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Amazon stores some Alexa recordings and transcripts indefinitely
Amazon has confirmed that, even if you manually delete recordings and transcripts made by its Alexa digital assistant, some of them may never be removed (CNET).
In a response to a US government query, Amazon writes that although content is removed from its "primary systems", the company has only "an ongoing effort to ensure those transcripts do not remain in any of Alexa’s other storage systems" – presumably including those used by human Alexa transcribers. Other content that may not, in fact, be deleted when you manually remove it includes interaction with Alexa skills, which allow the skill's developer to retain recordings, and any kind of purchase made using the system.
The United States produces more waste per head than any other country on the planet
The United States produces 12 per cent of our planet's municipal waste, despite being home to just 4 per cent of the world's population, and it recycles just 32 per cent of its rubbish (The Guardian). By comparison, China and India between them are home to 36 per cent of the world's human population but produce only 27 per cent of the planet's municipal solid waste. The data is published in a new report on worldwide municipal waste generation by risk consultant Verisk Maplecroft.
Huawei still isn't getting permission to buy from US suppliers
The US Department of Commerce is upholding the country's ban on US firms selling any equipment to Huawei, despite public promises made by the country's president, Donald Trump, in talks over the weekend (The Register). Reuters sources within the department indicate that Huawei's blacklisting is still in place and that no guidance has so far been provided to follow up on the president's statements.
The US government isn't impressed by Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency plan
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services has requested that Facebook immediately halt the ongoing development of its Libra cryptocurrency, which the social media firm wants to roll out to its entire userbase in 2020 (Engadget). In its letter, the committee says: "If products and services like these are left improperly regulated and without sufficient oversight, they could pose systemic risks that endanger U.S. and global financial stability."
30,000 followers makes you an internet celebrity, per the ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority has become the unexpected arbiter of online celebrity after a ruling in which it found that pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi was breaking UK law against celebrity endorsements of medication by having an Instagram lifestyle blogger promote its Phenergan Night Time sleep aid (Ars Technica). Sarah Willox Knott's ThisMamaLife account posted an endorsement of the tablets to her 32,000 followers without disclosing that she was being paid to do so. The new ruling defines 30,000 followers as the threshold of online celebrity.
The hunt for an Alzheimer's vaccine
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
