uPhiladelphia Sues, Fines Uber $300K Over Allegations Of Operating Illegallyr

4 4 4 9

• After 10 months of driving the streets in Philadelphia, Uber now faces a lawsuit and $300,000 fine for providing ride-hailing services in violation of city regulations.  

  The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) Taxicab and Limousine Division’s lawsuit [PDF] — and proposed fine – – is just the lasted municipal attempt to rein in Uber’s quick expansion across the country, sometimes with or without permission.

  While the Pennsylvania utilities commission approved Uber’s operations in January 2015, that general license specifically excluded Philadelphia, which regulates its own vehicles-for-hire, Al Jazeera America reports.

  And so, the PPA alleges in its lawsuit that Uber has never had a right to operate in the city, and each ride provided in Philadelphia since it began operations in October 2014 has been in violation of common carrier service regulations in the city.

  “Uber knew or should have known that the service they offer and provide by connecting passengers with drivers using the smartphone application is subject to regulation by the Authority,” the suit states. “Since the launch [of the service] at least one million unauthorized trips occurred using the smartphone application.”

  The PPA says that between October 25, 2014 to present, an Enforcement Department Inspector used the Uber application to request common carrier services in the city on 51 occasions.

  “The drivers who responded to the above ride requests and provided common carrier service did not have rights to transport persons for compensation within Philadelphia,” the suit alleges.

  The Authority requested that the company be penalized $1,000 for each day it operated illegally: According to the lawsuit, the fines would go back to when the company started service in the city – October 25, 2014 – bringing the total fine to more than $300,000.

  A spokesperson for Uber says that the company has tallied more than one million trips since opening for business in Philadelphia, showing a need for the service.

  “It’s not a matter of legal or not legal,” the spokesperson said. “There’s no law in place, because there was no ‘ride-sharing’ until a few years ago.”

  He says that the current case with the PPA is solely about “protecting an entrenched taxi industry.”

  Philadelphia tries to put the brakes on Uber [Al Jazeera America]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uHackers Swipe 225,000 Jailbroken iPhone Users’ Account Informationr

4 4 4 9

• 

  Cats are notorious for not heeding warnings about potential dangers of jailbreaking iPhones. (J)

  Jailbreaking your Apple device, or using illicitly obtained software to customize it in ways that Apple never intended and install unauthorized apps, is something that most users thought was against the rules but innocent, even if it does void your Apple warranty. Now Apple is facing a good news/bad news situation: a hack involving jailbroken iPhones validates their policies, but also means that the phrase “iPhone hack” is all over the news.

  Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company, warned the public about a piece of malware that only affects modified iPhones, which they’re calling KeyRaider. The malware spread through downloads on the alternate underground app store, Cydia. The hackers are based in China, and most affected users are from there, but not all.

  The malware hijacks the user’s iTunes credentials, using them to make unauthorized purchases. About 225,000 users had their passwords stolen, and about 20,000 people have purchased and used the stolen accounts.

  Originally, iPhones had to be jailbroken to be used on carriers other than AT&T, or internationally. Now, all carriers in the U.S. offer the mega-popular device, but jailbreaking still allows users to run apps rejected from Apple’s store for various reasons, and modify their phones in other ways.

  While bypassing Apple’s security has dangers, experts point out that there are anti-malware programs that you can run on your phone once you’ve busted through the metaphorical wall of Apple’s walled garden.

  After a quarter million iPhones hacked, a reminder ‘jailbreaking’ devices still not safe [CNET]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uTaco Bell Testing Taco Shells Made Out Of Fried Chicken Because Why Not?r

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Redditor Cheeze4444)

  Everyone who’s anyone in the fast food world knows that fried chicken is hot right now (pun intended), prompting chains that might not be known for serving it to jump on the chicken bandwagon. To wit: Taco Bell is exploring its poultry side with the “Naked Crispy Chicken Taco” — basically, a taco that has a shell made out of fried chicken.

  A Redditor in California spotted the new menu item at a Taco Bell in Bakersfield, CA, selling for $2.99 for a single taco, or $4.99 as a combo with a large drink and an accompanying Crunchy Taco.
  

  

  (Redditor Cheeze4444)

  As for how it tastes, the poster says the chicken is breaded and fried, and “it’s pretty good and a little spicy.”

  FoodBeast also tracked down the new chicken shell taco at a Lost Hills, CA location, so it could be that Taco Bell is limiting the new menu item to California.

  The taco doesn’t contain more meat inside the walls of the shell (though ostensibly, it could, and we don’t doubt many people would love that idea), with a list of ingredients including lettuce, cheese, tomato and avocado ranch sauce.

  We’ve reached out to Taco Bell for more details on this bit of fried chicken trendiness — whether it’s only in California and at which locations, or if it will expand testing to other locations as well — and will let you know when we hear back.

  In the meantime, if you’ve spotted the Naked Crispy Chicken Taco at your local Taco Bell and have photographs to prove it, feel free to email us with your impressions at tips@consumerist.com.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uHulu Finally Offers Ad-Free Option For $12/Monthr

4 4 4 9

• The rumors are true — you can now get Hulu (well, most of it) without the ads. You’ll just have to pay more to avoid all those obnoxious, repetitive commercial interruptions.

  Starting today, Hulu users can upgrade from the regular $8/month tier that gives them access to the service’s library of TV shows and movies to a commercial-free tier for $12/month.

