordPress community has swept up into a battle over the ethos of the platform. Last week, WordPress cofounder Matt Mullenweg came out with a harsh attack on WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting provider, calling the company a “cancer” to the community. The statement has cracked open a public debate surrounding how profit-driven companies can and can’t use open-source software — and if they’re obligated to contribute something to the projects they use in return.

The conflict has escalated in the days since with a barrage of legal threats and has left swaths of website operators caught in the crossfire of a conflict beyond their control. WP Engine customers were cut off from accessing WordPress.org’s servers, preventing them from easily updating or installing plugins and themes. And while they’ve been granted a temporary reprieve, WP Engine is now facing a deadline to resolve the conflict or again have their customers’ access fall apart once again.

WP Engine is a third-party hosting company that uses the free, open-source WordPress software to create and sell its own prepackaged WordPress hosting service. Founded in 2010, WP Engine has grown to become a rival to WordPress.com, with more than 200,000 websites using the service to power their online presence.

“Silver Lake doesn’t give a dang about your open source ideals, it just wants return on capital.”

Mullenweg leads two different WordPresses. There’s WordPress.org, the open source project that develops the backbone of the WordPress publishing platform, and then there’s WordPress.com, a company that sells a hosted version of the open-source WordPress software — just like WP Engine. Mullenweg runs Automattic, which owns WordPress.com. Data suggests that around 43 percent of all websites use WordPress, but it’s not clear how many are hosted by WordPress.com or another party.

Along with selling plans on WordPress.com, Automattic contributes a lot of development effort to the open source project, which itself relies on donations and community contributions to run. According to Mullenweg, the team contributes 3,988 hours per week. The company may not have to pay to use WordPress, but it certainly pays to develop and improve it.

WP Engine operates a bit differently. It says it focuses on investing in the community through sponsorships and encouraging the adoption of the platform. The hosting platform was acquired by the private equity firm Silver Lake in 2018, and Mullenweg views it as a business that profits off of open-source code without giving anything back.

That frustration came to a head last week when Mullenweg took the stage at WordCamp — a WP Engine-sponsored WordPress conference — and took direct aim at WP Engine. “The company is controlled by Silver Lake, a private equity firm with $102 million in assets under management,” Mullenweg said. “Silver Lake doesn’t give a dang about your open source ideals — it just wants return on capital. So, it’s at this point I ask everyone in the WordPress community to go vote with your wallet. Who are you going to give your money to: someone who is going to nourish the ecosystem or someone who is going to frack every bit of value out of it until it withers?”

Mullenweg followed up this statement with a September 21st blog post, where he lambasted WP Engine for contributing just 40 hours per week to the WordPress.org open source project. “WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is ok to replicate. We must set a higher standard to ensure WordPress is here for the next 100 years,” Mullenweg wrote in the blog. He ripped into WP Engine even more, saying it’s “strip-mining the WordPress ecosystem” and giving users a “crappier experience so they can make more money.”

Mullenweg isn’t just defending the ethos of open source — he’s also defending his competing WordPress provider

Mullenweg doesn’t appear to be wrong about WP Engine’s contributions. But WP Engine is ultimately abiding by the rules of WordPress’ open-source license: it’s generally free to use, and WP Engine doesn’t have to give back to the WordPress community just because it’s banking off the open-source code. Of course, it’d be nice if WP Engine did, but nothing requires that it do so.

Complicating this further: Mullenweg isn’t just defending the ethos of open source — he’s also defending his competing WordPress provider. In his blog post, he claims WP Engine is “profiting off of the confusion” caused by the company’s branding. Mullenweg alleges that WP Engine is promising to give customers WordPress but that the company is actually offering a distilled version of the service. He goes on to say WP Engine will need a commercial license for the “unauthorized” use of the WordPress trademark, which is controlled by the WordPress Foundation and later sent a cease and desist letter in an attempt to make the company pay up.

