Tech Digest daily roundup: War crimes erased by social media AI, BBC claims
Evidence of potential human rights abuses may be lost after being deleted by tech companies, the BBC has found. Platforms remove graphic videos, often using artificial intelligence – but footage that may help prosecutions can be taken down without being archived. Meta and YouTube say they aim to balance their duties to bear witness and protect users from harmful content. The platforms say they do have exemptions for graphic material when it is in the public interest – but when the BBC attempted to upload footage documenting attacks on civilians in Ukraine, it was swiftly deleted. BBC
Bereaved parents of children who took their own lives want authorities to take online histories into account when determining their cause of death. The mother of Archie Battersbee, who died in August 2022 after a “prank or experiment” that went wrong, joined other families to demand more access to content their children were exposed to online. “I think it should be available and be part of the whole investigation,” Hollie Dance told Sky News. “When it comes to a child’s death, everything should be looked into. Obviously they look into the parents, the home life, school life. Why not look into social media?”Sky News
Tesla’s proprietary charging network helped power its rise as the dominant US electric-car maker. Now it is opening that network to rival marques — a decision that will shake up a nascent roadside charging industry. The Supercharger network’s thousands of locations were designed to repower only Tesla vehicles — a “walled garden”, in Elon Musk’s words. But last week the chief executive said he will allow Ford cars to plug in at 12,000 sites starting next spring. Tesla earlier announced plans to invite other EV brands to use at least 7,500 charging locations by the end of 2024. FT
Amazon’s main UK division has paid no corporation tax for the second year in a row after benefiting from tax credits on a chunk of its £1.6bn of investment in infrastructure, including robotic equipment at its warehouses. Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group’s UK workers, received a tax credit of £7.7m in the year to the end of December, according to accounts filed at Companies House, advance details of which were shared by Amazon with The Guardian.
Apple’s big WWDC 2023 opening keynote will take place on 5 June and expectations are already high. Not only will we see Apple announce its next big software updates including the iOS 17 update for your iPhone, but there are also new Macs on the horizon. Multiple, it seems. While we’ve been hearing rumours of Apple getting ready to announce its biggest MacBook Air ever, there now appears to be more on the horizon. The usually well-connected Mark Gurman says that “several new Macs” will be announced at WWDC, suggesting that the 15-inch MacBook Air is just the tip of the iceberg. Pocket Lint
An Instagram post suggests that Mark Zuckerberg will show a first glimpse of the Meta Quest 3 today. The post shows Mark Zuckerberg holding something mysterious. The object is obscured by a countdown that ends at 7:00 a.m. PT on June 1, ahead of the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, which begins at 9:45 a.m. with a pre-show. In the background is a video clip showing Zuckerberg’s sweater, pants, and feet. The unknown object he is holding is apparently filming. It is most likely a Meta Quest 3 in passthrough mode. Mixed
