urges – Spress

Apple urges House Judiciary Committee to block antitrust legislation

editor — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 23:21:27 +0000

Apple wrote an open letter to the House Judiciary Committee, arguing that the proposed App Store legislation will “harm consumers” and create “no bottom line competition” that brings about privacy. While legislators were deliberating on the five proposed bills, Apple wrote a letter outlining what it believed was “the harm caused by these bills.” Apple’s letter was addressed to the chairman and chief members of the House Judiciary Committee, and it followed and reiterated previous discussions with that committee. Timothy Powderly, Apple’s senior director of government affairs for the Americas, wrote: “…Our common goal is to ensure that U.S. laws and Apple’s business practices promote competition, promote innovation, and provide consumers with benefits and critical protections. ” Apple believes that the proposed legislation will increase privacy risks, reduce competition, and eliminate what it says is parents’ trust in app stores to protect children. “The iPhone is uniquely suitable for those who don’t want to balance the risks every time they download an application,” Powderly wrote in the full document provided below. “Some customers may want to do this, but Congress should not impose this model on everyone. Legislation mandating Apple to allow sideloading will prevent Apple from continuing to provide consumers with this safer choice, reducing competition and reducing competition. Consumer welfare. Apple believes that side-loaded applications “may carry ransomware, or deceive users to download fake versions of popular applications, thereby stealing login credentials and monitoring users.” The company said this will “make it easier for criminals to put iPhone users at risk.” “Parents are concerned enough to protect their children in the digital world. Congress should not increase this burden by mandating that the iPhone be opened to less secure apps. Parents rely on Apple’s security ecosystem to guard against those who will sell. Children’s data or apps that expose children to inappropriate content. In addition, suggestions for in-app purchases will severely limit the effectiveness of child safety features, such as parental controls for’request to purchase’.” In response to criticism that Apple has unfairly favored its own apps in the App Store, the company stated that it faces “strong competition from very successful developers in every category in which we provide our own apps.” ” “We continue to improve the core functions of the iPhone, including many products in the App Store to attract customers,” Powderly said. “The successful record of third-party applications on the App Store speaks for itself. We have no incentive to discriminate against developers, and broad regulations do not allow applications to be treated differently, which may distort the competitive landscape on the App Store. .” Apple says its business is “device-based,” which will “incentivize[苹果]Create high-quality applications and develop high application standards.” If legislation mandates companies to “hand over intellectual property rights,” it will “allow third parties to take advantage of Apple’s investment and hard work for free.” Padley insisted that such legislation would “make it difficult or even impossible for Apple to innovate in barrier-free environments, health, and other sensitive areas.” At the same time that Apple wrote to the committee, the company also issued a guide for the public outlining the same views. Its user privacy director Erik Neuenschwander has been talking about these issues, and Tim Cook recently released a video detailing Apple’s position on privacy

Fewer emissions Merkel urges aviation to innovate “As soon as possible”: Chancellor Merkel called for speed in innovations at the National Aviation Conference. Air traffic must quickly become lower in emissions. The industry is hoping for the summer business.

editor — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 02:28:16 +0000

Less emissions Merkel urges aviation to innovate

Status: 06/18/2021 8:35 p.m.

“As soon as possible”: Chancellor Merkel called for speed in innovations at the National Aviation Conference. Air traffic must quickly become lower in emissions. The industry is hoping for the summer business. The aviation industry and politics want to promote “green” flying in Germany with state funding. After the pandemic, all economic policy measures would have to be aligned with climate targets, said Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) at the National Aviation Conference in Berlin. “As for other industries, climate neutrality is a very ambitious goal for aviation,” said Merkel. To achieve this, there must be innovations, for example in drive systems and infrastructure – “and not at some point, but as quickly as possible”. Because the product cycles in aviation are very long.

Emission-free flying

In addition to the restart of the industry, which was badly shaken by the corona crisis, the focus of the industry summit at the capital airport BER was above all the path of aviation to emission-free flying. The airlines are focusing on the development of sustainable fuels as well as new, more economical aircraft and even electric aircraft. Representatives of the industry associations BDL, BDLI as well as the industry giants Airbus and Lufthansa repeated that this was a joint task of business and politics – and that is why public funds were necessary to kick-start innovations. The federal government is already investing billions in funding into the development of emission-free kerosene and clean aircraft technology. “At the moment, prices and quantities leave a lot to be desired,” said Merkel, referring to lower-emission fuels. Here you have to come to competitive terms. With extensive funding, alternative fuels based on electricity could also be ramped up on the market. Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr said that synthetic alternatives to kerosene are around five times more expensive than fossil fuel today, and that PtL kerosene costs ten times as much. “No airline can afford that.”

