The Daily Populous

Wednesday March 17th, 2021 morning edition

image for California is banning companies from using 'dark patterns,' a sneaky website design that makes things like canceling a subscription frustratingly difficult

California banned companies from using "dark patterns," or tricks to get uses to sell information.

California on Monday announced new protections for residents seeking to protect their personal information.

As of March 15, the California Consumer Privacy Act bans companies from using "dark patterns," or website designs that can confuse or trick users into opting into selling their information.

Businesses that continue to use dark patterns will receive a 30-day window to change their website design or risk further punishment.

"It makes a range of privacy-related dark patterns illegal — including certain kinds of trick wording, hidden small print, misdirection and bait-and-switch.".

In 2019, Senators Mark Warner, a Democrat, and Deb Fischer, a Republican, introduced a bill banning tech firms from using dark patterns.

Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rohit Chopra, who served under Trump and now Biden, has spoken out against dark patterns. »

Apple brand loyalty hits all-time high as Samsung loyalty dives

Authored by 9to5mac.com

SellCell says that only 74% of Samsung smartphone owners plan to buy another Samsung model, down from 85.7% in 2019. iPhone owners gave four reasons for sticking with Apple:.

While almost as many Samsung owners were happy with the brand as Apple owners (64% versus 65%), just 5% said they were too invested in the Samsung world.

Apple iPhone 12 — 17% Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max — 12.7% Samsung Galaxy S21 — 11.4% Apple iPhone 12 Pro — 10.6% Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra — 10% Samsung Galaxy S21+ — 9% Google Pixel 5 — 8.1% Apple iPhone 12 Mini — 6.3% Other — 5% Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G — 3.1%. »

Biden says he supports reforming Senate filibuster in ABC News exclusive interview

Authored by abcnews.go.com
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The comments, made in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, could galvanize reform advocates who argue that the legislative filibuster is stymying Biden's agenda in the narrowly divided Senate.

"Aren't you going to have to choose between preserving the filibuster, and advancing your agenda?"

Watch more of the interview with President Joe Biden on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, March 17, at 7 a.m. EDT. »

Facebook found that a vast amount of its anti-vaxx content comes from a hard core of only 111 accounts

Authored by businessinsider.com

111 accounts were behind half of all material doubting vaccines shared by vaccine hesitant users, it found.

Facebook has identified a core of 111 accounts sharing a large amount of the anti-vaccine and vaccine skeptical material on its platform, according to an internal report obtained by The Washington Post.

According to the Post, Facebook identified them by carving up its US users into different categories and assessing how receptive they were to content skeptical of vaccines. »