set hrh ejyw 45 g // MAGZUS.COM // by Derek Kolush

SUMMARY COOL TECH, CRAZY TURNS: A REPORTER’S TAKE ON DRIVERLESS CARS

WHY HAS THE PRICE OF BITCOIN BEEN FALLING?

COLONIAL PIPELINE CONFIRMS IT PAID $4.4M TO HACKERS

DAIMLER TRUCK TO SHIFT SPENDING TO BATTERY, HYDROGEN RIGS

FOUNDER OF TIKTOK’S CHINESE OWNER STEPPING DOWN AS CEO

US TO RAMP UP TRACKING OF DOMESTIC EXTREMISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

FTC SUES FRONTIER FOR DELIVERING INTERNET THAT’S TOO SLOW

TALKING TO THE MOON: EUROPE PITCHES LUNAR SATELLITES PLAN

THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE MAKES A COMEBACK THIS SUMMER

SUMMER MOVIE CALENDAR

LOSSLESS: APPLE MUSIC PREMIERES DOLBY ATMOS, SPATIAL AUDIO

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REPORT: MICROSOFT INVESTIGATED GATES BEFORE HE LEFT BOARD

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OPRAH AND CNN: AT&T IS MERGING MEDIA BUSINESS WITH DISCOVERY

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KRASINSKI OFFERS FRESH THRILLS IN ‘A QUIET PLACE 2’

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ZACK SNYDER MAKES A BITINGLY GOOD ZOMBIE-HEIST FLICK

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PASSING ON YOUR PASSWORD? STREAMING SERVICES ARE PAST IT

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AMAZON TO EXTEND PAUSE ON POLICE USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION

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CALIFORNIA PLACES TESLA’S ‘FULL SELF-DRIVING’ UNDER REVIEW

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SPOTIFY CO-OWNER EK SAYS KROENKES REJECT BID TO BUY ARSENAL

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PAYCHECK ADVANCE APPS: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD

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VIRUS TESTING STRATEGIES, OPINIONS VARY WIDELY IN US SCHOOLS

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DO I STILL HAVE TO WEAR A MASK? WHAT ABOUT KIDS?

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A FACEBOOK FOOD GROUP COMES TOGETHER TO MAKE A COOKBOOK

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US SPACE FORCE MISSILE-WARNING SATELLITE ROCKETS INTO ORBIT

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STELLANTIS, FOXCONN TEAM UP TO MAKE CARS MORE CONNECTED

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EU TAKES BIG STEP TOWARD RELAXING TRAVEL FOR VACCINATED

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RUSSIA WON’T BLOCK TWITTER, BUT PARTIAL SLOWDOWN TO CONTINUE

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Image: Ross D. Franklin

COOL TECH, CRAZY TURNS: A REPORTER’S TAKE ON DRIVERLESS CARS

The annoyed shopper paced around and knocked on the windows of a minivan blocking him from leaving his Costco parking spot. He didn’t seem to notice, or care, that there was no one inside. A colleague and I had called for the Waymo ride — our first in a fully driverless vehicle — and quickly encountered a hiccup: figuring out how to tell it to meet us at the curb. We ended up spotting the minivan across the bustling parking lot, and hurried over. As we pulled away, the shopper raised his arm and extended his middle finger. 07

front seats from the rest of the vehicle, with a sign saying, “Don’t touch the steering wheel.” I felt uneasy as the minivan crept into an intersection and waited for oncoming traffic to pass before making a left turn. It was as if a ghost was handling the steering wheel. My jitters lifted until minutes later, when we made a bold left turn at another green light. With several oncoming cars zipping toward us, the minivan darted across the road into a parking lot. Though we didn’t come close to crashing, the turn frightened us. Waymo later examined the maneuver, saying the cameras and remote-sensing technology in a dome atop the minivan had detected the oncoming cars, knew their speed and understood that the vehicle could make the turn safely. “In your case, it was certainly safe,” Saswat Panigrahi, a senior product manager at Waymo, told me. We hailed another Waymo minivan to a public library, but were dropped off on a nearby private street instead. Panigrahi believes the minivan might have been rerouted due to traffic or a road closure in the area. From there, we tried to catch a ride back to Costco, but Waymo canceled four trip requests and stopped accepting my credit card as a fraud prevention measure, because several requests had been made in a matter of minutes. With my Waymo account locked up, I requested a ride from another ride-hailing service with a human driver. He warmly chitchatted about his career plans but, when first picking us up, carefully avoided trying to pronounce my name. 12

Image: Ross D. Franklin

A Waymo minivan also made an aggressive turn at a green light that we would have never taken. Another failed to go the requested location, dropping us off about a four-minute walk away. And watching the wheel turn by itself was, well, eerie. The company said it is listening closely to customer feedback and acknowledges it needs to improve passenger pickups. It also said it’s working to set the proper expectations with riders, and has launched a campaign that provides tips. Automakers and tech companies were moving quickly to put self-driving vehicles in action in 2018, but a fatal crash involving an Uber test vehicle in Tempe slowed development. Only recently did the industry show signs of recovery. Still, most experts believe there won’t be widespread use for another five years or so, and autonomous vehicles won’t be in every major city until at least late this decade. Waymo started offering autonomous rides to a limited number of customers during 2019 in an early testing program in Arizona. Last fall, it opened its ride-hailing program to anyone seeking a ride within its 55-square mile (142-square-kilometer) service area covering parts of Chandler, Tempe and Mesa. The program serves hundreds of passengers each week and offers prices in line with Uber and Lyft. The company runs 300 to 400 vehicles in Arizona for its ride-hailing service and testing. Our trip started with a welcome from the minivan — an automated voice correctly pronounced my French first name, which people often mangle. A partition separated the empty 11

Image: Ross D. Franklin

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRICE? On Wednesday, a statement posted on the Chinese Banking Association’s website said financial institutions should “resolutely refrain” from providing services using digital currencies because of their volatility. Virtually every cryptocurrency fell after the industry group’s statement. As of 4:15 p.m. eastern time Wednesday, Bitcoin was down more than 7% at around $40,310 per coin. Most cryptocurrencies lost between 7% and 22% of their value and shares of Coinbase dropped 5.4%. It’s not unusual for the value of Bitcoin to change by thousands of dollars in a short time period, though swings totaling around $20,000 in one day are extreme. On the last trading day of 2020, Bitcoin closed just under $30,000. In mid-April, it flirted with $65,000.

DOESN’T ELON MUSK HAVE A ROLE HERE? Yes, and a fairly big one. Musk announced in February that his electric car company Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. In March, Tesla began accepting Bitcoin as payment. Those actions contributed to the run-up in Bitcoin’s price, and Musk also promoted the digital currency Dogecoin, which also spiked in value. However, Musk reversed course in just a short time, saying last week that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin because of the potential environmental damage that can result from Bitcoin mining. The announcement sent Bitcoin falling below $50,000 and set the tone for the big pullback recently in most cryptocurrencies. 21

A number of Bitcoin fans pushed back on Musk’s reasoning. Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban said that gold mining is much more damaging to the environment than the mining of Bitcoin. A 2019 study by the Technical University of Munich and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the Bitcoin network generates an amount of CO2 similar to a large Western city or an entire developing country like Sri Lanka. But a University of Cambridge study last year estimated that on average, 39% of “proof-ofwork” crypto mining was powered by renewable energy, primarily hydroelectric energy. There had been some concern among Bitcoin investors that Tesla would sell some or all of its Bitcoin holdings, but Musk indicated in a tweet Wednesday that Tesla was sticking with its investment.

BUT SOME COMPANIES ARE USING BITCOIN? The digital payment company Square and its CEO Jack Dorsey — also the CEO of Twitter — have been big proponents of Bitcoin. Overstock.com also accepts Bitcoin, and in February, BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the U.S., said it would include digital currencies in the services it provides to clients. And Mastercard said it would start supporting “select crypto currencies” on its network. Bitcoin has become popular enough that more than 300,000 transactions typically occur in an average day, according to Bitcoin wallet site blockchain.info. Still, its popularity is low compared with cash and credit cards.

Image: Thomas Trutschel

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve said a survey of market contacts found roughly one in five cited cryptocurrencies as a potential shock to the system over the next 12 to 18 months. That’s a turnaround from the fall, when a similar survey found none mentioning cryptocurrencies.

HOW MUCH OVERSIGHT IS THERE? Washington officials have been talking about regulating digital currencies more, and worries about a heavier hand have played a role in the recent swoon in prices. Gary Gensler, who took over as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, has said that cryptocurrency markets would benefit from more oversight to protect investors. In a hearing before the House’s financial services committee earlier this month, Gensler said neither the SEC nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which he used to head, has a “regulatory framework” for trading on cryptocurrency exchanges yet. He said he thought Congress would ultimately have to address it because “there’s really not protection against fraud or manipulation.”

