Hillicon Valley — Meta ramps up criticism of rival Apple

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg renewed assaults towards fellow tech large Apple over the corporate’s dominance within the app retailer area, whereas Twitter CEO Elon Musk reined in a few of his critiques from earlier this week after assembly with Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner.  

In different information, Ye, the rapper previously often known as Kanye West, is not buying the choice platform Parler.  

That is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you might want to find out about tech and cyber information from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.  

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Zuckerberg slams Apple’s app retailer energy 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed Apple over its dominance over the app retailer market Wednesday, ramping up his criticism of the tech large on the heels of comparable feedback made by new Twitter CEO Elon Musk.  

Zuckerberg referred to as Apple’s management within the app retailer market “problematic” at The New York Occasions’ DealBook Summit. 

“It’s the just one the place one firm can management what apps get on the gadget. I don’t suppose it’s sustainable or good,” Zuckerberg stated.  

Apple solely permits apps to be downloaded by way of the Apple App Retailer on units that run on its iOS, similar to iPhones and iPads. The extent of management has led to scrutiny from regulators, in addition to app builders and fellow tech corporations.  

Zuckerberg stated “Apple clearly has their very own pursuits,” not like a authorities, and argued that there’s a battle of curiosity if “corporations must ship their apps solely from platforms managed by opponents.” 

Ramping up the feud: Musk, who took over Twitter on the finish of October upon closing his $44 billion acquisition, criticized Apple’s app retailer management earlier this week. However Meta’s feud with Apple dates again additional than Musk’s latest foray into the social media sector. The Fb mother or father firm, which rebranded as Meta final yr, has lengthy been pushing again on Apple’s dominance within the app retailer.  

Apple has defended its App Retailer insurance policies as serving to to extend security for customers.  

Learn extra right here.  

Musk resolves ‘misunderstanding’ with Apple 

As Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg piled critisim onto Apple, Twitter’s new head Elon Musk reined in a few of his personal after assembly with the corporate’s CEO Tim Prepare dinner.  

Musk on Wednesday stated he met with Prepare dinner, simply two days after Musk claimed the tech firm had threatened to tug Twitter from its app retailer, including that the “misunderstanding” had been resolved. 

In a late afternoon tweet, Musk thanked Prepare dinner for “taking me round Apple’s lovely HQ” in Cupertino, Calif., and stated that they had a “good dialog.” 

“Amongst different issues, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter probably being faraway from the App Retailer,” Musk wrote. “Tim was clear that Apple by no means thought of doing so.” 

Learn extra right here.  

YE, PARLER TERMINATE DEAL 

Ye, the rapper previously often known as Kanye West, will not buy the choice social media platform Parler, the corporate introduced Thursday.  

Parler Applied sciences stated in a press release the corporate “mutually agreed” with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler in a choice made in “mid-November.” 

“Parler will proceed to pursue future alternatives for progress and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant neighborhood,” Parler Applied sciences stated in a press release.  

In October, Ye introduced his plans to amass Parler, a platform that provides minimal content material moderation and caters to a right-wing viewers. The announcement got here after Ye was banned from Twitter over antisemitic posts. He has since regained entry to his Twitter account, together with the homeowners of different beforehand banned accounts that got entry to the platform beneath modifications by new CEO Elon Musk.  

The announcement of the choice to terminate the deal got here the identical day that Ye appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars program and went on an antisemitic rant that included reward for Nazis and Adolf Hitler. 

Learn extra right here.  

Fb failed to dam adverts with demise threats

Fb failed to dam 15 out of 20 adverts containing demise threats to election employees submitted by researchers to check the tech large’s enforcement, in accordance with a report launched Thursday.  

An investigation by International Witness and the NYU Cybersecurity for Democracy crew discovered the Meta-owned platform authorised virtually the entire adverts with hate speech the researchers submitted on the day of or day earlier than the midterm elections.  

The adverts examined included actual examples of earlier threats made towards election employees, together with statements “that individuals can be killed, hanged or executed, and that youngsters can be molested,” in accordance with the report. The content material was submitted as adverts with a purpose to let the crew schedule once they can be posted and take away them earlier than they went dwell.  

Fb authorised 9 of the ten English-language adverts and 6 of the ten Spanish-language adverts, in accordance with the report.  

Meta’s response: A spokesperson for Meta stated in a press release that the “small pattern of adverts” is “not consultant of what folks see on our platforms.”  

“Content material that incites violence towards election employees or anybody else has no place on our apps and up to date reporting has made clear that Meta’s skill to take care of these points successfully exceeds that of different platforms. We stay dedicated to persevering with to enhance our programs,” the spokesperson stated. 

Learn extra right here.  

NO PLANS FOR AMAZON TO REMOVE ANTISEMITIC FILM 

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Wednesday signaled that the corporate wouldn’t take down an antisemitic movie and e-book from its retailer that gained consideration after Brooklyn Nets participant Kyrie Irving promoted it. 

Irving was suspended from the Nets after tweeting a hyperlink to the 2018 movie titled “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which was based mostly on a 2015 e-book of the identical identify and comprises quite a few antisemitic tropes. The movie and e-book stay obtainable on Amazon as strain grows for his or her elimination. 

“We now have lots of of tens of millions of shoppers with a lot of completely different viewpoints,” Jassy advised Andrew Ross Sorkin throughout an interview at The New York Occasions’s DealBook Summit.  

“And inside the corporate, we received’t tolerate hate or discrimination or harassment, however we additionally acknowledge as a retailer of content material to lots of of tens of millions of shoppers with a lot of completely different viewpoints, we now have to be keen to permit entry to these viewpoints even when they’re objectionable and even when they differ from our personal private viewpoints,” Jassy added. 

Learn extra right here.  

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: Let privateness convey us collectively within the new Congress 

Notable hyperlinks from across the net: 

One last item: Electrical mowers may curb air pollution 

Buying and selling in gasoline-powered garden tools for electrical and battery-operated fashions may assist curb the ozone air pollution plaguing Colorado’s Entrance Vary, a brand new report has discovered. 

Making such a change may obtain practically one-fifth of the discount wanted to handle the area’s unhealthy ranges of this atmospheric contaminant, in accordance with the report, launched on Thursday by the Colorado Public Curiosity Group (CoPIRG) Basis. 

Working a business gas-powered lawnmower for only one hour generates as a lot ozone-forming emissions as driving a 2017 Toyota Camry about 300 miles from Trinidad, Colo., to Cheyenne, Wyo., the authors stated.  

In the meantime, an hour of economic leaf-blowing produces what the researchers described as “a staggering quantity of ozone-forming emissions” — the equal of driving 1,100 miles from Denver to Calgary, Alberta. 

Learn extra right here.  

That’s it for in the present day, thanks for studying. Try The Hill’s expertise and cybersecurity pages for the most recent information and protection. We’ll see you tomorrow.