Home Technology Hardware This Week in Technology: Twitter, Amazon, and More

This Week in Technology: Twitter, Amazon, and More

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Twitter Debuts ‘Manipulated Media’ Label

Twitter used its new ‘manipulated media’ tag on a video of presidential candidate Joe Biden. The video, which President Trump retweeted, shows Biden saying the words, “Excuse me. We can only re-elect Donald Trump”. However, the edit cut Biden’s full sentence out. In the original video, he says “Excuse me. We can only re-elect Donald Trump if in fact we get engaged in this circular firing squad here. It’s gotta be a positive campaign so join us.”

Twitter rolled out its new policy Sunday night. However, it did have some technical issues. Twitter said that it only appeared in the timeline, and disappeared when users clicked on the video. It did say that it was working on the issue, however. “[I]t is apparent to all who have examined their conduct and policies: they care first and foremost about money and, to that end, are willing to serve as one of the world’s most effective mediums for the spread of vile lies,” said Greg Schultz, Biden’s campaign manager, concerning the video.

Amazon Offers Registerless Tech To Rivals

Two years after launching its cashier-less Go Grocery chain, Amazon is offering its technology to other chains in the US and UK. In Amazon’s chain, customers are able to link their Amazon accounts to an app that allows them to walk in and out of the store without visiting a cashier. However, with the newly adapted technology, customers will instead link a payment card to the store. The store will then automatically charge the card when the customers leave.

In addition, the stores will not involve Amazon accounts. Plus, the information collected will only support the retailers Amazon has partnered with. The announcement comes just weeks after Amazon opened its largest Go Grocery store in Seattle.

Australia Sues Facebook Over Breach Of User Data

Australia’s privacy regulator filed a lawsuit against Facebook accusing it of sharing the personal data of over 30,000 people without their knowledge. “The design of the Facebook platform meant that users were unable to exercise reasonable choice and control about how their personal information was disclosed,” Information Commissioner Angelene Falk said in a statement. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Sonos Stops ‘Bricking’ Old Products

Speaker producer Sonos will no longer force customers to brick their speakers in order to use a discount upgrade offer. Back in 2019, Sonos offered users a 30% discount on a new speaker if they traded in their old ones. However, in order to do so, they had to activated “Privacy Mode”. Essentially, this made the speaker unusable. Now, though, Sonos said they had removed this requirement to access the discount.

Brazil And US Sign Agreement To Develop Defense Technology

The Brazilian and US governments signed an agreement to develop defense projects on Sunday. The agreement lets the two countries develop projects with private companies using public financing from both nations. In addition, companies may request money from the US defense research fund.

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