HOW BITCOIN CAME TO BE It’s a mystery. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a person or group of people operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was then adopted by a small clutch of enthusiasts. Nakamoto dropped off the map as bitcoin began to attract widespread attention. But proponents say that doesn’t matter: The currency obeys its own internal logic. 27

COLONIAL PIPELINE CONFIRMS IT PAID $4.4M TO HACKERS

The operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline confirmed it paid $4.4 million to a gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems. Colonial Pipeline said Wednesday that after it learned of the May 7 ransomware attack, the company took its pipeline system offline and needed to do everything in its power to restart it 30

Image: Chris Carlson

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quickly and safely, and made the decision then to pay the ransom. “This decision was not made lightly,” but it was one that had to be made, a company spokesman said. “Tens of millions of Americans rely on Colonial – hospitals, emergency medical services, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, airports, truck drivers and the traveling public.” Colonial Pipeline’s CEO, Joseph Blount, told The Wall Street Journal he authorized the payment because the company didn’t know the extent of the damage and wasn’t sure how long it would take to bring the pipeline’s systems back. The FBI discourages making ransom payments to ransomware attackers, because paying encourages criminal networks around the globe who have hit thousands of businesses and health care systems in the U.S. in the past year alone. But many victims of ransomware attacks, where hackers demand large sums of money to decrypt stolen data or to prevent it from being leaked online, opt to pay. “I know that’s a highly controversial decision,” Blount told the Journal. “But it was the right thing to do for the country.” Blount said Colonial paid the ransom in consultation with experts who previously dealt with the group behind the attacks, DarkSide, which rents out its ransomware to partners to carry out the actual attacks. Multiple sources had confirmed to The Associated Press that Colonial Pipeline had paid the criminals who committed the cyberattack a ransom of nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency 33

for the software decryption key required to unscramble their data network. A ransom payment of 75 Bitcoin was paid the day after the criminals locked up Colonial’s corporate network, according to Tom Robinson, co-founder of the cryptocurrency-tracking firm Elliptic. Prior to Robinson’s blog post, two people briefed on the case had confirmed the payment amount to AP. Blount told the Journal the attack was discovered around 5:30 a.m. on May 7. It took Colonial about an hour to shut down the pipeline, which has 260 delivery points across 13 states and Washington, D.C., Blount said. That helped prevent the infection from potentially migrating to the pipeline’s operational controls. But there are lingering issues. Blount said Colonial is still unable to bill customers following an outage of that system. The pipeline system delivers about 45% of the gasoline consumed on the East Coast, and Colonial, which is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, halted fuel supplies for nearly a week. That led to panic-buying and shortages at gas stations from Washington, D.C. to Florida. Colonial restarted its pipeline a week ago, but it took time to resume a full delivery schedule, and the panic-buying led to gasoline shortages. More than 9,500 gas stations were out of fuel on Wednesday, including half of the gas stations in D.C. and 40% of stations in North Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, which tracks fuel prices and station outages.

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FOUNDER OF TIKTOK’S CHINESE OWNER STEPPING DOWN AS CEO

The founder of TikTok’s Chinese owner said Thursday he will give up his job as CEO to focus on longer-term initiatives, a step that comes amid uncertainty over whether the Biden administration will force the sale of the popular short video service’s U.S. arm. Zhang Yiming said Liang Rubo, a co-founder, will succeed him as ByteDance Ltd. CEO. Zhang said leaving day-to-day management will “enable me to have greater impact on longer-term initiatives,” but gave no details of his next role. ByteDance is waiting to find out whether the Biden administration will revive former President Donald Trump’s efforts to force the 47

sale of TikTok’s U.S. arm. Trump said the service was a security threat because it gathered too much personal information about millions of American users. Regulators also are stepping up anti-monopoly enforcement against Chinese e-commerce giants and other internet companies, though there is no indication ByteDance has been targeted. Zhang founded ByteDance in 2012. Its first short-video platform, Douyin, was launched in 2016. TikTok was launched outside China the following year. The company said last year that TikTok had 700 million users globally. ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, says it operates in 150 markets and has more than 60,000 employees. The Trump administration’s plan called for ByteDance to be required to sell TikTok’s U.S. arm to the software maker Oracle and retailer Walmart. The Biden administration, which took office in January, suspended that while it reviewed potential security threats posed by Chinese tech companies.

for shorter range deliveries. Daimler Truck is testing a hydrogen-powered long-haul truck, the GenH2, and has battery trucks operating in test programs with customers, with mass production expected in 2022 for Freightliners’ eCascadia and 2021 for the Mercedes-Benz eActros. The spinoff would involve distributing a majority of Daimler Truck shares to existing

Daimler AG shareholders. The restructuring as two separate businesses aims to give each more flexibility to react to developments in its customer markets, as well as to follow diverging paths in technology development, with cars more focused on batteries and the truck division working on developing hydrogen fuel cells through a joint venture with Volvo. 43

facilitate “local prevention frameworks” that, according to a statement, can better identify people “who may be radicalizing, or have radicalized, to violence.” The overall effort is in its early stages. The department is exploring partnerships with tech companies, universities, and nonprofit groups to access publicly available data. DHS will also train analysts on tracking social media and how to distinguish a threat from the exercise of free speech. DHS officials say the goal is to better monitor and respond to story lines percolating on social media that could incite violence. With a more focused effort, the department could better assess domestic threats and move to protect potential targets of attacks, the officials said. “It’s really important that people understand that in this administration, we do not view the mission of Homeland Security to police thought,” said John Cohen, the department’s assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention. “It’s about protecting against acts of violence.” Cohen noted that the agency understands its success could be undermined “if what we are doing is viewed as constitutionally incorrect.” Civil rights advocates care closely following the plan. Abed Ayoub, legal director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said he had spoken to Biden administration officials before and since they’ve taken office about their efforts to combat white extremism. “These programs almost always end up targeting Black and brown communities,” Ayoub said. He added: “It does seem that the focus...will be on white supremacy.” 54

Republicans have also raised concerns about cracks in the traditional firewall between domestic and foreign intelligence. DHS and the FBI have domestic missions while the CIA is largely prohibited from spying on U.S. citizens. But all intelligence agencies, including Homeland Security’s intelligence arm, report to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, whose office compiled a threat assessment published earlier this year highlighting the threat of white extremism. U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said he’s concerned about information gathered by the CIA being used indirectly by agencies like DHS and the FBI. Stewart also questioned the department’s plans to contract with private companies for social media data. “I understand there are concerns regarding domestic terrorism,” Stewart said. “I support those efforts so long as (they) do not breach the wall between using intelligence assets that are supposed to be focused on foreign threats.” He added: “You can’t backdoor that by saying, ‘We won’t, but we’ll pay Google to do that for us.’” Cohen, who previously worked for DHS under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said the department would not tap private companies to collect intelligence that it would otherwise be barred from collecting. “We cannot hire them to do things that we can’t do under our own authorities,” he said. The Jan. 6 riot, in which a mob seeking to stop the certification of Biden’s victory ransacked the Capitol, exposed intelligence weaknesses across law enforcement. Police on scene were 57

left unequipped to stop the rioters, many of whom were carrying bear spray, metal pipes, and even guns. It emerged quickly that the FBI had issued a prior warning that some extremists were speculating about “war” at the Capitol. And public posts on social media showed people expressing support for trying to stop the Electoral College certification, including by using force. DHS officials say Jan. 6 underscored that the government needed to better evaluate and act on information that may be readily available on public sites, but different from traditional forms of intelligence. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has insisted that officials from the department’s civil rights and civil liberties section be included in all discussions about the new programs, the officials said. The effort will not use artificial intelligence, nor will it track specific individuals. In its nearly two decades of existence, DHS has been repeatedly accused of violating civil liberties protections in trying to monitor threats. Hugh Handeyside, a national security lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said he was concerned the expansion of surveillance programs would renew questions about protecting free speech and privacy rights. “Responding to security failures by giving law enforcement and intelligence agencies unneeded power and resources amounts to a one-way ratchet,” he said in an email. “The reality is that the federal government already has more than sufficient authority to investigate and prosecute white supremacist violence.” 58

US TO RAMP UP TRACKING OF DOMESTIC EXTREMISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Department of Homeland Security plans to ramp up social media tracking as part of an enhanced focus on domestic violent extremism. While the move is a response to weaknesses exposed by the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection, it’s raising concerns about undermining Americans’ civil liberties. President Joe Biden’s top appointees have called white supremacists the greatest security threat to the country and are pushing for bolstered intelligence gathering. Closely watching are advocates for communities of color and groups that have previously been the focus of intensified surveillance, sometimes unlawfully. DHS in recent weeks has announced a new office in its intelligence branch focusing on domestic extremism and a new center to 53

FTC SUES FRONTIER FOR DELIVERING INTERNET THAT’S TOO SLOW

The Federal Trade Commission and six states are suing Frontier Communications for not delivering the internet speeds it promised customers and charging them for better, more expensive service than they actually got. In its complaint, filed Wednesday in federal court in California, the FTC said thousands of Frontier customers have complained that the company was not delivering promised speeds. Customers said they couldn’t use the internet service for the online activities they should have been able to.

