Apple awards cybersecurity student for discovering a vulnerability in Mac’s webcams, Google is planning on blocking targeted ads for people under 18, and Nvidia is apparently leaving its Arm acquisition.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, January 26, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Apple awarded a cybersecurity student $100K for discovering a vulnerability in Mac’s webcams. The student, Ryan Pickren, found that a vulnerability in Mac webcams gave attackers access to web-based accounts such as iCloud and PayPal, as well as access to the device’s microphone, camera, and screen sharing. According to Apple Insider, Apple has not commented on the bug, but has awarded Pickren the money as a part of its bug bounty program. Currently, it’s not known if this vulnerability has been exploited.
Google is planning to block ad targeting based on age, gender or interest for people under 18. The company reiterated its commitment to protecting vulnerable groups, and that it will prevent age-sensitive ads from being shown to teens. Users can already turn off ads related to alcohol and gambling on YouTube, but Google recommends reporting ads users believe that violate policies and mute advertisements they aren’t interested in. Additionally, Google is continuing to collaborate with Privacy Sandbox to make digital marketing more private.
Nvidia is reportedly planning to abandon its purchase of Arm. Nvidia had originally announced that it would purchase Arm for $40 billion from SoftBank in 2020. But according to unnamed sources to Bloomberg, it made almost no headways in getting the approval of regulators. The deal has been steeped in regulatory turmoil as it’s under close investigation in both the U.S. and the U.K. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission even sued to block the transaction due to concerns of antitrust. Still, Nvidia and SoftBank, which currently owns Arm, remain hopeful that the deal can be moved forward. If it falls through, though, SoftBank will likely put Arm up for an IPO.
YouTube’s CEO has doubled down on YouTube’s controversial removal of dislikes from the platform. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki reiterated that hiding dislikes prevent harming parts of YouTube’s ecosystem through dislike attacks, which often target small creators. She also argued that dislikes do not discourage a user from watching a video since they aren’t displayed on the home screen. She did not, however, say whether users would enter and immediately leave a mostly-disliked video.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, if you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Tom Li.