Year: 2020

YouTube today announced a change in policy regarding the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Previously, YouTube’s advertising guidelines prevented monetization of videos that included more than a passing mention of the coronavirus as part of its “sensitive events” policy. The policy is meant to protect advertisers from being associated with videos about things like mass shootings, terrorist acts, armed conflicts, and global health crises — like the coronavirus. Now, YouTube is changing this policy to allow some creators to monetize videos on the topic, it says.

The creator community was unhappy with YouTube’s decision to demonetize any video featuring discussions of the coronavirus. (Though, to be fair, YouTube creators are generally unhappy when YouTube demonetizes any of their videos.)

But by not allowing creators to profit from videos about the coronavirus or COVID-19, YouTube was putting a damper on informative, newsworthy videos as well as those capitalizing on the human tragedy and people’s fears about the emerging pandemic. The ban on monetization also meant that news organizations covering the topic responsibly wouldn’t be able to generate revenue from their videos, even as coronavirus news became one of their main coverage areas.

Today, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki explained the company’s decision to re-open monetization on videos referencing the health crisis.

She says that the sensitive events policy was designed to apply to short-term events of a significant magnitude, like a natural disaster.

“It’s becoming clear this issue is now an ongoing and important part of everyday conversation,” Wojcicki said, in reference to the coronavirus, “And we want to make sure news organizations and creators can continue producing quality videos in a sustainable way,” she added.

Not all video creators will be eligible to monetize their coronavirus videos, she notes.

Instead, YouTube says ads will be enabled on “a limited number of channels” including those belonging to news partners and creators “who accurately self-certify.” The latter is a more questionable choice, as it opens up monetization to any creator using YouTube’s self-labeling system, not just news organizations or trusted health authorities.

The Self Certification system is one where creators use an online dashboard to tell YouTube whether or not their videos comply with advertiser guidelines ahead of YouTube’s automated review of their content. Over time, YouTube will rely on creators’ input instead of its own systems if the creators have a history of accurate self-certifications. It’s an honor system, essentially, followed by an official check. 

The system doesn’t prevent creators from publishing misinformation in their videos, then labeling the video as advertiser-friendly. In addition, many creators believe that the bogus information they’re sharing is correct and true, so a self-certification system wouldn’t stop them from publishing their misleading and often dangerous advice. Already, YouTube has to work to quickly remove videos like that. This includes videos discouraging people from seeking medical treatment or making dangerous claims — like how garlic or bleach can prevent the viral disease, for example.

To fight misinformation, YouTube is also raising authoritative sources in its search results and recommendations and is showing information panels on which videos are flagged.

Despite these efforts, there continues to be a massive amount of misinformation circulating across social media, including on sites like Facebook and Twitter, in addition to YouTube. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus even referred to the crisis as not just an epidemic, but “an infodemic.” (WHO today has upgraded the COVID-19 viral disease a pandemic, as well.)

In light of the misinformation problem, YouTube’s decision to open up monetization on videos about the coronavirus will be a controversial choice. In doing so, it signals to the creator community that one the most-searched topics on the internet can now be leveraged for views and ad dollars. That invites exploitation.

Despite the many jokes made at the expense of the first new U.S. military branch in nearly 80 years, industry experts say the Space Force represents a massive — and strategically significant — shift for America’s defense.

Many of modern life’s conveniences depend on the ability to consistently and securely access information provided by thousands of satellites currently orbiting the earth. That ability is now clearly threatened, according to experts from companies like Virgin Galactic, The Aerospace Corporation, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the defense contractor L3Harris and space-focused investment firm Starburst Aerospace.

In a panel discussion earlier this year organized by the Los Angeles Economic Development Council in a nondescript office park in El Segundo — just a few miles away from the Space and Missile Systems Center located at Los Angeles Air Force Base — these experts laid out a case for the importance of the Space Force and the potential it has to reshape both the military and whole industries in states across the country.

Los Angeles, these men said, could potentially be at the heart of this transformation.

Despite the many jokes made at the expense of the first new U.S. military branch in nearly 80 years, industry experts say the Space Force represents a massive — and strategically significant — shift for America’s defense.

Many of modern life’s conveniences depend on the ability to consistently and securely access information provided by thousands of satellites currently orbiting the earth. That ability is now clearly threatened, according to experts from companies like Virgin Galactic, The Aerospace Corporation, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the defense contractor L3Harris and space-focused investment firm Starburst Aerospace.

In a panel discussion earlier this year organized by the Los Angeles Economic Development Council in a nondescript office park in El Segundo — just a few miles away from the Space and Missile Systems Center located at Los Angeles Air Force Base — these experts laid out a case for the importance of the Space Force and the potential it has to reshape both the military and whole industries in states across the country.

Los Angeles, these men said, could potentially be at the heart of this transformation.

What do you do when you’re rich in cryptocurrencies but you don’t want to sell your positions? The company named Blockchain thinks it has found a solution. It lets you borrow money against cryptocurrencies held in your Blockchain wallet.

As soon as you lock cryptocurrencies in your wallet, you receive USD PAX, a stablecoin that is pegged against USD. You can then convert, send and do whatever you want with your stablecoins. You can pay back your loan whenever you want.

The minimum loan size is $1,000 and Blockchain requires a collateralization ratio of 200%. It means that if you want to borrow $5,000, you need to put down the equivalent of $10,000 in cryptocurrencies as collateral.

