Judge grants Twitter expedited trial against Elon Musk

Twitter has scored a victory in its lawsuit against Elon Musk over his attempted exit from a $44 billion takeover deal. In an initial hearing, Delaware Court of Chancery chancellor Kathaleen McCormick has granted Twitter’s request for an expedited, five-day trial beginning in October. The company originally sought a four-day trial in September as part of its effort to make Musk “honor his obligations.”

Musk’s lawyers asked the court to delay the trial to February 2023. They claimed Twitter was in a sudden rush to complete a trial and force the acquisition follow two months of alleged “foot-dragging and obfuscation” over requested data relating to bots and other fake accounts. Musk accused Twitter of underreporting the volume of bogus accounts (and failing to provide enough information) in a bid to clinch the deal. As part of the call for a delay, Musk’s lawyers also claimed they needed more time to search Twitter’s raw “firehose” data.

While Twitter didn’t get exactly what it wanted, the ruling is a clear victory for the social network. It won’t have to wait long to obtain a decision, and may force Musk to rely primarily on the claims he made when he announced plans to back out of the purchase. There’s a chance Musk may have to continue with the buyout before the year is over, no matter how much he might regret making the offer.

Synchron says it’s the first to implant a human brain-computer interface in the US

Brain-computer interfaces have become a practical (if limited) reality in the US. Synchron says it has become the first in the country to implant a BCI in a human patient. Doctors in New York’s Mount Sinai West implanted the company’s Stentrode in the motor cortex of a participant in Synchron’s COMMAND trial, which aims to gauge the usefulness and safety of BCIs for providing hands-free device control to people with severe paralysis. Ideally, technology like Stentrode will offer independence to people who want to email, text and otherwise handle digital tasks that others take for granted.

Surgeons installed the implant using an endovascular procedure that avoids the intrusiveness of open-brain surgery by going through the jugular vein. The operation went “extremely well” and let the patient return home 48 hours later, according to Synchron. An ongoing Australian trial has also proven successful so far, with four patients still safe a year after receiving their implants.

It may take a long time before doctors can offer Synchron’s BCIs to patients. The company received FDA approval for human trials in July 2021, and it’s still expanding the COMMAND trial as of this writing. Still, the US procedure represents a significant step toward greater autonomy for people with paralysis. It also represents a competitive victory — Elon Musk’s Neuralink has yet to receive FDA permission for its own implant.

Apple settles lawsuit over its reviled ‘butterfly’ keyboard for $50 million

Apple could soon compensate MacBook owners for their troubles with faulty “butterfly” keyboards. Reutersreports Apple has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that it knew about and concealed the unreliable designs of keyboards on MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models released between 2015 and 2019. If a judge approves the preliminary deal, Apple would pay customers who needed repairs in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Washington.

The company won’t have to admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. It will have to continue offering free keyboard repairs for four years after purchase.

Apple introduced the butterfly keyboard in 2015 with the 12-inch MacBook. It was meant to enable ever-slimmer laptops without compromising stability, but the design quickly developed a reputation for extreme sensitivity to debris. Keys would get stuck or lose responsiveness if even tiny dust motes or crumbs slipped underneath. The company took steps to mitigate the problem (such as membranes) and eventually began reverting to more conventional keyboards starting with the 16-inch MacBook Pro from late 2019. Apple acknowledged that some were having problems and launched repair programs, but maintained that the majority of customers had no issues.

As with many class-actions, you shouldn’t expect a windfall if you’re affected. Attorneys said they expected a $395 payout if you’ve had to replace multiple keyboards, $125 for one full replacement and $50 if you only replaced key caps. The lawyers may also claim up to $15 million of the $50 million settlement in legal fees, which could limit the money available for MacBook owners. While the payouts aren’t absolutely necessary when Apple has previously offered refunds for repairs, they’re more likely to be symbolic than practical.

Amazon sues operators of 10,000 Facebook groups over fake review schemes

Amazon’s long-running campaign against fake reviews just enjoyed some success. TechCrunchreports that Amazon has sued the administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups for attempting to coordinate fake reviews in exchange for free products or money. The group operators tried to recruit people in the US, UK, four European countries and Japan. One of the larger examples, Amazon Product Review, tried to avoid detection by “obfuscating” letters in phrases used to detect activity like this. Meta pulled the 43,000-member earlier this year.

The legal action comes after roughly two years of pinpointing rogue Facebook groups. Amazon said it would use info obtained during the discovery process to identify the perpetrators and pull fake reviews stemming from these communities.

Amazon has been suing fake review peddlers since 2015, and ramped up its efforts in recent years. The online shopping giant reported over 1,000 paid review groups to social networks in the first quarter of 2021, or three times the volume it reported a year earlier. The company argued that reports and lawsuits weren’t enough to stop fake reviews, however. It believed that a more permanent solution would involve a stronger “public-private partnership” between online shops, social networks and law enforcement.

Whether or not Amazon can meaningfully deter fake reviews is another matter. This latest bust underscores the scope of the problem — it’s easy to create a social media group that goes undetected for long enough to do significant damage. UK regulators certainly aren’t convinced Amazon is doing enough, and have opened an investigation into the firm’s approach to bogus review content. Amazon is fighting a battle that might be difficult to win under ideal circumstances, and it’s not clear if the company’s existing strategy is effective.

