????♂? Wiser! #90: Meta Fined | Apple's Unfair Advantage | Musk in Space | TikTok's Digital Cocaine

This week's Wiser! is all about BigTech. From MetaFacebook getting their largest ever fine (and only the 2nd largest ever handed out by the EU's data protection regulators)... to Apple's unfair advantage in the digital ads sector.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Starlink faces tough obstacles to be the No.1 satellite internet service. And I uncover three reason's why TikTok is as addictive as slot machines. Plus a ton of headlines, links and information to keep you one step ahead of your competition!

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Welcome to the 90th issue of Wiser!, the tech economy newsletter that makes sense of what's happening and what's next in the tech economy. Every week, 14k subscribers get Wiser! The really smart ones have upgraded to Premium (see a special offer below).

This is the LinkedIn edition of Wiser! It is shorter with less content than the full technicolour version emailed to Wiser! Members on Friday. To read the full version with much more content and information, go here ?? ?https://rickhuckstep.com/wiser90/

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"Check out Wiser! There's great content there!" Ron Shevlin, Industry Analyst, Writer for Forbes

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Come To The Future Party! You're Invited!

?? This week's issue of Wiser! is brought to you in collaboration with The Future Party! A free daily newsletter that breaks down the business of entertainment & tech and analyzes what it all means for the future. From Mr Beast’s first physical burger joint to Genies’ NFT fashion marketplace, their curated stories are relevant, informative, and fun to read.

Join the party and connect with a community that is both diverse and inclusive. I Want To Be At The Party

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w/BigTech        

Apple’s Unfair Advantage

Surveillance by an Internet platform is called “Tracking” unless you’re Apple, then it's called “Personalisation.”

Human Right:?Apple’s brand is built on the notion that it doesn't make money from selling your personal information — “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone”, right?

Now, having kicked the legs from under the ad-fuelled tech sector, Apple has plans to build its own ad empire. A flurry of over 600 job posts for Apple’s new ad team set the intention to “drive the design of the most privacy-forward, sophisticated demand side platform possible.”

Old News:?But this is nothing new. In 2019?Tim Cook wrote this piece for Time Magazine ?about the world of online advertising. It was a great piece of strategic marketing as well as creating clear blue water between Apple and the rest of Big Tech.

• Cook’s message was simple:?Consumers deserve their right to privacy. Who wouldn’t agree with that?

New News:?But what is new is that, having created a market space in digital ads by taking out the competition, Apple is now moving to fill it. Apple has used its unfair advantage (owning the rails) to the detriment of others. And they're unlikely to get away with it without a fight.

Continue reading...

Related News

This week, Apple held its Far Out event, an annual showcase of all?the latest updates to their range of phones, watches and gadgets .

Several things caught my eye;

• the new?iPhone 14 ?introduces a cool new innovation called “Dynamic Island ." Basically, the "notch" that holds the front-facing camera has been replaced with a digital display called the "Dynamic Island." The significance of this great piece of innovation is that Apple has returned to one of the original design characteristics from when Steve Jobs first announced the iPhone, "it's all display".
• the iPhone 14 also features crash detection (also on the Watch). It uses a new accelerometer and gyroscope along with machine learning models to detect if you've been in a severe car crash. The new iPhone also?has a satellite connection ?to contact emergency services in places where there's no mobile signal.
• the Apple Watch has a new temperature sensor. Overnight, women can get estimates about when they're expected to ovulate .
• Apple's latest generation AirPods Pro will have touch controls .

Shaun and I will be discussing Apple's Far Out event (and more) on the next podcast. Speaking of which...

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w/Podcast        

?? Big Tech Little Tech #8

In the latest episode of the podcast, Shaun and I discuss NFTs, aka "non-fungible tokens ". What are they? How are they used? Are they a fad or the future?

Plus, we chat about:

• the?NASA Artemis space programme ?to build a space station on Mars,
• the Exxon Mobil climate change scandal told in the new 3-part documentary called?Black Gold ,
• Premier League Twitter abuse ?and who's getting it,
• and answer the biggest question on the planet: apple pie or apple crumble? What would you choose?

??? Find Big Tech Little Tech on all major Podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts ?|?Spotify ?|?Amazon Music ?|?Anchor

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Unlocking Web3: The Decentralised, Democratised Internet

?? Interested in the next generation of the Internet - NFTs, Crypto, DeFi, Blockchain, aka Web3?

Then you will want to see this. I've built a comprehensive collection of artefacts - writings, videos, podcast - covering 100 of the biggest brands and their NFT projects. You will find all-you-need-to-know in this collection of writings, white papers, videos and podcasts.

Access Unlocking Web3 with a Premium Subscription .

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w/BigTech        

Meta/Facebook Given Its Largest Fine Ever

Hide & Seek:?In the same week that unsealed court documents in the USA reveal that?Facebook doesn’t actually know where it stores user data , Meta is handed a massive €405 million fine by the EU (roughly $402 million).

• The unsealed docs came from the discovery hearing for the Cambridge Analytica case back in March. They reveal that two veteran Facebook engineers told the court that the company doesn’t keep track of where it holds all of a user's personal data.

Huge Fine:?Meanwhile, over in the European Union, a 2-year investigation into the mishandling of data on Instagram resulted in a €405 million fine for the social media giant. It's the largest fine ever for Meta and the 2nd largest issued by the EU's BigTech regulators (who fined Amazon €746 million last year for violating privacy rules.)