The complaint concerns what’s called DSL internet, an older type of network that’s sent over copper telephone wires. Phone and cable companies today build networks which can handle much faster speeds. The FTC says Frontier provides DSL service to 1.3 million customers in 25 states, mostly in rural areas. It has about 3 million internet customers overall. Involved in the suit are attorneys general from Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin and the district attorneys’ offices of Los Angeles County and Riverside County on behalf of California. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Frontier said the lawsuit is without merit and it will defend itself. The company said its internet speeds “have been clearly and accurately articulated, defined and described in the company’s marketing materials and disclosures.” Customers have for years complained about the Connecticut-based company, which filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 and emerged from out of bankruptcy at the end of April with $11 billion less in debt. The FTC’s complaint noted that Frontier has settled with West Virginia, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Minnesota in cases since 2015 in cases claiming the company was misrepresenting its internet speeds. It has denied wrongdoing. The acting chairwoman of the FTC, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, tweeted that while the case was important, the FTC could never “fully fill the regulatory gap” left after the Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality rules that oversaw internet service. 65

The FCC repealed the rules under a Trumpappointed chairman in 2017. “Active oversight by the proper regulator may have prevented these violations,” she said. The Minnesota attorney general’s office settled with Frontier last July over possible deceptive billing practices. The company agreed to disclose its prices to new customers before they get service and said it would pay $750,000 in restitution to customers. It also agreed to invest at least $10 million over four years to improve its broadband network in the state. West Virginia in 2015 required the company to spend $150 million to boost internet speeds for rural customers as part of a settlement. Millions of Americans can’t get online because they have no access to high-speed internet or can’t afford it. The Biden administration has promised to tackle this “digital divide.”

TALKING TO THE MOON: EUROPE PITCHES LUNAR SATELLITES PLAN

Image: Michael Probst

The European Space Agency presented a vision to put satellites in orbit around the moon that would facilitate future missions to Earth’s closest neighbor. The plan, dubbed “Moonlight,” would see ESA offer communications and navigation services to any country that wants to carry out lunar exploration missions. By relying services provided from lunar orbit, space agencies would be able to design their moon landers without the need for

cumbersome communications and navigation devices on board. This would free up space to carry other cargo, making each launch more cost-effective, said Paul Verhoef, ESA’s director of navigation. The project builds on one of the agency’s strengths: launching satellites to provide services to third parties. ESA has a fleet of observation satellites in orbit around Earth that supply weather, climate and other data to public and commercial companies. It also has a constellation of navigation satellites, known as Galileo, that provide highly accurate global positioning data to rival the U.S.-based GPS system. But it also highlights the European agency’s weakness: unlike the United States, China or India, ESA lacks any ambitious moon exploration programs of its own. Instead, ESA is hoping to partner with NASA to build a “lunar gateway” that would be a staging post for future moon missions. The proposal outlined by ESA on Thursday will see two international consortiums devise ways for building a reliable and dedicated lunar communications and navigation service. The first such satellite, called “Lunar Pathfinder,” will be operational in 2024. David Parker, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration, said the agency’s member states would be given a formal proposal for a constellation next year. “If approved, the project could start full steam ahead at the beginning of 2023 to ensure it’s operational within four or five years,” he said. 72

Image: Petros Giannakouris

TALKING TO THE MOON: EUROPE PITCHES LUNAR SATELLITES PLAN

Image: Michael Probst

Image: Petros Giannakouris

Before the pandemic, going to the movies in the summer was a ritual. Audiences made up for last year by screening retro summer hits at driveins. Now it’s a wild card whether the promise of an “event film” will motivate audiences back to theaters, especially if something is also available to watch at home. “Space Jam: A New Legacy” director Malcom D. Lee called his film, “The epitome of a popcorn movie.” The sequel to the 1996 Michael Jordan pic finds LeBron James now sharing the screen with classic Looney Toons characters. Those looking for a more R-rated experience can thank James Gunn, who made movie stars out of the once obscure “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and now is out to do the same for the “misfit, Z-grade supervillains” of “The Suicide Squad.” He had his pick of DC characters and turned down Superman for Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and John Cena’s Peacemaker. Gunn looked to one of his favorite genres for inspiration: The 1960s war caper. Think, “The Dirty Dozen” and “Where Eagles Dare.” “To reinvigorate that genre just using these crappy supervillains as the protagonists was very appealing to me,” Gunn said. There are many other options too, including a host of big-name documentary titles, from Morgan Neville’s “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” (July 16) to Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” (Aug. 27). There are family films, like “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (June 18) and “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” (July 23) and horrors like “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4), and “Don’t Breathe 82

THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE MAKES A COMEBACK THIS SUMMER

After more than a year of benching its biggest spectacles, Hollywood is ready to dazzle again. From “F9” and “In the Heights” to “The Suicide Squad” and “Black Widow,” there will be a steady stream of blockbusters populating multiplexes across the country for the first time since March 2020. For streaming-weary audiences, the promise of air conditioning, popcorn, soda fountains, 60-foot screens and state-of-theart sound could be a welcome respite from the living room and virtual watch parties. Not to mention the ever-romantic concept of the shared experience. 77

For beleaguered movie theaters, it’s not a moment too soon. The modern summer movie season, which runs from May through Labor Day, regularly accounts for over $4 billion in revenue and makes up around 40% of the year’s grosses. Last year, summer earnings were $176 million, down 96% from 2019. Although theaters have been ramping up operations for a while, this summer will prove to be the biggest litmus test so far about whether habits have changed irrevocably during the pandemic. In some ways, the calendar looks like a do-over of last summer. Many of the most anticipated releases were supposed to come out a year ago, including John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place Part II,” up first on May 28, the big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning “In the Heights” (June 11), the ninth installment of the “Fast & Furious” series, “F9” (June 25), Marvel’s “Black Widow” (July 9) starring Scarlett Johansson, the Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson action adventure “Jungle Cruise” (July 30) and Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” reboot (Aug. 27). “In the Heights” director Jon M. Chu had to convince Miranda that it was worth it to wait for a theatrical release. Miranda wanted to get his joyous musical about a bodega owner, Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and his friends in Washington Heights out to people immediately. But Chu knows just how important a global release is for films with underrepresented casts. Like “Crazy Rich Asians,”“In the Heights” features unknowns in key roles who are poised for a breakout given the right platform. 78

“We had big dreams for this,” Chu said. “To be able to do it on the biggest scale possible meant so much.” And it’s not the only blue-sky blockbuster in the bunch. The “Fast & Furious” series has always been about creating a fun theatrical experience and “F9” not only brings back a fan favorite — Sung Kang’s Han — but also literally sends cars into space. It’s expected to be one of the season’s biggest hits. “Whenever I get together with Vin (Diesel) and everybody to make these movies, we’re not even talking about the plot or anything like that, but the feeling. I just remember as a kid in the summer saving enough money to go to the movies to share that experience with a bunch of strangers,” said director Justin Lin. “When that moment hits and everyone’s laughing or cheering together, it is magical.”

2” (Aug. 13). You can see Matt Damon try to save his daughter in the drama “Stillwater” (July 30) or watch as Gael García Bernal starts to age rapidly in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” (July 23). Ryan Reynolds is in two big action flicks, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (June 16) and “Free Guy” (Aug. 13). There’s even an epic Dev Patel-led take on a classic Arthurian legend, “The Green Knight” coming July 30. “I’m really glad that our movie is one of the ones that was held back because I really I want audiences to get a chance to see it on the big screen,” said “The Green Knight” director David Lowery. “It was obviously meant to be seen that way but also it’s a strange movie and I think that the idea of having that experience in a cinema with other people is going to be really, really exciting, especially after a year away from the big screen.” Some studios have been cautiously rolling out bigger films to decent results lately, like “ Godzilla vs. Kong.” But after seven weeks, even that monster sock ’em up is still shy of cracking the $100 million mark domestically. And it’s unclear what the new benchmarks for success will be or if any movie has a chance of hitting anything close to pre-pandemic expectations. The last “Fast” movie opened to $98.8 million in 2017. “Black Widow” was once pegged for at least a $90 million launch. So far this year, the biggest domestic opening was just over $30 million. For moviegoers, it’s also become hard to keep tabs on ever shifting dates, delays and multiplatform releases. Some summer-ready titles, like “Top Gun: Maverick” and the new James 85

