Current Events in October 2020

The Senate Commerce Committee has voted to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter over concerns related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Section 230 acts as a liability shield for online companies. In its current state, websites and online services aren’t held liable for what their users post. 

The committee voted unanimously to subpoena Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey to testify about Section 230 if they refuse to come voluntarily. Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who introduced the subpoena, noted that both presidential candidates support reform to Section 230. 

President Trump took aim at Section 230 over the summer after Twitter fact-checked two of his tweets. He accused the company of engaging in censorship and announced that he would sign an executive order encouraging the FCC to impose new regulations on the provision.

Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden has told The New York Times editorial board that Section 230 “should be revoked” and has said he plans to do just that if elected. This week, Biden accused Facebook of failing to prevent the spread of election misinformation.

Curbing the power of big tech 

Political beliefs aside, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued that it’s “dangerous” to give too much power to tech companies. 

“Even if you happen to agree with them on a particular issue right now, ceding the power to the star chamber of Silicon Valley is profoundly dangerous,” the lawmaker said. 

Democrats supported the subpoena but said Congress should avoid creating a “chilling effect” on tech companies currently battling hate speech and COVID-19 misinformation.  

“What I don’t want to see is a chilling effect on individuals who are in a process of trying to crack down on hate speech or misinformation about Covid during a pandemic,” said Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the committee. 

"I welcome the debate about 230," she said. "I think it should be a long and thoughtful process. Not sure that a long and thoughtful process will happen before the election, but I understand my colleagues’ desires here today.”

Is your iPhone or Apple Watch’s battery life not what you think it should be, or is its GPS app not recording locations during activities like you expect it to?

You’re not alone. MacRumours reports that a good number of online support threads are complaining about the same things.

Most of the complaints say that when an Apple Watch user records, say, a workout on their device, but with their ‌iPhone‌ at home, the Activity app only shows the starting point of the workout. Some users have also griped about a battery issue for Apple Watch devices running system watchOS 7 and ‌iPhone‌ ‌iOS 14. 

The potential symptoms

• Battery drain: Increased or what the user thinks is excessive battery drain on the ‌iPhone‌ and/or Apple Watch.

• Apps won’t launch or load data: Health-related apps like Activity and Heart Rate fail to launch or load data on the Apple Watch and/or on the ‌iPhone‌.

• Workout route maps: Missing in the Fitness app on ‌iPhone‌ for earlier GPS-enabled workouts connected to your Apple Watch.

• Inaccurate data storage volume: The Health app or Fitness app shows what a user might consider to be an inaccurate amount of data storage on the ‌iPhone‌ and/or the Apple Watch.

• Sound level data missing: The environmental sound levels data or the headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on ‌iPhone‌.

Apple’s recommendations 

The support threads were ripe with fixes, but Apple has suggested the following advice if a user is experiencing two or more of the symptoms listed above: 

• Unpair the Apple Watch;

• Do a backup of both the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch;

• Then, erase all content and settings on both devices and restore from the backup. 

Apple provides steps to accomplish these tasks in this support document published Thursday.

After being grounded since March 2019, Boeing’s 737 MAX jets underwent a test flight by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson. 

Dickson, a former commercial pilot, flew the aircraft on Wednesday during a test flight in Seattle. He said the revisions to the flight control system made in the wake of the two fatal crashes gave him confidence in its airworthiness.  

"I liked what I saw," Dickson told reporters in a news conference after the flight. "I completed a number of test profiles today to examine the functionality of the aircraft and I liked what I saw, so it responded well.” 

He added that the test flight didn’t have anything to do with the FAA’s official recertification process, which is still underway. But Dickson gave the jet an overall positive review after flying it for several hours and taking it through a number of different scenarios. 

"I did two landings and also some air work maneuvers over about a two-hour period... and I felt prepared,” he said. I think most importantly, I felt that the training prepared me to be very comfortable.” 

Addressing safety issues 

Boeing’s 737 MAX has been grounded for about a year and half following two crashes that occured within five months of each other, killing a total of 346 people. 

Both crashes were caused, in part, by a faulty automated flight control system, called MCAS. Following the crashes, Boeing made changes to MCAS and expanded pilots' training to include simulator time before they can fly the plane. 

Dickson has assured the public that the plane won’t be allowed to resume service until it has undergone rigorous FAA testing. The aircraft will also need to be safe enough to earn his own personal seal of approval.

"I made a promise I would fly the 737 Max and that I wouldn't sign off on its return until I was comfortable putting my family on it," he said. "It was important to experience the training and the handling of the aircraft."

Not rushing recertification process

The FAA has released a list of changes that must be made in order for the aircraft to be recertified to fly. Dickson has said the process cannot and will not be rushed, but at this point, it appears to be close to wrapping up. 

"The FAA continues to take a thorough and deliberate approach in our review of Boeing's proposed changes to the 737 Max, he said. "The FAA will not approve the plane to return to passenger service until I'm satisfied that we've adequately addressed all of the known safety issues."

Health benefits provider Anthem has reached a settlement with 43 states, resolving the last of a series of lawsuits over a 2014 cyberattack. The company will pay the states $39.5 million.

The company previously agreed to a more than $16 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve privacy issues resulting from the hack that exposed personal information on nearly 79 million people.

“Protecting the privacy of its customers should be Anthem’s top priority, otherwise people are left vulnerable and exposed,” said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “The fear of having your identity stolen is alarming and it will take time to rebuild that public trust.”

