Apple Users Locked Out Of Their Apple IDs With No Explananation

Apple

There appears to be an increasingly widespread Apple ID outage of some sort impacting users tonight, 9to5Mac reported. A number of people on social media say they were logged out of their Apple ID across multiple devices on Friday evening and forced to reset their password before logging back in.

We received our first tip about this around 8 p.m. ET. In the hours since then, the problem has gained significant traction on social media.

Apple’s System Status website doesn’t indicate that any of its services are having issues this evening. Still, it’s clear that social media reports that something wonky is going on behind the scenes at Apple. A few of us at 9to5Mac have also been directly affected by the problem.

People are being signed out of their Apple ID across all of their devices. If you try to sign in with your original Apple ID password, you’ll be locked out of your account. You’ll then be forced to reset your password before being able to sign back in. There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason as to why this is happening.

The Verge reported that overnight, many people reported on social media that they were inexplicably logged out of their Apple IDs and then require to reset their passwords when they tried to sign in again, and nobody seems to know why. Some reported needed to enter their iPhone passcode to connect to iCloud again, while others with Stolen Device Protection enabled said they had to wait an hour before being able to log in.

According to The Verge, Apple’s System Status webpage shows no current issues with any of its services, so it’s not clear if this was a widespread issue. That said, 9to5Mac reports that even a few of its staff members were also affected by the issue. 

At least one Forbes contributor apparently experienced the issue as well. The outlet saw no indication that this was related to the password reset attacks that several publications, including Forbes, covered in March.

Engadget reported something is up with Apple ID this weekend. As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple users started complaining online last night that they’d been logged out of their Apple ID’s on all of their devices without explanation. 

Upon trying to log back in, some say they were locked out of their accounts despite entering the correct details, and had to reset their passwords. Engadget has reached out to Apple for more information.

According to Engadget, Apple hasn’t said anything publicly about what’s going on, and its System Status page makes no mention of problems with Apple ID or any other systems in the last 24 hours. In a Mastodon post spotted by The Verge, one person told them that “sometimes random security improvements are added to your account,” 

It’s unclear how many users have been affected, though people have piled onto social media threads about the issue to say they’ve experienced it too. According to 9to5Mac, some of the publication’s own team have run into the problem.

In my opinion, something wonky was going on at Apple. There doesn’t appear to be any specific reason why some Apple users were affected by .. whatever this was.

U.S. Authorities Consider DJI A Security Threat

drone

DJI is on a Defense Department list of Chinese military companies whose products the U.S. armed forces will be prohibited from purchasing in the future. As part of the defense budget that Congress passed for this year, other federal agencies sand programs are likely to be prohibited from purchasing DJI drones as well, New York Times reported.

The drones — though not designed or authorized for combat use — have also become ubiquitous in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to New York Times, Congress is weighing legislation that could kill much of DJI’s business in the United States by putting it on a Federal Communications Commission roster blocking it from running on the country’s communications infrastructure.

If passed and signed into law, the legislation would effectively ban any new models of DJI drones from that point on. It would not apply to drones already in use. The F.C.C. has twice considered a rule change that would lead to the revocation of authorizations for drones currently in use, according to federal findings and a government staff member, but it is not clear what likelihood there is of such a change being enacted.

TechRadar reported drone brand DJI could soon be banned from operating in the United States. According to a report from the New York Times (NYT), a bill called the Countering CCP Drones Act passed unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee” last month. 

The legislation will move on to a floor vote in the House of Representatives within the next two months. If it passes there, it’ll continue onward to the Senate and potentially the President of the United State’s desk.

According to TechRadar, there seem to be two main motivations behind this ban. One of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, claims “DJI presents an unacceptable security risk” pointing to the company’s connection to the Chinese government. 

The NYT mentions how vulnerabilities were discovered back in 2020 that CCP officials could’ve utilized to access the personal information of American users. Although these vulnerabilities have been since patched, that hasn’t stopped the US Department of Defense from prohibiting its armed forces from buying the drones.

The Verge reported if passed, the Countering CCP Drones Act would add DJI drones to the FCC’s list of equipment covered by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. This bars communications equipment or services that “pose a national security risk” from running on US networks. 

It also prevents companies from using federal funding to purchase banned equipment. Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE are already included on the FCC’s list.

In my opinion, we are just going to have to wait and see what happens next regarding DJI’s drones. If the bill passes, it could mean that the U.S. government agencies will no longer be allowed to purchase DJI drones. 

Net Neutrality Is Back As FCC Votes To Regulate Internet Providers

Net Neutrality,

The US government on Thursday banned internet service providers (ISPs) from meddling in the speeds their customers receive when browsing the web and downloading files, restoring tough rules rescinded during the Trump administration and setting the state for a major legal battle with the broadband industry, CNN reported.