Bond, “No Time To Die,” are waiting until later in the year to debut. “Jurassic World: Dominion” pushed to 2022. And changes are still being made as some offload titles to streaming services. Sony sold its Camilla Cabello and Billy Porter-led “Cinderella” to Amazon Prime and its Kevin Hart as a single dad pic “Fatherhood” to Netflix. Even the films with theatrical debuts will have either unique hybrid release plans or shortenedtheatrical windows. All Warner Bros. titles including “In the Heights,”“The Suicide Squad,”“Space Jam,” will be available free for HBO Max subscribers for 31 days as well as in theaters. Most Disney movies, including “Cruella” (May 28), “Black Widow” and “Jungle Cruise” are opening both in theaters and on Disney+ as a premium $29.99 rental. Their Pixar title “Luca” is going straight to Disney+, free for subscribers, on June 17. And the Sundance breakout “ CODA ” is getting a simultaneous release in theaters and on Apple TV+. For theaters and studios, the unknowns are many. Are movie theaters even on people’s re-opening priority lists? Will there be a $100 million opening weekend any time soon? Will there ever be a $250 million opening weekend again? The filmmakers aren’t trying to concern themselves with that. But everyone is feeling emotional that moviegoing might finally become normal again. “I think about it all the time,” said Gunn. “I can’t wait to sit in a theater with a group of people and watch films again. It is a true joy in life. It’s a magical space for me and has been since I was a very little boy.” 86

SUMMER MOVIE CALENDAR

A rundown of notable films coming out this summer:

MAY 28 “A Quiet Place Part II” (Theaters): In this sequel to John Krasinski’s 2018 hit, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) ventures away from their home while trying to survive the creatures that hunt by sound. “Cruella” (Theaters, Disney+ Premier): A liveaction origin story for the “101 Dalmatians” villain Cruella de Vil, starring Emma Stone. “Moby Doc” (Theaters and on-demand): Moby narrates his own documentary, a surrealist biography in which he reflects on his life and career. “Plan B” (Hulu): Natalie Morales makes her directorial debut in this teen comedy about a South Dakota high-schooler (Kuhoo Verma) who has 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill with her best friend (Vitoria Moroles) after a regrettable sexual encounter. 89

JUNE 4 “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (Theaters, HBO Max): Paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are back at it in another case, this time a fight for the soul of a young boy.

JUNE 11 “In the Heights” (Theaters, HBO Max): LinManuel Miranda’s other Tony-winning show, “In the Heights,” about life in New York’s Washington Heights, gets a big-screen adaptation in John M. Chu’s exuberant musical starring Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera and others.

JUNE 18 “Luca” (Disney+): Enrico Casarosa, director of the Pixar short “La Luna,” helms this Pixar feature about a boy’s unforgettable summer on the Italian Riviera with his best friend, a sea monster in disguise. “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (Theaters, June 16): In this sequel to the 2017 buddy comedy, Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are back in R-rated action, but this time Salma Hayek takes a more prominent role. Also starring Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas. “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (Theaters): Will Gluck’s sequel to 2018’s “Peter Rabbit” returns James Corden as the voice of Peter, Margot Robbie as Flopsy and Elizabeth Debicki as Mopsy. Joining the CGI bunnies are live-action actors Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and Rose Byrne.

“Fatherhood” (Netflix): Kevin Hart stars as a widower raising his baby daughter on his own. Directed by Paul Weitz, the film is based on Matthew Logelin’s memoir “Two Kisses for Maddy.”

JUNE 25 “F9” (Theaters): The “Fast & Furious” franchise rides on, undaunted by physics or the normal lifespan of film series. Justin Lin’s film, the ninth in the franchise not counting the spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw,” is the first to detour into space. “The Ice Road” (Netflix): Liam Neeson, star of 2011’s “The Grey,” returns to the cold in this thriller as an ice driver on a rescue mission. “False Positive” (Hulu): About the trials of fertility and the horrors of patriarchy, “False Positive” has been called a contemporary spin on Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” Starring Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux and Pierce Brosnan, it’s co-written by Glazer (“Broad City”).

JULY 2 “The Forever Purge” (Theaters): The fifth and supposedly final film in the “Purge” series is set after the abolition of the annual rite. But some keep the tradition alive. “The Tomorrow War” (Amazon Prime Video): To fight a future war against an alien species, soldiers from 30 years earlier are recruited for the battle — including a schoolteacher played by Chris Pratt. “Zola” (Theaters June 30): Janicza Bravo’s film is based an infamous tweetstorm turned into a film by Brazo and co-writer Jeremy O. Harris. Taylour Paige and Riley Keough star as strippers who take a surreal road trip. 92

“Summer of Soul” (theaters, Hulu): Amir “Questlove” Thompson makes his directorial debut in this documentary of a landmark 1969 Harlem concert series known as “Black Woodstock.” Performances include by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone and the Staples Singers. “America the Motion Picture” (Netflix): Phil Lord and Chris Miller are executive producers of this animated absurdity, with Channing Tatum voicing George Washington, Jason Mantzoukas as Sam Adams and other cast members including Simon Pegg, Judy Greer, Bobby Moynihan and Raoul Trujillo.

JULY 9 “Black Widow” (Theaters, Disney+ Premier): Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) gets her longawaited solo movie in this Marvel movie set between the events of 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” and 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”

JULY 16 “Space Jam: A New Legacy” (Theaters and HBO Max): Twenty five years after Michael Jordan shared the big screen with Bugs Bunny, a new generation is hitting the courts in this Malcolm D. Lee directed sequel, starring LeBron James as himself, Don Cheadle and a more than a few NBA cameos. “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” (Theaters): Documentary director Morgan Neville (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor”) explores the globetrotting life of celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain, who died by suicide in 2018 at the age of 61. 94

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In an effort to better compete with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music has announced plans to introduce industry-leading sound quality, as well as Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support. Combined, these features allow musicians to create ‘immersive audio experiences for fans with true multidimensional sound and clarity’, whilst lossless quality is supported as standard for the first time. The best part? These features come free, changing Apple Music forever.

INTRODUCING SPATIAL AUDIO ON APPLE MUSIC Although insiders had previously teased that Apple was working on a new premium version of Apple Music, perhaps introducing a new tiered system in the same vein as TIDAL, the company shocked fans and critics alike by announcing an array of new features would be coming to the $9.99 per month streaming service for free. One of the most exciting is Apple’s plan to bring Spatial Audio to Apple Music, supported by Dolby Atmos sound. Dolby Atmos offers a truly immersive sound experience on devices like HomePod as well as Apple AirPods and AirPods Max, allowing musicians and artists to mix music so that the sound comes from all around and above. Apple says that Dolby Atmos will play as standard on Beats and AirPods with an H1 or W1 chip, and the latest iPhone, iPad, and Mac range will also benefit. Although the details on exactly how many pieces of music will be supported by Dolby Atmos at launch are sketchy, the company has promised that it will add new content “constantly” as well as curate a set of Dolby Atmos playlists to help users 106

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find music that they love. What’s more, albums that are compatible with Dolby Atmos will display a badge. Apple says that, at the launch of the new service, users will be able to listen to thousands of Spatial Audio songs, from the world’s biggest artists and including genres such as pop, classical, and hip-hop, and the company is working with both musicians and labels to add new releases and catalog music every day. Apple also says that it anticipates musicians will create music specifically with Spatial Audio in mind and added that Apple and Dolby were working to create a platform that was easier for musicians, engineers, and producers to create content for Apple Music, and said initiatives such as doubling the number of Dolby-enabled studios in major markets, offering educational programs in Dolby Atmos, and giving independent artists the resources they need to create original music would all aid in the adoption of the service. Speaking of the new initiative, Kevin Yeaman, Dolby Laboratories’ president, and CEO said that Dolby’s partnership with Apple allowed the pair to offer a “new music experience that is transforming how music is created by artists and enjoyed by their fans,” whilst musician J Balvin, responsible for hits such as Mi Gente and LOCATION, added that he “always [wants] to be a step ahead and I think this is one of those steps. With Lossless, everything in the music is going to sound bigger and stronger but more importantly, it will be of better quality. Hearing myself and my music in Dolby Atmos for the first time, was just crazy, it blew my mind, it’s indescribable. Fans will love this experience!” 109

Although fans will need to wait until June to access Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos sound on their Apple Music subscription, those eager to experience the difference can listen to a podcast on Apple Music hosted by Zane Lowe, who introduces the “next dimension in sound.” It’s worth noting that, although it’s likely to be hip-hop and pop music artists that will take advantage of the new Spatial Audio experience from day one, Apple has plans to master older music for a new generation. Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, for example, spoke to Apple during the press announcement of the new service, and said that he had “no words to describe the immersive, overpowering experience of being a conductor, leading a performance of Mahler’s towering ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, but said that technology had advanced enough to “bring that experience closer to our ears, our minds, and our souls.” He described the launch of Spatial Audio on Apple Music as a “rich, remarkable 3D sound experience” and teased the release of his music, remastered in Dolby Atmos audio. Multi-Grammy award-winning Giles Martin has enjoyed global success as a music producer, composer, arranger, and creative leader. The British multi-instrumentalist has worked worldwide with critically acclaimed TV and film projects, studio recordings, and stage shows. He added that sound engineers had “tried to paint pictures with sound, transporting listeners to worlds they never knew existed, even when the sound came from a single speaker,” and added that Apple’s new sound experience would allow musicians and artists to do that for the very 110

Gustavo Dudamel - Symphony No. 8 - Mahler Symphony of a Thousand (Trailer)

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LOSSLESS:

APPLE MUSIC PREMIERES DOLBY ATMOS, SPATIAL AUDIO

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Gustavo Dudamel - Symphony No. 8 - Mahler Symphony of a Thousand (Trailer)

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first time. “We can take the music lover inside the music. From the feeling of hearing your favorite artist in the same room as you to the experience of sitting directly in the middle of a symphony orchestra, the listening experience is transformative and the possibilities for the creator are endless. This is a quantum leap in technology – I have so far had the pleasure of mixing some of the greatest artists in history in Dolby Atmos,” he said in a press release, adding that “There is a unique experience of being able to fully immerse myself in music that, although is familiar, suddenly sounds new, fresh, and immediate. As a creator, it is beyond exciting that we can now share this incredible experience through Apple Music.”

