Day: August 25, 2025

Trump admin strips ocean and air pollution monitoring from next-gen weather satellites

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is narrowing the capabilities and reducing the number of next-generation weather and climate satellites it plans to build and launch in the coming decades, two people familiar with the plans told CNN. This move — which comes as hurricane season ramps up with Erin lashing the East Coast — Read more about Trump admin strips ocean and air pollution monitoring from next-gen weather satellites[…]

4chan will refuse to pay daily UK fines, its lawyer tells BBC

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A lawyer representing the online message board 4chan says it won’t pay a proposed fine by the UK’s media regulator as it enforces the Online Safety Act. According to Preston Byrne, managing partner of law firm Byrne & Storm, Ofcom has provisionally decided to impose a £20,000 fine “with daily penalties thereafter” for as long Read more about 4chan will refuse to pay daily UK fines, its lawyer tells BBC[…]

YouTube’s Sneaky AI ‘Experiment’ changing your videos without you knowing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Something strange has been happening on YouTube over the past few weeks. After being uploaded, some videos have been subtly augmented, their appearance changing without their creators doing anything. Viewers have noticed “extra punchy shadows,” “weirdly sharp edges,” and a smoothed-out look to footage that makes it look “like plastic.” Many people have come to Read more about YouTube’s Sneaky AI ‘Experiment’ changing your videos without you knowing[…]

Study finds sea-level projections from the 1990s were spot on

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Global sea-level change has now been measured by satellites for more than 30 years, and a comparison with climate projections from the mid-1990s shows that they were remarkably accurate, according to two Tulane University researchers whose findings appear in Earth’s Future, an open-access journal published by the American Geophysical Union. “The ultimate test of climate Read more about Study finds sea-level projections from the 1990s were spot on[…]

A universal rhythm guides how we speak: Global analysis reveals 1.6-second ‘intonation units’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Have you ever noticed that a natural conversation flows like a dance—pauses, emphases, and turns arriving just in time? A new study has discovered that this isn’t just intuition; there is a biological rhythm embedded in our speech. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. According to the Read more about A universal rhythm guides how we speak: Global analysis reveals 1.6-second ‘intonation units’[…]

Uni of Melbourne used Wi-Fi location data to ID protestors

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Australia’s University of Melbourne last year used Wi-Fi location data to identify student protestors. The University used Wi-Fi to identify students who participated in July 2024 sit-in protest. As described in a report [PDF] into the matter by the state of Victoria’s Office of the Information Commissioner, the University directed protestors to leave the building Read more about Uni of Melbourne used Wi-Fi location data to ID protestors[…]

Privacy‑Preserving Age Verification Falls Apart On Contact With Reality

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Identity‑proofing creates a privacy bottleneck. Somewhere, an identity provider must verify you. Even if it later mints an unlinkable token, that provider is the weak link—and in regulated systems it will not be allowed to “just delete” your information. As Bellovin puts it: Regulation implies the ability for governments to audit the regulated entities’ Read more about Privacy‑Preserving Age Verification Falls Apart On Contact With Reality[…]