T-Mobile defends misleading “Price Lock” claim but agrees to change ads

AT&T wins challenge against T-Mobile Price Lock that doesn’t lock in any price.

T-Mobile logo displayed in front of a stock market chart.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

T-Mobile has agreed to change its advertising for the "Price Lock" guarantee that doesn't actually lock in a customer's price, but continues to defend the offer.

T-Mobile users expressed their displeasure about being hit with up to $5 per-line price hikes on plans that seemed to have a lifetime price guarantee, but it was a challenge by AT&T that forced T-Mobile to agree to change its advertising. AT&T filed the challenge with the advertising industry's self-regulatory group, which ruled that T-Mobile's Price Lock ads were misleading.

As we've reported, T-Mobile's guarantee (currently called "Price Lock" and previously the "Un-contract") is simply a promise that T-Mobile will pay your final month's bill if the carrier raises your price and you decide to cancel. Despite that, T-Mobile promised users that it "will never change the price you pay" if you're on a plan with the provision.

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T-Mobile defends misleading “Price Lock” claim but agrees to change ads

AT&T wins challenge against T-Mobile Price Lock that doesn’t lock in any price.

T-Mobile logo displayed in front of a stock market chart.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

T-Mobile has agreed to change its advertising for the "Price Lock" guarantee that doesn't actually lock in a customer's price, but continues to defend the offer.

T-Mobile users expressed their displeasure about being hit with up to $5 per-line price hikes on plans that seemed to have a lifetime price guarantee, but it was a challenge by AT&T that forced T-Mobile to agree to change its advertising. AT&T filed the challenge with the advertising industry's self-regulatory group, which ruled that T-Mobile's Price Lock ads were misleading.

As we've reported, T-Mobile's guarantee (currently called "Price Lock" and previously the "Un-contract") is simply a promise that T-Mobile will pay your final month's bill if the carrier raises your price and you decide to cancel. Despite that, T-Mobile promised users that it "will never change the price you pay" if you're on a plan with the provision.

Read 14 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Framework introduces a RISC-V mainboard for its modular laptops

Framework’s laptops feature mainboards that are designed to removed and replaced, making repairs and upgrades easy. But that design also makes it possible to take a laptop that originally shipped with an Intel chip, for example, and swap out the…

Framework’s laptops feature mainboards that are designed to removed and replaced, making repairs and upgrades easy. But that design also makes it possible to take a laptop that originally shipped with an Intel chip, for example, and swap out the motherboard for one with an AMD processor. Soon you’ll also be able to add a RISC-V […]

The post Framework introduces a RISC-V mainboard for its modular laptops appeared first on Liliputing.

Softbank unveils plans to cancel out angry customer emotions using AI

Real-time voice modification tech seeks to reduce stress in Japanese call center staff.

A man is angry and screaming while talking on a smartphone.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images / Benj Edwards)

Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank recently announced that it has been developing "emotion-canceling" technology powered by AI that will alter the voices of angry customers to sound calmer during phone calls with customer service representatives. The project aims to reduce the psychological burden on operators suffering from harassment and has been in development for three years. Softbank plans to launch it by March 2026, but the idea is receiving mixed reactions online.

According to a report from the Japanese news site The Asahi Shimbun, SoftBank's project relies on an AI model to alter the tone and pitch of a customer's voice in real-time during a phone call. SoftBank's developers, led by employee Toshiyuki Nakatani, trained the system using a dataset of over 10,000 voice samples, which were performed by 10 Japanese actors expressing more than 100 phrases with various emotions, including yelling and accusatory tones.

Voice cloning and synthesis technology has made massive strides in the past three years. We've previously covered technology from Microsoft that can clone a voice with a three-second audio sample and audio-processing technology from Adobe that cleans up audio by re-synthesizing a person's voice, so SoftBank's technology is well within the realm of plausibility.

Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Softbank unveils plans to cancel out angry customer emotions using AI

Real-time voice modification tech seeks to reduce stress in Japanese call center staff.

