Step into a world where the focus is keenly set on Bill From Google Services. Within the confines of this article, a tapestry of references to Bill From Google Services awaits your exploration. If your pursuit involves unraveling the depths of Bill From Google Services, you've arrived at the perfect destination.
Our narrative unfolds with a wealth of insights surrounding Bill From Google Services. This is not just a standard article; it's a curated journey into the facets and intricacies of Bill From Google Services. Whether you're thirsting for comprehensive knowledge or just a glimpse into the universe of Bill From Google Services, this promises to be an enriching experience.
The spotlight is firmly on Bill From Google Services, and as you navigate through the text on these digital pages, you'll discover an extensive array of information centered around Bill From Google Services. This is more than mere information; it's an invitation to immerse yourself in the enthralling world of Bill From Google Services.
So, if you're eager to satisfy your curiosity about Bill From Google Services, your journey commences here. Let's embark together on a captivating odyssey through the myriad dimensions of Bill From Google Services.
Bipartisan Bill Would Compel Google to Break Up Its Ad Business
Bipartisan Bill Would Compel Google to Break Up Its Ad Business
What's happening
A group of senators introduced a new bill that would force Google to break up its online ad business if it's passed into law.
Why it matters
The bill is a threat to Google's primary revenue source and could up-end its business model.
What's next
The bill has a long way to go and there's no guarantee it will be passed into law, especially during an election year.
A bipartisan bill designed to break up Google's massive online ad business has been introduced in the US Senate.
The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act, introduced Thursday, would prevent companies processing more than $20 billion in digital ad transactions annually from engaging in ad sales, according to the text of the legislation. The bill would force Google to divest its digital ads business within a year if passed.
The bill targets companies like Google that operate in multiple parts of the online ad economy, which senators say is a conflict of interest. Ad sales on its giant Search product is a pillar of the $209 billion in revenue that Google raked in last year. The company also helps third-party advertisers sell and purchase ads online and runs auctions at which ads are sold.
"When you have Google simultaneously serving as a seller and a buyer and running an exchange, that gives them an unfair, undue advantage in the marketplace, one that doesn't necessarily reflect the value they are providing," Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who is leading the bill, told The Wall Street Journal. "When a company can wear all these hats simultaneously, it can engage in conduct that harms everyone."
In a statement, Google said that its ad tools, along with those from its competitors, help American businesses grow and protect customers from privacy risks or misleading ads. "Breaking those tools would hurt publishers and advertisers, lower ad quality, and create new privacy risks," a Google spokesperson said. Google says that "low-quality data brokers" will flood the net with "spammy ads" and that this bill is the "wrong bill, at the wrong time, aimed at the wrong target."
In a press release, Lee and other senators called Google's business model a "tax on thousands of American businesses, and thus a tax on millions of American consumers."
The bill is the latest in a string of legislative proposals designed to limit the power of Big Tech. A package of five bills, including the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and Ending Platform Monopolies Act, directly target Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook parent Meta.
If some or all of these bills were to pass, it would give Congress substantially more power in dealing with the massive tech industry, which is widely seen as lightly regulated.
The bill is co-sponsored by Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Democrats Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Similar legislation is set to be introduced in the House, according to The Journal.
The new legislation comes at a tricky time for Congress. Mid-term elections that could tip control to the Republicans take place in November. Opportunities to get a floor vote time might be limited.
Google is also facing lawsuits that accuse it of monopoly control of online ad sales. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading a coalition of 16 states and Puerto Rico in suing the search giant for allegedly controlling the online ad market. Google has said Paxton's allegations are inaccurate and asked a judge to dismiss the case.
Paxton has also filed a privacy lawsuit against Google. On Thursday, he amended it to include a claim that Google's Chrome browser tracks sensitive user data even when it's in incognito mode. A proposed class action lawsuit, Brown et al v. Google LLC, alleges that Google's Chrome browser collects data while in that private browsing mode.
Pixel 6 everything to know about google s newest phone pixel 6 everything to know about google slides pixel 6 everything to know about google shopping pixel 6 everything to know about google s history pixel 6 everything to know about google analytics pixel 6 everything to know about google pay pixel 6 everything to know about google docs pixel 6 everything to know about google company pixel 6 everything to know about google photos pixel 6a google pixel 6 pro pixel 6 pro
Pixel 6: Everything to know about Google's newest phone
Pixel 6: Everything to know about Google's newest phone
Google's new phones, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, made their debut on Tuesday at the company's recent launch event. (Here's everything Google announced including Pixel Pass, Android 12 and its in-house Tensor chip.) Google's first Pixel phone made a splash when it was unveiled almost five years ago, but since then, the search giant's foray into mobile devices has been inconsistent. Last year's Pixel 5 received high marks for its cameras, but the Pixel 5 lacked the premium features you'd expect from a flagship smartphone, especially for the price. CNET's Lynn La called it "hard to recommend." Compared with the original Pixel phone ("pure Android at its absolute best" and "our favorite phone, bar none"), Google's phone trajectory looked rough.
Read more: CNET's Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reviews
Now that Google took a larger creative leap with its Pixel line, the question remains whether the changes will help the company compete against the best phones from Apple and Samsung or continue to disappoint its one-time fans. Let's go over what we've learned about the devices, which are available for preorder. Here's everything you need to know about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro and which rumors about the phone have been debunked or proven true.
What are Google's new phones called? The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
Unlike Apple and Samsung, Google has overall been consistent with its phone nomenclature. The original Pixel was followed by the Pixel 2, then the Pixel 3 and so on. Google's 2021 phones are indeed called the Pixel 6 and -- instead of an XL model -- the Pixel 6 Pro.
Google previously announced that both phones would have many of the same features: the new Tensor system-on-chip designed by Google, a camera bar that runs along the back of the phone, camera sensors that take in 150% more light than the Pixel 5's and an ultrawide lens. Software improvements also hit both models, including Android 12's Material You design, along with speech recognition and photography improvements powered by the Tensor.
