South Korea fines Tesla, experts warn about smart toys and data collection, and an Apple AirTag detects missing luggage and catches an airline in a lie.
All these technology related news are trending right now. Welcome to trending hashtags. It’s Wednesday, January 4th, and I’m your host, Ashi Pamma.
South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it would fine Tesla $2.2 million after the company failed to tell its customers about the reduced driving range of its electric vehicles in low temperatures. The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Tesla had exaggerated the driving range of its car on a single charge. Tesla’s driving range drops by up to 50.5 percent in cold weather versus how they’re advertised online. according to a Reuters reportTesla offers winter driving tips, such as pre-conditioning vehicles with external power sources, but it fails to mention the loss of driving range in sub-zero temperatures.
Experts are warning against smart toys, suggesting such items could collect data on children and sell it without parents’ knowledge. According to inquirer.netThe finding has prompted various groups to call on government institutions to end this type of surveillance of children. Some toys, such as the “Fusible Friend” doll, can collect important data because of their built-in cameras and mics. Companies can sell data to advertisers to build profiles on children. Human Rights Watch also cautioned consumers about similar issues with educational technology products. It analyzed 163 educational computer learning products supported by 49 countries. It found that 146 products “put at risk or directly violate the privacy of children … for purposes related to their education.” The Electronic Privacy Information Center asked the US Federal Trade Commission to strictly regulate data collection on children.
And the Apple AirTag was able to catch United Airlines lying about missing luggage. A woman used multiple locations of Airtags in her luggage before traveling only to be caught by United Airlines lying about the security of her bags. United Airlines had assured her that her bag would be delivered safely, but the AirTag showed that the luggage was actually near a dumpster behind a residential apartment. apple insider reported that the photos, probably from Google Street View, showed other United Airlines items strewn with trash and apparently empty. After telling the airline the location of the luggage due to its airtag, they still reiterated that she was wrong, and that “the bag is safe at the delivery service distribution center.”
At a secret location in Ukraine, engineering students are working to build drones for the front line. an article written by Wire Reports state that students modify commercial drones to turn them into weapons of war. They are also building drones from scratch with their own designs. This temporary production line emerged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has since produced 2,500 unmanned aerial vehicles for the front. Founder Maxim Sheremet says most of the engineers in his lab are barely 18 years old. Sheremet’s drone lab takes orders from front-line commanders to build drones.
All these technology related news are trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast Network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Daily Briefing. Be sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get important news straight to your inbox every day. Plus, check out the next episode of Hashtag Tendence, our weekly hashtag trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have any suggestion or tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thanks for listening, I’m Aashi Pamma.