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LOSSLESS AUDIO IS COMING TO APPLE MUSIC It’s not just the introduction of Spatial Audio on Apple Music that fans can get excited about: during the company’s announcement, Apple confirmed that its entire catalog of more than 75 million songs will be made available in Lossless Audio for the first time, at no additional cost. This is perhaps one of the most surprising elements of the announcement, as rival platforms like TIDAL and Amazon had thus far been charging an additional fee for lossless content. It makes sense: lossless audio files are much larger and less compressed than standard music files, requiring significantly

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more bandwidth as a result. However, after Apple announced the service would be offered to consumers for free, Amazon quickly followed suit and dropped its Amazon Music HD package, offering lossless streaming to every subscriber. TIDAL, on the other hand, currently offers three tiers of music, including Standard, which is “easily accessible and the best compromise between data usage and sound fidelity,” HiFi, which “allows you to stream audio using the lossless format FLAC, creating a crisp and robust music streaming experience,” and Master, an “authenticated and unbroken experience with the highest possible resolution — as flawless as it sounded in the mastering suite and precisely as the artist intended.” Although TIDAL still offers a more advanced level of audio quality, it’ll set you $19.99 per month rather than $9.99 for a standard subscription. Apple will use its Apple Lossless Audio Codec to preserve every single bit of the original audio file. This means Apple Music subscribers will be able to hear the exact same thing that the artists created in the studio, offering a TIDAL Master-style experience without the price tag. Indeed, users can begin their lossless audio experience by heading to Settings, then Music, and then choosing their preferred Audio Quality. Conveniently, Apple will allow users to choose audio quality depending on their connection, for example, when downloading content, when listening to Apple Music over WiFi, and when streaming on the go via cellular. The company has confirmed that its lossless tier begins at CD quality, 16 bit at 44.1 kHz, and it goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz and plays natively on Apple 114

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devices. Apple Music users can also listen to Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz, but what’s perhaps disappointing to hear is that none of Apple’s current earphones or headphones support lossless music as standard - including the very controversially-priced AirPods Max. However, with Apple rumored to be launching next-generation AirPods 3 and a second-generation AirPods Pro model in the coming months, perhaps they will support lossless sound quality as standard? Apple is also readying the release of Beats Studio Buds, according to a new leak inside of iOS 14.6 code, suggesting an imminent drop. HomePod and Apple’s new HomePod mini also cannot support lossless sound, which is certainly something the company will want to fix in future releases or updates. The introduction of Spatial Audio and lossless sound quality on Apple Music further accelerate the cause for an all-in, all-Apple digital life. Combined with the value of Apple One, which allows families to access Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud storage, there’s never been a better time to make the switch.

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REPORT: MICROSOFT INVESTIGATED GATES BEFORE HE LEFT BOARD

Board members at Microsoft Corp. made a decision in 2020 that it wasn’t appropriate for its co-founder Bill Gates to continue sitting on its board as they investigated the billionaire’s prior romantic relationship with a female Microsoft employee that was deemed inappropriate, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Citing unnamed sources, The Journal reported online that board members looking into the matter hired a law firm in late 2019 to conduct an investigation after a Microsoft engineer alleged in a letter that she had a sexual relationship with Gates over several years. The Journal reported that Gates resigned before the board’s investigation was finished, citing another person familiar with the matter. 119

An unnamed spokeswoman for Gates acknowledged to The Journal that there was an affair almost 20 years ago, and that it ended “amicably.” The spokesperson told The Journal that “his decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter.” When he left Microsoft’s board last year, Gates said he was stepping down to focus on philanthropy. Microsoft couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. Earlier this month, Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage but would keep working together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. Gates was formerly the world’s richest person and his fortune is estimated at well over $100 billion. The New York Times reported that Gates had developed “a reputation for questionable conduct in work-related settings.” The Times reported that on at least a few occasions, Gates made overtures to women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Times cited people with direct knowledge of his behavior. 120

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OPRAH AND CNN: AT&T IS MERGING MEDIA BUSINESS WITH DISCOVERY

The merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia operations, marrying the likes of HBO and CNN with HGTV and Oprah Winfrey, is another illustration of the head-spinning speed in which streaming has transformed the media world. The companies are essentially placing a $43 billion bet that they’ll still be in the mix when consumers decide how to spend their monthly entertainment budgets. The agreement was announced this week after AT&T CEO John Stankey and his Discovery counterpart, David Zaslav, worked out the details in Zaslav’s Manhattan brownstone over the past two months. “I think, together, the combination makes us the best media company in the world,” said Zaslav, who will run the new company if approvals are granted, probably sometime next year. 123

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A Quiet Place Part II (2021) “The Wait Is Over” - Paramount Pictures

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less than five years ago in a bid to control both sides of the entertainment process: the broadband and wireless services that help deliver entertainment to homes, and the entertainment itself. But the costs involved in trying to do both became a burden. “That vision clearly has not panned out,” said CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi. The new company will be able to cut costs by $3 billion annually, the companies said, money that could go toward original streaming content. It will house almost 200,000 hours of programming and bring together more than 100 brands under one global portfolio, including DC Comics, Cartoon Network, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC and Animal Planet. That likely means layoffs as the companies consolidate. The deal is also likely to force major decisions on familiar brands. For instance, CNN Chief Executive Jeff Zucker said he expected to leave at the end of the year. But with the new company being led by Zaslav — who worked with Zucker at NBC in the 1990s — that equation could change. Zaslav called Zucker an extraordinary talent. “It’s all about the talent, and so we’ll be figuring out how do we get the best people to stay,” he said. Shares of Discovery Inc., which is based in Silver Spring, Maryland, fell $1.80, or 5%, to close at $33.85 after initially jumping to $39.70. AT&T’s shares finished the day down 87 cents, or 2.7%, at $31.37, down from a session high of $33.88.

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KRASINSKI OFFERS FRESH THRILLS IN ‘A QUIET PLACE 2’

John Krasinski catches you off guard in the first moment of “ A Quiet Place Part II,” inviting you into his film with the most terrifying thing of all in this universe: Noise. It’s a testament to the effectiveness of “A Quiet Place” that any sound is guaranteed to make you immediately uneasy: The crinkle of a bag, the crunch of an apple, a car door closing. Krasinski begins the sequel, which he wrote and directed, in a flashback to the day the monsters arrived, and boy, are we LOUD. It’s a bit of a gut punch, and not just because he doesn’t waste any time before getting to action. We know he and others won’t be around when the film cuts to the present. 131

And you might be surprised how far just a little glimpse of their pre-disaster happiness goes when it comes to reminding you what they’ve lost and what they’re trying to hang on to. And this one picks up right where we left off. Emily Blunt’s character, Evelyn, has not had time to go full Sarah Connor in “A Quiet Place Part II.” Like John Wick, the Abbotts don’t get a breather. And she and her family — a newborn, her son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) — are on the move to find somewhere else to stay. They’ve rigged up a terrifying coffin-like box for the infant with an oxygen tank and a baby breathing apparatus so that they can move without worrying about the baby’s cries. Clearly it’s been mostly thought out by people who are actually parents themselves, but it’s better if you don’t ask too many questions about the logistics of all of this. Suffice it to say, the introduction of the baby ensures that your stomach will never not be in knots throughout the lean duration of the film. Krasinski makes one choice with the baby that borders on indecent, but it’s terribly effective. It is somewhat astonishing that they were able to find enough new in this world to justify a full sequel, but unfortunately for everyone Regan’s inspired hack to stun the monsters using high frequency sounds is only effective in the immediate surroundings. In other words, there are a lot more out there. The family does find another place and a oncefriendly face, in Cillian Murphy’s Emmett. But like so many of Murphy’s characters, it’s unclear whether or not he can be trusted and he doesn’t seem like he wants to help. 132

A Quiet Place Part II (2021) Final Trailer - Paramount Pictures

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Expertly paced and with top-notch special effects, “Army of the Dead” is a popcorn zombie movie for our time. Long live the undead. “Army of the Dead,” a Netflix release, is rated R for some sexual content, gore, language throughout, graphic nudity and strong bloody violence. Running time: 148 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four. Online: https://www.netflix.com/ title/81046394

