Bytes: Week in Review — Instagram to limit content for teens, Walmart lands OpenAI deal, and Apple rebrands streaming service
AppleTV+ ditches the plus in its name. Plus, Walmart announced an e-commerce deal with OpenAI so customers can shop through ChatGPT.But first, Instagram announced what it called PG-13 settings for teen accounts. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Joanna Stern, senior personal technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal, to discuss all these topics and more.
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Documents show ICE wants a nonstop social media surveillance system
Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants to set up an around-the-clock social media surveillance network, according to public documents reviewed by WIRED magazine.Under the proposal, ICE would partner with private contractors to monitor platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for information and leads that can be passed on to officers in the field. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Dell Cameron, senior writer at WIRED who broke the story, about the proposed structure of this new surveillance program.
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FCC cuts expansion to broadband, hotspot access
Before the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission voted to end funding for Wi-Fi on school buses and the lending of hotspot devices from libraries. Nicol Turner Lee, author of “Digitally Invisible,” said this could further the digital divide for marginalized communities.
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Is surveillance technology a more humane alternative to detaining immigrants?
Countries all over the world use technology to keep track of immigrants released from detention centers. The idea is to allow people to live in communities while their cases are adjudicated. But Petra Molnar of the Refugee Law Lab at York University said the technology is also often employed in ways that are too intrusive and can act like digital shackles. She told Marketplace’s Nova Safo that even smartphone apps, which can be glitchy, are a challenge for immigrants who are often waiting on asylum claims.
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AI companies are eyeing your shopping cart and your data
Open AI has added a checkout feature to ChatGPT, partnering with Etsy and Shopify to let users purchase some items from select merchants. OpenAI says ChatGPT's answers are still organic and unsponsored. But why not offer a seamless way to buy things that come up in certain responses? Eventually this could lead to so-called “agentic” shopping: letting AI research items, pick one, and then buy it on our behalf. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with colleague Meghan McCarty Carino about what AI companies stand to gain from integrating e-commerce tech.
Monday through Friday, Marketplace demystifies the digital economy in less than 10 minutes. We look past the hype and ask tough questions about an industry that's constantly changing.
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