The net neutrality regulations adopted Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission prohibit providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from selectively speeding up, slowing down or blocking users’ internet traffic. They largely reflect rules passed by a prior FCC in 2015 and unwound in 2017.

The latest rules show how, with a 3-2 Democratic majority, the FCC is moving to reassert its authority over an industry that powers the modern digital economy touching everything from education to health care and enabling advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

With Thursday’s party-line vote, the FCC redefined internet service as similar to legacy telephone lines, a sweeping move that comes with greater regulatory power over the broadband industry. And the FCC said it would step in to override state or local policies that conflict with the federal net neutrality rule.

ArsTechnica reported the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to impose net neutrality rules today, restoring the common-carrier regulatory framework enforced during the Obama era and then abandoned while Trump was president.

The rules prohibit internet service providers from blocking and throttling lawful content and ban paid prioritization. Cable and telecom companies plan to fight the rules in court, but they lost a similar battle during the Obama era when judges upheld FCC’s ability to regulate ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.

“Consumers have made it clear to us they do not want their broadband provider cutting sweetheart deals, with fast lanes for some services and slow lanes for others,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at today’s meeting. “They do not want their providers engaging in blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. And if they have problems, they expect the nation’s expert authority on communications to be able to respond. Because we put national rules back on the books, we fix that today.”

TechCrunch reported the Federal Communications Commission made its official vote Thursday to reinstate net neutrality,  which bars broadband providers from slowing or even blocking traffic to some sites while improving access to others that pay extra fees. 

With some changes and protections, passing the order titled Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet resorts rules passed back during the Obama administration in 2015 and rolled back in 2017, after Donald Trump was elected president.

Rosenworcel summed it up best: “I think in a modern digital economy we should have a national net neutrality policy and make clear the nation’s expert on communications has the ability to act when it comes to broadband.”

In my opinion, whether or not the US gets to enjoy net neutrality depends largely upon if the FCC has more Democrats or more Republicans. Right now, it appears that net neutrality is going to stick around.

ByteDance Prefers Shutdown to Selling TikTok #1740

Podcast

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has expressed a preference for shutting down its TikTok app in the U.S. if forced to divest rather than sell it. This stance stems from the importance of the app’s core algorithms to ByteDance’s global operations. Despite TikTok’s substantial user base in the U.S., it represents only a tiny portion of ByteDance’s revenue. The company would rather cease operations than compromise on the algorithms integral to its suite of applications. This decision came after the President signed a bill to force the sale by January 19th in the U.S. that mandated the sale of TikTok due to alleged national security concerns, with ByteDance steadfast in maintaining control over its technological assets.

Subscribe to the Newsletter.
Join the Chat @ GeekNews.Chat
Email Todd or follow him on Facebook.
Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page.
Download the Audio Show File
New YouTube Channel – Beyond the Office

Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS | More

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Blubrry | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes
$11.99 – For a New Domain Name cjcfs3geek
$6.99 a month Economy Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1h
$12.99 a month Managed WordPress Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1w
Support the show by becoming a Geek News Central Insider

Continue reading ByteDance Prefers Shutdown to Selling TikTok #1740 →

Biden Signs Israel, Ukraine, TikTok Bill Into Law

TikTok

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law measures to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as to compel Chinese TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a national ban, CNBC reported.

Biden’s official approval ends a six-month saga of tense political battles on Capitol Hill that led to a deadlock on the issue of foreign aid.

“The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier and it should’ve gotten there sooner,” Biden said Wednesday after signing the bill. “But in the end we did what America always does, we rose to the moment.”

The law earmarks roughly $60 billion in aide for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for security in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. It also requires ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months – or a year, if Biden invokes a 90-day extension — or else face a nationwide ban in the U.S.

TikTok has already vowed to fight the measure.

Engadget reported the bill that will force a sale of TikTok in the United States is now law. President Joe Biden signed a package of foreign aide bills that included the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” one day after the legislation was approved by the Senate.

In a statement, TikTok said it would challenge the law in court, which could delay an eventual sale or ban. “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court,” the company said. “We believe the facts and that law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”

The law gives TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, which is based in China, up to a year to sell the app to a new owner. If the company fails to divest, then TikTok will be banned from US apps stores and web hosting services.

The Verge reported President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid package that includes a bill that would ban TikTok if China-based parent company ByteDance fails to divest the app within a year.

The divest-or-ban bill is now law, starting the clock for ByteDance to make its move. The company has an initial nine months to sort out a deal, though the president could extend that another three months if he sees progress.

While just recently the legislation seemed like it would stall out in the Senate after being passed as a standalone bill in the House, political maneuvering helped usher it through to Biden’s desk. The House packaged the TikTok bill — which upped the timeline for divestment from the six months allowed in the earlier version – with foreign aid to US allies, which effectively forced the Senate to consider the measures together.