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Amazon’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series will reportedly cost $450 million for its first season alone - more than four times the cost of a season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” “Frankly the industry has been gravitating toward that. It’s a question of when, not if,” said CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi. “The landscape seems to be pretty set in terms of these new entrants, so it seems like a good time to get a much better handle on subscribers.” It’s a tricky balance. The video companies have long offered legitimate ways for multiple people to use a service, by creating profiles or by offering tiers of service with different levels of screen sharing allowed. Stricter password sharing rules might spur more people to bite the bullet and pay full price for their own subscription. But a too-tough clampdown could also alienate users and drive them away. In March some Netflix users began to get popups asking them to verify their account by entering a code sent via email or text, but also gave them the choice of verifying “later.” Netflix did not say how many people were part of the test or if it was only in the U.S. or elsewhere. “They’ll be taking a very cautious approach to it,” Amobi said. “Handled the wrong way, there’s always a downside to a move like this.” The test comes at a crucial time for Netflix. Last year’s pandemic-fueled subscriber growth is slowing. It remains the streaming service to beat with more than 200 million subscribers globally. But a bevy of new competitors have emerged, including Disney+, which is cheaper and has quickly snapped up 100 million subscribers in less than two years. 151

When Disney+ launched in 2019, then CEO Bob Iger said the service was modeled on sharing. “We’re setting up a service that is very familyfriendly, we expect families to be able to consume it - four live streams at a time, for instance,” he said in a CNBC interview. “We’ll watch it carefully with various tools, technology tools, that we have available to us to monitor it. But it’s obviously something we have to watch.” Roughly two in five online adults have shared passwords to online accounts with friends or family members, according to the Pew Center for Internet and Technology. Among millennials it’s even higher: 56% of online adults ages 18- to 29 have shared passwords. “With the cost of all the streaming platforms bought together equaling a cable bill -- which it was supposed to eliminate -- I think it’s a great thing to be able to share your login to help family and friends save a few bucks,” said Ryan Saffell, 39, an IT director from Las Vegas. Another study found more than a quarter of all video streaming services are used by multiple households. That includes a family or friend sharing the account they pay for outside of the household, or, less commonly, several households splitting the cost. And 16% of all households have at least one service that is fully paid for by someone else according to the study by Leichtman Research Group. That increases to 26% for 18- to 34-year-olds. Sharing or stealing streaming service passwords cost an estimated $2.5 billion in revenue in 2019 according to the most recent data from research firm Park Associates, and that’s expected to rise to nearly $3.5 billion by 2024. 152

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AMAZON TO EXTEND PAUSE ON POLICE USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION

Amazon said that it will extend its ban on police use of its face-recognition technology beyond the one-year pause it announced last year. Amazon and other technology companies have been under pressure from civil rights activists and their own workers to halt the sale of face-recognition systems to law enforcement agencies. One concern is that the technology can incorrectly identify people with darker skin, which Amazon has denied. 156

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CALIFORNIA PLACES TESLA’S ‘FULL SELFDRIVING’ UNDER REVIEW

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is reviewing whether Tesla is violating a state regulation by advertising its vehicles as being fully autonomous without meeting the legal definition of self-driving. The department confirmed the review earlier this week in an email to the press. State regulation prohibits advertising vehicles for sale or lease as autonomous if they can’t comply with the regulatory definition, it said. Tesla advertises a $10,000 “Full Self-Driving” option on the website for its electric vehicles, but the same website says the vehicles cannot drive themselves. 161

CEO Elon Musk has said he expects Tesla’s vehicles will be able to drive themselves more safely than humans sometime this year. “The current enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” the website says. Tesla is testing its “Full Self-Driving” software in the U.S. in cars driven by selected owners. The company based in Palo Alto, California, also calls its partially automated driver-assist system “Autopilot.” Tesla, which has disbanded its public relations department, did not respond to a request for comment. The Los Angeles Times first reported the DMV’s review. The DMV, which regulates testing of self-driving vehicles on California roads, said violating the regulation can bring a suspension of autonomous vehicle permits and revocation of a manufacturer’s license. It would not comment further on the review, including when it began. Tesla has a DMV permit to test autonomous vehicles with human backup drivers. But it is not among the companies permitted to test without human drivers. The company says its “Full Self-Driving” software can navigate, automatically change lanes and follow traffic lights and stop signs. “Autopilot” can keep a car centered in its lane and a safe distance from vehicles in front of it. The probe comes amid several high-profile crashes nationwide — including a fatal wreck in California — involving Autopilot in recent weeks.

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SPOTIFY CO-OWNER EK SAYS KROENKES REJECT BID TO BUY ARSENAL

Spotify co-owner Daniel Ek says a bid to buy Arsenal has been rejected by the Kroenke family which owns the London-based Premier League club. The Swedish entrepreneur behind the musicstreaming service first revealed his takeover interest last month after owner Stan Kroenke’s ill-fated attempt to lead Arsenal into a European Super League. The project collapsed amid fan anger and government opposition. Protests have continued ahead of games — where fans are locked out due to the pandemic. 167

“This week an offer was made to both Josh Kroenke and their bankers that included fan ownership, representation at the board and a golden share for the supporters,” Ek said last weekend. “They replied that they don’t need the money. I respect their decision but remain interested and available should that situation ever change.” Kroenke, who also owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, gained full control of Arsenal in 2018.

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PAYCHECK ADVANCE APPS: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD

Paycheck advance apps let users borrow a small amount of their expected earnings, usually in exchange for a small fee, and repay it on their next payday. It seems like an attractive offer if you need extra cash between paychecks, and millions of users have accepted it. While it’s possible to use these apps without harming your finances, some consumer advocates say they can lead to a cycle of debt. If you’re thinking of using a paycheck advance app, here’s what to know before you download. 170

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FEES FRAMED AS TIPS When Jose Polanco uses the Earnin app to borrow from his upcoming paycheck, the app asks him if he wants to leave a tip. The New York school administrator says he gives the app $8 for the $100 he usually borrows. He says he’s persuaded by the message the app displays that leaving a bigger tip helps pay for users who can’t afford to tip at all. Optional tips are a common way these apps reframe fees. While usually not required, they’re frequently encouraged. Earnin CEO Ram Palaniappan says tips let the user decide what the service is worth to them rather than requiring a fee they may not be able to afford. Some advances come with additional fees. Dave, another paycheck advance app, has three optional fees: a monthly $1 subscription fee, an express fee to get your money faster and a tip. For a couple hundred dollars — the maximum amount you can borrow from most apps — the fees aren’t as high as most payday loans or overdraft fees. But asking the user to decide how much to pay doesn’t give them a chance to evaluate the full cost of borrowing in the way displaying an annual percentage rate would, says Marisabel Torres, director of California policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. “Not calling it a fee and framing it as a tip, that’s actually disingenuous to the user because then the amount that that product actually costs you is muddled,” she says.

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THE RISKS: OVERDRAFTS, CHRONIC BORROWING To sign up with a paycheck advance app, users normally have to provide proof of their pay schedule and income, and often access to their bank accounts so the app can withdraw the money they owe when they get paid. Some of the apps say they’ll monitor your bank account and try to avoid a debit if your balance is too low. Debiting a balance that’s too low can cause an overdraft fee — a fee some apps market themselves as an alternative to — and you could need to borrow again. It’s not yet clear how often app usage triggers an overdraft fee, says Alex Horowitz, senior research officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts. But an April report from the Financial Health Network found that 70% of consumers who used a service to access their earnings early returned to use them consecutively — behavior that’s common with payday loans, he says. “It’s not just that they’re using it multiple times in a year, it’s that they’re using it multiple times in a row,” Horowitz says. “That indicates that they couldn’t repay it without taking another advance shortly after to cover their bills.”

NOT A PERMANENT SOLUTION You may have cheaper alternatives if you need to borrow money, Torres says. Credit unions and some banks offer small-dollar loans that are repaid in affordable monthly installments. A friend or family member may be able to lend you the money and let you repay it over time. 174

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There isn’t enough research to know if getting an advance from an app leaves consumers better or worse off, says Nakita Cuttino, a visiting assistant professor at Duke University School of Law whose research focuses on financial services and financial inclusion. In 2019, the New York Department of Financial Services — along with several other states and Puerto Rico — announced an investigation into the earned wage access industry, of which these types of apps are a part, to determine whether they violate state lending laws . When they’re used to resolve a one-time emergency, Cuttino says, an advance may be cheaper and more convenient — and lowers the risk of overborrowing because of their low dollar amounts. If you do borrow from one of these apps, understand how it’ll affect your budget and make a plan to repay it, she says. And if you find yourself returning to borrow each pay period or incurring frequent overdraft fees, it may not be right for you. 177

