TikTok Facing UK Investigation Over Use of Child Data

TikTok, the social app popular with younger users, is under investigation for the way it handles personal data. UK authorities are looking into whether it prioritizes protecting children who use it, reported The Guardian.

Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, told a parliamentary committee the investigation began in February, prompted by a multimillion-dollar fine from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for similar violations. “We are looking at the transparency tools for children,” Denham said on Tuesday. “We’re looking at the messaging system, which is completely open, we’re looking at the kind of videos that are collected and shared by children online. We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so watch this space.”

Mars Rover 2020 Getting Laser to Blast Rocks

The Mars Rover, set to head into Space in 2020, is getting an overhaul CNET reported. One of the more eye-catching conditions is a laser that can zap rocks, which is part of the new SuperCam.

What does the SuperCam do? It’s the next-generation version of the ChemCam instrument installed on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, which is currently going about making its own discoveries on the Red Planet. According to NASA, the instrument’s camera, laser and spectrometers “can identify the chemical and mineral makeup of targets as small as a pencil point from a distance of more than 20 feet (6 meters).” NASA intends to put the SuperCam to good use examining Martian rocks and soil, in particular to seek out organic compounds that could be related to past life on Mars.

A Bill Gates Regret: How It Cost Microsoft $400B

At Roughly Drafted, Daniel Eran Dilger, diagnoses a recent assertion by Bill Gates regarding Microsoft, iOS and Android.

As Apple prepares the release of iOS 13 and splits off the new iPadOS 13 for specialized mobile tablets, Microsoft’s former chief executive Bill Gates mused this week that it would have been the “natural thing” for Microsoft to have been the “standard non-Apple phone platform.” But he’s wrong, here’s why.

Over 2 Billion User Records Exposed in Orvibo Data Breach

Orvibo makes smart home products, and researchers found a leak in its database that exposed over two billion user records. This included usernames, email addresses, passwords, and precise locations.

The data breach affects users from around the world. We found logs for users in China, Japan, Thailand, the US, the UK, Mexico, France, Australia, and Brazil. We expect that there are more users represented in the 2 billion plus logs.

We first contact Orvibo via email on June 16. When we didn’t receive a response after several days, we also tweeted the company to alert them to the breach. They still have not responded, nor has the breach been closed.

Utterly ridiculous. It’s one thing to leak data, and other thing to ignore the problem and not fix it.