Read more: Pixel 6 vs. Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6 vs. Pixel 5
Rumors about the now-confirmed Pixel 6 Pro began when leaker Jon Prosser shared renders depicting the "Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro" in May. Prosser's renders were purportedly based on actual images of the phones, but released as renders to protect his source's identity.
The Pixel 6 phones come in black along with pastel shades of green and red.
Google
Release date: When will you be able to buy the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro?
Google launched its new phones on Oct. 19, and the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are both available for preorders now through Google's website.
Google has unveiled a new Pixel phone in October every year since 2016, with the exception of last year's Pixel 5, which was announced on Sept. 30. But 2020 was an exceptional year for many reasons, including phone release schedules.
Read more:Google's Pixel 6 may be more exciting than the iPhone 13, but how does it compare to older Pixels?
Google's Pixel release dates usually follow a similarly predictable pattern: The company usually makes its phones available for purchase within a week or two of being announced. The Pixel 6 will be released on Oct. 28, which is in line with these expectations.
Price: How much do the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro cost?
We now know that Google's Pixel 6 has a starting price of $599, and the Pixel 6 Pro will cost you a bit more with a $899 starting price. In his first look at the Pixel 6, CNET's Patrick Holland says the phone is "priced to compete with the iPhone 13, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and other midtier Android phones such as the current Motorola Edge."
In comparison to older Pixel phones the Pixel 6 costs $100 less than the Pixel 5 did at launch. Last year's Pixel 5 made some compromises to get the launch price down to $699, making it more of a midrange phone than its predecessors, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4, which both launched at $799.
This means rumors about the Pixel 6's steeper price tag from leaker Yogesh Brar have been debunked. The tipster previously speculated the Pixel 6 would have a $749 starting price, while the Pixel 6 Pro could have cost between $1,049 and $1,099.
Although the Pixel 6 costs less than its predecessors, Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of Google's hardware division, described the line as a "premium-priced product" in an August interview with the Verge.
Google's Pixel 6 is shown above in Kinda Coral.
James Martin/CNET
Design and colors: What does Google's new phone look like?
Confirming Prosser's renders, the Pixel line has a new look for 2021. The Pixel 6 is available in three colors: Stormy Black, Kinda Coral and Sorta Seafoam. The official Pixel 6 Pro color options are Stormy Black, Cloudy White and Sorta Sunny.
Moving to the front of the phone, the Pixel 6 Pro has a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED (3,120x1,440 pixel) display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the Pixel 6 will have a 6.4-inch OLED (2,400x1,080) display with a 90Hz refresh rate. A hole-punch-style front-facing camera is centered up top, as opposed to on the left side of the screen as on the Pixel 5, and has 11 megapixels on the Pixel 6 Pro and 8 megapixels on the standard Pixel 6.
Pixel 6 has a Tensor chip, but what can Google's first in-house processors do?
Google's reveal of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro put a particular spotlight on Google's new system-on-chip, named Tensor. Going in-house moves Google away from the Qualcomm chips that have powered its previous devices, and Google says the chip brings with it notable improvements to speech recognition and photography.
"Part of the goal is to show the very best that Google can offer," Osterloh said in an interview with CNET's Rich Nieva. "There is a big segment of the market that wants the latest, and we love building technology. So we're going to try to appeal to that part of the market, too."
Read more: Google Pixel 6's Tensor chip aims to make the Android 12 phone smarter and last longer
The Tensor chip loads the Pixel with more power and abilities without sacrificing battery life. Thanks to Google's new in-house chip, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro has features like real-time language translations, highly accurate voice transcription and new camera features like the ability to unblur the face of a person in motion. The new features come as Google promises 24 to 48 hours of battery life for its Pixel 6 line.
The Google Tensor chip's unveiling is a prominent part of the first look at the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Google
Camera specs and features: What's new on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro?
Along the phone's camera bar, the Pixel 6 Pro has three cameras: a 50-megapixel wide lens, 12-megapixel ultrawide lens and 48-megapixel telephoto lens. The standard Pixel 6 won't have the telephoto lens, but houses the 50-megapixel wide and 12-megapixel ultrawide lens.
As for the selfie camera, Google's new phone has a hole-punch-style front-facing camera with 11 megapixels on the Pixel 6 Pro and 8 megapixels on the standard Pixel 6. The earliest rumors about the Pixel 6's camera setup included speculation that Google might upgrade to an under-display selfie camera, but that's not on the Pixel 6. Since this rumor is based on a patent filed by Google that appeared not to have a visible front camera, however, it's possible another phone will include it. Perhaps the Pixel 7?
Read more:Google builds equity into the Pixel 6 with Real Tone photos and new voice features
Google also designed the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro's cameras to be more accurate no matter your complexion with Real Tone. The feature comes after the company announced improvements to its software for "a more accurate and inclusive camera" that works better for a variety of skin tones, in May.
Google's new Pixel phones also see other photography improvements thanks to the Tensor chip. A new feature called Face Unblur can put the face of a moving subject in focus, while keeping the blur around the rest of the body, and another camera feature called Motion Mode can add blur into still pictures.
Do Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro support 5G?
It's complicated. The Pixel 6 supports sub-6 5G. Some carrier versions of the Pixel 6 will also support mmWave, which is the fast version of 5G that's not widely available.
Read more: Will Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro work with 5G? The answer is complicated
What's in the box: Google's Pixel 6 won't ship with a charger
Google's Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro won't ship with a charger in the box. The tech giant previously shared that tidbit about the new phone alongside the reveal of the Pixel 5A. Instead, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will ship with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a Quick Switch Adapter.
Google's decision to ditch the accessory from its phone boxes follows both Apple and Samsung. Apple stopped including an AC adapter in the box of the iPhone 12 in 2020, and Samsung later did the same for the Galaxy S21.
