Meta bans TikTok ads from its platforms in tit-for-tat row

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Meta bans TikTok ads from its platforms in tit-for-tat row.

More on that coming up, but first, Anthropic is offering open-source projects a new way to check out for vulnerabilities with its OSS scanner. Projects that join will receive thorough periodic security scans by our strongest models at no cost, the company announced. As they've shown recently, AI models are excellent at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities. The new scanner could give open-source coders early alerts about potential security issues for free, albeit with the trade-off that reports won't be reviewed by humans. As Anthropic mentions, it was inspired by OSS Fuzz open-source software scanner created by Google and the OpenSSF, Open Source Security Foundation, that has been available since 2016

Anthropic already has a paid product called Claude Security that can perform general access code scanning and patching, but OSS Scanner performs similar security audits at no cost. Google and Anthropic aren't necessarily providing these products out of altruism. Both companies rely heavily on open-source code projects that underpin the Internet, often run by unpaid workers. Security vulnerabilities in such code are highly dangerous, with a recent example of that being the XZUtils backdoor that could have handed hackers administrative control over millions of systems around the world.

And SpaceX has revealed that it plans to become a major mobile carrier and not just a satellite Internet broadband service provider with Starlink. To achieve that goal, it has agreed to acquire 100% of Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio. SpaceX says the acquisition is for a low-band spectrum license portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band, though it's still pending FCC approval. Access to the low-band spectrum will address one of the key technical gaps remaining to be able to turn Starlink into a major mobile carrier in the US, SpaceX adds. The company acquired spectrum licenses from EchoStar late last year, including frequencies used in the US for commercial wireless services like mobile and satellite communications. But this particular low-broadband spectrum acquisition will enable Starlink Mobile's signal to penetrate walls and other obstacles. While more established carriers have access to a wider range of bands, this will allow the company to offer a robust and veritable alternative to their offerings. Most mobile devices already support the band, so SpaceX will be able to offer its services to millions of potential customers, regardless of their phones. This new acquisition will allow SpaceX to offer a reliable service indoors, while Starlink's broadband internet will provide customers with a signal even in far-flung places. You can always find the latest Gadget news, reviews, updates, price drops, and more right now at engadget.com.

Meta confirmed that it has banned ads from rival platform TikTok, saying that declining promotional services to a competitor is a normal business practice, Bloomberg reported. The news follows TikTok's own ban of Instagram and Facebook profile links and Meta ads, pressuring TikTok and other social media sites to follow its lead with safety features for miners. On Thursday, Meta placed a complete ban on ads and marketing from TikTok's US minority owner, China's ByteDance. The ban is in effect in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, the company said. It also applies to third-party advertisers running TikTok-linked campaigns in those countries. We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps, Meta spokesperson Chris Scrode told Bloomberg. In August, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with US states that also forced it to implement child safety features on Facebook and Instagram. Legal experts said that could pressure the company's competitors, particularly TikTok and YouTube, to reshape their apps as well. This summer, the European regulators wrote that TikTok hasn't done enough to insure miners' safety and that it could impose a fine of up to 6% of the platform's annual revenue. That puts TikTok and YouTube on the back foot, with both government regulators and Meta itself pressuring them to follow Meta's child safety lead. Meta recently placed ads in major newspapers demanding similar moves from its rivals, while calling out TikTok for failing to show at several US government meetings around screen time and child safety. TikTok, now owned by a consortium of US and UAE investors, including Larry Ellison's Oracle, has so far said very little on the issue.