Tech

Snap launches a native Twitter integration – Yahoo News Canada

Published

4 years ago

December 10, 2020

Local Journalism Initiative

Working homeless left out in the cold during local housing crunch

Tough competition for accommodation, combined with an unfortunate series of events, has left Teresa Salvatore part of what she describes as the working homeless. “I just feel so lost in the system,” said the administrator, trapped in an ever-tightening housing market. Salvatore, her husband, brother and dog have been living in economy hotel rooms as they sort through a complicated legal situation that resulted in their eviction. And despite their ability to pay, they haven’t found adequate furnished accommodation in the Barrie area where they can stay until they transition to more permanent housing and pull their own furnishings out of storage. “There’s just no inventory,” she said. “We haven’t been able to find any place since this guy kicked us out in June.” Barrie’s tight rental market has become even more apparent during the pandemic, say those who work in the industry. Barrie has consistently ranked in the top-10 list of Canada’s most expensive rental markets in recent years. According to online property rental platform PadMapper.com, one-bedroom apartments were renting for an average of $1,440 in Barrie in November, ranked as the eighth most expensive city in Canada in which to rent. The pandemic has introduced a whole new level of complication, confirmed Inna Breidburg, CMHC senior market analyst. “Renters are under very heavy financial pressure right now,” she said. Those who rent, Breidburg added, are often students, younger people and those who work at lower paying service jobs who have suffered higher employment losses than homeowners. In addition, the pandemic has changed housing preferences. Many people shifting to home offices have discovered their existing home setting no longer meets all their needs. Some are finding they don’t have to be tied to a specific geographic location if they no longer have to go to a physical work site every day. In fact, Barrie realtors have indicated an identified exodus from Toronto, particularly from the condo market, has put Simcoe County squarely in the sights of many looking for a different place to call home, pushing up fall real estate sales here to record levels. Breidburg says an influx of residents from Toronto and within Canada, as well as migrants and immigrants from outside of the country, has been pushing the population growth in Barrie and the demand on housing. The demographic structure in this area is changing, too, with more millennials in their 20s and 30s calling Barrie home, she added. The rental market here is also considered unique, with purpose-built apartments representing only 20 to 25 per cent of the rental market, compared to 45 to 50 per cent in Toronto. That means tenants in this area largely rely on houses, secondary units in houses, condos and low-rise accommodation. For Salvatore, who is looking for a furnished place, the pickings are slim at best. All that seems to be available to the trio is hotel rooms, which is where they’ve landed. As parents of grown children who no longer live at home, Salvatore, her husband along with her brother are willing to pay up to $2,300 monthly for a furnished place they can call home for now. She did have what she thought was a perfect scenario — a comfortable furnished apartment in Friday Harbour Resort along Lake Simcoe in Innisfil. The trio and their dog initially landed there through an Airbnb listing. They were looking for temporary accommodation while they dealt with issues related to a house-buying deal. After the pandemic essentially shut down short-term rentals everywhere in March, the unit’s owner suggested they go to a month-to-month lease, freeing the landlord from the obligation of paying fees to the short-term rental company. But June arrived, the short-term rental business came back to life and the waterfront resort once again became an attraction. “He said things are opening up. I can get double what you’re paying me right now. Why would I rent it to you,” she said, adding that they were given a week to move out. When she insisted that the provincial rules required a longer notice period he summoned police and also showed up with a legal representative and a Friday Harbour manager. “If we chose not to leave, we would be arrested and charged with trespassing,” said Salvatore. She has since received a largely redacted occurrence review in which South Simcoe police concluded that they had no right to remove the three because it was a “rental situation”. The one-page summary doesn’t make any mention of threat of arrest and suggests that the parting was amicable. “It worked out for everyone, and police presence was limited,” the review concludes. Salvatore said she filed a complaint with the Landlord-Tenant Board over the eviction six months ago and still hasn’t received a date. Delays resulting from the pandemic has pushed the timeline for hearings from the normal six- to eight-week range closer to six months or more, said her lawyer, Robert Stewart. In addition, the provincial emergency measures included the suspension of evictions, which has since ended, so those cases are only now coming to the fore. The Landlord and Tenant Board was previously beset with problems which observers say have been magnified as a result of the pandemic. In an October blog post, Toronto lawyer Celia Chandler worried about its collapse “under the weight of the considerable backlog… The system was already very overwhelmed long before COVID-19 because the government had failed to fill adjudicator vacancies. “We urge the province to find ways to clear the (Landlord and Tenant Board) backlog. But we also urge all orders of government to redouble efforts to find fast ways to house people.” Toronto Centre MPP Suze Morrison has been pushing the political envelope, trying to have the moratorium on evictions reestablished as the pandemic continues. Today, the NDP member who told Salvatore’s story in the house last summer as an example of what she said is a growing issue, will try to force a motion in the Legislature. A spokesperson said the Landlord and Tenant Board started to gradually get back into action Aug. 1 after the pandemic shutdown. According to Tribunals Ontario, it developed a plan to reduce pending applications and schedule hearings and is currently scheduling applications in chronological order based on the application type. A spokesperson wasn’t able to say how long cases are being delayed or the extent of the backlog. “The (Landlord and Tenant Board) encourages landlords and tenants to work together to resolve their matters. The (Landlord and Tenant Board) also offers opportunity for early resolution in the form of case management hearings for tenant and certain landlord application types,” responded Tribunals Ontario spokesperson Janet Deline in an email when asked about the length of the delay to get cases before the board. Salvatore, meanwhile, still has no date for a hearing before the tribunal. “What she’s gone through is appalling,” said Stewart, a general civil litigator based in Collingwood. He maintains Salvatore and her family were illegally evicted. Part of the problem as he sees it is that short-term rentals fall into a trough between residential tenancies law and hotel/innkeeper law. “They don’t comply with the requirements of maintaining a hotel, but they also purport not to comply with requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act. They sort of float down the middle in a grey area,” he said. The difference here is that the landlord went into a private arrangement with Salvatore, changing her status from that of a guest into that of a tenant that Stewart says falls under the Residential Tenancies Act. He also argues that the Innkeepers Act contains no authority for eviction. The Landlord Tenant Board can address the issue, he said, but with the backlog there’s no option but to wait for a hearing date while Salvatore and her family continue to live in a hotel.Marg. Bruineman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, barrietoday.com

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Source link

Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

Source link

Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Source link