Although Google's Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro won't have a charger in the box, the new phone supports 30-watt fast charging. This debunks earlier rumors about the smartphone from tipster Yogesh Brar and Android Police, which said that the Pixel 6 would support 33-watt and 23-watt fast charging, respectively.
Google also released a new Pixel Stand for the Pixel 6. The stand is said to be an alternative to wired charging, and was leaked before the phone's launch by tipster Evan Blass.
Images from leaker Evan Blass show off the second generation Pixel stand with 23-watt wireless charging.
Evan Blass
Do the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have an under display fingerprint sensor?
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro both have an under-display fingerprint reader. The feature was previously leaked by Android Senior Vice President Hiroshi Lockheimer, who shared two screenshots on Twitter showing an embedded fingerprint sensor within the Pixel's display. The tweet, which was originally posted to show off Android's new Material You design, has since been deleted from Lockheimer's account. Screenshots of the tweet were then later posted by leaker Mishaal Rahman.
Pixel Pass: What is Google's new subscription service?
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro launched alongside a new subscription option to bundle phone financing and services under one bill. The plan is called Pixel Pass, and is described as a "monthly subscription that addresses users' mobile needs end-to-end." The subscription bundles Pixel device financing, YouTube Premium, Google One storage, Play Pass, Google Fi, Google's preferred care and device protection.
Read more: Pixel Pass: Google bundles the Pixel 6 and a bunch of its services for $45 a month
Below are all of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro specs. For more, here's how to decide between a Pixel 5, Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL, the Pixel 5 versus the Pixel 4A 5G and the Pixel 5 versus the iPhone 11, Galaxy S20 FE and OnePlus 8. Plus, six reasons to buy a Pixel and what we think of the Pixel Buds A-Series earbuds.
5G sub 6 (some carrier models also have 5G mmWave) support, Wi-Fi 6E, 30W fast-charging, wireless charging, Magic Eraser, Motion mode, Real Tone, Face Unblur, Cinematic Pan, 5 years OS security updates, IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus (front), Gorilla Glass 6 (back), dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)
5G sub 6 and mmWave support, Wi-Fi 6E, Ultrawideband, 30W fast-charging, wireless charging, Magic Eraser, Motion mode, Real Tone, Face Unblur, Cinematic Pan, 5 years OS security updates, IP68 rating for dust- and water-resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus (front and back), dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)
Price off-contract (USD)
$599 (128GB)
$899 (128GB)
Price (GBP)
£599 (128GB)
£849 (128GB)
Price (AUD)
Converts to AU$1,100
Converts to AU$1,570
§
I've used Google Pixels and Apple iPhones for my daily smartphone photography needs for years. I've mostly relied on Pixels because of Google's pioneering computational photography software, which wrings superior image quality out of limited hardware. My current iPhone, the XS Max, has been relegated to occasions when I've needed a telephoto lens. But two recent smartphone launches -- of Google's Pixel 5 and Apple's iPhone 12 lines -- have changed my mind. The midrange camera hardware on the Pixel 5, and the high-end array of cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, along with the gadget's large image sensor and new software options, are pushing me to the Apple camp.
Read more:iPhone 12 vs. Pixel 5: Apple and Google's 5G flagships compared
It wasn't supposed to be this way. I've been impressed by Google's ability to convert cutting-edge image processing research into superior smartphone photos. Google demonstrated how profoundly computers can modernize cameras, as it surpassed smartphone rivals and traditional-camera makers.
Google's decision to build a midrange phone with just two cameras feels like an abandonment. There's just no way to make up for the multiple cameras that rivals like Samsung, Huawei and Apple employ. Sure, rivals haven't necessarily matched all of Google's camera software, but Google isn't close to their hardware.
To be clear, the Pixel's cameras are good, as my colleague Lynn La details in her Pixel 5 review. From my perspective as a serious photographer, though, I'm looking for more.
Read more:The best phone to buy for 2020
Telephoto vs. ultrawide cameras
In 2019, Google's Pixel 4 took a step up by adding a second rear-facing camera, a telephoto option for distant subjects. That was the same year Apple added a third camera to its higher-end iPhone 11 Pro models, an ultrawide camera that sat alongside its main and telephoto cameras.
The Pixel 5 photo at 2X telephoto, shot here with Google's computational raw format, is fine viewed small but has only a 3 megapixel resolution. At right, the 12 megapixel image from a 2-year-old iPhone XS Max, shot as an HDR raw photo with Adobe's Lightroom app, offers more detail and editing flexibility. Clicking to enlarge reveals the superior iPhone detail, though it's scaled down to match the Pixel 5 photo.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
Google tried to match Apple's prowess this year by replacing the telephoto camera with an ultrawide camera in the Pixel 5. But Apple made major camera improvements with its iPhone 12 Pro, including a bigger image sensor, a longer-reach telephoto lens, improved image stabilization to counteract shaky hands, Dolby Vision HDR video at 60 frames per second and Apple's more flexible ProRaw format. It's clear Apple is sinking enormous resources into better photography.
Google may have made the right call for the broad market. I suspect ultrawide cameras are better for mainstream smartphone customers than telephotos. Ultrawide cameras for group shots, indoor scenes and video are arguably more useful than telephoto cameras for portraits and mountains.
But I want both. I enjoy the different perspectives. Indeed, for a few years I usually carried only telephoto and ultrawide lenses for my DSLR.
In response to my concerns, Google says it's improved the Super Res Zoom technique for digital zooming on the Pixel 5 with better computational photography and AI techniques that now can magnify up to a factor of 7X.
"We studied carefully to determine what's really important to folks, and then we focused on that -- and shaved off literally hundreds of dollars in the process," said camera product manager Isaac Reynolds. Having a telephoto camera would have helped image quality, but Google's priority this year "was to produce a phone that compared well to the top end but at a much lower price -- and we did that."
