IOS

Apple and Google must ban TikTok according to a US senator

Michael Bennet, a Democratic US Senator from Colorado, is calling on Apple and Google to ban the TikTok app from the App Store and Play Store respectively. He cites national security reasons.

Banned for TikTok?

The TikTok social network is controlled by the Chinese group ByteDance and it has already been accused of collecting user data and then sharing it with the Chinese government. The company has always denied these accusations, but doubts remain among some politicians, especially in the United States.

So here is US Senator Michael Bennet who wrote a letter to Tim Cook (Apple boss) and Sundar Pichai (Google boss) asking them to ban TikTok, saying that no company subject to the “The dictates of the Chinese Communist Party should not have the power to accumulate so much data on the American people or provide content to nearly a third of our population”. He writes :

TikTok’s vast influence and aggressive data collection pose a specific threat to US national security because of its parent company’s obligations under Chinese law. Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law decrees that any organization or citizen must support, assist and cooperate with state intelligence work. Article 14 gives Chinese state security agencies the power to demand cooperation from companies like ByteDance, while Articles 16 and 17 allow intelligence officers to access relevant materials and files and use its communication tools and facilities.

He goes on to cite a June 2022 article revealing that TikTok employees had access to US user data between September 2021 and January 2022. “Everything is seen in China”had indicated an employee of the social network.

In view of the situation, the senator concludes his letter by stating: “Given these serious and growing concerns, I urge you to immediately remove TikTok from your respective app stores”.

Related Topics:Apple ban Google senator TikTok

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IOS

macOS 11.7.6 and macOS 12.6.5 arrive as release candidates

Apple today offers the release candidate macOS 11.7.6 (build 20G1329) and macOS 12.6.5 (build 21G630) for download. It concerns for the moment the developers.

Apple has offered several betas over the past few weeks. Today there is macOS 11.7.6 and macOS 12.6.5 in release candidate. This is the final test version before general public availability. If all goes well, Apple will release exactly those builds (with the same build numbers) to the public. If there are any issues discovered at the last minute, Apple will provide revised versions.

What’s new with macOS 11.7.6 and macOS 12.6.5? There isn’t, at least there wasn’t during the betas. But that’s normal: Apple is now focusing on macOS Ventura 13. The manufacturer, however, maintains support for macOS Big Sur and Monterey to offer security patches. We will have to wait for the final version to know the list of security patches.

Apple isn’t giving a release date for the final version of macOS 11.7.6 and macOS 12.6.5, but availability is expected to come this week or possibly next week. Indeed, the time is always short between a release candidate and public availability, at least at Apple.

IOS

WWDC 2023 confirmed! We already know the dates and the first details of the event that iOS 17 will give us

It’s here! Apple has already given the first official details of WWDC 2023. This year’s developer conference will be held in a hybrid mode, and it has already been confirmed that we will see “the latest advances in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS”.

Obviously this means that we will see the official presentation of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, tvOS 17 and watchOS 10. The conference will start on June 5 and will last until June 9, so June 5 will be the day in which we will have a new keynote from Apple. In the end, the CEO of Flighty was right on his bet.

Five days online, one day in person

The five days of the conference will be held online: developers and students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops and conferences through steamingalthough On June 5 there will be a “face-to-face experience” at Apple Park for everyone in the area.

In fact, the press release itself already includes a statement from Susan Prescott (developer relations vice president) in which she confirms that on June 5 we will have a keynote. If you are a developer or a student and you want to attend the Apple Park face-to-face event, you will find instructions on how to participate on the event page.

Like all the last years, the limited places will be distributed in a lottery. Apple will provide sanitary measures to counteract any risk of infection by COVID-19, although it will no longer require safety distances or masks.

The official image of WWDC 2023 arouses many suspicions: have you ever seen how the lenses of a virtual reality headset are reflected on the glass? I’ll just say that.

In Applesphere | iOS 17 + AI

IOS

WWDC 2023: Apple organizes the Swift Student Challenge

In addition to announcing that WWDC 2023 will take place from June 5 to 9, Apple announces that there will be the Swift Student Challenge. This in itself is not a surprise, given that the event takes place every year.

WWDC 2023 is an opportunity to support aspiring developers through the Swift Student Challenge, one of Apple’s programs designed to advance developers and learners of all ages who are passionate about programming. With the help of Swift Playgrounds, an app for iPad and Mac that makes learning the Swift programming language fun and interactive, students around the world are invited to create a Swift Playgrounds app on a topic of their choice. Applications to participate in this year’s challenge are already open.

Winners will receive clothing exclusive to theeffigy from WWDC 2023, AirPods Pro, a set of personalized pins and one year of membership in the Apple Developer Program. Additionally, Apple will hold a separate random selection process for winners who choose to attend the special event at Apple Park.

If you are interested in the adventure, you can register now by going to this page. You have until April 20 at 8:59 a.m. (French time) to participate and submit your project.