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Submission + - Apple Tells Lawmakers iPhones Are Not Listening In On Consumers (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Apple told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that its iPhones do not listen to users without their consent and do not allow third-party apps to do so either, after lawmakers asked the company if its devices were invading users’ privacy. Representatives Greg Walden, Marsha Blackburn, Gregg Harper and Robert Latta wrote to Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) chief executive Larry Page in July, citing concerns about reports that smartphones could “collect ‘non-triggered’ audio data from users’ conversations near a smartphone in order to hear a ‘trigger’ phrase, such as ‘Okay Google’ or ‘Hey Siri.’”

In a letter to Walden, an Oregon Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Apple said iPhones do not record audio while listening for Siri wakeup commands and Siri does not share spoken words. Apple said it requires users to explicitly approve microphone access and that apps must display a clear signal that they are listening.

Submission + - Airline Scans Your Face For Boarding. Few Rules Govern How That Data Can Be Used (nytimes.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The program makes boarding an international flight a breeze: Passengers step up to the gate, get their photo taken and proceed onto the plane. There is no paper ticket or airline app. Thanks to facial recognition technology, their face becomes their boarding pass.

The problem confronting thousands of travelers, is that few companies participating in the program, called the Traveler Verification Service, give explicit guarantees that passengers’ facial recognition data will be protected.

And even though the program is run by the Department of Homeland Security, federal officials say they have placed no limits on how participating companies — mostly airlines but also cruise lines — can use that data or store it, opening up travelers’ most personal information to potential misuse and abuse such as being sold or used to track passengers’ whereabouts.

Two senators, Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, have urged the Department of Homeland Security to stop the expansion of the larger effort until their privacy concerns are addressed.

In a letter sent to the agency in December, the senators said that the system “appears not to have the proper safeguards to prevent the spread of this data to third parties or other government agencies.”

Submission + - ISPs' Listed Speeds Drop Up To 41 Percent After UK Requires Accurate Advertising (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Most broadband providers in the UK "have been forced to cut the headline speeds they advertise when selling deals" because of new UK rules requiring accurate speed claims, according to a consumer advocacy group. "Eleven major suppliers have had to cut the advertised speed of some of their deals, with the cheapest deals dropping by 41 percent," the group wrote last week. The analysis was conducted by Which?, a brand name used by the Consumers' Association, a UK-based charity that does product research and advocacy on behalf of consumers. "BT, EE, John Lewis Broadband, Plusnet, Sky, Zen Internet, Post Office, SSE, TalkTalk, and Utility Warehouse previously advertised their standard (ADSL) broadband deals as 'up to 17Mbps,'" the group noted in its announcement on Saturday. "The new advertised speed is now more than a third lower at 10Mbps or 11Mbps." "TalkTalk has completely dropped advertising speed claims from most of its deals," the consumer group also said. "Vodafone has also changed the name of some of its deals: Fibre 38 and Fibre 76 are now Superfast 1 and Superfast 2."

Submission + - Cost to dismantle USS Enterprise set to top $1 billion (dailymail.co.uk) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Enterprise was commissioned in 1961, and built at a cost of $3.9 billion, in current dollars.

The Enterprise was the first and only Enterprise-class carrier ever built, and the longest naval vessel ever constructed. The carrier sailed more than 1 million miles over 51 years of service.

Since she was decommissioned last year, the Enterprise has been awaiting strip-down and dismantling at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state.

Now, the GAO warns that the ‘unprecedented’ undertaking of dismantling and disposing of the ship could cost between $1 billion and $1.55 billion.

Under the current plan, the work on the ship’s nuclear components, including the eight nuclear reactors that powered the carrier, is to be carried out by Navy workers at the Puget Sound Shipyard, with the non-nuclear components handled by a private contractor.

CVN 65 was the eighth ship to bear the name Enterprise and the name will live on, with CVN 80.

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