Tech Digest daily roundup: Meta accused of keeping deleted Messenger data
Meta has been accused of secretly keeping users’ deleted Messenger data and sharing it with police by a former employee. Brennan Lawson, who worked for the social media company after leaving the US Air Force, has filed a legal complaint alleging that Facebook created a tool to access Messenger data that users thought they had deleted. Lawson, who is suing the company for whistleblower retaliation, alleges he was fired after raising concerns about the tool’s legality. In a filing made to the Superior Court of California in the County of San Mateo, Lawson said he worked for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, as a senior risk and response escalations specialist. Sky News
Facebook faces the threat of being blocked across the European Union unless it radically overhauls how it handles data in Europe. Irish regulators have provisionally ruled the social media site can no longer send European users’ data to the US, forcing it to either set up local data centres or stop operating until the issue is resolved. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has told Facebook its current set-up breaches GDPR rules, the EU laws governing how companies can use customer data. The decision is currently in draft status and Facebook now has four weeks to raise any protests. Telegraph
Dozens of people have given their hobby and commercial drones to Ukraine after it appealed for “dronations” to help build its “army of drones”. The country is also asking for money to buy 200 military reconnaissance drones. Ukrainian and Russian forces have used small consumer drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), in the war. But Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says while small drones are useful, tactics are adapting to counter them. Small and commercial drones can provide a live view of the enemy’s positions, he says. BBC
The Apple MacBook Air is extremely popular. It’s no surprise, really, as it’s one of the best laptops money can buy – I’m a massive advocate of the macOS machine, having used one for three generations of its release. But now, in 2022, it suddenly looks a whole lot more appealing. Today, 8th July 2022 if you’re reading this in the near future (hello fellow time-traveller), is the date when the Apple MacBook Air M2 is up for pre-orders (on-sale date is the 15th July). Not only that, the M2-powered machine is the first MacBook Air to sport the newly redesigned chassis. So it’s a win-win: better internals, better design, just better everything for this particular MacBook. T3
The expansion of mobile phone coverage in the London Underground continues, with five stations confirmed to go live within the next six months. At the moment, coverage for all mobile networks is available in the Jubilee line tunnels between Westminster and Canning Town, and TfL has confirmed that Bank, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Euston, and Camden Town will be the first stations to gain coverage as part of the network expansion. The delivery of mobile phone coverage on the London Underground was signed via a concession agreement so that the cost of installing it will be funded by BAI Communications. Ian Visits