GDPR:?Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner found that?Instagram mishandled children’s private data , breaching GDPR rules.

• Instagram allowed users aged between 13-17 years old to set up business accounts, thereby making their contact information (email address, phone numbers etc) publicly available.
• Instagram made the accounts of some young users public by default.

Wrist Slap:?This is the third and largest fine the Irish DPC has imposed on Meta/Facebook, easily eclipsing the €225 million the company was fined for failings with user data on WhatsApp. However, it's still only a slap on the wrist for the firm that made $39 billion in profit last year.

Further Reading

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Wiser! #33: Apple's Unfair Advantage, Meta's Largest Ever Fine, Why TikTok Is As Addictive As Slots

Here are some of the most popular WiserPods! on YouTube:

• China's Cashless Society? (35k views!)
• Daniel Schreiber Talks to Rick Huckstep? (Lemonade 5-year anniversary special)
• Web3, Musk, Zuckerberg

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w/Promotions        

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Check out Quillbot’s Summariser Tool. There’s a free and a paid version, and you have options to adjust how you want the summary presented to you.

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w/Premium Content        

3 Reasons TikTok Is As Addictive As Playing The Slots

Premium:?TikTok is the app that has redefined social engagement. Everyone wants to be like TikTok. The ocean tankers of Facebook and Instagram are turning. But what's the secret? Why is TikTok so addictive? Why is it commanding so much attention? It comes down to 3 things...

Digital Crack Cocaine

Back Story:?For many, TikTok is "just one of those apps that kids play on". Hmmm. This begs the question, do they really understand exactly what TikTok is and how big TikTok has become? How much it is used and who uses it? And what makes it so addictive and what's the science behind it?

"People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly," CEO Mark Zuckerberg told AFP News.

In essence, the science behind TikTok can be condensed into these three?attributes:

• TikTok knows exactly what you like and want to watch better than anyone, even your partner.
• TikTok has removed all decision-making. Open the app and away you go, no spending time deciding what to watch, the app already knows what you want.
• TikTok applies "random reinforcement" to keep you addicted and online for longer than on any other app.

The Question Is: How Did TikTok Get So big?

Continue reading...

Fun Fact: ?? Netflix’s budget for making movies and shows is $17 billion. TikTok’s budget is zero…because all the material is created for free by the users.

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w/TechNews        

Just Headlines

• The FTC is looking into Amazon’s purchase of the One Medical healthcare chain .
• Meanwhile, the?UK’s CMA is calling in Microsoft’s purchase of Activation. ?In both cases, the concerns are the same; monopolistic control over the market.
• Brazil has?banned sales of iPhones ?that don’t come with a charging brick. The country says Apple’s reason for leaving out the chargers to create a smaller carbon footprint was not a good reason. Apple is appealing.
• As Apple pushes into Services,?Apple Fitness+ is coming to the iPhone in 21 countries .
• In a win for?Elon Musk, a judge has allowed him to use the Twitter whistleblower claims in court . But it didn't all go Musk's way when the Judge refused Musk's request for a 4 week delay to the hearing.
• Google is restricting employee travel to "business critical" trips . Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said today at the Code conference that the?company is looking to increase productivity by 20% , which its hiring freeze should make easier. (See?Netflix ?and?Meta/Facebook ?also cutting back on costs).
• As BigTech reduces its reliance on China amidst growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, a new report by the UN has found that China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims in the remote region of Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. ”
• The?FT ?reported this week that Microsoft has invested in Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens startup. The so-called?Dark Kitchen food-delivery business ?was started by the co-founder of Uber in 2020.
• Russia is working with several countries to create platforms for cross-border stablecoin ?transactions. It has not named which countries it is working with.

‘We should welcome cryptocurrencies’ - the UK's new Prime Minister, Liz Truss said this in 2018.

?? HOT OFF THE PRESS:?The report President Biden ordered on crypto and climate has just been published.?Read it here.

Just Numbers

• From 79 to 76: This is how much the?life expectancy of Americans ?has fallen since 2019.
• 24%:?Of US households own crypto.
• 70,000:?The?number of Apple enthusiasts who tuned into a phony live stream ?about the iPhone maker's metaverse and crypto plans.
• $14 Billion:?Is the amount?VCs poured into crypto ?in the first half of 2022.

Just Interesting

• This?creepy woman's face keeps appearing in AI generated images , and nobody knows why.
• Man paddles 38 miles in a pumpkin .

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w/Space        

Elon Musk Faces Stiff Competition To Be No1 in Satellite Cellphone Connectivity

Space:?At the end of August,?T-Mobile announced plans to use SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites ?to bring connectivity to phones beyond the reach of its cell towers in the United States.

• However, if Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile are to have any hope of beating a wide range of rivals, including Amazon and potentially Apple, to the market for satellite-delivered mobile phone services, they need to overcome an array of both regulatory and technological roadblocks.

Hurdles: Musk and SpaceX engineers are racing to clear key engineering hurdles. But it will be much harder for Musk to quickly overcome the biggest regulatory challenge; getting approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Profundity: Despite Musk’s hyping the “profundity” of their venture when it was unveiled last month, the SpaceX-T-Mobile partnership is behind rivals.

• Globalstar sells bulky satellite phones but already has approval from the FCC to provide satellite-based mobile services using regular phones. And industry chatter suggests it is planning to partner with Apple on a service that could be announced any time now.
• Satellite service provider AST SpaceMobile also has FCC approval to test a new satellite-based cellphone project.

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