  “Many of our customers have asked us for a commercial free option, and so today we are excited to introduce just that,” said CEO Mike Hopkins in a statement.

  “People who avoid ads at all costs were never going to do business with Hulu to begin with, so now we have an entry point to them,” Peter Naylor, Hulu’s Senior VP for Advertising explains to Ad Age.

  Additionally, it gives advertisers some assurance that the Hulu users who are watching ads aren’t necessarily screaming “Damn you Hulu and all your stupid ads!” when an episode of Hannibal cuts to commercial.

  Hulu, which lags far behind Netflix in terms of subscribers, has been desperately trying to make itself over during the last few months, launching a slate of higher-profile original programming, acquiring the whole Seinfeld archive for streaming, and just this week snatching EPIX (and all its accompanying big-ticket titles) from the jaws of Netflix.

  The service has also tried to establish itself as a base to which users can add on other services. Earlier this summer, it allowed subscribers to add on the new Showtime streaming service — which is fully integrated into the Hulu user experience — for a discounted price.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uBar Says City Sanitation Workers Demanded Booze To Pick Up Trashr

4 4 4 9

• Any good bar goes through a lot of cans, bottles, cardboard pretty quickly — not to mention all the trash that can accumulate — so it’s important for bar owners that this detritus be hauled away in a timely manner before it becomes a nuisance. But the owner of one bar in New Jersey says city-contracted sanitation workers tried to shake him down — not for money, but for free booze.

  And we’re apparently not talking about “Hey man, how about a beer?” This is more like “Give us lots of liquor every week or else.”

  CBS 2 in NYC has the story of the Jersey City bar that was first approached in mid-August by a sanitation worker for the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, an independent company contracted by the city.

  The worker allegedly wanted to propose a rather unfair deal with the bar’s operators.

  “He informed my employee his supervisor told him he could no longer pick up our recycling, but he would do so if we bribed him with liquor,” the owner tells CBS 2.

  When the bartender turned down the offer, the man promised to return — a promise he made good on last week in another meeting caught on security camera footage.

  “They asked for liquor, and made it clear they would have to supply them liquor on a weekly basis for this gentleman and his entire truck in order for them to continue picking up our trash,” recalls the owner, who claims that the Incinerator Authority tried to intimidate him into not pursuing the issue.

  “They said that if I pursued the complaint that I would have city inspectors come through my business, so it was a threat not to pursue the complaint,” he explains.

  The city, which does not manage the Incinerator Authority, says it is looking into this incident and that it is working to end its deal with the Authority “after a long history of corruption,” including the July 4 arrest of sanitation workers who are accused of taking money to commingle construction debris with city trash.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uHollywood Studio Suing 16 Users Of Popcorn Time Over Alleged Online Piracyr

4 4 4 9

• 

  The movie Millenium says 16 Popcorn Time users illegally downloaded.

  Often when we hear about Hollywood seeking to snuff out online piracy, it’s the sites or services that distribute that content that are the targets of any legal action. But this time, the studio behind a direct-to-DVD flick starring Pierce Brosnan is going after 16 users of Popcorn Time, a service that uses an integrated media player to stream movies and TV from torrent sites.

  A production company affiliated with Millennium Films said Tuesday that it’s filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon against 16 people who allegedly used Popcorn Time to download the movie Survivor, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company says those people not only stole Survivor, but are also “habitual copyright infringers who have downloaded and distributed numerous additional titles through Popcorn Time and the Bit Torrent network.”

  Millennium says Survivor has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

  The defendants are only identified by Internet addresses at this point, while the studio tries to subpoena their service providers to get them to cough up their names.

  “It’s really saddening to witness studios go after the ‘little people, ’” Popcorn Time said in an email to the WSJ.

  Popcorn Time has also come under fire from the Motion Picture Association of America, the trade group for major Hollywood studios that has been cracking the whip on piracy in the industry (though CEO Chris Dodd has said his organization is giving up legislative efforts to penalize pirates).

  Though Millennium isn’t part of the MPAA, its chairman does have a major bone to pick with pirates after The Expendables 3 was leaked online three weeks before it hit theaters in 2014. Millennium says the Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger flick was downloaded more than 60 million times, costing “its collective businesses” some $161 million.

  It’s unclear what kind of financial hit the studio is claiming from people allegedly downloading Survivor, but said in a press release that it’s “seeking to educate people about the harm of piracy” as well as injunctive relief to keep defendants from infringing on their copyright in the future. The suit also seeks damages, agreeing to resolve any case for the minimum under the law, $750 per defendant, “for those infringers that promptly agree to stop their illegal activities and comply.”

  Hollywood Studio Sues Over Alleged Online Piracy [Wall Street Journal]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uAmazon Adds 11 Brands To Dash Button Orderingr

4 4 4 9

• 

  Amazon announced an expansion of its Dash ordering gadget.

  Users of Amazon’s ordering gadget, the Dash button, have been able to quickly restock their supply of Kraft Mac & Cheese, Tide, Cottonelle, Bounty and 14 other products for about five months (or one month if they didn’t receive an invitation early on). Now, they can buy even more, as the e-commerce company has expanded its quick-ordering platform by 11 additional brands, including Ice Breakers, Ziploc, Orbit gum and Greenies dog chews. As was previously the case, the gadget can be purchased for $4.99, but for a limited time Amazon will provide customers a $4.99 credit for each Dash button they buy. [The Washington Post]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist