Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the F.C.C. doesn't have the “legal authority” to implement net neutrality rules.
Since the rules were set in 2015, the FCC has argued that classifying ISPs as “telecommunications services” gives it broad authority to regulate them. The decision to redefine ISPs as “information services” during the first Trump administration led to the repeal of net neutrality in 2017.
The current Federal Communications Commission voted to restore net neutrality on April 25 of last year. The difference between 2015 and today is the Supreme Court's recent radical rethinking of an important legal doctrine. The Chevron Doctrine states that unless Congress weighs in on a matter, courts must defer to government agencies' interpretation. Interpretation is now left to the individual judge, and the Sixth Court disagrees with the FCC.
This is the end of the FCC's attempts wrest some strength from Internet providers and telecom operators, as well as the level of speed and access regardless of the service. Net neutrality rules will remain in California and other states, but anything that happens at the federal level will require either an act of Congress or, in this case, an appeal (and success) to the Supreme Court.
— Mat Smith
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This information caused stock prices to fall.
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Class participants could earn up to $20 for a Siri-enabled device.
Apple will settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit over Siri privacy. Reuters reports that the company has agreed to pay $95 million to members of the group, estimated to be tens of millions of owners of Siri-enabled devices. The lawsuit was based on a 2019 report that Apple's quality assurance contractors could routinely hear sensitive information inadvertently recorded by the voice assistant's “Hey Siri” feature. The clips reportedly include medical information, criminal activity and even “sexual encounters.” Reuters notes that $95 million in cash represents about nine hours of profit for the company. If you had a Siri-enabled mobile product during this period (and Judge White approves the settlement), you could get a cool $20 per device.
In 1972, Time magazine named the computer its “Person of the Year.”
So, car of the year.
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