YouTube is testing time-specific emoji reactions

Sometimes a YouTube video deserves more nuanced feedback than a simple comment, or a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down”. YouTube today is testing timed-specific emoji reactions for a small group of users. Viewers can throw out an emoji when a specific moment in a video resonates with them (or doesn’t). 

Users can also get a feel for how others reacted throughout the duration of a video. There will be a separate reaction panel in the comment section of each video that will display emoji reactions by the moment, similar to features already offered by Facebook Live and Twitch. 

“If you’re watching a video that is part of this experiment, you can react and see crowd reactions by opening the comment section of the video and tapping into the reaction panel. The test will also show you which moments other viewers are reacting to (which will be anonymized – we won’t show who sent each reaction). We’re testing multiple sets of reactions and will add or remove reactions based on how the experiment goes!,” wrote Meaghan, a representative from Team YouTube.

Google frequently experiments with new features on YouTube, but they don’t always become permanent. YouTube recently tested letting users time their comments to specific points in a video and hiding the “dislike” button. As far as user engagement goes, YouTube is relatively light on options. 

Emoji reactions have been hit-or-miss on other social media platforms. Twitter experimented with emoji reactions to tweets last year, and reactions were largely ambivalent. But unlike tweets, videos are a lengthier medium and more likely to elicit a multitude of reactions. YouTube creators are likely to receive more detailed user feedback via emoji as well, such as being able to nail down if a joke landed or bombed.

YouTube is testing emoji reactions on a small number of channels to start but will expand the feature depending on the reception. Users will have a wide array of emoji reactions at their disposal, including the face with tears of joy, a heart, the shocked face, the celebration party poppers, the “keep it 100” sign, a question mark, the idea light bulb and a screaming cat.

Spotify is testing a new car mode focused on voice commands

Spotify is trying out a new “Car Mode” on a handful of users, the streaming service confirmed to TechCrunch. Last year the company retired its old Car View mode, explaining that it needed to pave the way for “new innovations”. The new in-car interface, called “Car Mode” appears to be more focused on voice controls than the older version. The jury is still out on whether hands-free voice recognition actually makes driving safer (some studies suggest drivers who use voice controls are more distracted). But the new revamp does offer less visual distractions and a cleaner interface.

According to screenshots of the Android version of Spotify Car Mode posted by 9to5Google, users can use voice controls to search for artists, browse albums, play or pause, fast forward and “like” a song. The new in-car mode appears to be far less busy than the older version, with simplified “Player View” and a “Library” tab that allows you to quickly access music or podcasts you’ve recently listened to.

Tech companies like Google and Amazon have pushed automakers to build more voice recognition features in future models of cars. As TechCrunchnotes, voice controls will also be an essential feature in autonomous vehicles. Spotify is no doubt trying to stay ahead of this trend. Last month, Spotify officially launched Car Thing, an in-car player with voice controls, after an extended test period (we reviewed it here). But for those who don’t want to pay extra for a hands-free in-car listening experience, Spotify’s new mode will be a welcome option.

Ex-TikTok moderators sue over ’emotional distress’ from disturbing videos

Two former TikTok moderators filed a federal lawsuit seeking class-action status today against the platform and parent company Bytedance, reportedNPR. The plaintiffs, Ashley Velez and Reece Young, worked for the social video platform last year as contractors. To fulfill their role as moderators, they witnessed “many acts of extreme and graphic violence”, including murder, bestiality, necrophilia and other disturbing images. The lawsuit accuses TikTok of negligence and violating labor laws in California, the state where the platform’s US operations is based.

Both plaintiffs said they were tasked with viewing hours of disturbing footage, often working 12-hour days. They both paid for counseling out-of-pocket in order to deal with the psychological toll of the job. The lawsuit accuses TikTok of imposing high “productivity standards” on moderators, which forced them to watch large volumes of disturbing content without a break. Both employees were also forced to sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition of their employment.

“We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day,” Velez told NPR. “I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight.”

Moderators at Facebook and other platforms have spoken out in the past about the severe psychological toll of their jobs. Employees have alleged they’re given a short period of time, usually only seconds, to determine whether a video violates the platform’s policies. The job has often been called “the worst job in technology,” and workers regularly suffer from depression, PTSD-like symptoms and suicidal ideation. In a 2020 settlement,Facebook paid over $52 million to a group of former moderators who said they developed PTSD from the job.

This is not the first lawsuit of this type for TikTok, which currently has a base of 10,000 content moderators worldwide. Last December another content moderator for TikTok also sued the platform for negligence and violating workplace safety standards. According to NPR, the lawsuit was dropped last month after the plaintiff was fired.

Justice Department indicts four Russian government workers in energy sector hacks

The US Justice Department today announced indictments against four Russian government employees, who it alleges attempted a hacking campaign of the global energy sector that spanned six years and devices in roughly 135 countries. The two indictments were filed under seal last summer, and are finally being disclosed to the public.

