Welcome back to Lately, The Globe’s weekly tech newsletter. If you have feedback or just want to say hello to a real-life human, send me an e-mail.
In this week’s issue:
🧑🏽⚖️ The year of social media lawsuits around child safety is here
📱 The infinite scroll of violence in Minneapolis
🚘 Toronto-based Waabi announces robotaxi fleet with Uber
🧟 A zombified Napster is back
LAWSUITS
Did social media companies design their platforms to be addictive? The courts will soon decide
This week, the first trial began in a series of federal and state lawsuits across the United States, accusing social media companies of designing platforms that are intentionally addictive and cause harm to children.
The trial, which opened Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centres on a lawsuit brought by a 20-year-old California woman who says she became addicted to social media as a child, leading to anxiety, depression and body-image issues. The case initially named Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, though TikTok and Snapchat settled ahead of the trial.
Plaintiffs argue that features such as infinite scroll, notifications and algorithmic recommendations are deliberately engineered to encourage compulsive use. Some experts have compared the cases to the Big Tobacco lawsuits that resulted in a landmark 1998 settlement restricting marketing to minors and requiring cigarette companies to pay billions in health care costs. The tech companies deny the allegations, arguing their products do not intentionally harm children and that they are not responsible for user-generated content.
The outcome of the trial could have major implications for how tech companies address child safety. In addition to monetary damages, plaintiffs are seeking design changes aimed at reducing addictive behaviour.
SOCIAL MEDIA
On social media, viewing videos of killings in Minneapolis takes a toll
A makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti in Washington, DC.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Moments after Alex Pretti was killed by U.S. federal agents in Minneapolis last Saturday morning, bystander videos of the fatal shooting quickly spread on social media. By the afternoon, footage from several angles had gone viral on Reddit, Instagram and TikTok, letting users dissect the sequence of events that led to his death.
The videos have sparked outrage and galvanized the American public, prompting continuous protests in Minneapolis, triggering condemnation from Trump allies and even appearing to shift the U.S. President’s handling of his immigration crackdowns.
But scrolling through this type of content in algorithmic media ecosystems can also have grave impacts on our collective psyche. Acts of police brutality appear unexpectedly alongside get-ready-with-me videos or fan edits of Heated Rivalry, producing a whiplash that some experts worry will also have a desensitizing effect. Read my full story here.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Waabi to launch robotaxis with Uber
The Toronto-based autonomous vehicle startup Waabi has plans to launch a vast fleet of robotaxis with Uber. On Wednesday, the company also announced a massive fundraising round worth US$750-million, one of the largest venture capital financings in Canadian history.
The company said it will deploy a minimum of 25,000 autonomous vehicles on Uber’s ride-hailing service, but hasn’t shared details about where or when. Waabi founder and chief executive Raquel Urtasun says the company is ready to move into robotaxis, since it already operates autonomous trucks in Texas – albeit with a safety driver in the cab, for now. Plus, she says the technology comes with safety benefits: Self-driving cars appeal to women who travel late at night. (Uber has long faced scrutiny for sexual assaults and misconduct committed by drivers on its network.)
What else we’re reading this week:
Welcome to desocialized media (New York Magazine)
Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp (TechCrunch)
Why the Do Nothing challenge doesn’t do much for you (Nautilus)
Adult Money
SMART FLUSH
Kohler’s smart toilet camera, US$599
A smart toilet device that tracks every "session"Supplied
There truly is a “smart” version of every home fixture. I recently stumbled upon Kohler Health’s Dekoda, which the bathroom appliance company describes as the “first-of-its-kind health tracking product that decodes your body’s signals from the comfort and privacy of the bathroom.”
In non-marketing speak, it’s an encrypted device with sensors that attaches to the rim of your toilet to analyze your, er, bodily waste. The Dekoda tracks every bathroom “session” to evaluate hydration levels, study the “frequency, consistency and shape” of bowel movements and detect the presence of blood.
With time, the Kohler Health app will share insights and data to help you build better habits. And if you’re wondering how the device will differentiate between different users, Kohler has thought of that. Use the fingerprint authenticator or accompanying Kohler Health app to begin the session.
Culture radar
MUSIC-ISH
Napster is back! Kind of
Toronto teen Jordan Fenton, in 2001, posing with his bedroom computer. He downloaded U2 songs from Napster.Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail
Despite the lasting effects Napster would have on the music industry – and the internet as a whole – the actual file-sharing service was only around for two years after its inception in 1999. After quickly gaining massive popularity, spawning a plethora of copycats and convincing us all that media should be free, Napster was shut down in 2001 over copyright infringement lawsuits.
But now, 25 years later, the service is back – kind of. The new zombified Napster app is composed entirely of AI-generated music and podcasts. It features some 15,000 personas, powered by Google’s Gemini, for users to make their own AI music. The chatbot personas are similar to other such music generators, including Suno and Udio, though the company says it hopes users will think of it more like “jamming” with “AI artists.”