Blockchain charges interest on loans. Your interest rate may vary but the company tries to be transparent about it before you accept the loan. By default, Blockchain uses your collateral to collect interest. Be careful with the value of your cryptocurrencies, as your collateral could end up losing a ton of value even though you still owe USD.

Behind the scene, Blockchain is running a lending desk for institutional investors. The company launched this feature back in August. Blockchain thinks that it has built a strong liquidity pool that it can leverage with retail investors.

Users in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are not eligible to the feature for now. Blockchain only accepts collateral in BTC for now.

What do you do when you’re rich in cryptocurrencies but you don’t want to sell your positions? The company named Blockchain thinks it has found a solution. It lets you borrow money against cryptocurrencies held in your Blockchain wallet.

As soon as you lock cryptocurrencies in your wallet, you receive USD PAX, a stablecoin that is pegged against USD. You can then convert, send and do whatever you want with your stablecoins. You can pay back your loan whenever you want.

The minimum loan size is $1,000 and Blockchain requires a collateralization ratio of 200%. It means that if you want to borrow $5,000, you need to put down the equivalent of $10,000 in cryptocurrencies as collateral.

Blockchain charges interest on loans. Your interest rate may vary but the company tries to be transparent about it before you accept the loan. By default, Blockchain uses your collateral to collect interest. Be careful with the value of your cryptocurrencies, as your collateral could end up losing a ton of value even though you still owe USD.

Behind the scene, Blockchain is running a lending desk for institutional investors. The company launched this feature back in August. Blockchain thinks that it has built a strong liquidity pool that it can leverage with retail investors.

Users in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are not eligible to the feature for now. Blockchain only accepts collateral in BTC for now.

Law enforcement agencies in India used facial recognition to identify more than 1,100 individuals who took part in communal violence in the national capital last month, a top minister said in the lower house of the parliament on Wednesday.

In what is the first admission of its kind in the country, Amit Shah, India’s home minister, said the law enforcement agencies deployed a facial recognition system, and fed it with images from government-issued identity cards, including 12-digit Aadhaar that has been issued to more than a billion Indians and driving licenses, “among other databases,” to identify alleged culprits in the communal violence in northeast Delhi on February 25 and 26.

“This is a software. It does not see faith. It does not see clothes. It only sees the face and through the face the person is caught,” said Shah, responding to an individual who had urged New Delhi to not drag innocent people into the facial surveillance.

The admission further demonstrates how the Indian government has rushed to deploy facial recognition technology in the absence of regulation overseeing its usage. Critics have urged the government to hold consultations and formulate a law before deploying the technology.

“The use of Aadhaar for this purpose without any judicial authorisation violates the judgement of the Supreme Court in KS Puttaswamy v. UoI (2019),” said New Delhi-based digital rights advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation, which also questioned the sophistication of the facial recognition system.

The facial recognition system that the government used in Delhi was first acquired by the Delhi Police to identify missing children. In 2019, the system had an accuracy rate of 1% and it even failed to distinguish between boys and girls, the group said.

“All of this is being done without any clear underlying legal authority and is in clear violation of the Right to Privacy judgment (that the Indian apex court upheld in 2017),” said Apar Gupta, executive director at IFF. “Facial recognition technology is still evolving and the risks of such evolutionary tech being used in policing are significant,” said Gupta.

Several law enforcement agencies have been using facial recognition for years now. In January and early February, police in New Delhi and the northern state of Uttar Pradesh used the technology during protests against a new citizenship law that critics say marginalises Muslims.

Meet Alma, a French startup that helps you offer a new payment option for your expensive goods. Like Klarna, clients can choose to pay over 3 or 4 installments. But the comparison stops here as Klarna isn’t available in France. Alma just raised a $14.1 million (€12.5 million) funding round.

Idinvest, ISAI and Picus Capital are investing in today’s funding round. Additionally, Alma has opened a $19.2 million (€17 million) credit line to finance merchant payments.

As a merchant, when you integrate Alma in your payment flow, your customers can choose Alma to make it less intimidating. Instead of getting charged when you pay, you can choose to buy now and pay over three or four installments. Merchants get paid instantly.

“We handle risk and cash advance in house,” co-founder and CEO Louis Chatriot told me. “When it comes to the risk of non-payment, we have implemented a series of verifications, filters and algorithms in order to detect fraud and high-risk profiles.”

The company creates multiple categories depending on your profile. It can ask for more information if Alma has some doubts, such as API access to your bank statement. Assessing risk is particularly difficult in France as there’s no central credit scoring system.

Merchants can choose to pay the processing fees in full — 3.8% of the transaction for a payment in 3 intallments, 4.2% for a payment in 4 installments. But they can also share the processing fees with the end customer.

Alma is compatible with most e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, Magento and Prestashop. Merchants can also offer Alma as a payment option in retail stores as well.

Over 1,000 merchants are using Alma already — the startup processes tens of millions of euros of transactions per year. Clients include Bobbies, Asphalte, Cowboy, Weebot, The Cool Republic and The Socialite Family.

With today’s funding round, the company wants to attract more merchants and launch two new payment options — pay later and a more traditional option to pay now. In addition to that, Alma currently redirects customers to its own checkout page. The startup wants to integrate its payment widget directly on e-commerce websites.