The affected products include USB charging cables, battery chargers, office equipment and other inexpensive accessories. One particularly problematic product, according to CNN, was a voice-enabled microwave that “began sparking and smoking” as soon as it was turned on by researchers tapped by CNN to investigate the product. 

CNN notes that in some cases the product in question wasn’t even being used when it caught fire or appeared to overheat. The source of the issues wasn’t immediately clear. But for some products the problems were widespread enough that they were reported by dozens of people who bought the same item.

Amazon has since discontinued some of the products identified by CNN, but continues to sell other items named in the report — even after multiple customers say the product melted, sparked or otherwise posed a safety hazard. 

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said “safety is a top priority,” and the company is “confident that the AmazonBasics Microwave is safe to use.” “The appliance continues to meet or exceed all certification requirements established by the FDA, UL, FCC, Prop 65, and others for safety and functionality,” the spokesperson said. Amazon also pointed to a recent blog post about the safety of Amazon Basics.

South Korea has launched a safety probe into Tesla, focusing on braking and steering systems including Autopilot, according to Reuters. The transport ministry is specifically looking at the the Model 3 in an investigation that could take from six months to a year, according to Reuters’ sources. The news casts a bit of a shadow on Tesla’s huge sales surge in the nation, spurred by the Model 3.

Tesla has an excellent safety record overall, but the autopilot system has drawn criticism from the the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). More recently, Tesla’s Autopilot marketing was decried as “misleading” by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission. Tesla will cooperate with the investigation, according to a South Korean transport ministry official.

If you just want to keep tabs on your little one, the app can be configured to send a weekly ‘activity report’ email that breaks down their screen time by device and application. The idea, of course, is to help you know when there’s a problem and start a conversation with your loved ones. Finally, the app offers location tracking so that you can instantly see where all of your family members are in the real world. In the future, Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will also get alerts when a family member enters or leaves a specific location. The premium plan will offer some kind of ‘drive safety’ habit tracking, too, starting in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.

None of these tools are particularly groundbreaking, and they’re obviously useless if your family spends most of their free time on Macs, iPhones and iPads. If every member is invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, though, this could be a decent dashboard — or a first port of call, if nothing else — for ensuring they’re living a healthy life both online and in the real world.

Amazon’s efforts to deal with COVID-19 at its warehouses haven’t been enough to sway at least some workers. The labor union Verdi has announced that staff at six sites in Germany will strike for a minimum of two days over a claimed lack of transparency regarding infections. There had been “at least 30 to 40” workers infected, Verdi representative Orhan Akman told Reuters, arguing that Amazon valued profits over safety.

We’ve asked Amazon for comment. In a statement to Reuters, it denied that it didn’t prioritize safety and pointed to $4 billion in safety measures for both employees and customers.

There’s no guarantee the tests will go smoothly. Boeing has had to push back the 737 Max’s return for months due to software glitches, some of which come from flaws that aren’t related to the behavior that led to two fatal crashes. Even so, it’s progress for an aircraft that has been grounded for over a year.

Any return to the sky would be bittersweet, however. Air travel has been upended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many airlines to cancel flights, ground aircraft and cut jobs. Boeing had already frozen 737 Max production at the end of 2019. The 737 Max may get the all-clear without many willing carriers, let alone passengers.

The company says it has deployed the technology in a handful of its facilities, with plans to roll out “hundreds” of more units “over the next few weeks.” It says employees like “getting immediate visual feedback,” but didn’t provide data that shows how effective the measure is at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Amazon also plans to open-source the software so that other companies can use it as well. 

While Amazon’s use of AI and AR is interesting here, it may be the latest example of a company attempting to apply a technological solution to what is ultimately a policy issue. A recent lawsuit filed by workers at the company’s Staten Island warehouse accused Amazon of failing to follow CDC and New York state public health coronavirus guidelines. The lawsuit also said the company discourages employees from practicing “basic hygiene” if it means those workers need to spend a moment away from their stations.

The lawsuit was filed with the support of groups Make the Road New York, Public Justice and Towards Justice.

