Technologies

Netflix Warns Content Will Suffer if Company Is Forced to Fund Network Upgrades

Netflix’s investment in quality shows and movies should remain its focus, says co-CEO Greg Peters.

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters used his first public speaking engagement since taking on the role in January to make it clear that the company doesn’t want to be forced to contribute to the costs of building out internet infrastructure in Europe.

Internet service providers in the region are complaining about being forced to bear all the costs of providing the technology required by data-hungry internet companies such as Apple and Netflix. As a result, the European Commission is now mulling rules that would require streaming services to pay a «fair and proportionate contribution» towards infrastructure costs.

But speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, Peters said that taxing entertainment companies to subsidize ISPs would have a «significant adverse effect» on their ability to invest in content. This, he added, would hurt the local creative communities around Europe.

Peters emphasized in his speech the extent to which Netflix sees these creative communities as important partners, leaning on the success of the Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front, which was made in Germany, and other popular shows and films, such as Elite from Spain and The Crown from the UK.

The ongoing argument between streaming services and ISPs is being referred to in Europe as the battle over fair share between Big Telco and Big Tech. The concern from ISPs is that sustained traffic growth driven by Netflix and its rivals as they continue to make ever-higher numbers of shows and movies will put untold pressure on their networks, which the ISPs will have to pay to upgrade. Entertainment companies such as Netflix are reluctant to pay for what they view as bringing more value and more customers to those operators.

Peters acknowledged that investment was necessary, but he argued that Netflix has invested $60 billion, which amounts to around 50% of its revenue, in content over the past five years. The company has played its part by creating «better, more varied content, leading to more people willing to pay for better broadband services,» he said. He also outlined the other initiatives Netflix invests in to nurture talent and fund content delivery networks in countries around the world.

On Monday at MWC, European Commissioner Thierry Breton made a speech in which he said he felt that the idea of Big Tech versus Big Telcos was too binary, especially as they should all be striving to achieve giant leaps in connectivity together. Peters said he agreed with Breton’s assessment and that he remembers having the same conversations and hearing operators express similar worries in Europe 10 years ago. What ended up happening, he said, was that growing internet usage only served to create more opportunity for everyone.

«A much better approach is for entertainment companies and operators to focus on what we both do best and through that create a rising tide that will lift all boats,» said Peters. «For Netflix, that means continue to invest in and improve the quality and the variety of the stories that we offer.»

Technologies

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

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Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: