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The pornographic website PornHub is adding Florida to its list of states to block starting next year. Gizmodo reported that Floridians who visited the porn website recently were greeted with a warning that says “You will lose access to PornHub in 14 days” thanks to a new state law that requires an ID to visit the website.

PornHub has already blocked a number of states from accessing its wealth of sexually explicit content because of new state laws that require visitors to provide a valid government ID to verify their age for access. Florida’s legislature passed its porn ID law and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law on March 25 as part of a series of regulations intended to protect minors from explicit materials. The adult entertainment trade association The Free Speech Coalition is fighting Florida’s law in federal court, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Florida will become the 13th state to institute an age verification law for adult websites. Florida follows Texas, Utah, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Nebraska that all have ID verification laws on its books.

“Not only does this impinge on the rights of adults to access protected speech, it fails strict scrutiny by employing the least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing [the state’s] stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors,” according to the official PornHub blog

The PornHub blog also states that the company is concerned about the safety and welfare of children but the idea of using identification creates more risks with users’ safety and privacy. The Louisiana law in particular has no state regulator overseeing the new laws’ implementation “which results in a flawed enforcement regime,” the PornHub blog states.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/pornhub-is-breaking-up-with-florida-202650152.html?src=rss

Apple is shelving its plans to offer the iPhone for a monthly subscription, Bloomberg reports. The company was first said to be exploring a hardware subscription in 2022, but like the company’s “buy now, pay later” product, Apple Pay Later, it seems like it ultimately proved too problematic.

The hardware subscription was rumored to work in a similar way to existing options like the iPhone Upgrade Program or Apple Card Monthly Installments, where you pay off a new phone or other Apple device with monthly payments, and in some cases get the option to upgrade to a new device without changing your subscription fee. Unlike those payment methods, which apply your payments to a one-time loan from either Citizen One or Goldman Sachs, Apple’s subscription was going to be managed through an Apple account and use whatever payment methods you already have connected.

Apple’s expectation was that if it fronted the cost for an iPhone directly, people would upgrade more often and increase the company’s recurring revenue. The problem is that much like Apple Pay Later, which let you split Apple Pay purchases into four smaller installments, the hardware subscription might have required Apple to “follow the same regulations as credit card companies,” Bloomberg says. That’s extra scrutiny the company didn’t want to invite.

There’s also the potential strain a hardware subscription could put on Apple’s relationships with carriers. You can buy an iPhone 16 from T-Mobile or Verizon with an installment plan that might be technically different from a subscription, but definitely feels like one when you’re paying monthly.

Apple’s hardware subscription was never officially announced, but it reflects what could be a larger retreat from the headaches of financial services. Apple Pay Later was shut down in June 2024 and replaced with access to Affirm loans in Apple Pay as part of iOS 18. The Apple Card is also reportedly in limbo as Apple searches for a partner to replace Goldman Sachs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-is-reportedly-giving-up-on-plans-to-turn-the-iphone-into-a-subscription-223540728.html?src=rss

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved California’s plan to phase out and ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. ABC News reported the EPA gave California the waivers it needed to enact the Advanced Clean Cars II Regulations (ACC II) devised and approved by the California Air Resources Board in 2022.

The EPA also approved California’s plan to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in order to reduce the amount of smog in the air. The state will require an initial 75 percent reduction in NOx pollution followed by a 90 percent reduction a few years later.

The ACC II provides a year-to-year blueprint for phasing out the selling of combustion-engine vehicles. The plan sets a 2026 deadline by which 35 percent of the state’s car sales must be electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids or models with hydrogen fuel cells. Then by 2030, the electric vehicle sale threshold rises to 68 percent before reaching its ultimate 100 percent sale requirement by 2035. Consumers and dealerships will still be able to buy, sell and drive used ICE and hybrid cards until the ACC II. California Air Resources Board chair Liane Randolph estimated the ACC II could lead to a 50 percent drop in pollution by 2040.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed the decision and ACC II in a statement as evidence that “California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/epa-gives-thumbs-up-to-californias-new-gas-powered-car-sale-ban-232048688.html?src=rss

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok owner ByteDance’s appeal of a law that could ban the app. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is set to go into effect on January 19, the day before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. ByteDance claimed the law violates free speech rights, a position the ACLU has supported. The Justice Department defended the law in lower courts, citing concerns that the Chinese government could influence the company and collect data about American citizens.

