Top 10 Forgotten Tech Scandals

  • 10 hours ago
These scandals made headline news...then disappeared. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for huge tech-based scandals that have been largely forgotten.

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00:00This is where your iPhone 6 comes from.
00:03These are the first secret pictures from inside the factories that produce for Apple.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:10And today we're counting down our picks for huge tech-based scandals that have been largely forgotten.
00:15When I read the article, it sounded absolutely horrible,
00:18but it just didn't resonate with the company I worked for for many years.
00:22Stories that are still relevant or well-remembered will not be included.
00:27Number 10. The Volkswagen emissions scandal.
00:30In 2015, the world was stunned when the Environmental Protection Agency came after Volkswagen.
00:35So let's be clear about this.
00:37Our company was dishonest.
00:40With the EPA and the California Air Resources Board.
00:44And with all of you.
00:46And in my German words, we have totally screwed up.
00:48The German carmaker had intentionally manipulated their diesel engines,
00:52ensuring that they met emissions standards during regulatory testing.
00:56However, these controls were only activated once a lab test had begun.
01:00At any other time, such as on the road, the emission controls were not activated,
01:05and the cars spewed pollutants into the air.
01:07And Volkswagen took a decision to fit technology and software to their vehicle,
01:12knowing that their cars would produce much more, in the case of the US,
01:1640 times more pollution on the road than they were allowed to.
01:20Volkswagen deployed 11 million cars in this manner,
01:23knowing full well that they had worked around a federal law.
01:27The company faced a number of repercussions from numerous jurisdictions,
01:31but it seems like everyone has since forgotten about it.
01:34What we see, listening to the companies, talking to dealers and to suppliers,
01:38there's no major change in the way Volkswagen is doing business,
01:40in the sense of cutting production schedule, ordering fewer parts, etc.
01:44Consumers are not running away from the brands that you would expect.
01:46In fact, Volkswagen revenue continues to grow, and has done so since 2015.
01:51Number 9. Apple removes the headphone jack.
01:54Apple changed the game once again with the introduction of the iPhone 7.
01:58Released in 2016, it was the first major smartphone to abandon the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.
02:05But it really comes down to one word. Courage.
02:08The courage to move on, do something new, that betters all of us.
02:13And our team has tremendous courage.
02:15This announcement became worldwide news, and was met with scathing reactions.
02:19Technology outlets wrote entire articles bemoaning the loss of the headphone jack.
02:23Social media was ablaze with hostile reactions.
02:26And Apple Vice President Phil Schiller was relentlessly mocked for calling the decision courageous.
02:32I do think that it was monetarily motivated, at least in some way.
02:38It wasn't a coincidence that they released the AirPods at the same time they took away the headphone jack.
02:43It was something that wasn't making them money, so they got rid of it, so people would buy the AirPods.
02:48But this all meant nothing.
02:50The iPhone 7 saw enormous pre-sale numbers, became the biggest iPhone launch for T-Mobile,
02:55and was the best-selling smartphone of the first quarter of 2017.
02:59And concern about the missing headphone jack has long faded,
03:03as most other smartphone developers have followed suit in recent years.
03:07It looks like the headphone jack is gone for good when it comes to the top-end flagship phones.
03:12I think they are going for the portless phone, and they won't stop until they get there.
03:20So, Tay was a bad idea.
03:23Did you forget about her?
03:25Well, let us remind you.
03:27Microsoft released this AI chatbot onto the world,
03:30and perhaps unsurprisingly, internet trolls quickly got a hold of it.
03:34Now, the company created an artificial intelligence chatbot.
03:38It was a computer that they named Tay,
03:40who was designed to respond to questions and conversations on Twitter
03:43with the personality of a teenage girl.
03:45So you can see there, she started out...
03:47That's a bad idea right there.
03:48It doesn't sound great, does it?
03:50They began writing to the chatbot and manipulating its responses,
03:53resulting in an AI teenager that was horribly racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic,
03:58and deeply into conspiracy theories.
04:00One critic tweeted,
04:01Microsoft, you didn't anticipate this?
04:04Said another,
04:05What did they expect it would learn from social media?
04:08Parents, take note.
04:10Mommy and Daddy Microsoft quickly took her home and grounded her,
04:14claiming that Tay needed to, quote, make some adjustments.
04:17Yeah, that's putting it lightly.
04:19Tay was eventually taken offline,
04:22another target of trolls just looking for a laugh.
04:25Needless to say, Microsoft has now taken Tay offline after less than 24 hours.
