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Mark Zuckerberg Will Testify Before Congress, According to Reports

by | Mar 27, 2018 |

According to a report from cable news network CNN earlier today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided to testify before U.S. Congress amid growing concerns over user privacy.

As of publishing this post, Facebook has not confirmed these reports — but it comes after Zuckerberg expressed in several recent interviews a somewhat uncharacteristic willingness to testify before lawmakers.

It is also unclear which congressional committee Zuckerberg will appear before. In addition to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has also asked him to testify, and members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have voiced an interest in questioning him.

Zuckerberg has declined, however, to agree to requests from Damian Collins, the U.K. Parliament’s media committee chair, to appear for questioning. Instead, Facebook says, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Mike Schroepfer, or Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox, would make the appearance.

Facebook has been under heightened scrutiny since revelations that it was weaponized by foreign agents to spread misinformation and divisive content to help influence the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The recent pressure to appear before Congress, however, is largely the result of allegations that personal user data was misused by analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

Since then, authorities and users alike have been taking a closer look at Facebook’s privacy policies, as well as the details of what sort of data the social network has allowed third parties to collect. 

Zuckerberg’s verbal willingness to appear and testify before authorities has many wondering if Facebook — along with its Big Tech counterparts like Google and Twitter — will finally relent on its fight against government regulation. The events are taking place on the heels of the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) coming into force this May, which concerns the personal data of EU citizens.

This is a developing story that I’ll monitoring as it unfolds. Questions? Feel free to weigh in on Twitter.

Apple launches new spring-inspired Leather Sleeve and Smart Cover colors for 10.5-inch iPad Pro

by | Mar 27, 2018 |

Apple has released new spring-infused colors two popular 10.5-inch iPad Pro accessories — the Leather Sleeve and Smart Cover.

The Leather Sleeve is a high quality, all leather product with a slot for Apple Pencil storage. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro also features a first party Leather Sleeve accessory, but these two new colors appear exclusive to the smaller, and likely more popular, 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

Along with the Leather Sleeve colors, Apple has also introduced two Smart Covers for the iPad Pro featuring new colors. more…

Students get 50% off Setapp’s 100+ Mac apps w/ education subscription pricing

by | Mar 27, 2018 |

Thanks to Setapp for sponsoring our live coverage of Apple’s Education event today. Get a 100+ high-quality Mac apps for thousands off retail with Setapp’s 50% off Education pricing. 

Setapp’s subscription service for Mac apps, often described as the Netflix of Mac applications, offers an incredible value for students and teachers with over 100 apps at 50% off the normal monthly price. Normally costing thousands of dollars as standalone products, Setapp’s Edu pricing gives students access to all of the apps for just $7.50/month.

At only $90 per year for students, Setapp’s subscription model for apps makes a lot of sense when compared to the upfront cost of the standalone products. It gives classrooms, including teachers, students and other education staff a great collection of utilities and apps, many of which might be useful on occasion but not otherwise justifiable as a purchase on their own And with free updates included for all of the apps as part of the subscription, it ensures students will have the latest versions without having to worry about paid upgrades and compatibility down the road.

Check out some of the included apps below:

more…