In my opinion, it makes sense for President Biden to give ByteDance time to sell TikTok to find a new buyer for the app. If ByteDance fails to divest, it will likely lose access to US apps stores.

European Parliament Adopts “Right To Repair”

Information,

The European Parliament posted: “Right to repair: Making repair easier and more appealing to consumers”.  The new rules reinforce the right to repair, aim to reduce waste and bolster the repair sector by making it easier and more cost-effective to repair goods.

On Tuesday, Parliament adopted the directive on the so-called “right to repair” for consumers with 584 votes in favour, 3 against and 14 abstentions. The rules clearly clarify the obligations for manufacturers to repair goods and encourage customers to extend a product’s lifecycle through repair.

Obligation to repair

The new rules ensure that manufacturers provide timely and cost-effective repair services and inform consumers about their rights to repair. Goods repaired under warrantee will benefit from an additional one-year extension of the legal guarantee, further incentivizing consumers to choose repair instead of replacement.

After the legal guarantee has expired, the manufacturer is still required to repair common household products, which are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and even smartphones. The list of product categories can be extended over time. Consumers may also borrow a device whilst theirs is being repaired or, if it cannot be fixed, opt for a refurbished unit as an alternative.

Revitalizing the repair market

The rules aim to strengthen the EU repair market and reduce repair costs for consumers. Manufacturers will have to provide spare parts and tools at a reasonable price and will be prohibited from using contractual clauses, hardware or software techniques that obstruct repairs. In particular, they cannot impede the use of second-hand or 3D-printed spare parts by independent repairers, nor can they refuse to repair a product solely for economic reasons or because it was previously repaired by someone else.

The Verge reported the European Union has officially adopted a new set of right-to-repair rules designed to encourage people to repair broken devices, rather than replace them. One of the rules covers a product’s warranty by one year if it’s repaired while still covered.

The European Union already requires companies to offer a two-year minimum warranty on products, but these new rules take things a step further. Even after the warranty period ends, companies are “still required to prepare common household products.” Including smartphone, TVs, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and other items. 

PCGamer reported that one manufacturer that will likely be at odds with the new legislation is Apple, which has employed something called parts pairing to prevent third-party replacements of certain components. 

Parts pairing means that even if a part on an iPhone is replaced with a like-for-like replacement by a third party, it may not be recognized by the phone unless officially sanctioned by Apple.

In my opinion, the right to repair is a good idea. It prevents broken products from being thrown in the trash, and gives those with the right skills a way to fix their own products.

Amazon Ends Drone Program In California

amazon

Amazon is shuttering its drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California, one of the earliest U.S. test sites for the decade-long project, CNBC reported.

The program, called Prime Air, has struggled to get off the ground since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first detailed his vision in 2013 of autonomous drones delivering packages weighing less than 5 pounds in 30 minutes or less.

Amazon says it’s now conducting test flights to demonstrate the reliability of its new delivery drone, the MK30, which the company unveiled at an event last year. The drone is intended to be smaller and quieter than prior models, and can fly through light and rain.

Amazon posted “Amazon drone delivery is coming to Arizona” From the post:

Later this year, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area can receive Prime Air drone deliveries from our Tolleson, AZ Same-Day Delivery site.

Since starting drone delivery in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California in 2022, we’ve delivered thousands of items to customers in less than an hour. Last year we also began delivering prescription medications in partnership with Amazon Pharmacy to customers in College Station. We’ve received great feedback from customers and communities as we’ve rolled out the service.

We’re now adding a new location and entering the next stage of the program’s evolution. Later this year, drone deliveries are coming to the West Valley of the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona.

With this new location, we’ll be fully integrated into Amazon’s delivery network, meaning, for the first time, drones will deploy from facilities next to our Same-Day Delivery site in Tolleson. These smaller sites are hybrid — part fulfillment center, pat delivery station. They allow us to fulfill, sort, and deliver products all from one site so we can get packages out to our customers even quicker.

Our Same-Day Delivery sites are situated close to the large metro areas they serve, which means customers get their orders faster. And with connections to the larger Amazon fulfillment centers nearby, we are able to offer Same-Day Delivery on millions of items…

TechCrunch reported Amazon it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022.

The retail giant is not offering details around the setback, only noting, “We’ll offer all current employees opportunities at other sites, and continue serve customers in Lockeford with other delivery methods. We want to thank the community for all their support and feedback over the past few years.”

College Station deliveries will continue, along with a forthcoming site in Tolleson, Arizona, set to kick off deliveries later this year. Tolleson, a city of just over 7,000, is located in Maricopa County, in the western portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area.

In my opinion, it appears that Amazon intends to move its newest drone to different parts of the United States. It is also really good that current workers will be offered work at some of Amazon’s other sites.