Samsung teases August 10th Unpacked event with a puzzle

You don’t have to wonder when Samsung will hold its next Unpacked event — the company all but spelled it out. As The Vergenotes, Samsung Mobile has posted a simple puzzle teasing an Unpacked presentation on August 10th. You just have to match a grid of characters to their corresponding colors (which conveniently match typical Samsung phone colors) using the above guide to get an “081022” date.

The timing lines up with a recent leak by Evan Blass, who shared a teaser image for an August 10th Unpacked event. Samsung appears to have forced Blass to remove the picture.

There may not be much mystery as to what the event will bring. Rumors have swirled for months that Samsung will introduce the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, with OnLeaks’ unofficial renders suggesting they’ll be subtle evolutions of the company’s existing foldable phones. Further OnLeaks images (along with other leaks) suggest Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Watch 5 and a titanium-clad Watch 5 Pro. While we wouldn’t rule out surprises, the clues so far point to the company sticking to last year’s script.

YouTube makes it easier for creators to sell merch to fans

YouTube is making it that much easier to buy on impulse from your favorite channel. The internet giant now lets creators link their Shopify stores, making it easier to snag merch. You’ll know if a product is in stock, and you won’t even have to leave a video to check out if a YouTuber is based in the US. If there’s a must-have hoodie or yoga mat, you can order it moments after you see it.

You’ll see the enhanced shopping from eligible creators — that is, they need to have at least 10,000 subscribers (or an official artist channel), monetization, a focus on non-child content and a largely spotless policy violation record. You can’t launch your YouTube channel and store at the same time, then.

YouTube told Engadget it won’t take a cut of Shopify-linked sales. Even so, the company is clearly hoping that the seamless experience will encourage you to shop through video pages. That, in turn, might spur creators to build up a large-enough audience that they can share a storefront and boost their bottom line. This might also help YouTube fend off competition from Instagram and others that already help you shop through social media posts.

Uber will pay $2.2 million to settle claims it overcharged riders with disabilities

Uber is settling a Justice Department lawsuit accusing the company of overcharging riders with disabilities. The ridesharing company has agreed to pay at least $2.2 million to passengers who were charged wait time fees despite disabilities that required more time to enter a vehicle. The payout includes nearly $1.74 million for over 1,000 riders who complained about the fees and $500,000 for “other harmed individuals.” Uber will also offer credits to more than 65,000 people who’ve obtained waivers for wait time fees, all of whom will receive double the wait time fees they were charged.

Uber implemented wait time fees in 2016, when it began charging customers extra if a driver waited more than two minutes after arriving at a pickup location. This left people with disabilities paying more than other passengers. The Justice Department alleged that this violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars discrimination by transportation companies.

In a statement to Engadget, Uber said it was “pleased” by the agreement and maintained that it was “always working” to bolster accessibility for users. It encouraged customers to sign up for the waivers.

The agreement requires that Uber continue offering the waiver to all eligible riders for two years. Refunds will also be “easily available” to riders who don’t have waivers, the Justice Department added. Uber has promised to advertise the waiver system, which launched in 2021.

This settlement might not satisfy some critics. It indemnifies Uber against future claims linked to wait fees. The company has also faced multiple lawsuits over a lack of ADA-mandated wheelchair-accessible vehicles — the agreement doesn’t address those concerns. Even so, this may be a win for riders who’ve had no choice but to pay a premium due to their disabilities.

Instagram now lets you shop in chat

Instagram is making it a little easier for small businesses to make a living from their merch. The social network has introduced the option to shop through chats. Message a business and you can ask questions, receive product details and check out (using Meta Pay, naturally) without leaving the conversation. You can buy and customize that must-have shirt without visiting a website or looking for a shoppable post. The feature is available through qualified small businesses in some countries. We’ve asked Meta for more details.

Chat-based shopping isn’t a surprising move. You can already shop through WhatsApp chats in many countries. This expansion could make Instagram chats just as viable for shopping, and might be particularly useful in North America and other regions where WhatsApp doesn’t have much clout. If nothing else, this makes Instagram more of a full-service storefront — you might never need to leave the app to address your concerns.

Records reveal the scale of Homeland Security’s phone location data purchases

Investigators raised alarm bells when they learned Homeland Security bureaus were buying phone location data to effectively bypass the Fourth Amendment requirement for a search warrant, and now it’s clearer just how extensive those purchases were. TechCrunchnotes the American Civil Liberties Union has obtained records linking Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other DHS divisions to purchases of roughly 336,000 phone location points from the data broker Venntel. The info represents just a “small subset” of raw data from the southwestern US, and includes a burst of 113,654 points collected over just three days in 2018.

The dataset, delivered through a Freedom of Information Act request, also outlines the agencies’ attempts to justify the bulk data purchases. Officials maintained that users voluntarily offered the data, and that it included no personally identifying information. As TechCrunch explains, though, that’s not necessarily accurate. Phone owners aren’t necessarily aware they opted in to location sharing, and likely didn’t realize the government was buying that data. Moreover, the data was still tied to specific devices — it wouldn’t have been difficult for agents to link positions to individuals.

Some Homeland Security workers expressed internal concerns about the location data. One senior director warned that the Office of Science and Technology bought Venntel info without getting a necessaryPrivacy Threshold Assessment. At one point, the department even halted all projects using Venntel data after learning that key legal and privacy questions had gone unanswered.

More details could be forthcoming, as Homeland Security is still expected to provide more documents in response to the FOIA request. We’ve asked Homeland Security and Venntel for comment. However, the ACLU report might fuel legislative efforts to ban these kinds of data purchases, including the Senate’s bipartisan Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act as well as the more recently introduced Health and Location Data Protection Act.