Technology

National

Uber Orders Investigation Into Sexual Harassment Claims

7:03pm February 20, 2017

by Hansi Lo Wang

A former engineer for the ride-hailing app Uber published a blog post this weekend claiming that she faced sexual harassment while working at the company. Uber says it's investigating the allegations.

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'#Republic' Author Describes How Social Media Hurts Democracy

7:03pm February 20, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks to Cass Sunstein about his new book, #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media. He says democracy needs people to come across a variety of viewpoints, and much of social media limits that exposure.

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In her blog post, Rigetti describes sexual harassment and systemic sexism at Uber, where she worked for only a year. The post comes at a time when Uber has already been under fire from the #DeleteUber campaign.

Uber Will Investigate Sexual Harassment Claims By Engineer

6:12pm February 20, 2017

by Maggie Penman

Uber's CEO has ordered an investigation into a sexual harassment claim made by a female engineer after she published a blog post detailing her experience.

Facebook claims to have 1.23 billion daily users globally. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he wants that number to grow and for users to conduct their digital lives only on his platform.

Facebook Wants Great Power, But What About Responsibility?

2:41pm February 19, 2017

by Aarti Shahani

Mark Zuckerberg has announced a plan to make Facebook the only primary platform people use to connect to others virtually. But he fails to discuss the responsibilities that come with that power.

Scientific Conference Planners Concerned About Immigration Policy

4:34pm February 17, 2017

by Cheryl Corley

There's increasing concern among planners of science and technical conferences about the Trump administration's immigration restrictions. Many groups signed a letter asking Trump to rescind the order.

National

Local Police Departments Invest In Cell Phone Spy Tools

4:34pm February 17, 2017

As we depend on our cell phones more and more, the tools to peek into our phones are getting better. Local police departments across the country are investing heavily in this technology. And, with few laws governing what police can collect and store, that has a lot of privacy advocates alarmed. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to City Lab reporter George Joseph about the spread of tools that let police collect cell phone data.

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Germany has banned the My Friend Cayla dolls, which are also the subject of a complaint by privacy groups in the U.S. who say the toys spy on children.

Banned In Germany: Kids' Doll Is Labeled An Espionage Device

12:24pm February 17, 2017

by Bill Chappell

The doll Cayla looks like an everyday toy and gives no notice that it collects and transmits everything it hears, German regulators say.

Mark Volman (right) and Howard Kaylan as they pose backstage in Chicago, May 14, 1983.

Music & Culture

The Turtles Lose Case Over Rights To Their Oldies In New York

10:56am February 17, 2017

by Andrew Flanagan

Members of The Turtles lost their New York class action in a ruling from the state's appeals court.

Using The Blockchain To Change Prisons

5:30am February 17, 2017

by Keith Romer

Charlie Shrem went to prison for his involvement in Bitcoin trading. Now he's out and part of the next evolution of Bitcoin's future, investments that trade using Bitcoin's underlying technology.

Yahoo says it has notified an undisclosed number of users that their private information may have been accessed using forged cookies in connection with a previously disclosed hack in 2014.

Yahoo Warns More Users That Their Private Information May Have Been Stolen

1:02pm February 16, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The company warned some users that their accounts may have been accessed using forged cookies in connection with a previously disclosed hack in 2014.