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VIRUS TESTING STRATEGIES, OPINIONS VARY WIDELY IN US SCHOOLS

Children are having their noses swabbed or saliva sampled at school to test for the coronavirus in cities such as Baltimore, New York and Chicago. In other parts of the U.S., school districts are reluctant to check even students showing signs of illness for COVID-19. Education and health officials around the country have taken different approaches to testing students and staff members — and widely varying positions or whether to test them at all as more children give up virtual 179

classrooms for in-person learning. Some states have rejected their share of the billions of dollars the Biden administration made available for conducting virus tests in schools. Officials in districts that have embraced testing describe it as an important tool for making sure schools reopen safely and infections remain under control. They note that the virus might otherwise elude detection since young people with the virus often are asymptomatic and most teachers have been vaccinated. But many school administrators and families, weary of pandemic-related disruptions, see little benefit in screening children, who tend not to become as sick from COVID-19 as adults. Meanwhile, each positive test that turns up at a school can trigger quarantine orders that force students back into learning from home. In Nebraska, Superintendent Bryce Jorgenson said he doubts parents with children in the Southern Valley Public School District would embrace school-based virus tests. His rural, 370-student district eliminated its mandatory mask policy in March. “I can tell you right now, I would say that not just in our district, but in many districts around, there is not an appetite for that at all,” he said of ongoing screening. “I don’t know as a leader, too, if I want to get into testing kids because we don’t test kids for any other virus, really.” Elected officials in Iowa and Idaho made their opinions known by turning down millions in federal aid for voluntary COVID-19 testing in schools. “Here’s your $95 million back,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, declared on Fox News 180

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after commenting that in her view, President Joe Biden “thinks that COVID just started.” In Idaho, the state House of Representatives rejected $40.3 million in offered funding. “Schools are not medical facilities, and we shouldn’t want to place that responsibility and liability on our schools,” Republican state Rep. Tammy Nichols said in an email. “That is why we have medical facilities and staff who are licensed, certified and insured to handle those things.” Experts are divided about how worthwhile it is to test for the coronavirus inside schools as more people are vaccinated and confirmed cases decline. Joshua Salomon, a professor of medicine at Stanford University who supports screening students, said the procedure could help curb outbreaks involving more contagious variants. “Basically, it gives you an insurance policy against things we may not be able to anticipate,” Salomon said. “The virus has really kind of caught us off guard in a few instances.” But Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said the nation’s vaccination program makes the tests less useful because immunized individuals are so much less likely to get infected. At the same time, she said, false positives in school settings carry significant consequences when they cause a return to online learning. Screening tests have played a key role in reopening plans for schools in New York City and liberal-leaning states like California and Massachusetts. 183

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Some districts, like Baltimore City Public Schools, use so-called pooled testing methods that combine multiple samples from students in kindergarten to eighth grade; a positive result leads to everyone in the pool being quarantined. The district is using individual saliva-based PCR tests to screen its high school students. “By doing this screening testing, you can actually catch the cases early, and that is really effective at preventing transmission,” Cleo Hirsch, who oversees the testing in Baltimore’s public schools, said. In Chicago, surveillance testing for COVID-19 was part of the district’s reopening agreement with the teachers union. For elementary students who are at least 10, the district tests a percentage at random, focusing on zip codes with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases. The district tests a sampling of high school students citywide. The tests require parental consent. In Massachusetts, which also relies on pooled testing, the collected data indicates a positivity rate within schools of 2 cases for every 1,000 people, said Russell Johnston, a senior associate commissioner at the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “That just again gives us enormous confidence in the mitigation strategies that we have available in the schools,” he said. Oregon is beginning to pilot testing of unvaccinated school employees and plans to expand the health surveillance effort to children attending overnight summer camp before deciding how to proceed in the fall. Some school administrators have expressed trepidation about 185

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adding surveillance testing, state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said. “COVID has added 12 new challenges every hour for them on top of everything else they were already burdened with,” Sidelinger said. “So many of them just kind of, I think instinctively, said, ’No, you cannot ask us to do another thing.’” In Minnesota, the 8,500-student Edina Public Schools has quarantined hundreds of close contacts of students with positive results. The district began a “Test The Nest” surveillance program at its high school and middle schools in mid-March in an attempt to identify individuals without symptoms who are carrying the virus, spokeswoman Mary Woitte said. But Nicole Schnell, of the group Edina Parents 4 Progress, opposes the expanded testing, saying a single positive case can lead to massive disruptions. Schnell said her daughters, age 15 and 18, spent two weeks quarantined in the fall and another two weeks in the spring despite testing negative because they were considered close contacts of people who were infected. Her 17-year-old son decided to keep attending classes virtually because he didn’t want to risk a potential exposure that might force him to miss the spring baseball season. “I have seen firsthand effects of keeping kids out of society,” Schnell said, adding that one of her children was diagnosed with depression after being quarantined. “We are not just talking about out of school. We are talking about out of any sport that they play, out of any activity, out of anything outside, out of seeing their friends, because of a potential positive exposure.” 187

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DO I STILL HAVE TO WEAR A MASK? WHAT ABOUT KIDS?

The government’s new guidance on masks for vaccinated people has left some Americans confused and sent businesses and states scrambling to adjust their rules. Target and CVS on Monday became the latest retailers to say vaccinated shoppers and workers don’t have to wear masks in stores. New York said it will adopt the new mask advice this week, while California said it will wait a month. About 123 million Americans — 37% of the population — are fully vaccinated against 189

coronavirus, and more than 157 million, or 47%, have received at least one dose.

WHAT’S THE NEW ADVICE? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors and can stop social distancing in most places. Fully vaccinated means two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks after the onedose Johnson & Johnson shot. “If you are vaccinated, we are saying you are safe, you can take off your mask, and you are not at risk of severe disease or hospitalization from COVID-19,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said on “Fox News Sunday.”“If you are not vaccinated, you are not safe. Please go get vaccinated or continue to wear your mask.”

ARE THERE EXCEPTIONS? Yes. The CDC says everyone — vaccinated or unvaccinated — should continue to wear a mask in certain places. Masks are still required on public transportation — buses, trains and planes — and in other settings like hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters. Some states and businesses and stores are dropping their mask rules for fully vaccinated people because of the CDC change, while others are keeping them in place. California is waiting until next month to give the public and businesses time to prepare.

WHY THE CHANGE? The CDC director says there was new science in recent weeks that supported easing the advice 190

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on masks and social distancing. She said there was new evidence that COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world settings, are effective against virus variants and prevent the spread of the virus. In announcing the new advice, she also cited the drop in infections in the U.S., the wide availability of vaccines and the expansion to ages 12 and up for the shots. “I want to be clear that we followed the science here,” she said at a White House briefing.

WHAT ABOUT KIDS? Children who haven’t been vaccinated should still wear masks and keep 6 feet apart. The CDC recommends masks for children age 2 and older in public settings and when with people outside their household. Masks are also advised in schools. That won’t change for the rest of this school year and “we’ll be working on school guidance for the fall,” Walensky said on Fox. Child care and camp guidance will also be updated, she said. She noted that some children may not understand why they have to wear a mask if the rest of the family isn’t. “I think that that’s going to have to be a family by family decision,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

CAN I STILL WEAR A MASK ANYWAY? Sure. Even though the guidance has changed, “there’s no need for everybody to start ripping off their masks,” Walensky said on NBC. “Those behaviors are going to be really hard to change, and there is no mandate to take it off,” she said. “What we’re saying is, now this is safe.”

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WHO’S GOING TO BE CHECKING? In general, there’s no system yet for checking vaccination records of those not wearing masks. Schools, businesses and other places may require proof of vaccination. The federal government has no plans for a “vaccine passport.” “What we are really asking the American people to do is to be honest with themselves and to not remove their masks until they are safe,” Walensky said on Fox.

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A FACEBOOK FOOD GROUP COMES TOGETHER TO MAKE A COOKBOOK

The pandemic gave them lemons. So they made lemon rosemary chicken. A Facebook group that swapped homemade recipes after restaurants were shuttered during lockdown has blossomed into a vibrant online community and has now produced a cookbook. “In the Quarantine Kitchen” offers some 120 recipes from pastas to fish dishes that pandemic users have proudly posted — with all proceeds going to charity. “It kind of grew and grew and snowballed,” said Daniella Cangiano, one of the organizers. “We were able to take something really negative and make it something really positive.” 197

Some dishes are cherished family hand-medowns, like Nanny’s Stuffed Calamari in Red Sauce and Aunt Nellie’s Fried Chicken. Others were concocted during the pandemic, like one for tres leches ice pops that was created because ice cream shops were closed. It uses cans of condensed and evaporated milk, coconut milk, vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The project started in the Staten Island home of the Cangiano family. Traci Cangiano and her daughters Daniella and Kristina launched a Facebook page in March 2020 when the COVID-19 quarantine began. “We started it as a way to just share our dinner with our family and friends. We didn’t see in the beginning what it would become. We just thought it was something fun to do, something to distract us,” said Daniella Cangiano. Now, more than a year later, the page has more than 44,000 members who post recipes for others to try and comment on. The top posters by country are the United States, Canada, Philippines, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and South Africa. Letters of thanks came pouring in from families looking for dinner inspiration and community. One woman wrote that her daughter had cancer and they checked every day to see what people were cooking. “I would never think in a million years a Facebook page would affect people’s lives like that,” said Traci Cangiano, a real estate broker. The Cangianos decided to go further, collecting all the recipes and self-publishing their cookbook on Etsy. It is dedicated to front-line workers. They use a printing press in Kansas, buy the copies and then resell them online for $35. 198

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The book is in its second printing. All proceeds go to The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers

“This book is a culmination of the people on this page. It’s their book. And we wanted them

Foundation, honoring firefighter Stephen Siller, who lost his life saving others on 9/11, and all

to have the opportunity to put their story, their tributes, their dedication, their recipes,” said Traci

first responders.