I'm not so convinced. When shooting even at 2X telephoto zoom, my 2-year-old iPhone XS Max and my 1-year-old Pixel 4 both offer far superior imagery compared with the Pixel 5.
Zooming in at 2X, the Pixel 5's Super Res Zoom technology generates a 12 megapixel image, but it looks artificial up close, as in this cropped view.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
What I do like so far about the Pixel 5 cameras
I want to be clear: Google's new phone has its merits, and I've experienced some of its strengths while testing the Pixel 5 cameras over the past few days. Here are a handful:
Google's computational raw offers photo enthusiasts the best of both worlds when it comes to photo formats. It marries the exposure and color flexibility of unprocessed raw photo data with the exposure range and noise reduction of the multishot HDR+ processing ordinarily used to make a JPEG.
The ultrawide camera really is fun. It also dramatically improves video options, particularly indoors.
Based on earlier Pixel phones, I share my colleague Lynn La's concern that Google's video stabilization can be "drone-like," but my early tests of video I shot while walking looked more natural.
Double-tapping the phone's power button launches the camera app fast. It's not new with the Pixel 5, but it's so much faster than the iPhone's lock screen icon.
Night Sight, particularly astrophotography mode, still is amazing for low-light shots.
Google also pointed to other Pixel 5 perks, including a portrait light ability to control the apparent light source brightening a subject's face; portrait shots that work in Night Sight mode; 4K video that now works at a fast 60 frames per second, more advanced high dynamic range processing called HDR+ that's now boosted by exposure bracketing for better shadow details like a backlit face, and better video stabilization.
Here's the rub, though: As Google slips in hardware, rivals are improving their software.
Google's rivals in computational photography are catching up
Apple didn't comment on its photography plans for this story, but it spent more than 11 minutes touting the iPhone Pro photo and video abilities, and its actions speak volumes.
The Pixel 5 offers a useful if not unique portrait mode that blurs the background for smooth "bokeh."
Stephen Shankland/CNET
Last year, Apple matched most of what was best about Google's HDR+ for challenging scenes with bright and dark elements. This year's Pixel 5 boosts HDR+ with bracketing technology into the multishot blending technique. Apple's Smart HDR alternative, however, is now in its third generation of refinement. Apple is improving the iPhone's nighttime photos, too. And by using special purpose processing engines on its A14 chip, Apple's Deep Fusion technology to preserve detail in low-light shooting works on all four of the iPhone Pro cameras.
Photo enthusiasts like me prefer unprocessed, raw photo formats so we can fine-tune color balance, exposure, sharpening and noise reduction. That's great for when the camera doesn't make the right choices when "baking" raw image data into a more convenient but limited JPEG image. Google's computational raw blended HDR processing with raw's flexibility, but now Apple plans to release its answer, ProRaw, in an update coming later this year to iPhone Pro models.
"We want to give our pros even more control over the images they capture," said Alok Deshpande, Apple's senior manager of camera software engineering, during Apple's launch event.
Relatively few people use Pixel phones, and that weighs on Google too. Imaging software powerhouse Adobe calibrates its Lightroom photo software to correct lens problems and adapt its HDR tool for some cameras and lenses. No surprise that Pixel phones aren't on that list. "We tend to provide support based on the popularity of the devices with our customers," Adobe said in a statement.
In contrast, Adobe is "partnering closely with Apple" to tap into ProRaw abilities. And a Google computational photography guru, Marc Levoy, has left Google and is now at Adobe, where he's building photo technology into Adobe's camera app.
Selling a midrange smartphone like a Pixel 5 or Pixel 4a 5G might well make sense when the COVID-19 pandemic has cost millions of jobs and made a $1,099 iPhone Pro Max unaffordable. But for people like me with a photography budget and appreciation for Google's computational photography smarts, it's tragic that Google has lost its lead.
Big Tech's danger to kids finally aligns Democrats, Republicans
Big Tech's danger to kids finally aligns Democrats, Republicans
More than once over the course of a five-hour hearing before Congress on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's parenting style became a point of focus for angry lawmakers. One House Republican asked if he had issues with his young daughters watching YouTube. Another asked if he lets them use Facebook's own services.
"My daughters are five and three, and they don't use our products," Zuckerberg said, before adding that he lets his older child use Facebook's chat app for kids.
The exchange typified a common refrain as the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter weathered a grilling from Congress -- the fourth such event in the last year where a Big Tech CEO took the hot seat -- over the misinformation that flows through their platforms. While lawmakers tried to advance their disparate agendas, one bipartisan theme emerged among Democrats and Republicans who are usually bitterly divided: the danger of Silicon Valley's services on children.
"Big tech is essentially handing our children a lit cigarette and hoping they stay addicted for life," said Rep. Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, peppered the CEOs with statistics that show a rising level of depression and suicidal thoughts among adolescents that coincides with the rise of social media.
Historically, Big Tech products have been reserved for people 13 and older. But in the past few years, companies like Google and Facebook have tried to push the bounds of those limits, creating services for younger and younger kids. (Twitter, primarily used by older users, evaded scrutiny on the issue.)
YouTube Kids, launched in 2015, is billed as a child-safe version of the massive Google-owned site. Last month, Google said it's testing new parental controls for kids 9 and up to use the full scale version of YouTube. Facebook four years ago unveiled a version of its Messenger chat app for kids to talk to their parents and friends. Now, the social network is working on a version of Instagram for kids under 13.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he doesn't let his young daughters use the company's products, except Messenger for Kids.
Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET
Technical issues like content moderation or the opaque advertising model of social networks are hard concepts to grasp, so lawmakers have glommed on to an issue that's more visceral and universal in nature: the safety of our children. It isn't a topic that the tech executives can easily swat away.
Even tech luminaries have sounded the alarm. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talked about raising their kids with limited tech. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has recently feuded with Facebook, has said he doesn't want his nephew on a social network.