04:29They said that they would be making some adjustments to her.
04:32Number 7. People.
04:34Remember that episode of Black Mirror where people rate each other on a 1 to 5 scale?
04:39Yeah, this is that.
04:41We often hear, oh, this is Black Mirror in real life,
04:44but this is actually Black Mirror in real life.
04:47Yelp reviews for people.
04:49Yes, that's what we've been called.
04:51Oh, really?
04:52That's what we've been called, the Yelp for people, yeah.
04:54You don't like that title?
04:55Well, I can't really defend it because I'm the one that started it.
05:00So I can't be upset.
05:01Announced in 2015, People was an app that allowed its users to rate each other on various scales,
05:07whether of a professional or personal nature.
05:10Naturally, this announcement was met with widespread criticism.
05:14That was never anybody's concern.
05:16So you have to imagine how surprised all of us were.
05:20We never would intend harm with a product or an app.
05:23That's just not who we are.
05:25I didn't really anticipate the negative attention.
05:29Not only is the concept of rating people inherently creepy,
05:33but it strongly encourages the use of cyber harassment.
05:37The blowback was so fierce that the app's developers quickly reworked it
05:41and released a tamer version in 2016 without the star system.
05:44There are no postings without your permission.
05:46So all the recommendations that people are going to write about you,
05:49you have full control over what goes live on your profile.
05:52It helped, but it didn't help the app from fading into obscurity.
05:56Number six, Amazon working conditions.
05:59Amazon became the target of national outrage in 2015
06:03when the New York Times published its investigative piece Inside Amazon.
06:07This was a brutal article that made it sound like working at Amazon
06:11was a little bit like taking part in the Hunger Games.
06:14By interviewing over 100 employees,
06:16they uncovered horrible working conditions within the global company.
06:19This included long hours, unreasonably high expectations,
06:23and a generally toxic and hostile environment.
06:26There is definitely a sense from people that we talk to
06:30that Amazon does not really care about their personal lives.
06:37You can't reveal any weaknesses or you will be in trouble.
06:42The piece was well-received and ignited a firestorm,
06:45while also opening public discourse about workers' rights.
06:48But, as is often the case with these types of stories,
06:51it disappeared as quickly as it was published.
06:53Do you think this is going to hurt Amazon on the bottom line?
06:57I don't think so.
06:59Unless this really mushrooms,
07:01I think it was good that they got ahead of this and responded right away,
07:05because we're heading into a very critical shopping season.
07:07It's the most important season for them and for everyone else.
07:10Few, if any, are still talking about it,
07:12and Amazon revenue continues to grow at a rapid clip.
07:16Number five, the Foxconn scandal.
07:19Sometimes tragic stories get forgotten,
07:21and that seems to be the case with the Foxconn scandal.
07:24As Apple surged towards its status as the world's most valuable company,
07:28the calls for it to account for how its wildly popular iPads and iPhones are made have grown.
07:34For those who don't know,
07:35Foxconn is the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer
07:38that is responsible for making iPhones, among other products.
07:41The company's Chinese factories exhibit horrible working conditions,
07:45resulting in a rash of employees taking their own lives.
07:48Apple has changed how we listen to music, how we see movies,
07:51how we use our iPhones, how we use computers.
07:54They have the creativity and the capital to make this better.
07:58They can make their products without horrible human suffering.
08:01A majority of these deaths occurred in 2010.
08:04Foxconn's response only fueled the controversy,
08:07as they installed safety nets to prevent future incidents
08:10and forced their employees to sign pledges claiming that they wouldn't take their own lives.
08:15Apple has been championing itself as a perfect enterprise,
08:18but it is all a facade.
08:20I don't think they care about the workers at all.
08:23This was big news,
08:24yet it did nothing to stymie demand for the iPhone or Apple products in general.
08:33Satya Nadella's words, not ours.
08:35Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014,
08:39and it didn't take him long to spark national outrage.
08:42Microsoft's new CEO under fire for these comments at a women's tech conference.
08:47It's not really about asking for the raise,
08:50but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along.
08:56Nadella was attending the Grace Hopper celebration of women in computing
09:00when he made the PR blunder of his career.
09:03Nadella was asked what female workers should do if they're afraid of asking for a raise.
09:08Nadella quickly insinuated that women shouldn't ask for a raise,
09:12but just have faith that one will eventually come along.
09:26It's a controversial thing to say at the best of times,
09:29never mind at a conference aimed at empowering and celebrating women.
