Bytes: What’s new in tech

Please delete me

My attempt to scrub my personal information off the internet revealed a lot about the “impossibly large data-industrial complex,” said Seth Fiegerman in CNN.com. I just wanted to “start the new year with a clean digital slate.” I began immediately with “lesser-known databases” that aggregate information, like Spokeo and Radaris, and background-check platforms like Infotracer and MyLife—sites that are not household names but still “know an awful lot about many households.” The good news: I managed to delete my data from Infotracer and Spokeo almost immediately. But by the time I got through the labyrinthine instruction pages on Radaris, “I felt more lost than before.” In the end, “it was MyLife that broke me.” After hours on FAQ pages, I got through to a customer service representative who agreed to delete my profile page—then sent me an email “about raising my credit score.”

Biden’s tech gap

Joe Biden has yet to select a top adviser focused on tech policy, said Emily Birnbaum in Protocol.com, worrying party leaders who say the presumptive Democratic nominee for president is “missing an opportunity to lead in areas that have gained new prominence and urgency.” Biden’s lack of an inner-circle tech adviser “marks a contrast with his Democratic predecessors.” While running in 2008, President Obama “tapped a network of hundreds of tech-policy wonks to help formulate his ‘technology and innovation plan.’” Four years later, Hillary Clinton recruited a “nerd army” enjoying direct lines to top advisers. And since 2016, every year has only brought more “thorny questions” about Washington’s relationship to Big Tech. “Nobody’s talking to Joe Biden about tech policy,” laments one Democratic campaign veteran.

AP exam tech blunder

Some students are being forced to retake their online Advanced Placement exams because the testing portal won’t accept iPhone photos, said Monica Chin in TheVerge.com. “AP exams require long-form answers. Students can either type their response or upload a photo of handwritten work.” Those who choose the latter need to know that the tests only accept JPG or PNG images. Apple’s default on iOS devices is the newer and less common HEIC format, so many iPhone photos were rejected. The College Board, which runs the AP exams, tweeted a workaround shortly before the tests, too late for many students to see it.