"These hearings reflect an emboldened Congress and a tech industry that's on the defensive because the companies know that serious regulation and legislation is coming," said Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a child advocacy nonprofit. "No one is going to take Mark Zuckerberg seriously as a voice for parents, but the truth is our kids lives are being dramatically shaped by social media and internet platforms."
Silicon Valley companies have received blowback in the past when they've waded into kids products. YouTube Kids faced controversy in 2017 when the service's filters failed to recognize some videos that feature disturbing imagery but are aimed at children -- like Mickey Mouse lying in a pool of blood, or PAW Patrol characters bursting into flames after a car crash. Facebook's Messenger for Kids, meanwhile, suffered a bug in 2019 that let children join group chats with strangers.
Critics accuse Google and Facebook of skirting the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, a federal law that regulates user data collection from sites with users who are under 13 years old. In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission slapped the company with a record $170 million fine, as well as new requirements, for YouTube's violation of COPPA. In response, the video site made major changes to how it treats kids videos, including limiting the data it collects from those views.
The pushback from Congress on Thursday comes as lawmakers have drafted other legislation that deals with Silicon Valley's treatment of kids.
In September, Castor introduced the Kids Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act, in the House. This bill banned "auto-play" sessions on websites and apps geared for children and young teens. The legislation also banned push alerts targeting children and prohibited platforms from recommending or amplifying certain content involving sexual, violent, or other adult material, including gambling or "other dangerous, abusive, exploitative, or wholly commercial content."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who asked Zuckerberg if his kids use Facebook products, has introduced the Big Tech Accountability Platform, which is a road map for how Republicans are approaching regulating the tech industry. While Republicans are still concerned about the censoring of conservative voices online, they also are concerned with how the big platforms use their algorithms "to drive addiction," as well as the role the companies play "in child grooming and trafficking."
"Remember, our kids -- the users -- are the product," McMorris said Thursday. "You -- Big Tech -- are not advocates for children. You exploit and profit off them."
Russia 20 billion a day how long has russia been around facts about russia today what did russia do today why is russia taking so long russia spending on war how much money has russia spent on the war why has russia invaded ukraine how russians sneeze how russia will collapse
How Russia has spent a decade crumbling online freedoms
How Russia has spent a decade crumbling online freedoms
Aleksandr Litreev was on a way to a business meeting last February when his life changed forever. En route to a hotel in Yakaterinburg, a day's drive east of Moscow, Litreev was pulled over by police. When they asked him to hand over his phone, the then-24-year-old knew it was no routine traffic stop.
"They took me to a police station," Litreev recalls, "and magically some drugs appear." Litreev said he was arrested by around 10 armed policemen, beaten into confessing to ecstasy possession, and then detained for a month. He managed to flee to Estonia after being released into house arrest.
Litreev is a member of Russia's liberal opposition. Rather than rousing people to the ballot box, he builds internet tools that help everyday Russians fight against an increasingly controlling state. As part of the tightest squeeze on freedoms in Russia this century, critical online media publications have been labeled foreign agents, and platforms like Twitter and Facebook are being pressured to purge their platforms of content the Kremlin disapproves of.
With Russia's parliamentary elections running on Sept. 17 through Sept. 19, the Kremlin has stepped up censorship. It's demanded keywords associated with the opposition be blocked from Google and Yandex, the domestic search giant, and that Google and Apple kick an opposition-made app from their app stores.
Litreev has been fighting back for years, creating an app that sends lawyers to defend arrested protesters and joining the "digital resistance" that countered the government's attempt to block encrypted-messenger Telegram.
"If I go back to Russia now, I will get something like lifetime imprisonment," Litreev said. "Not gonna happen."
Before fleeing to Estonia, Litreev also worked with Alexei Navalny, who, for the last 10 years, has been the face of Russia's opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Navalny was poisoned by Russian spies in August 2020 and has since been jailed. Navalny's case shows how the Kremlin has lost any of the patience it once had: He was tolerated for nearly a decade -- as a popular blogger, investigative journalist and later an opposition politician -- before authorities attempted to eliminate him altogether.
"The things that are happening now have never happened before," said Litreev, explaining that authorities poisoning an opposition candidate would have been inconceivable as recently as 2017. "And now we're here."
Aleksandr Litreev, a software developer who fled to to Estona amid Russia's opposition crackdown.
Aleksandr Litreev
Digital wargames
In 2017, Litreev made his first significant venture into opposition politics. A YouTube expose from Navalny alleged that then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had embezzled over $1.2 billion, sparking protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg that turned into a general rebuke of widespread corruption and political repression.
Litreev's contribution was an app called Red Button. If protesters thought they were at risk of arrest, they could open the app and press the big red button it presented. That would automatically call a lawyer, who also receives the protester's emergency contact details and a GPS signal of their location.
"It's basically Uber, but for a lawyer," Litreev said. It was used extensively by demonstrators at the time, which got the attention of Kremlin authorities. "That's the point where pressure on me started," he added.
Litreev, then 21 and fresh out of university, was motivated to join the opposition movement as he watched the Kremlin ratchet up internet restrictions. A 2014 law allowed the telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, to block access to online media that called for "unsanctioned mass public events." In 2016, Putin signed a bill requiring telecommunications companies to store their customers' text messages and phone calls for up to six months.
The law was used as a pretext to ban Telegram, a platform created by eccentric Russian-born developer Pavel Durov that doubles as an instant messenger and a social media platform. (Durov is now based in Dubai.) It allows for encrypted messages between people, like WhatsApp, but also for public figures and groups to create "channels" that can have millions of followers. Russian authorities wanted control over Telegram, and stopping them became Litreev's next project.
Thousands rallied for "internet freedom" in 2018 after Roskomnadzor banned Telegram. Many protested by bringing paper planes, Telegram's symbol.
