safety

Facebook announced Wednesday that it has partnered with teen idol Justin Bieber--yes, that Justin Bieber--and MTV's "The Thin Line" public awareness campaign to combat cyberbullying and other forms of digital abuse on the Web. Contributors to MTV's map of anti-abuse tactics from around the country will now be eligible to win prizes that include a "personalized voice-mail greeting from Justin Bieber."

Facebook's broader role in this does not appear to be particularly large. But attaching its name to this sort of initiative is important: Among Facebook's younger users, cyberbullying and other forms … Read more

Security firm Trend Micro is launching its second annual "What's Your Story" contest to encourage youth and others to submit short videos on Internet safety and privacy.

Categories include being a good online citizen, using a cell phone wisely, and maintaining your online privacy.

The contest is open to anyone 13 and older in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., including students, teachers, and entire classrooms. In addition to the first-prize winner there will be six $500 prizes. Three will go to the best school entries in each category and three will go to the … Read more

Apple has been accused by a coalition of 36 Chinese environmental groups of ignoring hazardous and unhealthy conditions at the factories in China where its components are assembled.

Released yesterday by the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE), the report "The Other Side of Apple" ranked the iPhone maker dead last among 29 other tech companies for their responsiveness to health and environmental concerns in China.

Specifically, the report claims that Apple ignored concerns at Wintek, a factory that makes touch screens for the iPhone and iPad as well as components for other companies. Wintek came under … Read more

Nobody seems to know if cell phone radiation is harmless or setting up the biggest public health crisis in history. Until that little question is answered, here are five great smartphones that heat your flesh less.

If you want to look up the SAR number of any phone, CNET has that list.

If you are anywhere near a flood that covers an area greater than the size of France and Germany combined, some unsolicited advice: don't park near a river.

An office worker captured footage of a fast rising river in Toowoomba, Australia. The river soon gave way to a flash flood that swept away cars parked along the river's bank. One by one, the river floated them downstream. One brave (or foolish) man rescued his SUV from the deluge, but the rest of the vehicles ended up dogpiled against a bank of trees.

Fortunately for the videographer, his car … Read more

It looks like automakers will be required by law to add audible alerts to silent-running electric vehicles to keep sight-impaired pedestrians safe.

President Barack Obama this week signed into law the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841), which will protect the blind and other pedestrians from injury as a result of silent-vehicle technology, said the National Federation of the Blind.

The new bill, sponsored by Senator John Kerry, and 29 other co-sponsors, allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) begin crafting standards for an alert sound.

"The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that this critical legislation … Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 841, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to set standards for alert sounds in electric or hybrid vehicles. The bill also creates a deadline for the safety protocols to be met by 2013.

"The passage of this legislation is momentous and marks over two years of vigorous advocacy by ACB membership that has resulted in consensus by the blind community, auto industry, and Congress," said Mitch Pomerantz, president of the American Council of the Blind, in a news release.

The National Alliance … Read more

We've all been there. You're enjoying a nice drive with your favorite tune pumping on the stereo, when you look down and realize that you're going 90 mph in a 65 mph zone. Sometimes the music carries you away like that. A new app by OVK called Slow Down for iOS devices aims to use your music in the opposite way to help keep your speed in check.

After installing, users can select the music playlist to which they want to listen from within the app. After manually choosing the speed limit for the road being driven, … Read more

Riding along on your bike, it looks like you're sporting a stylish scarf-ey thing. But if an accident happens (heaven forbid, bite your tongue), that same scarf-ey thing fully inflates into a head- and neck-protecting airbag within 0.1 second.

Meet the "Hövding," or Chieftan, a collar-disguised airbag hood for bikers developed by two Swedish industrial design students. It's being shown off this week at the Scandinavian Technical Fair Stockholm and could be available in Europe by spring of next year.

When inventors Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin asked cyclists on the street why … Read more