The DOJ’s decision to release the documents may be a way to raise public awareness of the increased threat these kinds of hacks pose to US critical infrastructure in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. State-sponsored hackers have targeted energy, nuclear, water and critical manufacturing companies for years, aiming to steal information on their control systems. Cybersecurity officials noticed a spike in Russian hacking activity in the US in recent weeks.

“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco in a statement. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant.

The indictments allege that two separate campaigns occurred between 2012 and 2018. The first one, filed in June 2021, involves Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, a computer programmer at the Russian Ministry of Defense. It alleges that Gladkik and a team of co-conspirators were members of the Triton malware hacking group, which launched a failed campaign to bomb a Saudi petrochemical plant in 2017. As TechCrunchnoted, the Saudi plant would have been completely decimated if not for a bug in the code. In 2018, the same group attempted to hack US power plants but failed.

The second indictment charges three hackers who work for Russia’s intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), as being the members of the hacking group Dragonfly, which coordinated multiple attacks on nuclear power plants, energy companies, and other critical infrastructure. It alleges that the three men, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov engaged in multiple computer intrusions between 2012 and 2017. The DOJ estimates that the three hackers were able to install malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the US and abroad.

A second phase known as Dragonfly 2.0, which occurred between 2014 and 2017, targeted more than 3,300 users across 500 different energy companies in the US and abroad. According to the DOJ, the conspirators were looking to access the software and hardware in power plants that would allow the Russian government to trigger a shutdown.

The US government is still looking for the three FSB hackers. The State Department today announced a $10 million award for any information on their whereabouts. However, as the Washington Postnotes, the US and Russia do not have an extradition treaty, so the likeliness of any of the alleged hackers being brought to trial by these indictments is slim.

Russian court finds Meta guilty of “extremist activity”, but won’t ban WhatsApp

A judge in a Moscow court said on Monday that Instagram and Facebook were guilty of “extremist” activity, solidifying a ban on both platforms that went into effect earlier this month, reportedReuters. But the court also spared WhatsApp — one of Meta’s core products and one of the most popular messaging platforms in Russia — from the ban. Russian authorities decided to open a criminal case against Meta after Facebook’s decision to temporarily allow for calls of violence in Ukraine and select other countries. The outcome of that case was determined today in court.

Many Russia experts believe that the court chose not to include WhatsApp in the ban due to its ubiquitous status in the nation. Roughly 80 percent of Russians over the age of 14 use WhatsApp to communicate, according to a 2021 survey from Deloitte. Ironically, the case against Meta led to WhatsApp losing its status as the most popular messenger in Russia. Telegram, which millions of Russians downloaded in recent weeks due to uncertainty over WhatsApp’s fate, is now the most popular messaging app in Russia, mobile operator Megafon toldReuters today.

Under the judge’s ruling, Meta is effectively banned from opening offices or doing business in Russia, according to Russian state media agency TASS. But Russian citizens won’t be accused of extremism for merely using any of Meta’s platforms or services (that is, if they can access them). Many Russians have downloaded VPNs in recent weeks to access many of the Western-owned tech platforms banned by their government.

“The use of Meta’s products by individuals and legal entities should not be considered as participation in extremist activities,” a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told TASS.

But even those able to access Facebook or Instagram still face limits on free speech. A new Russian law criminalizes the spread of “fake news” or public statements that are critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of Russians have been arrested, fired from jobs or expelled from school for criticizing Russia’s activities in Ukraine, reported NPR.

Despite WhatsApp being spared, future sparring between Russia and Western tech companies could make it harder for Russians to buy new devices or access services. Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, LG and others have banned device sales in Russia. 

MacRumors recently reported that Russian users can no longer access the App Store or pay for any of Apple’s services, which would include iCloud. Google Play has also paused all billing in Russia, although users can still use free apps. WhatsApp offers encrypted backups, but users will need an iCloud or Google Drive account. 

Apple Maps EV routing is now available for the Ford Mustang Mach-E

It’s about to get easier for Ford Mustang Mach-E drivers to find the nearest charging station, thanks to a new iOS 15.4 update for Apple Maps. According to 9to5Mac, EV routing can now be activated on the Mach-E through Apple Maps on CarPlay, Apple’s in-car system. The feature was first previewed during WWDC 2020, and now it’s finally been released to the public. Right now, only this current year’s vehicle and versions of the 2021 model with specific software versions have the new feature, but Ford hopes to roll the feature out to all Mach-E drivers before 2023.

Mach-E owners in need of a charge usually find the nearest station using the Apple Maps or Google Maps app on their phone, Ford’s built-in charging station finder or the FordPass App. This is likely cumbersome for many, especially when embarking on a long road trip. Now, Apple Maps on CarPlay can generate a route and identify charging points along the way.

Ford has full instructions on its website for how to activate EV charging on Apple Maps, but it should be as simple as pressing “OK” on a pop-up message that says “Get EV routes for your Mustang Mach-E” the next time you fire up Apple Maps through CarPlay and enter a new destination.