WP Engine isn’t staying silent. It sent a cease and desist letter that tells a very different story of what has been going on behind the scenes. In its letter, WP Engine claims Automattic demanded a “very large sum of money” days before Mullenweg’s keynote at the September 20th WordCamp convention — and if the company didn’t receive it, Mullenweg allegedly threatened to carry out a “scorched earth nuclear approach” toward WP Engine.

WP Engine alleges Mullenweg harassed the company through text messages and calls, with one screenshotted text saying: “If I’m going to make the case to the WP community about why we’re banning WPE I need to do it in my talk tomorrow.” The texts, which Mullenweg confirmed he sent in an interview with Twitch streamer ThePrimeagen, say he prepared several presentation slides for his WordCamp talk, with the working title “How Private Equity can Hollow out and Destroy Open Source Communities, a Story in 4 Parts.”

After WP Engine refused to pay WordPress, the company alleges Mullenweg followed through on his threats. “Mr. Mullenweg’s covert demand that WP Engine hand over tens of millions to his for-profit company Automattic, while publicly masquerading as an altruistic protector of the WordPress community, is disgraceful,” WP Engine’s letter states. “WP Engine will not accede to these unconscionable demands which not only harm WP Engine and its employees, but also threaten the entire WordPress community.”

WordPress.org has now made it clear that it’s going after WP Engine for not only failing to give back to the WordPress project but also for its alleged misuse of the WordPress trademark. Mullenweg now says Automattic has given WP Engine two ways to “pay their fair share”: either by paying a licensing fee or making contributions to the open source WordPress project. “This isn’t a money grab: it’s an expectation that any business making hundreds of millions of dollars off of an open source project ought to give back, and if they don’t, then they can’t use its trademarks,” Mullenweg said.

The WordPress Foundation — the charitable organization that backs the open source WordPress project — is led by Mullenweg and other lesser-known board members who aren’t displayed on its website. It seems the WordPress Foundation has made some tweaks to its trademark guidelines in recent days. As of September 19th, the policy said you are “free” to use the WP abbreviation in “any way you see fit.” But now WordPress has deleted that language, replacing it with a line that says not to use WP “in a way that confuses people. For example, many people think WP Engine is ‘WordPress Engine.’” The updated policy also explicitly states: “If you would like to use the WordPress trademark commercially, please contact Automattic, they have the exclusive license.”

WordPress.org banned WP Engine from accessing its servers free over their “legal claims and litigation” — a move that has made it more difficult for customers to use WP Engine. However, Mullenweg decided to temporarily remove the block just two days later. He’s given WP Engine until October 1st to create their own mirror or resolve the conflict. “Why should WordPress.org provide these services to WP Engine for free, given their attacks on us?” Mullenweg wrote. WP Engine says it only sent a cease and desist order to WordPress and has not yet filed a lawsuit.

When asked about the ban on WP Engine, Automattic spokesperson Megan Fox said in a statement to The Verge that “trademark violations have resulted in the company being blocked from some WordPress resources.” WP Engine pointed The Verge to its statements on X when reached for comment.

The fight has garnered a mix of reactions. On one side, people think WP Engine is in the wrong, with some saying the company should contribute more to the open source project and that its use of “WP” is misleading. On the other, some WordPress community members are calling on Mullenweg to step down and accuse of him abusing his power over WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Others believe the situation could result in a fork of WordPress and brought up concerns about whether WordPress will take action against other companies using the “WP” abbreviation or trademark.

But in a dispute that’s meant to clarify what is and isn’t WordPress, Mullenweg risks blurring the lines even more. WordPress.org and WordPress.com both have a point — but it looks an awful lot like they’re working together to make it.

Technology

Threads now lets you tag your location

Published

13 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Meta is rolling out the ability to tag your location on your Threads posts. If you have the feature, you’ll see a pin in the post composer that you can tap so you can include where you are.

Note that adding your location to a Threads post doesn’t share an exact pin on a map. Instead, the feature lets you give your users an approximate idea of your location by sharing things like a city name, a neighborhood, or a restaurant. And if you see a Threads post that includes a location, you can tap that location to see other posts from the same place.

