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Boeing's Starliner has returned to Earth safely after docking with the International Space Station for the first time. The six-day Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission came to an end when the spacecraft landed at the US Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It's the first American capsule to touch down on land instead of in the ocean. Starliner undocked from the ISS at 2:36PM ET and by 6:05PM, it was firing its thrusters to drop out of orbit. 

The uncrewed Starliner, which took over 800 pounds of equipment to the ISS (including a Kerbal Space Program plush toy), brought back over 600 pounds of cargo. Among the returned items were reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks, which are used to provide air to those on the ISS. They'll be refilled and taken back to the space station later.

The spacecraft's first test flight took place in 2019. While it reached orbit, an automation system issue prevented thrusters from firing, meaning Starliner was unable to dock with the ISS. An attempt at a second test flight last year was scrapped because of a propulsion system valve problem, which led to a nine-month delay. In the interim, SpaceX conducted more crewed trips to the ISS than previously planned. 

After assessing the data from this flight, Boeing will be able to start planning crewed flights that will take astronauts to the space station and bring them back to Earth. The New York Times says NASA will announce the astronauts who'll be flying on Starliner this summer, and the mission could take place before the year ends. 

Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program, said:

"We have had an excellent flight test of a complex system that we expected to learn from along the way and we have With the completion of OFT-2, we will incorporate lessons learned and continue working to prepare for the crewed flight test and NASA certification. Thank you to the NASA and Boeing teammates who have put so much of themselves into Starliner."

Mariella Moon contributed to this story.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a $150 million fine for Twitter over its"deceptive" use of user data for targeted advertising. The charge stems from the company’s admission in 2019 that it had for years used Twitter users’ phone numbers provided for two-factor authentication to also serve targeted ads. The company said at the time that its use of the phone numbers for ads was “an error.”

We’ve reached out to Twitter for comment.

Developing…

Move over Discord, Niantic has its own messaging solution in mind for Pokémon Go players: a social AR app called Campfire. It'll let you organize for events, discover new locations and share content with other players. Think of it like a hyper-local social network built entirely for AR—it's "the 'homepage' of the real-world Metaverse," as Niantic says (as if that makes things any clearer). Campfire is already live in Ingress, the company's first AR game, and it'll be headed to all of its titles starting this summer.

Niantic

Pokémon Go players have typically relied on Discord and other platforms to communicate with others. Given Nintendo and the Pokémon Company's squeamishness around social networking, it likely would have been difficult for Niantic to build social features directly into the game. Ultimately, it makes more sense to release a separate app that can tie into all of the company's experiences.

On top of Campfire, Niantic also unveiled Lightship VPS (virtual positioning system), a new platform that will let developers more accurately learn the position and orientation of users. They'll also be able to anchor AR content in place with "centimeter-level" precision, according to Niantic. That'll help devs produce better localization and persistence, which are the most important factors in any AR experience. To power VPS, the company has produced 3D maps in over 30,000 locations across six cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, London and Tokyo), based on short video contributions from players.

Apple’s vice president of people and retail Deirdre O’Brien tried to dissuade the company’s employees from joining a union in an internal video leaked to several media outlets. In the video — which was sent to all of Apple’s 65,000 retail employees in the US — O’Brien tells workers that a union would slow down the company’s efforts to address worker concerns.

“We have a relationship that’s based on an open and collaborative and direct engagement, which I feel could fundamentally change if a store is represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement. To put another organization in the middle of our relationship that does not have a deep understanding of Apple or our business. And one that I do not believe shares our commitment to you,” she said in the video.

Unionization efforts are currently underway at a number of US Apple retail stores following months of worker-led protests over low pay and long hours, including union drives occurring in retail stores in Towson, Maryland, Atlanta, and New York City. A number of retail workers recently accused the company of union-busting. Earlier this month the Communication Workers of America — the union which is seeking to represent workers at the Atlanta location — filed an Unfair Labor Practice filing with the NLRB, accusing the company of holding mandatory “captive audience” meetings with bargaining unit employees.

O’Brien emphasized that a union would block Apple’s efforts to respond swiftly to worker concerns. “Apple moves incredibly fast,” she said in the video. “It’s one thing I love about our work in retail. It means that we need to be able to move fast too. And I worry that because the union will bring its own legally mandated rules that would determine how we work through issues it could make it harder for us to act swiftly to address things that you raise."

The tech giant in February announced it would expand its benefits for US retail employees, including offering paid parental leave and more sick days. It also raised the pay for a number of retail employees. But critics say that the company took these steps amidst a tightening labor market, after years of media coverage and complaints from Apple’s retail workers about the low pay and strenuous work environment.

If attendees at Twitter’s annual shareholder meeting were hoping to clear up confusion surrounding Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company, they likely left disappointed. Despite numerous questions about the future of Twitter, the company's executives had little to say about Musk, who did not attend the meeting.

“We’re working through the transaction process,” CEO Parag Agrawal said during the meeting. The status of the deal has been somewhat unclear since Musk announced it was “on hold,” due to his concerns about bots on the platform. Twitter executives have maintained they are moving forward with their plans.

“Even as we work towards closing this transaction, our teams and I remain focused on the important work we do every day to serve the public conversation,” Agrawal said.