Mikhail Tereshchenko/Getty
In 2018, the Kremlin ordered Durov to hand over keys that would allow the FSB, the successor to the Soviet KGB, to unscramble the app's encrypted messages. Roskomnadzor's stated goal was to fight terrorist attacks, like a 2017 train bombing in St. Petersburg, which it claimed were spreading thanks to Telegram and apps like it. Durov refused, calling the request both unconstitutional and technically untenable. What followed was a game of hide-and-seek that lasted for two years.
Roskomnadzor banned Telegram in April 2018, pulling down the app's servers. Scores of Russian internet users -- dubbed the Digital Resistance -- countered by hosting Telegram on proxy servers, which Roskomnadzor found and banned too. For his part, Litreev helped create software that deployed millions of proxy servers at once, making it impossible for Russian authorities to manually pull them down individually.
"They got tired of banning IP address by IP address, so they started to ban whole subnetworks, ranges of IP addresses," he said. "At some point, when we got our service hosted on Amazon and on Google Cloud, they accidentally banned a huge subnet which belongs to Google."
Those attempts to ban Telegram were unsuccessful. Not only did the service remain accessible, its Russian user base actually grew. Meanwhile, with authorities hastily banning up to 19 million IP addresses, Google and Amazon services were briefly unusable throughout Russia.
Roskomnadzor had a choice: either block a huge range of IP addresses and risk more catastrophic blackouts, or rescind the ban on Telegram. "It was a fight for all or nothing," Litreev said.
After two years, Roskomnadzor relented, lifting its Telegram ban last June on the grounds that the company would help it with terrorism inquiries in the future. The Digital Resistance won this battle, the latest in a war that had been going on since 2012.
Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin in 2012.
Natalia Kolesnikova/Getty
The first ruling
Russia is often grouped with China as a troublesome autocracy. A common misconception related to this comparison is that Russia has always had a fiercely censored internet. But unlike China's internet, which was built from the ground up not to rely on Western companies or users, Russia's internet largely grew freely from the mid-'90s.
That began to change in 2012, when Putin became president for the second time.
Much like the US, Russian presidents were bound by the constitution to serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms. So in 2008, when Putin swapped places with Dmitry Medvedev, becoming prime minister while Medvedev assumed the presidency, many suspected it was a ploy to circumvent constitutional limits. Those suspicions were confirmed when he announced his intention to run as president again in 2011.
When Putin's United Russia party retained a majority in the parliamentary elections two months later -- elections local monitors and the EU said were fraudulent -- protests erupted. Tens of thousands demanded free elections and the release of political prisoners. But what concerned the Kremlin wasn't the demonstrators, but how they managed to organize themselves. These protests were the biggest the country had seen since the '90s, and they were powered by social media.
"The driving force back then was the internet -- social media, Facebook and Twitter," said Andrei Soldatov, a journalist and co-author of The Red Web, a book that details Russia's tightening grip on internet freedoms. "That was the moment the Kremlin started paying attention to this new threat, and it was absolutely clear that it was the big thing for years to come."
The "Snow Revolution" protests in Moscow, 2011.
Epsilon/Getty
Online freedoms began unraveling a month after Putin took office in 2012. The Russian Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly) started drafting an internet restriction bill that lawmakers claimed was necessary to protect minors from child sexual abuse material, online drug markets and content that encouraged self harm. In practice, it allowed government authorities to create an internet blacklist.
Roskomnadzor now had legal cover to pull down websites it didn't like. Today, the internet in Russia is still markedly more open than it is in countries like China, Egypt and Vietnam. But Russia's strategy of censorship is more subtle, focused less on suppressing speech than on oppressing competition.
"The idea is not to prevent you from getting information," Soldatov said. "The idea is to discourage you from participating in political activities of any kind, online or offline."
The Kremlin's aversion to political opposition explains why political protests are often followed by a tightening of controls. The Moscow demonstrations of 2011 and 2012 led to the first internet restriction bill, and Telegram was targeted in 2018 after protests were organized on the platform.
Then, in 2019, the opposition began translating online engagement into electoral victories.
A new era
Activists, journalists and opposition politicians had proven adept at maneuvering around the digital barriers the Kremlin had been throwing up since 2012. Navalny continued to use his prominent online platform to trouble authorities. Though demonized on state TV, many of his YouTube documentaries on shadowy Kremlin activities racked up hundreds of millions of views. Older Russians who regularly watched Russian television thought Navalny was a menace. Many middle-class, internet-savvy Russians, however, were receptive to his cause.
Though the Kremlin punished Navalny in various ways, convicting him on trumped-up fraud charges and barring him from running for office, authorities showed some restraint in suppressing his movement.
"Navalny was tolerated for a decade," said William Partlett, a professor at Melbourne Law School who researches post-Soviet societies and is authoring a book on Navalny. "He was exposing high-level corruption among very important, powerful people in the inner circle of the Kremlin. And he was allowed to do that, and I think the idea was, 'we can manage this guy.'"
That changed in 2019. Navalny, unable to run for Moscow city council himself, encouraged his followers to adopt the "smart voting" doctrine. It meant voting for anyone other than the ruling United Russia party, be they liberals, avowed communists or hardcore nationalists. The plan worked: The "systemic opposition" won 20 of Moscow's 45 seats, reducing the United Russia Party's majority from 38 to 25.
The same system was used successfully in regional elections, ousting three United Russia governors. In a world where freedom of expression is fine up until the point where it infringes on Kremlin control, this was all unacceptable. Navalny's opposition movement was powered by online platforms, from Telegram to Twitter, and now it was producing tangible offline results.
"Now the question for Putin becomes, is the internet manageable?" Partlett said.
The Kremlin cracked down hard. An online libel law was enacted last December, allowing sites to be blocked and people to be jailed for "defaming" public figures. Specific activists and journalists have been targeted: one journalist was jailed for 25 days for retweeting a photo that carried the date and time of a planned protest, while a video of police violently interrogating blogger Gennady Shulga was leaked by the police themselves, Shulga said, "to show people what the authorities can do."
