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Germany enacts law limiting online hate speech
Germany's law combating hate speech on social media is now live. It's the country's attempt to get social networks to remove offensive posts within 24 hours (or seven days, if the content is difficult to evaluate). Those that fail to comply may be fined up to 50 million euros ($58 million) by the country's Ministry of Justice, though they'll get a grace period until January 1st, 2018, to prepare.
Facebook axed 'tens of thousands' of accounts before German election
Facebook released a recap today about the efforts it made to minimize the spread of fake news during Germany's recent election. Facebook VP Richard Allan said in the announcement, "These actions did not eliminate misinformation entirely in this election – but they did make it harder to spread, and less likely to appear in people's News Feeds. Studies concluded that the level of false news was low. We learned a lot, and will continue to apply those lessons in other forthcoming elections."
EU countries aim to raise tech firms' taxes by targeting revenue
It's no secret that European countries want major tech firms to pay more taxes, but how will they go about that beyond collecting back taxes? By taxing the companies where they'll feel it the most, that's how. The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Spain have written a joint letter to the European Union's presidency and Commission calling for taxes on tech giants' revenues, not just their profits. The four nations want the Commission to produce an "equalization tax" that would make companies pay the equivalent of the corporate tax in the countries where they earn revenue.
Edible robot surgeons will cure you from the inside out
Back in 1985, the best robotic surgeon we had was the Puma 560, a manipulator arm just barely more advanced than Rocky Balboa's robo-butler. Just barely. The Puma was nevertheless revolutionary. It was the very first mechanical operator, progenitor to steady-handed robo-surgeons like the DaVinci system. But in the near future, robots will no longer be cutting into us -- from the outside, at least.
Automated English visa test struggles to understand English
An Irish veterinarian's application for an Australian visa has been rejected after she failed to pass an automated English proficiency test, despite completing it in her native language of... English. Louise Kennedy, who has two degrees (both obtained in English), wanted to apply for permanent residency in the country on the grounds of her job, which is classed as a shortage profession. Despite acing the reading and writing parts of the test she didn't score highly enough on oral fluency, as it seems the machines couldn't understand her accent. The Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic is an automated system that asks applicants a number of questions and records their vocal responses which are analyzed and scored. The Australian government demands a score of at least 79 points. Kennedy scored 74.
France and Germany want Apple and Google to pay their taxes
France and Germany are looking to make major tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon begin paying their fair share of taxes. The move comes as many European leaders have expressed frustration at how these companies focus their profits and costs in countries that tax them at the lowest rates. "Europe must learn to defend its economic interest much more firmly -- China does it, the U.S. does it," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Bloomberg. "You cannot take the benefit of doing business in France or in Europe without paying the taxes that other companies -- French or European companies -- are paying."
Germany can fine Facebook up to $57 million over hate speech
Germany has passed a contentious law allowing fines of up to €50 million ($57 million) for social networks like Facebook and Twitter if they don't pull hate speech down quickly enough. Called the Network Enforcement Act or "Facebook Law," it was passed by Germany's parliament on Friday, and will go into effect starting this October.
Volvo is working with NVIDIA to develop self-driving car tech by 2021
With virtually every major car manufacturer dumping R&D money into the field, it looks like autonomous vehicles are going to be a thing whether we want them to or not. Early Tuesday morning NVIDIA and Volvo announced that they are redoubling their self-driving system efforts by teaming with a number of other companies to develop and distribute a proprietary autonomous AI platform by the start of the next decade.
German police raided 36 homes over social media hate speech
Late last year, Germany proposed a bill that would fine social media providers, such as Facebook and Twitter, for failure to remove hate speech within 24 hours on their respective platforms. Now, Germany has raided the homes of 36 people accused of posting hate speech or other illegal content.
Facebook: German bill isn't 'suitable' to fight hate speech
Germany says sites like Facebook and Twitter aren't doing enough to combat hate speech and fake news on their platforms. The country's Ministry of Justice proposed a bill that, if approved, would fine social networks and other websites up to 50 million euros ($53 million) if they don't remove the content quickly. Well, Facebook says the Network Enforcement Act (Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz or NetzDG in German) in its current form is "not suitable to combat hate speech and false news."
