Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – July 18th

Uber’s fine over sexual assault data lowered from $59 million to $150.000? – 7/16

In December 2020, The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) fined Uber $59 million for failing to disclose sexual assault data. Likewise, the Commission warned the company it might suspend its license in California. On Thursday, after months of negotiations, the parties filed a proposed agreement, with the fine going down to $150.000.

The agreement is a result of a broader deal achieved by Uber, non-profit Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, and CPUC’s Consumer Protection and Enforcement division.

Uber agreed to disclose anonymized data on sexual assault incidents. Likewise, the people who report such incidents can opt-in so CPUC can contact them in the future. Uber agreed to pay $9 million to the CPUC with $5 million for the California Victims Compensation Board. Meanwhile, $4 million will finance industry-wide efforts to best deal with sexual assault incidents.

The investigation came on the heels of Uber’s 2019 safety transparency report. It revealed the company received over 6000 sexual assault reports in 2017 and 2018. 1243 reports (or 21% of the overall complaints) were filed in California.

Instagram’s technology dismissed racist abuse due to a moderation mistake – 7/16

Following the Euro 2020 final, Instagram admitted its technology was mistakenly labeling racist abuse as benign comments.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka, the members of the English football team, were victims of racial abuse after they have missed the penalty shoot-outs in the Euro 2020 final. Instagram users were leaving orangutan emojis on footballers’ social media pages. After other users reported the incidents, they received a response from Instagram that “their technology has found that this comment probably doesn’t go against our Community Guidelines.”

In a statement to BBC News, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, claimed the company fixed the issue. Furthermore, he added: “We have technology to try and prioritise reports, and we were mistakenly marking some of these as benign comments, which they are absolutely not… Reports on these types of comments should [now] be reviewed properly.”

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka addressed the comments: “To the social media platforms… I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received this week… I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.”

Richard Branson completes flight to outer space – 7/11

On July 11th, Sir Richard Branson completed his flight to the edge of space. He beats Jeff Bezos, whose flight is scheduled for next Tuesday.

After a slight delay due to the weather conditions, Virgin Galactic rocket plane went into sub-orbital flight and reached 55 miles above the Earth’s surface. The flight lasted 59 minutes. Last Sunday’s flight was Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed test flight to space. According to NASA’s definition of the Kármán line, the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space is 50 miles above sea level. The crew and passengers who go over that line hold the title of an astronaut.

Branson founded Virgin Galactic 17 years ago to develop a commercial spacecraft and cater to individuals who want to travel into space as tourists.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’s crew prepares to launch next Tuesday. The person who paid $28 million in an auction to have a seat on the flight won’t be able to join Bezos due to “scheduling conflicts.” Taking his place is 18-year old Oliver Daemen, a high school graduate from the Netherlands.

Facebook announces plans to pay $1 billion to content creators by end of 2022 – 7/14

On Wednesday, Facebook announced its plans to pay content creators on its social media platforms more than $1 billion by the end of 2022. It is a bid to encourage content creators to release even more content and a way to compete with TikTok and YouTube.

While the company plans to release more details soon, some have emerged. At the moment, the scheme is invitation-only, and the money will be awarded as a cash bonus. Unlike its competitors TikTok and Snapchat, Facebook isn’t focusing on a single product. Content creators have to complete certain activities and goals to be eligible.

On Instagram, content creators whose Reels go viral or those who use ads on IGTV can get a bonus. On Facebook, it will be available for content creators whose livestreams hit certain milestones or if they ran ads on their videos. The scheme will be more widely available on Instagram in the summer and Facebook in the fall.