Maine Governor Signs the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information

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Maine Governor Signs the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information
Number 858
Broadcast Date JUNE 7, 2019
Episode Length 6:01
Hosts Rich Stroffolino

Maine’s governor signed the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information into law, the FCC votes to approve robocall blocking by carriers, and pricing details about AT&T’s Warner streaming service emerge.

Headlines

Maine governor Janet Mills signed the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information into law. Under the law, ISPs cannot refuse service, charge fees, or offer discounts to customers in order to pressure them to allow the ISP to sell their data. The law also requires explicit consent from customers to sell personal data. The law takes effect as of July 1st.
The Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T's WarnerMedia is discussing bundling HBO, Cinemax, and the Warner Brothers TV and movie libraries into a streaming service priced between $16-17 a month, according to sources. Previously, the company had discussed a three-tiered streaming approach, with the lowest priced tier offering movies, a middle tier that added original content, and a top tier with additional licensed content. AT&T had previously announced that the service will debut in the US as a beta in Q4 2019, and CEO Randall Stephenson stated that pay-TV subscribers to HBO would get the service for free.
The FCC voted unanimously Thursday to let carriers block robocalls by default. The FCC also voted to move forward on a proposed rule requiring carriers to adopt the SHAKEN / STIR caller ID authentication system if they don't voluntarily adopt it themselves by the end of the year. The rule doesn't require carriers to turn on robocall blocking by default, and also doesn’t require these services have to be free to consumers.
Huawei signed agreements with MTS telecom to develop 5G networks in Russia over the next year. MTS said it expects the pilot launch of 5G networks in Russia starting later this year. China granted 5G licenses to state-owned telecoms China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom as well as state-owned broadcaster China Broadcast Network. The telecoms have planned commercial deployment of 5G service in China for 2020. Telecoms in the UK, US and South Korea have already started offering 5G services in limited areas.
The Financial Times reports that, according to sources, Google executives have asked US officials to make it exempt from the export ban on Huawei. Google argued that the ban would not allow it to update Android, forcing Huawei to create a modified fork that would have more bugs, and more likely to eventually get hacked.
Facebook announced it will no longer allow Huawei to pre-install its apps on the company's smartphones, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and the core Facebook app. Apps already pre-installed on existing devices will continue to work and receive updates.
Following on the leaked press release, we have full details on the Google Stadia launch. The service will launch in November in 14 countries as a Founder's Edition. You'll pay a one-time fee of $129.99 and get a Stadia Controller in limited-edition night blue, a Chromecast Ultra, three months of the service at no extra cost and a three month buddy pass. And first crack at your Stadia Name. After the three months, the service will cost $9.99 a month. Streams for founders will be 4K/60fps with HDR and 5.1 surround sound. The service launched with at least 31 titles that must be purchased separately. Prices will be set by the publishers. However, Stadia Pro subscribers will get discounts on games and occasional free games starting with free Destiny 2. Devices supported at launch are Chromecast Ultra, The Chrome browser and the Pixel 3 and 3A. Sometime in 2020, subscribers will be allowed to sign up for Stadia Pro without the Founders Edition. The free 1080p Stadia Base tier will launch next year. Google recommends 10Mbps for 720/60fps and 35Mbps for the full experience all of which work on WiFi and Ethernet but not cellular.
An algorithm developed by scientists at Stanford University, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Princeton University, and Adobe lets a user alter text in a transcript in order to change what a person in an accompanying video says. The algorithm learns a speaker's characteristics from the original video and creates a model of the speaker's head to attempt to replicate movements and speech. Right now the algorithm needs at least 40 minutes of video for training.
Google says it will acquire data analytics company Looker, the first major acquisition since former Oracle exec Thomas Kurian took over as CEO of Google Cloud in November. It's Google's fourth biggest acquisition ever behind DoubleClick, Motorola and Nest. Looker analyzes data across multiple cloud services from multiple companies like Salesforce, AWS, Oracle and Microsoft Azure. Similar competing services to Looker include Microsoft Power BI and AWS QuickSight. Google needs to offer services like this to gain marketshare in cloud business. Kurian has previously said he wants to hire more salespeople and target retail and finance industries.
HTC began offering its enterprise VR headset the Vive Eye Pro in the US, after already offering it in China and Europe. The headset offers OLED screens with a 2,880 x 1,600 resolution per eye, supports Tobii eye tracking and foveated rendering, which prioritizes GPU rendering on where your eye is focused. The device comes with two hand controllers and two tracking base stations, starting at $1599.
Instagram added the ability to display song lyrics on Story videos linked to media playing through a music sticker. Lyrics can appear in a variety of styles, including a traditional karaoke teleprompter, a typewriter, or a billboard style font. The feature is available wherever Instagram Music has already launched.

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Preceded by:
"Google Stadia Details Leak Ahead of Announcement"
Maine Governor Signs the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information
Followed by:
"Week in Review for the Week of 6/3/19"