Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – August 8th

Google plans new Silicon Valley campus – 8/6

Based on the preliminary reports, Google is planning another campus in Silicon Valley. The filed plans label the new facility as a research and development center. The new campus is named Midpoint and sits between the campus in San Jose and the Mountain View headquarters. It will include a hardware center and a separate tech campus. According to the filed plans, the campus has been in the works since 2018. During this period, Google bought land in north San Jose worth $389 million.

Google’s Rick Osterloh revealed the company plans to ramp up its efforts in the hardware space. Google devices and services include Pixel smartphone, Nest, and Google Home smart speakers. Google’s hardware division is lagging behind the company’s other services like YouTube and Google Cloud and has produced minimal revenue.

Google didn’t reveal when they will finalize the project.

Apple unveils plans to scan iPhones for images of child sexual abuse – 8/6

Apple announced plans to scan American user devices for images of child sexual abuse. The company will use the new technology it developed with the assistance of notable cryptographers. The technology is called “neuralMatch,” and it will detect images of known child sexual abuse. If it finds such images, it will alert a human, who will manually review them. Based on the review, the company can then alert law enforcement. Apple claims the private communication will not be readable by the company.

Apple uses “end-to-end” encryption, which means only senders and receivers can read the content. However, Apple and Big Tech companies like Facebook and Google have shared “hash lists” of known child sexual abuse images. Also, Apple scans files stored in iCloud, which is less secure than its messaging apps, for such images.

While children protection groups applaud the move, digital rights groups and security researchers expressed concerns the technology can be manipulated and used to frame people. Likewise, experts fear authoritarian regimes can use this technology to spy on people.

Doximity app not immune to vaccine misinformation – 8/7

Doximity, a social media network for physicians also dubbed LinkedIn for doctors, is unimmune to the spread of vaccine misinformation.

The social media network is only accessible to practicing medical professionals. The company verifies their credentials (like medical license). Doximity has 1.8 million members, with 80% of its members located in the United States. Furthermore, the members are not allowed to post content, only comment on the content posted by the company.

Some of the members of Doximity post such claims like that the vaccines are unproven and fatal. Others claim that the antibodies produced by the vaccine are not as effective as the antibodies produced by the infection. Many of the comments on articles are false and based on conspiracy theories.

Doximity’s community guidelines state the company does not allow “content that contradicts widely accepted public health guidelines.” In a statement, the company said: “Like most virtual communities, we have community guidelines in place to ensure that Doximity remains a safe and respectful environment… We employ a rigorous clinical review process, staffed by physicians, to evaluate member comments that are flagged as being potential misinformation.” Yet, the comments remain.

China’s state media admonishes celebrity culture – 8/7

People’s Daily, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, published an editorial that reprimands social media platforms for promoting celebrity culture. The editorial went on to state social media platforms create celebrities out of “unworthy individuals.”

In response, Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, removed its “star power list.” It ranks celebrities based on their number of followers and the popularity of their posts. In a statement, the company said: “The list cannot comprehensively and objectively reflect the social influence of stars and discourages healthy interaction between stars and fans.”

An editorial published by another state-owned newspaper Economic Information Daily admonished the gaming industry saying many teenagers were addicted to gaming.

The editorial comes on the heels of Kris Wu’s detainment at the beginning of August. Wu, a Chinese – Canadian pop singer, is being investigated after allegations he manipulated young women (some under 18) into having sex with him and committing rape. Wu denies all allegations.