Twitter had said ahead of the meeting that it wouldn’t answer questions related to Musk’s acquisition of the company, which will need to be formally approved by Twitter stockholders at a later date. Even so, shareholders tried to get Twitter executives to address the issue. The very first question in the Q&A portion of the meeting asked what will happen to Twitter shareholders’ stock if “someone” buys the company and takes it private. “We aren't able to address these questions today,” Sean Edgett, Twitter’s General Counsel, said, directing people to the company’s previous SEC filings.

Shareholders also raised questions about the future of the company’s content moderation policies. Agrawal said the company remains “focused” on existing its current policies and “decreasing our reliance on user reports.” Though he didn’t directly address comments Musk has made about loosening its rules, he said that “silencing political commentary is antithetical to our commitment to free speech.”

The meeting also marks the end of co-founder Jack Dorsey’s tenure with Twitter. He had stepped aside as CEO in November, but remained on the board of directors until the meeting. As with much of Twitter’s future, it was unclear who will succeed him.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Game Grumps, the studio that gave us Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator in 2017. This week, the team announced its latest project. And it couldn’t be more different from its debut effort.

Game Grumps describes Homebody as a narrative-driven, psychological horror game. In designing the experience, it says it drew inspiration from ‘80s slasher films, though you can also see the influence of both modern and older gaming classics like Silent Hill, Resident Evil and Hideo Kojima’s P.T. Part of what sells the atmosphere of the game is its slightly pixelated art style and effective use of lighting.

In the trailer the studio shared, we’re introduced to Homebody’s protagonist, Emily. You’ll need to help Emily and her friends escape a relentless killer by avoiding the assailant, solving puzzles and making choices. Homebody sees Game Grumps reunite with Rogue Games, the publisher it worked with to make Dream Daddy. The two companies plan to release Homebody later this year on consoles and PC via the Epic Games Store and Steam.

Apple has given the green light to a live-action Speed Racer series for Apple TV+, both Variety and Deadline are reporting. J.J. Abrams is set to executive produce the show, and it'll be made under his Bad Robot production company, the outlets claim. While the show hasn't been officially announced yet, the dual scoops are a reliable indicator that something is definitely happening with the classic anime property. The new series will be co-written by Ron Fitzgerald (Westworld, Friday Night Lights) and Hiram Martinez (Snowpiercer, Get Shorty), who've both worked on genre shows before.

Of course, it'll be difficult to top the cinematic genius of the Wachowski's 2008 adaptation of Speed Racer (seriously, the world just wasn't ready for it), but the series' premise is ripe for another live-action spin. The new series is reportedly going back to the original 1969 manga (released as Mach GoGogo). The franchise focuses on an expert driver named Speed Racer, his family/racing team (which includes a pet chimpanzee for some reason), and his souped-up car, the Mach 5. There have already been several animated reboots of the show in America, but it'll be interesting to see how another team brings Speed Racer into the live action arena.

In their rush to employ online learning as a COVID-19 mitigation strategy, governments across the world exposed young people to the threat of their personal data being collected and sold without their consent. In a report published on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch found that many of the apps and services governments either directly procured or recommended for remote learning as recently as 2021 were actively harvesting the data of children or were otherwise engaged in monitoring their activities.

In its study of 49 countries, the nonprofit found that 146 of the 164 “EdTech” products used in those places reviewed employed data practices that either put the rights of young people at risk or actively infringed on them. Those platforms either employed or had the capacity to use tracking technology to monitor their young users secretly and without their consent or that of parents. What’s more, their data was frequently sold to third-party companies.

Human Rights Watch observed 146 of the apps it reviewed directly sending or granting access to the data of their young users to 196 third-party companies, with the vast majority of that information making its way to adtech platforms. Put another way, there were significantly more advertising firms buying the data of children than there were tech companies collecting it.

“In the process of endorsing and ensuring their wide adoption during COVID-19 school closures, governments offloaded the true costs of providing online education onto children, who were unknowingly forced to pay for their learning with their rights to privacy, access to information and potentially freedom of thought,” the report’s authors said.

Human Rights Watch points out that many of the tools governments recommended for online learning, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex, weren’t explicitly designed for use by children. But even those that were, such as ST Math, often employed trackers that sent data to companies like Meta and Google that could then later be used for behavioral advertising.

The report is yet one reminder of just how problematic surveillance capitalism has become in recent years. A similar report published earlier this month found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates as a “domestic surveillance agency,” and that it was able to bypass laws governing its operation by purchasing databases from private companies.

The NFL may launch its own streaming service as soon as July. The long-rumored NFL+ could allow fans to stream some live games on phones and tablets. It may feature other content, such as podcasts, radio and team-created content. According to Sports Business Journal, NFL+ may cost $5 per month, but pricing isn't set in stone.

It's believed the games fans will be able to stream on phones and tablets will be restricted to those that they can see on local TV. Yahoo (Engadget's parent company) and carriers previously streamed those games. However, those deals have expired and it seems the NFL is retaining the rights.

The report also notes the league has been in talks with potential suitors, including Apple and Amazon, about taking an equity stake in its media business. If such a deal goes through, NFL+ could be made available as part of another streaming service. Amazon already streams Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video. Apple's has moved into sports as well — it streams exclusive MLB games every Friday.

Speaking of the MLB, the NFL looks set to follow in that league's footsteps. It has streamed out-of-market games on MLB.TV since 2002. The MLB is reportedly planning to debut a broader streaming service next year that would include in-market games for fans' home teams. FIFA also waded into the wide world of streaming last month, with the free, ad-supported service FIFA+.