Month: December 2018

Airline Passengers Could Be Entitled To Hefty Compensation For Delays, Lost Bags | CBC News

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Canadian travellers who are bumped from flights due to overbooking, or have to deal with lost or damaged luggage, could soon be eligible for hundreds of dollars in compensation. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) outlined today a proposed new regulatory regime with specific financial entitlements for travellers. The proposed regulations include: The compensation regime will offer smaller amounts for smaller airlines that serve northern or remote communities. The changes are expected to result in an average price increase of about $2.75 per ticket, though it’s not clear whether that will be passed…

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Facebook Bug Exposed Up To 6.8M Users’ Unposted Photos To Apps | TechCrunch

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Reset the “days since the last Facebook privacy scandal” counter, as Facebook has just revealed a Photo API bug gave app developers too much access to the photos of up to 5.6 million users. The bug allowed apps users had approved to pull their timeline photos to also receive their Facebook Stories, Marketplace photos, and most worryingly, photos they’d uploaded to Facebook but never shared. Facebook says the bug ran for 12 days from September 13th to September 25th. Facebook tells TechCrunch it discovered the breach on September 25th, and…

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US Border Officers Don’t Always Delete Collected Traveler Data | Engadget

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Privacy advocates aren’t just concerned about warrantless device searches at the border because of the potential for deliberate abuse — it’s that the officials might be reckless. And unfortunately, there’s evidence this is the case in the US. Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General has released audit findings showing that Customs and Border Protection officers didn’t properly follow data handling procedures in numerous instances, increasing the chances for data leaks and hurting accountability. Read full story here: US Border Officers Don’t Always Delete Collected Traveler Data | Engadget

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Google+ Bug Gave Developers Access To Non-Public Data From 52.5M Users | TechCrunch

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Google+ was a bit of a disaster for the company when it was still alive, and now that it’s walking dead, it’s becoming even more of a stone around its neck. After disclosing a major security bug in October that affected just under half a million users, it announced that the service would shut down in August 2019. But things are getting worse. Today, the company announced a new privacy hole, one that it found last month, that left some data from about 52.5 million users up for grabs from…

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Trump Administration Says It Will End Electric Car Tax Credit In The Strangest Way | Electrek

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A Trump administration official has now announced that they are indeed planning to kill to the federal tax credit for electric vehicles, but they are offering a strange timeline as it is unclear if they even have the power to do it. The situation around the federal tax credit for EVs is weirder than ever right now. As Tesla hit the 200,000 delivery threshold to initiate the phase-out, there are two different legislative efforts to change the program. Read full story here: Trump Administration Says It Will End Electric Car Tax Credit In…

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Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe Talks Electric Off-Road Vehicles | Digital Trends

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Rivian took the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show by storm with its first two vehicles – the R1T pickup truck and R1S seven-seat SUV. Both are all-electric, both are based on the same skateboard-style chassis, and both feature impressive performance figures. Rivian claims the R1T and R1S will offer up to 400 miles of range, or the ability to do zero to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds. That’s a good time for a supercar, let alone burly trucks that, according to Rivian, will also have genuine off-road ability. The company…

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California Gives Final Approval To Code Requiring Solar On New Homes | Engadget

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While there was little doubt it would happen, it’s now a done deal: California will require solar panels on most new homes. Officials at a December 5th Building Standards Commission meeting have voted for the new code, providing the last bit of approval necessary for the policy to take effect. New homes, condos and low-rise apartments will need eco-friendly power generation on their rooftops from January 1st, 2020 onward. The only exclusions are for homes that are either blocked by taller objects (like trees and tall buildings) or don’t have…

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Privacy Watchdog Warns Of ‘Critical Tipping Point’ As Canada Stakes Ground In Digital Economy | CBC News

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The federal privacy watchdog is warning the Liberal government that it must not trade privacy rights for commercial gain as it strives to position Canada as a global leader in the digital, data-driven economy. In a letter to Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien said the digital revolution is sparking debate on some of “the most fundamental questions of our time.” While there are high hopes attached to the power of digital technologies and big data to drive productivity, growth and competitiveness, he warned we’ve reached a “critical tipping point” in the adoption of these…

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Why Many Canadians Don’t Love Self-Checkout | CBC News

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Brendan Best says self-checkout isn’t worth his time because something often goes wrong, forcing him to seek out assistance. “I would not like to have that type of hassle, so I try to go through cashier lines,” said Best, who lives in Halifax. “There’s nothing in it for me.” A new grocery shopping study out of Dalhousie University suggests many Canadians have dabbled in self-checkout, but few have found reason to embrace the technology — which, along with reducing labour costs, is supposed to make shopping more convenient. Read full story here: Why Many…

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