Technologies

How to Stay Safe at a Protest – Physically and Digitally

If you’re joining the thousands taking to the streets to protest ICE this weekend, here’s what you need to know to stay protected and safe.

The past decade has brought record numbers of Americans to the streets over critical issues — gun violence, racial injustice, police brutality and reproductive rights. More recently, the killing of two American citizens in Minneapolis and countless reports of harassment and unconstitutional raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have prompted protests from coast to coast, including many planned for this weekend.

While demonstrations are an important way to enact change, protesters face real risks from violent counterprotesters, law enforcement responses and health concerns when large groups gather.

CNET doesn’t encourage violating curfews or legal restrictions. However, if you attend a demonstration, here’s how to protect yourself based on guidance from Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and other sources.

Getting ready

Preparation is crucial. Here’s what to consider bringing and leaving behind:

What to bring:

A body camera or GoPro
Water and snacks
Face mask (outdoor transmission risk is lower, but masks still help prevent the spread of illness)
Hand sanitizer
Charged phone with a power bank
ID and cash
Protective goggles for tear gas
Essential medications like inhalers
Small backpack
Emergency contacts written on your arm in marker
A companion or tell someone your location if going alone

What not to bring:

Anything problematic if detained — weapons, items that could be considered weapons or illegal substances
Contact lenses (wear glasses — contacts can trap tear gas)
Valuables
Makeup (can help tear gas adhere to skin)

What to wear:

Warm clothes, comfortable and without logos or patterns
Long sleeves and pants to protect from tear gas and cover identifying features like tattoos
Sturdy shoes for quick movement (hiking boots recommended)
A hat for sun protection or blending into crowds

What to do with your phone

As reported by our sister site PCMag, your phone can be a safety asset, but also a liability at protests. «Many smart devices track your location through multiple means. This is useful for getting directions and finding things nearby, but it can also allow law enforcement to extract your movements after the fact. For example, pictures you take with a smartphone frequently include their physical locations, and Google Maps maintains records of your movements in its Your Timeline section.»

With that in mind, here are four simple steps you can take to mitigate mobile tracking:

Shut off Wi-Fi.
Disable location services and Bluetooth until you absolutely need them.
If you don’t need to use your data connection, switch it off (note this may hamper your ability to use encrypted communications).
Again, if you can, leave your phone at home — if not, at least turn it off.

During a protest

Establish a plan before arriving, including how and when you plan to leave. Decide your arrival and departure times, what situations would trigger you to leave and how you’ll exit if things escalate. Share this plan with someone staying home who can help if needed.

Stay alert to your surroundings and crowd movements. If something feels wrong, leave immediately.

Law enforcement may use tear gas, rubber bullets or other crowd control measures that can cause injury. Your best protection is creating distance from these situations quickly. If that’s impossible, research how to respond to these specific threats beforehand.

Health precautions

Outdoor gatherings carry a lower COVID, flu and common cold risk than indoor ones, but risk remains, especially for immunocompromised individuals. Complete protection means not attending, but you can reduce risk by:

Wearing a mask
Using hand sanitizer frequently
Staying home if you feel sick
Skipping protests if you live with high-risk individuals

Know your rights

The First Amendment protects peaceful assembly, but you could still face detention. Before attending:

Search for «[your city] protest legal support» to find local hotlines
Save these numbers to your phone and write them on your arm
Review your rights during protests using the ACLU’s guide

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know