09:33Naturally, Nadella's comments caused an uproar and he was quick to backpedal,
09:37eventually calling his answer, quote, completely nonsensical.
09:40I was answering a question literally using some past, I mean, my own personal experience
09:46without understanding the broader context, the depth of that question.
09:52Number three, Apple versus FBI.
09:55To what extent are manufacturers responsible for aiding law enforcement?
09:59How far does personal security go?
10:02These were the major questions at the heart of the epic Apple versus FBI case of 2016.
10:07Essentially, we're asking Apple, take the vicious guard dog away.
10:10Let us try and pick the lock.
10:12Comey said the FBI asked every part of the U.S. government to crack the phone
10:16and concluded only Apple held the key.
10:18On December 2nd, 2015, two shooters attacked the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino,
10:24killing 14 and injuring 22.
10:27A smartphone was recovered from one of the shooters, but was locked behind a password.
10:31The FBI demanded that Apple write new software and unlock the phone, but they said no.
10:36We think that protecting the security and the privacy of hundreds of millions of iPhone users
10:43is the right thing to do.
10:45That's the reason that we're doing this.
10:47People argued for Apple and people argued for the FBI.
10:51It was a moral dilemma for the ages, yet it all came to naught.
10:55The FBI eventually hired a third party who cracked the phone,
10:59yet they found nothing but work-related information.
11:02The FBI director told us last week that an outside source, not Apple,
11:05had come forward offering a new way to crack open the killer's iPhone.
11:09Tonight, we now know the hack was successful,
11:11and the Justice Department has just filed a motion asking a federal judge to drop the case.
11:16Number two, ISIS mobile wallet.
11:19Remember ISIS mobile wallet?
11:21With the technology, customers can use their phone as their payment option.
11:25The way it works is pretty simple.
11:27Users sync a credit or debit card to their phone,
11:30and when they check out, all they have to do is activate the app
11:33and place the phone on the pad to complete their purchase.
11:36Probably not, because they quickly changed their name for the best.
11:40Announced in 2010, the wallet allowed users to store financial information on their smartphone
11:45and pay for items it stores.
11:47It was launched nationwide in 2013,
11:50the same year that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was created.
11:54Known by the abbreviation ISIS,
11:56the terrorist organization put a quick damper on the ISIS mobile wallet.
12:00Tell us what it's called again.
12:01It's called ISIS mobile wallet.
12:03The shared name wasn't their fault, but it was enough to cause a brief PR nightmare,
12:08and ISIS quickly rebranded itself as Softcard.
12:11And with that, the scandal was forgotten.
12:13And it went from forgotten to buried when Softcard was bought by Google in 2015
12:18and replaced by Google Wallet.
12:20Okay, so maybe Google Wallet is different.
12:24In a good way.
12:25In many good ways.
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12:42Number 1. The Death of Aaron Swartz
12:45Often heralded as a tech martyr,
12:47Reddit founder Aaron Swartz is a tragic figure who died in the fight for open access.
12:52In September 2010, Swartz began illegally downloading millions of academic articles from JSTOR.
12:58Aaron allegedly downloaded millions of academic journals from MIT's network.
13:02He believed that academic research shouldn't be hidden behind a paywall.
13:07He did this through an unlocked wiring cupboard at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
13:11prompting campus police to arrest him for breaking and entering.
13:15He was later charged with wire fraud and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
13:20You know, Aaron was charged with all of these charges.
13:24I mean, what was your initial reaction?
13:26My reaction was one of just complete horror.
13:29I mean, it made no sense.
13:31For this, he faced up to 35 years in prison.
13:34After denying a potential plea bargain, Swartz ended his life in his Brooklyn apartment.
13:39Dead at just 26, Swartz became the public face of open access,
13:44and prosecutor Carmen Ortiz came under criticism for her decision to indict him.
13:48That also sort of inflamed the feelings and sort of criticism about MIT's handling of this incident
13:59as well as the government's handling of this case.
14:01Do you remember any of these scandals? Let us know in the comments below.
14:05This is an incredibly complex issue.
14:08To place a backdoor in the iPhone, we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk.
14:18This is an incredibly complex issue.
14:20To place a backdoor in the iPhone, we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk.
14:25This is an incredibly complex issue.
14:27To place a backdoor in the iPhone, we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk.
14:32This is an incredibly complex issue.
14:34To place a backdoor in the iPhone, we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk.
14:39This is an incredibly complex issue.
14:41To place a backdoor in the iPhone, we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk.