Tech Round-Up Week 2 June 2020: FB Reviews Free Speech Policies, Coastal 5G Connectivity Trials For

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he supports the Black Lives Matter Movement and that Facebook will be taking steps to review how they handle violating content. This announcement comes shortly after the outrage and response from US President Donald Trump’s Facebook statement about shooting protestors. Many were upset about Facebook’s lack of response to the President’s statement, in contrast to Twitter that fact-checked the President’s tweet.

Facebook groups have struggled to moderate discussions about the Black Lives Movement and injustice in the US. Facebook addresses the political post ban that many groups follow and recommends that leaders create specific lists of topics that aren’t allowed. Furthermore, Facebook also encourages admins to educate themselves on the issues and “create opportunities for new and diverse members” to join the moderation team.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (“IMDA”), M1 Limited and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”) have partnered with Airbus and to conduct coastal 5G standalone network trials at the Singapore Maritime Drone Estate. The trials will be conducted in real-world environments to ensure unmanned aerial vehicles can operate safely and efficiently during all phases of their flights.

In addition to the coastal trials, M1 and Airbus have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct connectivity trials for in-land areas. This will enable M1 and Airbus to address the growing interest in unmanned aircraft systems for urban air mobility operations for other industries.

Twitter has announced that they are releasing new labels and warning messages in response to Tweets involving misinformation related to COVID19. Now, Twitter is fact-checking tweets about the latest “conspiracy” linking 5G and COVID19. Twitter added a label below those tweets and the label is linked to a page titled “No, 5G isn’t causing coronavirus”. This attempts to debunk the conspiracy theory by linking news reports, fact-checking organizations and government agencies.

Apple has been granted a patent for software that will combine individual selfies into a “synthetic group selfie”. This could be a way to take selfies with your friends while maintaining social distancing. Using an Apple device, you can invite friends to take part in a selfie. The software will then arrange for everyone to be in the image.

The selfie can include static photos, stored video images, or even live streaming images. Users and recipients of the group image can even change their position in the group selfie. Although Apple filed for this patent 2 years ago, it was just recently granted. A new way to take group selfies sounds perfect, especially when we’re unable to meet up with friends.

Apple’s iPad Pro 2020 was not really a very impressive update from the 2018 model, but it looks like Apple is saving major upgrades for the 2021 version. A new leak states that the new iPad Pro 2021 will have 5G connectivity and Mini-LED screens.

It should also feature the same chipset as the upcoming iPhone 12. While these are just rumoured specs, it definitely makes the iPad Pro 2021 sound a lot more enticing than this year’s model!