Navalny's treatment played out in front of the world. He was poisoned in an airport in August 2020, then flown to Berlin, where he recuperated. After returning to Russia, he was immediately imprisoned. Meanwhile, Putin amended the constitution in April to allow him to rule as president until 2036.
Alexei Navalny, the face of Russia's liberal opposition, is currently jailed in Russia.
Dmitry Serebryakov/Getty
Taking on big tech
Litreev talks about his exploits like a nimble David outmaneuvering a lumbering, sluggish Goliath. He knows the battle will be perilous but expects he and his fellow activists will ultimately prevail.
"The level of expertise and level of professionalism on the government side is much lower than our side," he said.
Litreev points to a spat between Twitter and Kremlin as evidence. In March, Roskomnadzor demanded Twitter take down thousands of tweets dating back to 2017 that encouraged illegal activity -- which includes child porn, drug markets and, of course, news stories related to opposition candidates. To motivate Twitter to fulfill the request, the telecoms regulator throttled Twitter's speed for months.
But, in a flashback to the Roskomnadzor inadvertently blocking Google amid a clumsy attempt to ban Telegram, sites like Reddit.com and Microsoft.com went down too. People realized that authorities had targeted the "t.co" link-shortening formation Twitter uses, which clobbered any website that ended with the letter "t."
It was a conspicuous fumble on the part of Roskomnadzor, but authorities did manage to isolate and slow down Twitter. The initial missteps masked the use of a concerning new suite of powers that had been signed into law in 2019, called "the sovereign internet," or RuNet.
The law requires ISPs to connect a new range of state hardware to internet exchange points. These "big red boxes" all direct to a control center in Moscow and allow the Kremlin to manage the flow of traffic from one region of the country to another. The system has been called a "digital Iron Curtain," akin to China's Great Firewall that separates its internet from the rest of the world.
Soldatov says this comparison is inaccurate. The Kremlin isn't interested in isolating itself from the rest of the internet, he says, since that would prove economically ruinous. Rather, it's a tool to control the flow of information from one region of the country to the next.
"The sovereign internet was never about the West. It's about what's going on inside the country," he said. "The most sensitive content is generated inside the country."
Moscovites protesting the jailing of Navalny in April.
Anadolu Agency/Getty
Roskomnadzor was able to pair the new sovereign internet hardware with existing data surveillance technology to selectively slow Twitter traffic. In the future, the Kremlin could use the same technology to, for example, throttle certain apps to prevent livestreams from a protest in Moscow from reaching other parts of the country.
It was the government's first known experiment with its newest online tools -- and it worked.
Twitter has removed over 6,000 tweets, according to Roskomnadzor. In the months since, Russian authorities have demanded Facebook take down content, fined Google $81,000 for not taking down content, and told Facebook and Twitter to store all data of Russian users within the country. On Aug. 26, Twitter and Facebook were both fined for not storing such data quickly enough.
Facebook, Google and Twitter declined to comment. Roskomnadzor was contacted but didn't respond.
Just as the Kremlin pressures Facebook, Google and Twitter, it fosters local substitutes like RuTube, a YouTube alternative owned by the state gas company. Law requires Android phones to come preloaded with 16 Russian-made apps, including the VK social media app and the Yandex search engine, while Apple is required to prompt Russians to download the apps during the setup process of new iPhones. It's part of a plan meant to better allow authorities to control online platforms so that anti-Kremlin content can't go viral.
"The tools the Russian government uses are evolving with time. They are much more advanced if we compare them to, say, 2018," Litreev acknowledged. "But modern problems require modern solutions."
The modern problems
Litreev's latest project is Solar Labs, a decentralized VPN that's based on blockchain and incentivized with cryptocurrency. The Solar Labs platform will allow people around the world to host their own VPN servers, for which they'll be paid with Solar Labs cryptocurrency tokens. If enough people from a variety of countries host their own VPN servers, it'll be impossible for all servers to be taken down at once.
"Even if the government will do whatever it takes to block our service, they will not succeed unless they just shut the whole internet for the whole country," he said. Solar Labs is designed to be useful not just for Russians, but also Iranians, Chinese and Belarussians, all of whom face strict internet censorship.
Litreev says the Kremlin's crackdowns on activists, journalists and dissidents are acts of hysteria. The more extreme the measure, the more desperation it reflects.
And the measures have gotten extreme. It's not just in Russia, either. In May, Belarus' ruler, who's closely aligned with Putin, used military force to ground a RyanAir plane midflight to detain a dissident journalist. The whole region's rules are being rewritten.
Litreev wants to go home to see old faces and places, but says people like him need to work to create a safe Russia. He hopes that Solar Labs' VPN, which launches in September, will be part of that process. Meanwhile, Litreev feels safe in Estonia -- though he makes sure any flights he takes avoid both Russian and Belarusian airspace.
Soldatov, living in London, is less hopeful. He said he was optimistic five years ago, when he co-authored The Red Web, but that the events since then have sapped his confidence.
"We use this word, 'unprecedented,'" he said. "The problem when something is unprecedented is you cannot calculate your risks, because you do not know where they are going to stop."
What are affirm afterpay klarna and paypal pay in 4 customer what are affirm afterpay klarna and paypal pay in 4 application what are affirm afterpay klarna and paypal pay later what are affirm afterpay klarna and paypal pay in four what are affirm afterpay klarna and ebay what are affirm afterpay soar what are affirmative action programs what are affirmation cards what are affirmative tu commands in spanish what are affirmative covenants what are covid symptoms
What Are Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal Pay in 4? How 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Plans Work
What Are Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal Pay in 4? How 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Plans Work
How many times have you added items to your online shopping cart only to balk at the total? While staying within your budget is wise, if you need to make a purchase that you're considering charging or borrowing money for, a "buy now, pay later" service might be a smarter option.