A man is angry and screaming while talking on a smartphone.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images / Benj Edwards)

Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank recently announced that it has been developing "emotion-canceling" technology powered by AI that will alter the voices of angry customers to sound calmer during phone calls with customer service representatives. The project aims to reduce the psychological burden on operators suffering from harassment and has been in development for three years. Softbank plans to launch it by March 2026, but the idea is receiving mixed reactions online.

According to a report from the Japanese news site The Asahi Shimbun, SoftBank's project relies on an AI model to alter the tone and pitch of a customer's voice in real-time during a phone call. SoftBank's developers, led by employee Toshiyuki Nakatani, trained the system using a dataset of over 10,000 voice samples, which were performed by 10 Japanese actors expressing more than 100 phrases with various emotions, including yelling and accusatory tones.

Voice cloning and synthesis technology has made massive strides in the past three years. We've previously covered technology from Microsoft that can clone a voice with a three-second audio sample and audio-processing technology from Adobe that cleans up audio by re-synthesizing a person's voice, so SoftBank's technology is well within the realm of plausibility.

Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Apple abruptly abandons “buy now, pay later” service amid regulatory scrutiny

Apple Pay Later discontinued after officials require more consumer protections.

Apple abruptly abandons “buy now, pay later” service amid regulatory scrutiny

Enlarge (credit: sesame | DigitalVision Vectors)

Apple has abruptly discontinued its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) service, Apple Pay Later, which turned Apple into a money lender when it launched last March in the US and became widely available in October.

The service previously allowed users to split the cost of purchases of up to $1,000 into four installments that were repaid over six weeks without worrying about extra fees or paying interest. For Apple, it was likely a move to increase total Apple Pay users as the company sought to offer more core financial services through its devices.

Now, it appears that Apple has found a different route to offer short-term loans at checkout in Apple Pay. An Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac that the decision to end Apple Pay Later came ahead of the company's plan to start offering new types of installment loans globally.

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Apple abruptly abandons “buy now, pay later” service amid regulatory scrutiny

Apple Pay Later discontinued after officials require more consumer protections.

Apple abruptly abandons “buy now, pay later” service amid regulatory scrutiny

Enlarge (credit: sesame | DigitalVision Vectors)

Apple has abruptly discontinued its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) service, Apple Pay Later, which turned Apple into a money lender when it launched last March in the US and became widely available in October.

The service previously allowed users to split the cost of purchases of up to $1,000 into four installments that were repaid over six weeks without worrying about extra fees or paying interest. For Apple, it was likely a move to increase total Apple Pay users as the company sought to offer more core financial services through its devices.

Now, it appears that Apple has found a different route to offer short-term loans at checkout in Apple Pay. An Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac that the decision to end Apple Pay Later came ahead of the company's plan to start offering new types of installment loans globally.

Read 20 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Snapdragon X Elite-powered PCs arrive today, and so do (somewhat mixed) reviews

Qualcomm and Microsoft have made big claims for the new Snapdragon X Elite processors that power some of the first Copilot+ PCs that are available starting today. Now that the first reviews are starting to arrive, do they live up to the promise? In so…

Qualcomm and Microsoft have made big claims for the new Snapdragon X Elite processors that power some of the first Copilot+ PCs that are available starting today. Now that the first reviews are starting to arrive, do they live up to the promise? In some ways yes. In others? No. Or at least not yet. […]

The post Snapdragon X Elite-powered PCs arrive today, and so do (somewhat mixed) reviews appeared first on Liliputing.

Football League Scores ‘Dynamic’ Pirate Site Blocking Orders in Peru

The Peruvian IP protection authority has issued two new injunctions, requiring ISPs to block nearly two dozen sports streaming domains. The orders come at the request of 1190 Peru, which exploits various sports leagues, including the local football league. While not all blocking requests were honored, this is the first ‘dynamic’ order, allowing the targeted domains to be updated.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

liga1In dozens of countries around the world, website blocking is the preferred way for copyright holders to restrict access to pirate sites.

