### Issue 1271 - Tuesday 15th December, 2020

## In Today's Issue

- FTC launches new probe to learn how internet companies use the data they collect
- PornHub removes every unverified upload, deleting two thirds of videos from site
- Victorian government confirms that COVIDSafe is useless
- A freshly baked Apple news pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream
- Cheap Belong pre-paid SIM, 14" and 15" ThinkPads, Sony XM4 headphones, JBL monitor speakers

## The News

### FTC launches new probe to learn how internet companies use the data they collect

The FTC has send orders to Amazon, TikTok, Discord, Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube, asking them for information about "how social media and video streaming services collect, use, track, estimate, or derive personal and demographic information; how they determine which ads and other content are shown to consumers; whether they apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information; how they measure, promote, and research user engagement; and how their practices affect children and teens". This is the secret sauce of some of these businesses, so it'll be fascinating to see how the sausage is made if their responses to the FTC are made public.

### PornHub removes every unverified upload, deleting two thirds of videos from site

PornHub nuked millions of user-uploaded videos overnight. Not content with just preventing unverified users from uploading new content, they've gone and deleted all the stuff unverified users already uploaded. 9 million of the 13.5 million videos have been deleted. Horny teens are shedding a tear for all that lost porn, but it just got too risky for PornHub to keep hanging on to that toxic data. Even just a handful or dodgy vids exposes PornHub to criminal charges. Amazing how if you take away a company's ability to generate revenue (MC & Visa cutting PornHub loose) and jail time (no tolerance for kiddie porn from law enforcement & governments), shit gets done. Now let's do the same to Facebook.

### Victorian government confirms that COVIDSafe is useless

The Victorian government's inquiry into the state's COVID-19 response has confirmed what everyone knew - "the committee received no evidence that the federal government’s COVIDSafe app was effective or contributed to supporting Victoria’s public health response". Just a few days earlier, the federal Select Senate Committee on COVID-19 called for an independent inquiry into the app, after it came out that COVIDSafe has cost the federal government over $10m. Oh and NZ has said they're going to use the Google and Apple framework for contact tracing, ditching their homegrown one as they realised it just can't work in the background anywhere near as well as the built-in framework.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### A freshly baked Apple news pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream

Beacuse many readers of The Sizzle are huge Apple nerds, here's a big fat chunk of Apple related news you might care about:

- iOS 14.3 is out. It brings ProRAW for to the iPhone 12 Pro, support for App Clip Codes, the ability to run Shortcuts from the Home screen and heaps more little updates/fixes. WatchOS, macOS, tvOS got updates too but they're pretty minor.
- Along with all those updates was iOS 12.5. Yep, Apple updated iOS 12 to give it support for the COVID-19 exposure notification stuff so people with older devices don't miss out.
- Privacy Labels on iOS and Mac apps are now a thing. Developers need to self-report what data their apps collect about you or is linked to you, so Apple can display it in the App Store.
- Apple Fitness+ launched today. This review from Input gives it top marks. According to them, "the fitness routines and the coaching are actually fun" and the "workouts are more engaging and very well produced, which only makes them more addictive".
- Apple is now offering 3-hr same day delivery to metro areas in Australia for an extra $5 until the 17th of December, if it's in stock at an Apple Store. Considering how shit couriers and Aus Post are at the moment, this is a good idea.

## Bargains

- $40 Belong pre-paid SIM starter kits - $15 at JB Hi-Fi
- ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 (14" 1080p, Ryzen 5 4500U, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM) - $822 from Lenovo
- Lenovo ThinkPad E15 (15.6" 1080p, Ryzen 7 4700U, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM) - $1049 from Lenovo
- Sony WH-1000XM4 seconds/refurb - $309 from Sony's eBay store
- JBL 1 Series 104 Studio Monitors active speakers - $208 from Amazon

## The End

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