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| Welcome to Inside Tech! Here's a glance at today's headlines: - Special counsel obtained Trump DMs and other data, court records show
- Witnesses to the Buffalo mass shooting have sued YouTube and Reddit
- 2023 is on track to be the weakest year for smartphone shipments in a decade, according to Counterpoint
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p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Newly revealed court documents show the scope of data provided by Twitter from ex-President Donald Trump's account for the January 6 investigation. In a January search warrant, U.S. special counsel Jack Smith sought all of Trump's direct messages, drafts, liked and retweeted tweets, posts including those deleted, and all searches linked to the account, according to the records. More: - Twitter, now X, was able to provide the data after initially missing a court-ordered deadline, resulting in a $350,000 fine.
- The dispute stemmed from a nondisclosure agreement that prevented Twitter from informing Trump about the warrant.
- In response, Twitter claimed it had a First Amendment right to inform Trump, leading to a lengthy legal battle.
- During February hearings, a judge questioned if the company's resistance was a part of CEO Elon Musk's alleged efforts to get "cozy" with Trump.
- Eventually, a court ruled in favor of the government, and the social media firm handed over the information to Smith days after the deadline, leading to the $350K fine for contempt.
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| 2 | | YouTube, Google, and Reddit were sued by survivors and families of victims of the 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, who claim the companies pushed "extreme and harmful" content that influenced the shooter. The plaintiffs filed two separate but related lawsuits on Wednesday, asking the New York Supreme Court to order the social media companies to fix their algorithms that promote harmful content and other requests. More: - One lawsuit claims the shooter, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, was "radicalized" on YouTube and Reddit and gleaned information about weapons.
- The complaint argues that Gendron viewed algorithmically-recommended YouTube videos that promoted racism, violence, and antisemitism.
- This helped enable Gendron, who is white, to kill 10 Black people, according to the suit.
- In response, a YouTube spokesperson expressed condolences to the victims and families and said the company has invested in "technology, teams, and policies" over the years to remove extremist content.
- The lawsuits were filed by gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety and attorneys from Bonner & Bonner and Ryder Law.
Related: - In addition to the tech companies, the suits named a body armor manufacturer, a gun store, and a large-capacity magazine producer as defendants.
- In February, Gendron received a life sentence in prison without parole after pleading guilty to state charges. He could face the death penalty for federal hate crime charges.
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| 3 | | 2023 is on track to be the weakest year for worldwide smartphone shipments in a decade, according to preliminary figures from Counterpoint Research's latest Global Smartphone Shipment Forecast. This year's shipments are projected to fall by 6%, to 1.15 billion units. This comes after U.S. smartphone shipments plummeted 24% YoY in Q2 2023, the third straight quarter of declines. 
What it means: Even with inflation falling, consumers are hesitant to upgrade their phones, driving replacement cycle rates worldwide to record highs, according to Counterpoint. Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone sales, which previously peaked at 450 million a year, have contracted to 270 million per year. A bright spot: Apple, however, is poised to outperform competitors as it prepares to launch the iPhone 15 in September. Powered by its strength in the premium phone market, 2023 could see Apple rise to the top spot in terms of global annual shipments for the first time, according to Counterpoint's Jeff Fieldhack. He expects Apple's promos this year to be "aggressive" as it seeks to capture the large number of iPhone 12 users who may want to upgrade. Even in China, Apple is well positioned as the premium smartphone segment gains more market share. | | | |
| 4 | | New York City has banned TikTok from all government-owned devices, citing security concerns. The move follows bans by other cities, states including New York, and the federal government. More: - The ban, effective immediately, orders city agencies to delete the app from government hardware within 30 days.
- NYC Cyber Command, which oversees cyber threats, recommended the ban following a security review.
- The agency determined that the app "posed a security threat to the city's technical networks."
- Some popular city-run TikTok accounts are already complying with the decision. The NYC Police Department's account, with over 267,000 followers, confirmed its inactivity as of Thursday.
Zoom out: - Many U.S. states and cities have restricted or banned TikTok on government devices, citing fears that the Chinese-owned could app potentially grant Beijing access to sensitive user data.
- TikTok declined to comment on the ban. The company said it "has not shared, and would not share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users."
Q: Do you think TikTok should be banned in the U.S.? Tell us what you think here. | | | |
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| 5 | | Microsoft said it will shut down the Xbox 360 store and marketplace on July 29, 2024. After that date, gamers using the 2005-era console will no longer be able to buy and download new games and expansions. More: - Gamers will still be able to play previously purchased games and compatible older titles.
- Backward-compatible games and DLC will remain available on the Xbox One and Series X/S storefronts.
- In a statement, Xbox said it's "focused on making Xbox Series X|S the best place to play now and in the future."
Zoom out: - According to Engadget, the last Xbox 360 game was released in 2018.
- One of the most popular gaming consoles, it sold about 84 million units until Microsoft stopped reporting sales figures following the 2014 launch of its successor, the Xbox One.
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| 6 | | Google is testing out different applications of generative AI, including an AI system that offers life advice to users, according to the New York Times. The company's DeepMind AI unit is working on generative AI tools for at least 21 tasks, including tutoring and planning. More: - According to the Times, one of the tests involved asking Googe's Bard chabot about a scenario in which the user couldn't afford airfare to a close friend's destination wedding.
- In addition to life advice, DeepMind is also working on AI tools to teach users new skills and plan things like budgets and workout routines.
- As noted by the Times, it's possible that Google may never launch the tools to the public.
- Additionally, Google has been testing an AI tool that can write news stories.
Zoom out: - The testing comes after Google's AI experts December cautioned executives against users getting too emotionally attached to chatbots.
- AI experts reportedly warned that people turning to AI for life advice could suffer from a "loss of agency."
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is the curator and writer of the AI and Tech newsletters at Inside. With a career in journalism and editing that began in 2007, she has written for publications including USA Today, The Arizona Republic, Arizona Business Gazette, and more. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by NO ACCOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EDITOR | |
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