Cangiano. “To us, this book is like an archival piece for the year 2020. I hope we never see

The 250-page cookbook is filled with stories and family photos, memories of relatives coming together over meals and ways to honor lost members with dishes.

anything like 2020 again but this book will serve as a nice reminder.” Online, too, the community remains active. New postings go up every few hours. “We could probably do five more books, I kid you not,” said Traci Cangiano.

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Some readers take a recipe from the book and then ask the creator if they can add, say, more salt here or maybe a smidge of jalapeno there, making it a living, constantly edited dish. “The interaction between the page and the book then became like this collaboration between virtual and the hard copy. It’s just amazing,” said Traci Cangiano. “It’s become such a welcoming place and it’s a safe ground.” All are welcome to join the online community, but there’s one rule: No politics. The Cangianos check every post to make sure it is familyfriendly and nonpartisan. “Obviously the climate of the world that we live in, things get crazy. People say things that just get out of hand. And I didn’t want to have any of that confrontation on that page,” said Traci Cangiano. The pandemic disrupted life for the Cangianos, as it did for everyone. Kristina is a senior in high school and the Quarantine Kitchen takes her mind off the stress. “There’s a lot going on, but it’s definitely helped,” she says. Her older sister, Daniella, graduated St. John’s University remotely and is an avid baker. She shares her creations with the Facebook group and likes hearing feedback. “That kind of kept me going. I knew I had something to look forward to, even though things were kind of crazy,” she says. “I was able to still bake and still enjoy that. As one of my favorite hobbies, I was able to share it with other people, which was so much fun.” Online: www.etsy.com/listing/826943140/inthe-quarantine-kitchen-how-we-all 203

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US SPACE FORCE MISSILE-WARNING SATELLITE ROCKETS INTO ORBIT

A $1 billion missile-warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force rocketed toward orbit Tuesday. It was the fifth in this series of space-based infrared system satellites. These advanced national security spacecraft are meant to replace the long-time Defense Support Program constellation of surveillance satellites. United Launch Alliance sent the Atlas V rocket skyward from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. “Bird away,” ULA President Tory Bruno announced via Twitter. The flight was delayed a day by a bad temperature sensor in ground equipment. Lockheed Martin won a $1.86 billion contract for this satellite and the next one, due to launch next year. They’re intended for an orbit 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) high. 205

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STELLANTIS, FOXCONN TEAM UP TO MAKE CARS MORE CONNECTED

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Carmaker Stellantis and Taiwan’s Foxconn announced plans to develop a jointly operated automotive supplier focusing on technology to make vehicles more connected, including artificial intelligence-based applications and 5-G communications. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the services that will be developed through the tie-up “will mark the next great evolution of our industry,” alongside fully electrified and hybrid powertrains. The deal brings together Stellantis, the world’s 4th-largest automaker formed this year by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Peugeot, and Foxconn, a major supplier of iPhones. The companies said the venture would focus on such services as infotainment, the integration of telecommunications and computer systems, artificial intelligence-based applications, 5G communications, e-commerce channels and smart cockpit integration. The companies announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a 5050 joint venture called Mobile Drive, which will be based in the Netherlands and function as an automotive supplier also to other carmakers. The new venture will combine advanced consumer electronics, Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) to create new services “that will exceed customer expectations,” the companies said in a release. “Customers today and, in the future, demand and expect ever-increasing software-driven and creative solutions to connect the drivers and passengers with the vehicle inside and out,” Foxconn Chairman Young Liu. 209

EU TAKES BIG STEP TOWARD RELAXING TRAVEL FOR VACCINATED

The European Union took a step toward relaxing travel rules for tourists from outside the 27-nation bloc this week when EU ambassadors agreed on measures to allow in fully vaccinated visitors. The ambassadors also agreed to ease the criteria needed for nations to be considered COVID-19 safe and from which all tourists can travel, depending on their coronavirus and vaccination status. Under the existing criteria, the list includes only seven nations. 210

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The EU imposed restrictions on nonessential travel last year to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The bloc’s ambassadors say many of those restrictions should be eased, including to permit vacation travel by non-EU residents. The European Council made up of EU nations, “will now recommend that member states ease some of the current restrictions” for those who have been vaccinated, European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said. He didn’t

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give a precise date for when the borders will reopen since EU countries have yet to formally approve the measures. “The council should also soon expand the list of non-EU countries with a good epidemiological situation from where travel is permitted,” said Wigand. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is to give advice on the list. The European Commission the EU’s executive arm, proposed easing the rules for entering 214

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the bloc, saying entry should be granted to individuals fully vaccinated with EU-authorized shots. Coronavirus vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s drug regulator, include the ones made by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The executive commission also proposed permitting EU member nations to decide individually whether to allow in travelers immunized with vaccines approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use, which include the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Wigand said ambassadors also agreed on an “emergency brake” mechanism designed to stop dangerous virus variants from entering EU nations through quickly enacted travel limits if the infection situation deteriorates in a non-EU country. Once the non-binding measures are approved, EU countries will keep the possibility to impose restrictive measures on tourists such as PCR tests or quarantines. EU nations have been struggling throughout the pandemic to prop up their vital tourism industries and hope to recover some income over the peak summer season. Greece, which is heavily reliant on tourism, has already lifted quarantine restrictions for the U.S., Britain, Israel, and other non-EU countries as negotiations between governments and EU lawmakers to introduce COVID-19 certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the region this summer continue. A deal is required by end of the month to ensure the system will be up and running by the end of June.

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RUSSIA WON’T BLOCK TWITTER, BUT PARTIAL SLOWDOWN TO CONTINUE Russian authorities backed away from threats to block Twitter, saying that the social media platform deleted most of the banned content identified by Moscow and expressed “readiness and interest in building a constructive dialogue.” Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it decided not to block Twitter in light of these developments, an announcement that seemingly ends the most recent standoff between the Russian government and the platform that has played a role in amplifying dissent in Russia. Two months ago, Roskomnadzor accused Twitter of failing to remove content encouraging suicide among children, as well as information about drugs and child pornography. The agency announced on March 10 it was slowing down the speed of uploading photos and videos to the platform, both on desktops and mobile devices, and less then a week later threatened to block it if it continues to not comply with the demands. 219

In response to the accusations, Twitter has emphasized its policy of zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, the promotion of suicide and drug sales. Roskomnadzor said in an online statement that Twitter has taken down 91% of prohibited content, with only 563 posts containing child pornography, information about drugs and suicide, calls for minors to take part in protests and extremist materials out of roughly 5,900 remaining available. Since the platform “confirmed that it fully shares the agency’s endeavors to combat socially dangerous content and will take all necessary measures to remove it,” and “expressed its readiness and interest in building a constructive dialogue,” Roskomnadzor said it decided not to block it. But it will continue to slow Twitter down on mobile devices until all of the banned content is removed and the platform starts taking down prohibited content within 24 hours of being notified in accordance with the Russian laws. “The agency appreciates the efforts of Twitter to comply with the requirements of Russian laws,” Roskomnadzor said. Twitter said in a statement this week it welcomed Russia’s decision not to block it. “Access to a free and open Internet is an essential right for all citizens, which also protects free expression and promotes fair competition,” the statement said. “We remain deeply committed to offering a safe service to account holders around the world — including those in Russia. As part of this endeavor, we will 220

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continue to engage in constructive dialogue with Roskomnadzor into the future.” According to Twitter, it has removed or restricted access to all content that Roskomnadzor flagged up and that falls under the platform’s existing policies. Russian authorities criticized social media platforms earlier this year for bringing tens of thousands of people into the streets across the country in January to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most well-known critic. The wave of demonstrations was the largest in years and posed a major challenge to the Kremlin. The authorities alleged that social media platforms failed to remove calls for children to join the protests. Putin has urged police to act more to monitor social media platforms and to track down those who draw children into “illegal and unsanctioned street actions.” The Russian government’s efforts to tighten control of the internet and social media date back to 2012, when a law allowing authorities to blacklist and block certain online content was adopted. Since then, a growing number of restrictions targeting messaging apps, websites and social media platforms have been introduced in Russia. The government has repeatedly aired threats to block Facebook and Twitter, but stopped short of outright bans — probably fearing the move would elicit too much public outrage. Only the social network LinkedIn, which wasn’t very popular in Russia, has been banned by authorities for the failure to store its user data in Russia. 222

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US SPACE FORCE MISSILE-WARNING SATELLITE ROCKETS INTO ORBIT

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STELLANTIS, FOXCONN TEAM UP TO MAKE CARS MORE CONNECTED

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