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Facebook's plan to merge its messaging services ignites further antitrust concerns - CNBC
Apple AirPods 2 release date coming soon - Deccan Chronicle
Facebook plans to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. What that means for users - East Idaho News

Facebook's plan to merge its messaging services ignites further antitrust concerns - CNBC

Posted: 27 Jan 2019 06:30 AM PST

Facebook's reported plans to integrate its three messaging platforms could very well lead to additional regulatory scrutiny for a company that's already under a legal microscope.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Facebook plans to combine the technical infrastructure behind WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, though the apps will continue to function as separate services. The paper cited four people familiar with the company's plans.

CNBC spoke with several antitrust lawyers who all said that Facebook's move is unlikely to bring new antitrust action against the company. But the public debate quickly started percolating.

Marc Rotenberg, president and executive director the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the Times that Facebook's plans would be "a terrible outcome for internet users," and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) took to Twitter to voice his concern.

"This is why there should have been far more scrutiny during Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp which now clearly seem like horizontal mergers that should have triggered antitrust scrutiny," Khanna wrote.

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The last year has been brutal for Facebook. The company is facing intense pressure over its privacy practices and platform manipulation by foreign actors. At a hearing of international lawmakers in the U.K. in November, a Canadian representative suggested antitrust might be the solution to Facebook's problems.

"What we're regulating ... are the symptoms," said Charlie Angus, Canada's vice chairman of the House of Commons' standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics. "Perhaps the best regulation would be antitrust."

Proponents of breaking up Facebook have suggested spinning out WhatsApp or Instagram. The company's family of apps sees north of 2.5 billion users each month and dominates mobile traffic. But Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan, said that combining the back-end technology of the services shouldn't factor into that issue.

"As a matter of antitrust law, that doesn't really have any impact, and how Facebook chooses to organize its wholly-owned entities is not an antitrust issue," Crane said. "The bigger question is how Facebook was allowed to own three media outlets in the first place."

Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for about $1 billion and shelled out $19 billion for WhatsApp two years later. The company largely steered clear of regulators until last year, when the extent of its privacy problems started to become clear. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was dragged to Washington and forced to respond to numerous legislators' questions about whether the company should be regulated.

Now, every significant move is a sensitive one.

When it comes to the messaging platforms, the company made previous public statements suggesting they would remain separate, which they largely have to date. A 2014 FTC letter regarding the proposed WhatsApp acquisition quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying that "WhatsApp will operate as a separate company and will honor its commitments to privacy and security." A Times story from Facebook's 2012 acquisition of Instagram noted "both companies expressed their commitment to run Instagram as an independent service."

A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement that it's focused on offering "fast, simple, reliable and private" messaging services that are also secure.

"As you would expect, there is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work," Facebook said.

Facebook isn't the only tech company that's in the spotlight. Google has been fined billions of dollars by European regulators for allegedly abusing its position as a search engine and mobile platform, and questions are swirling about whether Amazon has gotten too big and powerful in commerce.

Barak Orbach, a professor of law at the University of Arizona, said serious changes to antitrust law are inevitable given the evolution of the economy. The laws have not caught up with modern businesses and platforms, he said.

"Antitrust was created in the industrial revolution in the 19th century at the turn of the century," Orbach said. "And antitrust will inevitably change in the current industrial revolution."

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Watch: Integrating Facebook's apps might make it harder to break up the company in the future, says NYT writer

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Apple AirPods 2 release date coming soon - Deccan Chronicle

Posted: 27 Jan 2019 12:32 AM PST

Over the past few months, various rumours had leaked suggesting that Apple was going to release the second-generation Apple AirPods. However, we are still awaiting the highly anticipated next-gen true wireless earphones. Now, the biggest confirmation that Apple will be launching the second generation AirPods in the near future comes via the developer build of iOS 12.2 which has just been released.

The latest beta version of iOS 12.2 includes a new setup interface for the command “Hey Siri” for the Apple AirPods — this is a highlighted feature of the AirPods 2. It has to be noted that the setup is not visible to public beta testers. As of now, the Hey Siri command is accessible to just Apple iPhone and the Apple iPad to wake up the devices. To access Siri on the AirPods, it needs to be done via a tap, before you can quiz the voice assistant.

As per a report by 9to5Mac, when pairing the AirPods 2, a user will be required to set up the Hey Siri feature in exactly the same way its done on an iPhone and iPad. This, in turn, trains the AirPods to respond only when the user is trying to access Siri and not the voices of other people. The report states, “The main difference from using “Hey, Siri” with these new AirPods will be that the AirPods themselves will do the recognition, sending the command to the paired device. This means you’ll be able to use Siri while your iPhone is in your pocket without having to tap on your AirPods.”

In an earlier report, Apple has been delaying the AirPods 2 because they plan on adding some important tech in them. The next-generation AirPods could launch as early as the first half of this year and it will come with support for some health monitoring features, with no specifics divulged. The report adds that several suppliers, notably Zhen Ding Tech, Flexium Interconnect, Compeq Manufacturing, and Unitech Printed Circuit Board are all taking part in the production of the brand new AirPods.

As of yet, no concrete details have been provided or no new information has been given regarding what health features in the new AirPods will entail. But it’s in no way surprising that Apple’s focus is on health.

With Apple expected to host an event for its next-generation iPad in March, we believe that the Apple AirPods 2 could make an appearance at the event itself.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

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Facebook plans to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. What that means for users - East Idaho News

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 11:01 AM PST

Kaya Yurieff, CNN

Technology

Published at 12:01 pm, January 26, 2019 | Updated at 12:06 pm, January 26, 2019

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(CNN) — Facebook plans to integrate its messaging platforms, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, according to a report from the New York Times.

The three services would remain separate apps, but their infrastructure behind the scenes would be the same.

Even with minimal changes on the surface, the move could have an impact on the billions of people who use the tools. For example, it could allow the company to build a single user profile from its different apps to better target ads.

The apps could also get end-to-end encryption, which shields messages from being read by people outside of the conversation, according to Facebook.

“We’re working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “As you would expect, there is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work.”

Facebook estimates 2.6 billion people total now use Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger each month, according to its most recent earnings report. In addition, more than 2 billion people use at least one of these Facebook-owned apps each day on average.

Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at research firm eMarketer, said data would likely be shared between the apps as a result of the move. That could make it easier for Facebook to track users’ activities across its family of apps and target ads more effectively.

For users, increased data sharing could also mean that information about their activities on WhatsApp will be associated with what they do on Facebook, Instagram or Messenger, she added.

“If users didn’t think Facebook and its messaging apps were all the same company, they will have to confront that reality now,” Williamson said. “Knitting the messaging apps together shows that Facebook wants to exert more control over them, and that may lead to more internal executive conflict.”

After being acquired by Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram remained relatively independent entities. However, both platforms have become increasingly important to the company as Facebook has struggled with fake news, foreign election meddling and privacy scandals.

WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014, and its CEO and co-founder Jan Koum left the company in May 2018. Koum reportedly decided to resign after disagreeing with Facebook over its approach to personal data and encryption.

In October, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger left Facebook after reportedly clashing with CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the direction of the photo sharing app. Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2012.

Jessica Liu, senior analyst at research firm Forrester, believes the user experience would only change slightly.

“I’m sure most users won’t notice and won’t think twice about it,” she said. “As it is, you’re already getting Facebook friend suggestions in Instagram and you’re already getting kicked from Facebook to the Messenger app if you want to talk ‘privately’ to another Facebook user.”

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