Also: AT&T is fined $100 million for its crippled "unlimited" plans, Reddit plans to encrypt all traffic by default, and what might be the best wedding footage of all time.
Uber Drivers Are Employees In California
Basically no one works for Uber – at least, that's what the $40 billion company claims. The more than 167,000 drivers around the world are all independent contractors, driving their own cars, all of whom just happen to use Uber's technology to find customers.
That might be changing, at least in California. A ruling by The California Labor Commission this week awarded San Francisco resident Barbara Ann Berwick, a former Uber driver, $4,000 in "unpaid wages" – something independent contractors are not entitled to.
Uber, and other sharing economy companies like TaskRabbit and Handy, could end up seeing similar scrutiny throughout the golden state. Uber, for its part, claims the ruling applies only to Berwick.
German Ketchup Bottles Are Linking To Porn
All Daniel Korell wanted to do was design his own ketchup label. Instead, he got porn.
How did that happen?
Heinz ran a promotion between 2012 and 2014, allowing ketchup lovers to make a custom bottle. To start the process, customers needed to scan a QR code that pointed to a landing page.
At least, it did point to a landing page… until Heinz let the domain expire. Someone working for German porn site Fundorado noticed the expiration and bought the domain, meaning anyone who scanned an old bottle of ketchup was in for a surprise.
One of the awesome things about QR codes is that you've no idea where they'll end up taking you, and this is a good example of what can happen. Heinz has apologized, and the whole incident is a good reminder of what happens when you let a domain name expire.
AT&T Fined $100 Million For Throttling "Unlimited" Customers
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) won't let AT&T be – at least, not when it comes to calling a plan "Unlimited" only to throttle customers who use "too much" data. The government agency is fining AT&T to the tune of $100 million for the practice.
It's the largest fine ever levied by the FCC.
AT&T, argued the FCC, wasn't being clear to customers that its "Unlimited" data plans were anything but. Sure, customers could keep using their phones after the throttle, but at speeds too slow for video calls or even standard-definition videos.
"Consumers deserve to get what they pay for,” said FCC Commission Tom Wheeler. “Broadband providers must be upfront and transparent about the services they provide. The FCC will not stand idly by while consumers are deceived by misleading marketing materials and insufficient disclosure.”
The FCC has been busy this week: it's also suing Time Warner Cable for violating net neutrality.
Reddit To Encrypt All Traffic Using SSL
One year after enabling SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), Reddit is making encryption the default for all visitors.
HTTPS enables secure connections between users and websites, meaning it's much more difficult for would-be hackers to monitor your activity on any site that enables it by default. Reddit announced this week that all traffic on the site will default to using this standard.
Reddit's users aren't a happy bunch of late, after the site banned five subreddits because of harassment problems. Maybe encryption will help smooth things over?
And Finally, Watch This Drone-Captured Wedding Video
No, seriously, just watch it. It's filmed with a drone and…
Wow.
The important question, of course, is whether the drone is okay. Rest assured, the video's creator cleared things up in the comments, saying all it needed was a quick repair job:
The blades break easily, so I just replaced them and was flying again within 10 min.
Your Views On Today's Tech News
Do you think Uber's drivers are employees or was this a bad ruling? Are you afraid of where a QR code might lead? Who do you think the FCC will go after next? Is increased encryption a good thing for the Web? Let's talk about this, and share links to the best drone fail videos, in the comments below.