BNPL companies like Affirm, AfterPay, Klarna and PayPal Pay in 4 work by offering you micro installment loans. This loan covers the cost of your purchase right away, and lets you repay the balance over time. These services have gained traction since the pandemic and today AfterPay has more than 16 million active users, followed by Affirm's 8.7 million, most of whom are millennials and Gen Z shoppers.
But what exactly are these installment plans and how are they different from credit cards and personal loans? Here's the breakdown of these alternative financing options and how to use them.
What are installment services?
If you've ever bought a car, a home or an education, you've probably used an installment loan. Installment loans are lump-sum loans that you pay off over a set amount of months or years. For products like cars and homes, they're often funded by well-known banks, like Chase or Wells Fargo.
Mini installment plans from companies like AfterPay and Affirm act like microloans for everyday purchases, like clothes, makeup, electronics and gym equipment (like Peloton). Affirm, for example, also supports unexpected purchases, like car repairs through YourMechanic. But unlike new car or home purchase loans, which you typically pay off over the course of many years, products and services financed through these services are typically paid off in a few weeks or months.
How do they work?
Each online installment plan offers different setups, but the gist is: You buy your item now, select the plan at checkout with a qualifying retailer, create an account and complete your purchase. With Klarna and AfterPay, you get your goods right away and then pay for them over four installment payments: one when you check out and typically every other week or once a month thereafter. Affirm has payment options that usually range from three to 12 months, although some plans have terms as high as 48 months.
For AfterPay, as long as you make your four payments, you won't get charged late fees. Klarna has different payment options and some of them charge interest. Affirm charges 0 to 30% interest depending on your payment plan.
To take advantage of an interest-free installment plan, you need to shop with retailers that support it. Anthropologie, DSW and Fenty Beauty are AfterPay partners, for example. You might see the installment service's logo when you're viewing a product, letting you know the partnership exists and you can select a payment plan at checkout. From there, you'll usually pay the first installment and the next one will come out about two weeks later. Otherwise, the product or service will arrive on time, just like it would if you paid in full at checkout.
You can also shop through each company's app. Affirm, AfterPay, PayPal and Klarna all have apps in the App Store and Google Play that let you shop, monitor your orders and make payments.
While they aren't like traditional loans, they're different from other types of alternative payment methods. For instance:
They aren't credit cards. A credit card is a revolving credit line that you get approved for. You use your card to pay for your purchase in full and then at the end of the billing period you'll pay off your bill or make payments until you pay it off in full. Typically, if you don't pay your balance off at the end of the billing period, interest will accrue, which can be 20% or more. CNET always recommends paying off your credit in full.
They aren't the same as layaway. Layaway is when you agree to pay off an item over the course of a few months and once you've paid it off, you can take it home. Layaway usually requires an upfront deposit and a service fee, and you don't get your goods until you've paid for them in full. Some installment plan companies require an upfront deposit, but you don't have to wait to get your item; you get it right away.
How does an installment service affect my credit score?
When you apply for a loan or a credit card, that hard credit check looks at your credit history to see if you're responsible enough with credit to lend to. With BNPL apps, there's no hard credit inquiry. If the app checks your credit, it'll be a soft credit check, which won't hurt your credit score. The services don't specify the credit score you need to shop with them.
If you aren't diligent with payments, your credit score might be affected. For most micro installment loans, you're required to make payments about every two weeks and in four total installments. So if you don't pay your bill on time, that triggers a late payment for some companies. The three major credit bureaus will get notified and you could see your credit score take a dip. Late payments are one of the biggest factors in determining your credit score, and a drop in that could hurt your chances of borrowing money in the future.
Penalties and fees vary by company. Affirm and PayPal do not charge late fees. AfterPay does, though these fees will not exceed 25% of the purchase amount. Klarna doesn't charge a late fee but if you don't make a payment when it's due, you can be blocked from using the site and app in the future. None of these services charge prepayment fees, so you won't get penalized for repaying your balance sooner.
Should I use BNPL services?
It depends on what kind of shopper you are and your mentality about money. Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros
You can buy items and services, even if you can't afford them right away:If you have things you need or want to buy, you're not obligated to pay full price at checkout. Micro installment loans let you pay out your purchase over a few weeks.
You don't need great credit to get approved:Most services do a soft credit check, which won't hurt your credit score . If you don't have great credit or a long credit history, this is a good alternative payment option.
It's simpler than a loan or credit card:If you've had trouble with credit cards or don't like using them, this is an easier method than applying for a credit card or personal loan. You can apply at checkout, whereas if you want a credit card or loan, you'll need to wait a few days before you can use those funds.
Cons
You might believe you're spending less:If you cringe at a $1,000 couch, seeing payments broken up into $250 every other week, for example, tricks you into believing you're paying less for an item. In reality, you're still paying the same amount and you're borrowing money to do it.
You may be charged interest or otherfees: Depending on the service you choose and the repayment plan you select, you could be charged interest. Affirm, for instance, offers interest rates between 0% and 30%. While this interest does not compound like a credit card, spreading payments for that $1,000 couch over 12 months at a 30% interest rate could end up costing you $169.76 in interest alone.
You might not get approved for the full amount: Your credit score may not preclude you from getting approved for a BNPL loan, but it's still a factor when determining your loan amount and interest rate (if applicable). That means, there's a chance you might not get approved for the full amount you're requesting.
It's still a loan:Remember you're still taking out a loan, even if you pay it off sooner than you would a traditional loan. Not paying on time could result in interest fees, late payment fees or not being able to use the service in the future.
While the convenience of delayed payment sounds appealing as a way to get something now, you're still on the hook for paying your bill in full. If you need something now but can't afford it, micro installment loans might be a good idea. But if you don't think you'll be able to afford payments, you may want to consider another payment method or waiting until you have cash on hand to make your purchase.
Correction, April 30: Affirm has 8.7 million users, more than we previously quoted. It also has repayment options ranging from three to 12 months, a shorter period than previously listed. Clarified that AfterPay does not charge late fees as long as you make four payments.