We're not getting Luke Skywalker's prosthetics any time soon
In 1937, robot hobbyist "Bill" Griffith P. Taylor of Toronto invented the world's first industrial robot. It was a crude machine, dubbed the Robot Gargantua (PDF, Pg 172) by its creator. The crane-like device was powered by a single electric motor and controlled via punched paper tape, which threw a series of switches controlling each of the machine's five axes of movement. Still, it could stack wooden blocks in preprogrammed patterns, an accomplishment that Meccano Magazine, an English monthly hobby magazine from the era, hailed as "a Wells-ian vision of 'Things to Come' in which human labor will not be necessary in building up the creations of architects and engineers."
Germany legalizes self-driving car tests
German automakers won't have to bring their experimental autonomous cars to California for testing anymore. The country has just approved a law allowing companies to test their self-driving cars on its roads, so long as they follow a set of conditions. Perhaps the most important requirement is that drivers must be sitting behind the wheel all the time. They can take their eyes off the road to, say, use their phone and browse the internet, but they need to be able to take over if the vehicle's AI needs them to.
Germany confronts Russia over election hacking
Speaking with reporters at a conference in Potsdam, Hans-Georg Maassen, president of the BfV agency (Germany's domestic intelligence group) renewed claims that Russian hackers were behind the attack on his country's parliament. He also warned the other nation against attempting to weaponize the "large amounts of data" stolen in that breach in the upcoming national elections come September.
Google is helping Germans go solar
Google's Project Sunroof is a way of combining the company's mapping data with information on how much sunlight hits your home. With it, people can work out if their abode gets enough radiation for them to consider investing in solar panels. Until now, the service was limited to the US but, from today, the system is rolling out to Germans similarly curious about adopting renewables.
Facebook buys newspaper space to combat fake news
Facebook has splashed out on a bevy of full-page newspaper ads explaining how readers can better identify fake news. As Bloomberg reports, the marketing materials appeared in Bild, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Die Welt -- among other dailies in Germany -- on Thursday, pushing 10 "tips" for parsing information online. They're timely, given the German government is currently debating a new law that would fine social networks which fail to act on the problem. Specifically, platform holders would be penalized up to 50 million euros (roughly $53 million) if they don't offer proper reporting tools, or refuse to remove illegal content.
Facebook adds 'educational' guide to counter fake news
Facebook has repeatedly come under fire over the last year as a distributor of "fake news", despite repeated its protests that it isn't a media company per se. The social network has taken a number of steps to push back against the influx of falsehoods, from hand curating articles to rejiggering its news surfacing algorithms, though none have done much to stem the tide so much as give Facebook something to crow about. On Thursday, the company continued that trend by introducing an "educational tool" that will live at the top of the newsfeed and provide tips on how to spot false reports.
Germany backs fines for social networks that ignore hate speech
Germany is backing its crusade against online hate speech with some legal clout. The country's cabinet is backing a proposed law that would fine social networks up to €50 million (about $53.3 million) if they don't block or remove illegal hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about "obviously criminal content." The legislation wouldn't necessarily fine companies for individual infractions, but this theoretically discourages companies from taking a lackadaisical approach to pulling hateful material.
Bipartisan bill aims to curb warrantless phone searches at the border
The Trump administration revealed its "extreme vetting" procedures on Tuesday and hoo boy, are they draconian. They'll require foreign visitors -- even close allies like France and Germany -- to potentially reveal passwords, phone contacts and even financial records in order to enter the country. Americans are being searched as well, with Border Patrol forces increasingly demanding the same information from US citizens as they cross the border, but a newly introduced bicameral bill could help safeguard their privacy.
German law urges parents to rat out kids' illegal downloads
When it comes to piracy, institutions typically go after individual offenders and platforms, especially illicit ones. But Germany's highest court just ruled that children aren't just on the hook for illegally downloading music or movies -- their parents are, too. And if they don't rat out their kids, they'll get stuck with the court-decided fine.
Domino's delivery robots are invading Europe
Domino's has unleashed another set of pizza delivery drones, this time in Germany and the Netherlands. Last year, it worked with Flirtey to drop pizza to customers in New Zealand using unmanned aerial vehicles. For this pilot program, however, it chose to use autonomous rovers developed by Starship Technologies, a company built by two of Skype's founders. Domino's told Engadget that launching this program doesn't mean it has given up on developing its own delivery drones, which it's been doing for a year now.