We’ve asked Amazon for comment. In a statement to CNBC, it maintained that it followed all national and local health guidelines, including the CDC’s contact tracing approach. The firm reviews camera footage, checks where people were present and conducts interviews, according to a spokesperson. It also insisted that it immediately alerts all workers if there’s a positive case, and that it was up to employees to disclose if they tested positive.

Critics have already contended that Amazon’s approach isn’t enough, though, and doesn’t meet CDC guidelines despite claims to the contrary. Warehouse footage only covers 24 hours (not the 48 hours needed for CDC tracing) and likely doesn’t include high-contact areas like washrooms. It would also break CDC guidelines if it discouraged staff from revealing positive test results. As in the past, then, there appears to be a gap between what Amazon says it’s doing to protect workers and what people say is happening.

While there isn’t a whole lot you can do against a cop with a can of mace and an itchy trigger finger, there are plenty of ways to protect your safety, identity and personal data when you’re out exercising your First Amendment rights.

You’ll have to do more than follow the Wu-Tang’s advice to protect ya neck if you want to avoid the wrath of the police, you’ll need to protect your whole damn head. The cops have recently taken a page out of Chile’s playbook and started aiming rubber bullets at protesters’ (and especially journalists’) faces and eyes. As such, you’ll want to carry a set of ANSI Z87+ certified ballistic eye protection with you while protesting. They might just save your vision. And for gods’ sake, bring an umbrella to ward off the pepper ball volleys.

“Targeted attacks on journalists, media crews and news organizations covering the demonstrations show a complete disregard for their critical role in documenting issues of public interest and are an unacceptable attempt to intimidate them,” Carlos MartÍnez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told the Columbus Dispatch. “Authorities in cities across the U.S. need to instruct police not to target journalists and ensure they can report safely on the protests without fear of injury or retaliation.” 

Protecting your identity, unfortunately, isn’t as simple as sliding on a pair of specs. Numerous police forces throughout the US have partnered with facial recognition firms like Clearview AI to identify protesters and potentially intimidate them into silence. To keep your identity under wraps, you’ll want to keep your head under wraps as well. Unfortunately, using makeup and hair styling such as CVDazzle to ward off computer vision systems will not do you any good. 

Besides being designed to thwart technology that is now close to a decade old, CVDazzle is only capable of confounding the facial recognition algorithm itself — it doesn’t prevent tracking based on your build, clothing or walking gait. Plus, should a human review the video, they’ll easily be able to spot the one member of the crowd running around looking like A Flock of Seagulls on acid. What’s more, once the tear gas starts flowing, wearing contact lenses and eye makeup — really any oil-based product, including sunscreen — can exacerbate the gas’ irritating effects. Jip van Leeuwenstein’s “surveillance exclusion” mask or Jing-cai Liu’s wearable face projector both run into the same issue. They may be able to fool an algorithm but they’re easy to spot with the human eye. 

No mask? Tension nahin Leneka! Simple hai! pic.twitter.com/NSNPMikDZ3

— Ronit Bose Roy (@RonitBoseRoy) April 20, 2020

Instead, you’ll want to wear a mask that covers as much of your face and head as possible and keep it on. Assuming you don’t have access to one of URME Surveillance’s photo-realistic 3D-printed masks that fool AIs into thinking you’re the company’s president, you can easily make a balaclava out of any old t-shirt you have lying around. If possible, wear your existing N-95 or cloth mask underneath it. We’re still in the midst of a global pandemic here people and the corrupt power structures of this nation will not tear themselves down if you’re laid up in the ICU. 

The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America recommends that protesters practice the same counter-COVID procedures we’ve spent the last three months perfecting. That includes staying six feet apart and avoiding physical contact whenever possible, though the police may have a different opinion on that latter point.

Since you’ll be spending a lot of time on your feet and likely running from the police at some point during the demonstration, it’s important to pack light. At the bare minimum, bring along a personal first aid kit, snacks, any medications you need, as well as a couple bottles of water, not only for hydration but to help rinse out your eyes in the event of a tear gas attack. Liquid Maalox works too as does a mix of 3 teaspoons of baking soda to 8.5 ounces of water, which is the mix that the Hong Kong protesters swore by. Most importantly, make sure your friends and loved ones know where you are going, when you plan to return and then check in regularly.