I have the feature, and I’ve been messing around with it. When I tap the pin in the post composer, Threads shows me a range of options: I can stay broad by tagging myself in Portland, OR, which is where I live, or I can pick from some more specific locations. If you’ve tagged your location in an Instagram post, Threads’ approach should feel pretty familiar.

Threads’ location-tagging feature only appears to be available on the mobile app right now; I have it on iOS, but I’m not seeing it on the web. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until it shows up in desktop browsers.

Technology

360-degree throwable tactical cameras are changing the game for the military and law enforcement

Published

13 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

360-degree throwable tactical cameras are changing the game for the military and law enforcement

A cool new gadget is shaking things up in the world of tactical operations. Bounce Imaging just unveiled an innovative tool at a recent conference, and it’s got everyone talking. It has developed this nifty little device called the Pit Viper 360.

Named after the heat-sensing abilities of certain snakes, it is the world’s first 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera.

The Pit Viper 360 is set to change how tactical teams approach dangerous scenarios, allowing them to gather critical intelligence without exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.

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A 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

A rugged design for high-stakes situations

The Pit Viper 360 is built to withstand the rigors of tactical operations. Its robust construction allows it to be rolled across floors, thrown downstairs and launched through windows, even if they are closed. This versatility makes it invaluable in armed standoffs, hostage situations and other high-risk scenarios where direct visual reconnaissance is too dangerous. Additionally, it can be lowered on tethers or mounted on poles for strategic placement.

Military scenario using a 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

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Advanced imaging capabilities

What sets the Pit Viper 360 apart from other throwable cameras is its comprehensive imaging suite that includes color video, infrared imaging and thermal imaging. The thermal imaging capability is particularly noteworthy because it can detect heat signatures from humans and machinery, providing crucial intelligence in low-visibility environments.

A man demonstrating a 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

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Innovative panoramic technology

Instead of relying on traditional pan/tilt motors or expensive camera arrays, the Pit Viper 360 uses six thermal imaging cores to generate a real-time, stabilized 360° panoramic view. This innovative approach offers several advantages, such as low latency, reduced size and weight and lower power requirements. Sietse Dijkstra, Bounce Imaging’s chief technology officer, explains that this design allows for stabilized thermal panoramic video with very low size, weight and power requirements.

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Image from a 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

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Practical applications

The capabilities of the Pit Viper 360 make it an ideal tool for military operations, law enforcement tactical teams, search and rescue missions and industrial inspections. Its ability to be deployed by robotic systems, such as Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robots like SPOT, further expands its potential uses in various scenarios. At a recent conference where the Pit Viper 360 was unveiled, Bounce Imaging highlighted how their technology can work alongside SPOT to enhance safety for first responders in complex environments.

Spot the robot dog carrying 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

Collaboration with robotics

Bounce Imaging’s collaboration with Boston Dynamics showcases the future of unmanned systems. By integrating their respective technologies, they aim to create a powerful tool for clearing hazardous environments. The combination of SPOT’s navigation capabilities and Bounce Imaging’s panoramic situational awareness can significantly improve operational efficiency and safety during missions.

Mark Fargason, Bounce Imaging’s COO, emphasizes that teaming across platforms is essential to leverage each technology’s strengths effectively. This partnership not only enhances mission success but also prioritizes the safety of personnel involved in high-risk operations.

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Military scenario using 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

What’s next for the Pit Viper 360?

Now, if you’re itching to get your hands on one, you’ll have to hang tight until early 2025. They haven’t released details on the price yet, but you can bet it’ll be a hot item for elite teams worldwide.

Military scenario using 360-degree panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera (Bounce Imaging)

Kurt’s key takeaways

By combining rugged design with advanced thermal imaging and innovative panoramic capabilities, Bounce Imaging has created a tool that could revolutionize how military and law enforcement personnel approach high-risk situations. The Pit Viper 360 is set to be a game-changer in keeping our brave men and women in uniform (and the civilians they protect) safer in those nail-biting situations.

What do you think about the potential impact of advanced technologies like the Pit Viper 360 on the safety and effectiveness of military and law enforcement operations in high-risk situations? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.