Originally pioneered in Europe, the enforcement tactic has since gone global, with blockades now in place from Asia to South America, with the United States queuing up too.

Peru’s Blocking Efforts

In Peru, site blocking measures have been commonplace for a few years already. In response to complaints from rightsholders, Internet providers have been ordered to block hundreds of domain names. The targets range from torrent sites, through YouTube rippers, to streaming portals.

These blocking orders are handed down by INDECOPI, the IP protection arm of the government. Last November, INDECOPI collaborated in the latest round of Operation 404, blocking or suspending 328 pirate sites and services. Meanwhile, regular blocking efforts continue as well.

Late last week, INDECOPI issued two new site blocking orders, all targeting sports streaming sites. The blocking orders follow a complaint from the sports company 1190 Peru, which manages and commercializes the rights of several sports leagues, including Peru’s top football competition Liga1.

‘Dynamic’ Pirate Site Blocking Order

After considering the presented evidence, INDECOPI ordered local internet providers including Telefonica, América Móvil, and Entel, to block 23 pirate sites. Those targeted include Rojadirecta, Channelstream.es, Pirlotv, Librefutboltv, and Socceronline.me, among others.

These blocking measures are not new, but the scope of the injunction is. For the first time, INDECOPI handed down a dynamic injunction, meaning that additional domains can be blocked, if site operators switch to new ones to circumvent blocking measures,

“[T]he administrators and/or owners of the website subject to blocking could take actions in order to circumvent the aforementioned measures, which would become ineffective. Such measures could involve, among others, the creation of new domain names..,” INDECOPI writes.

“For this reason, the Commission considers it necessary that this precautionary blocking measure adopts a dynamic nature,” the order adds.

The order references dynamic blocking orders in other countries, including in the European Union, and concludes that a similar approach is also warranted in Peru. If rightsholders want additional domains to be blocked, they first have to back up their request with evidence, however, to ensure proper oversight.

Scrutinized Evidence

The latest injunctions show that rightsholders can’t simply list any pirate site in their blocking requests. INDECOPI carefully considers all presented evidence, and doesn’t shy away from rejecting blockades when it falls short.

futbollibre

For example, 1190 Peru’s original complaint regarding Rojadirecta listed four domain names; rojadirectatv.nl, rojadirectatvhd.com, rojadirectatvhd.ws and rojadirectaenvivo.me. However, three of these domain names were rejected because the presented evidence was not sufficient.

Similarly, of the 47 alleged pirate site domain names in the second complaint, only 22 were ultimately blocked. The others were rejected over lacking evidence, incomplete records, or the absence of any infringing content.

One domain that stands out is sur.ly, which is an outbound link management service. Sur.ly has nothing to do with pirate sites, but third-parties can use the domain to load external websites, much like a proxy. Needless to say, blocking Sur.ly would be rather extreme, and INDECOPI denied the request.

“The site corresponds to a web traffic tool and, by itself, does not carry out acts of exploitation of the contents that are the subject of the claim,” the IP protection authority writes.

surly

TorrentFreak spoke to someone familiar with the matter, who informed us that some of the rejected blocking requests were resubmitted to INDECOPI with proper, notarized evidence. Whether that will include Sur.ly’s main domain, which has plenty of legal uses, is unknown.

Copies of the two injunctions are available below, with an overview of all domain names that must be blocked by local ISPs.

Injunction 1 (RESOLUTION N° 376-2024)

– channelstream.es
– fbstreams.pm
– futbolparatodostv.net
– intergolestv.com
– lacasadeltikitaka.net
– librefutboltv.com
– librefutboltv.net
– liga1maxtv.pe
– liga1maxtvhd.com
– liga1maxtv.live
– nbatv.site
– pirlotv.app
– pirlo.run
– sinfutboltv.com
– socceronline.me
– telerium.biz
– peru15.com
– vipleague.im
– viper-play.net
– -viperplayhd.com
– viprow.nu
– zonadeporteshd.online

Injunction 2 (RESOLUTION N° 375-2024)

– rojadirectatvhd.ws

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.