Through the combined action, Yost said Ohio will receive $1.88 million from the settlement. Other states will receive similar amounts. In addition to the payments, Anthem has also agreed to a series of data security and good governance provisions designed to strengthen its practices going forward.

“Data breaches have far-reaching and long-lasting effects on people’s lives,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “When companies fail to protect customers’ personal information, they owe it to the public to disclose that information quickly and to take steps to protect them from further damage.”

Timing of disclosure

The timing of the disclosure was one of the central issues in the states’ case. In February 2015, Anthem disclosed to the public that hackers had gained entry to its systems beginning in February 2014 by using malware installed through a phishing email. 

Once inside, the attackers gained access to Anthem’s data warehouse, where they stole names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health care identification numbers, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and employment information for 78.8 million Americans. 

“Protecting consumer data is incredibly important, and when companies or corporations who store large amounts of consumer data fail to safeguard that data, they must be held accountable,” said Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

Improving security

In addition to the financial settlement, Anthem has agreed to strengthen its network security protocols to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Among the steps, Anthem said it will implement a comprehensive information security program that incorporates principles of zero-trust architecture and includes regular security reports made to the Board of Directors and prompt notice of significant security events to the CEO.

It has also agreed to an assessment and audit of its security practices by a third-party for three years.

The housing market remains red hot as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has done nothing to slow sales.

Pending home sales, which measure sales contracts that were signed, rose a record 8.8 percent over July’s sales, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales were up more than 24 percent from August 2019, accelerating a trend that began in June.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says several factors are encouraging buyers -- in particular mortgage rates hovering around 3 percent.

"Additionally, the Fed intends to hold short-term fed funds rates near 0 percent for the foreseeable future, which should in the absence of inflationary pressure keep mortgage rates low, and that will undoubtedly aid homebuyers continuing to enter the marketplace,” Yun said.

‘Pleasantly surprised’

Yun also said he expected the housing market to remain stable during the pandemic but has been “pleasantly surprised” to see housing bounce back the way it has.

All four regions of the country saw a strong increase in sales contracts. The West saw the biggest increase in sales from July, with contracts rising 13.1 percent. Sales were up 8.6 percent in both the South and Midwest.

On an annual basis, sales contracts were up 26 percent over August 2019 in the Northeast and were up double digits in the other three regions. Contracts signed in August can be expected to close in September in October, though some deals are likely to fall through.

Yun says these robust sales figures are probably not sustainable without an increase in the number of available homes for sale. He points out that pending home sales are outperforming many pre-pandemic averages, but he says that without matching supply, the recovery can’t last.

Mortgage applications fell last week

We may have seen the first signs of that this week, when the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that mortgage applications declined last week by 4.8 percent from the previous week. 

A significant part of the decline was for refinanced mortgages, but MBA said mortgage applications to purchase homes were also lower. Still, compared to the same week in 2019, applications were up more than 20 percent.

Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of Economic and Industry Forecasting, isn’t ready to draw conclusions about the housing market, suggesting factors other than demand could be responsible for the fall off.

"Many lenders are still operating at full capacity and working through operational challenges, ultimately limiting the number of applications they are able to accept," he said.

Interest rates, meanwhile, are only getting lower. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 3.05 percent last week from 3.10 the previous week.

CFMOTO Powersports of Plymouth, Minn., is recalling about 627 model year 2020 and 2021 ZFORCE 950 Sport Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs).

The throttle gas pedal can fail to return quickly to the idle position which can create a crash hazard if the vehicle does not slow down as quickly as expected by the driver when the gas pedal is released.

The throttle gas pedal can fail to return quickly to the idle position which can create a crash hazard if the vehicle does not slow down as quickly as expected by the driver when the gas pedal is released.

The firm has received two reports of the throttle pedal assembly malfunctioning. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves the 2020 and 2021 ZFORCE 950 Sport ROV with a 963cc 4-cycle engine. Vehicle colors are red, silver or gray with the CFMOTO logo in the center of the front grille.

The model name is located on each side of the vehicle doors. The model year 2020 ROVs will have the letter L in the 10th position of the vehicle identification number (VIN). The model year 2021 ROVs will have the letter M in the 10th position of the vehicle identification number (VIN).

The VIN number is stamped on the right-side frame rail, behind the right rear tire.

The ROVs, manufactured in China, were sold at CFMOTO dealers nationwide from June 2020, through September 2020, for about $13,000.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ROVs and contact a CFMOTO dealer to schedule a free repair. CFMOTO is contacting all registered owners and dealers directly.

Consumers mat contact CFMOTO toll-free at (888) 823-6686 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CT), Monday through Friday, by email at info@cfmotousa.com, or online at www.cfmotousa.com and go to “Customer Care” at the top of the page, then “Vehicle Recall” for more information.

Cher-Make Sausage Company of Manitowoc, Wis., is recalling approximately 429-lbs of fully-cooked meat sausage.

The product, labeled as “Old Fashioned Wieners” may contain cheddar wieners with cheese, an allergen not declared on the label.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following item, produced on July 23, 2020, is being recalled:

• 5-lb. vacuum sealed packages labeled as “OLD FASHIONED WIENERS COURSE GROUND FULLY COOKED” with sell by date “11/26/20” and lot number “2020503” on the product label.

The recalled product, bearing establishment number “EST. 2420” inside the USDA mark of inspection, was shipped to retail locations in Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,, and Wisconsin, and may have been sold intact or from a counter display as individual sausages.

What to do

Customers who purchase the recalled product should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Tom Chermak at (920) 683-5980, or by email at TomC@Cher-make.com.