The Supreme Court’s response was fast — only two days after the company filed its appeal. Oral arguments are scheduled for January 10.

— Mat Smith

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— Mat Smith

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YouTube is helping high-profile actors and athletes monetize their AI likenesses

It’s teaming with talent agency CAA to test ‘likeness management technology.’

YouTube is teaming up with one of the world’s largest talent agencies, CAA, to help its high-profile actors and athletes monitor their AI likenesses. The platform will test its “likeness management technology” with unnamed award-winning actors and top NBA and NFL athletes. Down the road, it will announce further testing for top YouTube creators, creative professionals and other talent agencies. It’s largely aimed at removing depictions of their likenesses.

Continue reading.

Apple might give up on turning its iPhone into a monthly subscription

It’s about avoiding regulatory pressures and regulation.

Apple is shelving its plans to offer the iPhone for a monthly subscription, according to a Bloomberg report. The idea of an Apple hardware subscription was first rumored in 2022, but a hardware subscription might have required Apple to “follow the same regulations as credit card companies.” It’s part of a retreat from the headaches of financial services. Apple Pay Later shut down in June 2024, replaced with access to Affirm loans in Apple Pay as part of iOS 18, while the Apple Card is also reportedly in limbo as it tries to find a replacement partner for Goldman Sachs.

Continue reading.

LG’s transparent OLED T television can be yours for just $60,000

It can flit between transparent and standard modes with the push of a button.

LG

LG’s transparent wireless OLED TV is now available. The 77-inch OLED T has 4K resolution, the company’s wireless transmission tech for video and audio and the ability to shift between transparent and opaque modes with the push of a button. And you pay just $60,000 for the privilege. Here’s what we thought when we saw it early this year.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121550707.html?src=rss

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) spending bill has just been release and it grants DJI a year’s grace before it’s potentially banned in the US, The Verge reported. It was expected that DJI and rival Autel could be banned by the end of 2024 because of the Countering CCP Drones Act provision. However, the bill gives DJI an extra year to prove to an “appropriate national security agency” that its products don’t pose a national security risk in the US. 

Failing that, the bill authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to place DJI’s drones on its covered list for 2026, meaning retailers would no longer be able to import them. It also means that the products (including drones and cameras like the Osmo Pocket 3) would be prohibited from connecting to US networks, and their internal radios would no longer be authorized by the FCC. That would technically prohibit the use of DJI products already owned by consumers, though the US wouldn’t likely stop consumers from doing so. 

In a reply on its Viewpoints blog, DJI said it’s “good news” that the ban wasn’t included in this year’s budget. However, it pointed out that “drones manufactured in China are singled out for scrutiny and the legislation does not designate a specific agency to undertake the required study.” The latter point could cause the company harm “simply because no agency chose to take on the work of studying our product,” it wrote.

The main reason DJI is still alive is through the support of drone enthusiasts and content creators, along with law enforcement and search and rescue organizations. “In the event that a bill like this would go fully through and would potentially ban the use of Chinese drones for public safety, it’d be catastrophic for the public safety drone industry,” said Law Enforcement Drone Association spokesperson Brendan Karr in a letter to Congress. 

However, US representatives believe they’re a risk. “DJI drones pose the national security threat of TikTok, but with wings. This Chinese-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the US,” said Republican Representative Elise Stefanik. “These Chinese-manufactured drones allow for the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to access data in a backdoor manner and ultimately surveil Americans,” added Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-evades-us-ban-but-has-one-year-to-prove-its-products-arent-a-national-security-threat-133042749.html?src=rss