Take extra sharpie pens. Take a notebook. Write a bail fund or your lawyer’s number on your arm in permanent marker. Take water. Take more water. Take liquid antacid. Take a friend, or make one when you get there.

— Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) June 2, 2020

The most important thing you can bring with you is a phone, however, it can become a liability if you fail to properly secure it against unauthorized snooping. Luckily, that’s easy to fix. First and foremost, turn off your FaceID and fingerprint readers — the police can force you to unlock your phone using these methods if you’ve been detained but they’ll have a much harder time trying to crack through a 9-digit pin that you’ve conveniently forgotten due to the stress of your arrest. 

Second, encrypt your phone. It’s easy to do for both Android and iOS. If you’d prefer not to risk your primary phone being damaged or confiscated during the protests, pack along an older model that you’ve wiped of all personal data or splurge on a burner phone that you can simply ditch after the demonstrations have ended. Do not, under any circumstances however, reuse that phone for any reason other than protecting your identity while protesting. I mean, that’s literally the point of having a burner in the first place.

Third, do not — and I cannot stress this enough — communicate using the phone’s standard voice and text features. Download and use Signal instead so that your conversations can’t be easily intercepted. Be sure to turn on the Disappearing Messages function to delete conversations after they’ve been read. Heck, it’s even got a handy automatic facial blurring tool to help protect the identities of your fellow protesters. 

Speaking of which, if you plan to document your experience at the protest, follow the basic rules of photography etiquette. Specifically, avoid filming the faces, scars, tattoos and other identifying features of your fellow protesters before posting them. While you’re at it, turn off the geotagging and location tracking features for every app on your phone to help obfuscate where and when the image was captured. And in the event that you’ll catch the cops being bastards, take a read through Teen Vogue’s most excellent guide to safely and ethically filming the police.

Perhaps the most insidious threat you’ll face while protesting isn’t the tear gas, attack dogs or billy clubs, it’s having location data siphoned from your phone and used against you. International Mobile Subscriber Identity catchers — more commonly known as the Stingray, though that’s only one of the broader class of cell-site spoofing (CSS) systems — are employed by law enforcement organizations across the country. They act as mobile cell towers, offering unwitting smartphones the strongest available signal strength in the area to induce the phone to connect, upon which the CSS will record the phone’s IMSI and then release the phone back to the regular network. Since the ISMI is generated by your carrier and stored on the phone’s SIM card, it can be linked back to the account holder allowing the police to track your whereabouts. For more information on the nuts and bolts of Stingray technology, the EFF has put together an authoritative guide to their operation. 

Their full range of capabilities remains a mystery, however it appears that keeping your phone in airplane mode unless you’re actively using it to make calls can help mitigate some of the risk, though carrying a burner phone can mitigate that to a much higher degree. The Apple and Google stores are both stocked with counter-IMSI apps such as Android IMSI-Catcher Detector (AIMSICD), SnoopSnitch, Sitch, GSM Spy Finder, and Cell Spy Catcher though none have proven particularly effective against the catchers.

The crash rate would only drop further if cars prioritized safety over rider preference, the IIHS said, and that could frustrate people used to weaving around cars during their daily commute. They might drive more slowly than humans would when there’s low visibility or an abundance of foot traffic, for example.

It’s still early days for autonomous driving, and safety has taken higher priority for Uber and others in recent times. However, this study indicates that a driverless utopia might require a lot of patience and understanding. You’d safely get to where you were going — it would just take longer.

Amazon may be improving safety measures in warehouses to protect against COVID-19, but it’s also accused of being less than forthcoming with vital data. The health officer for Kenosha County in Wisconsin, Jen Freiheit, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Gizmodo) that Amazon was uncooperative with public staff trying to track COVID-19 cases at its facilities. If it didn’t help out, Freiheit said she might push to shut down the Kenosha location.

A company spokesperson told Gizmodo that it had started testing some workers across its warehouses for COVID-19, and that this would “soon” include Kenosha. It said that “noting is more important” than the health of its, staff, and that it would “welcome a visit” from county health staff to see what it had done to improve safety, such as mandatory mask use and temperature checks.