06/18/2021

Aviation industry Corona isn’t the only problem

Aviation has been hit particularly hard by the Corona crisis.

No competitive disadvantage

With regard to the new climate regulations for European aviation expected by the EU in July, the Federal Government believes that stricter climate protection rules do not result in a competitive disadvantage compared to airlines abroad with lower standards. Merkel warned that there should be no distortions in the competitive struggle and no double burdens.

Aviation in Europe has been participating in CO2 emissions trading (ETS) since 2012, and the Corsia CO2 compensation system is to be introduced on a global level. “ETS plus Corsia does not work,” said Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU). Corsia is the right instrument. The EU Commission considers this to be the weaker system.

Lufthansa wants to repay corona aid

Lufthansa was in dire straits due to the collapse of passenger flights in the Corona crisis and had to be supported by Germany and the countries of its subsidiary airlines with a financial framework of nine billion euros. Germany accounted for a total of 6.8 billion euros of the state rescue package for Lufthansa. The company has now announced that it intends to repay the state funds soon. “We were one of the first companies that was saved by the federal government. We also want to be one of the first companies to pay back the rescue funds – hopefully before the general election,” said CEO Spohr. The federal government, which in addition to loans and silent participation became Lufthansa’s largest shareholder with the rescue operation, wanted the state to withdraw “as soon as possible,” said Scheuer. With the help, the airline must get back on the road to success as quickly as possible. “And the state has to get out of there,” emphasized the minister.

background 05/18/2021

air traffic Do cheap flights still have a future?

The green candidate for Chancellor Baerbock wants to end flights at dumping prices. The industry protests violently.

Industry hopes for summer business

After the dry spell in the Corona crisis, aviation is relying on a recovery in summer business. According to the Federal Government’s Aviation Commissioner, new virus mutations could slow down the long-awaited restart. “At the moment there is great optimism and bookings are going through the roof,” said aerospace coordinator Thomas Jarzombek of the Reuters news agency. But everything depends on the infection situation. “Of course, there is now the delta variant as an uncertain component.” You can see in the UK that this delayed openings after the lockdown

US urges Facebook to cancel plans to release Instagram Kids

Hải Vân/TTXVN — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:11:08 +0000

The attorney generals of 44 US states and territories called on Facebook to cancel plans to release a version of Instagram Kids for children due to concerns about risks on social networks affecting children.

Instagram icon. Illustration According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in New York, in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the attorney generals of the states and territories pointed out that the results of many studies have shown the harmful effects of children using use social networks. There are many issues affecting children’s mental and physical health and many cases related to cyberbullying at a time when children are not yet able to face the challenges when they have an account. private social network. They argue that there are more secure ways for children to connect with family and friends than by connecting on social media. For her part, New York State Attorney General Letitia James raised concerns around online harassment, the potential for children to become victims of adult “predators”, mental health issues as well as Facebook’s gaps in data protection and privacy. According to Ms. Letitia, there are too many concerns around allowing Facebook to continue pursuing this idea, so the heads of judicial agencies in 44 US states and territories called on Facebook to abandon plans to release a version. Instagram Kids. This is the new pressure that Facebook has to face when it announced its intention to release a version of Instagram Kids for children under 12 years old from March this year. The very next April, Democratic congressmen sent a letter to CEO Zuckerberg criticizing the plan. In the latest response on May 10, Facebook spokeswoman Stephanie Otway emphasized that parents know their children are on social networks, so Facebook wants to improve the situation by offering solutions. giving them control over what their kids are doing online. The company is working with child psychologists to prioritize the safety and privacy of children, said Stephanie. In addition, Facebook will also work with authorities and parliamentarians on these concerns. For his part, CEO Zuckerberg said that if supervised, the use of social networks can help children more connected with friends. Meanwhile, talking to the Wall Street Journal, Adam Mosseri, in charge of Instagram, said that the plan to create an online playground for children is in its infancy at an early stage and if it is born, it will certainly be a tool to help fathers. Parents manage their children’s activities better and this playground will be completely ad-free. Facebook currently bans children under 13 from using this social network, but according to CEO M.Zuckerberg, many children still lie about their age to create their own login accounts.