Most GDPR consent banner implementations are deliberately engineered to be difficult to use and are full of dark patterns that are illegal according to the law. I wanted to find out how many visitors would engage with a GDPR banner if it were implemented properly and how many would grant consent to their information being Read more about Only 9% of visitors give GDPR consent to be tracked[…]
I’ve seen a lot of people — including those who are supporting the publishers’ legal attack on the Internet Archive — insist that they “support libraries,” but that the Internet Archive’s Open Library and National Emergency Library are “not libraries.” First off, they’re wrong. But, more importantly, it’s good to see actual librarians now coming Read more about Research Libraries Tell Publishers To Drop Their Awful Lawsuit Against The Internet Archive[…]
As Alexa, Google Home, Siri, and other voice assistants have become fixtures in millions of homes, privacy advocates have grown concerned that their near-constant listening to nearby conversations could pose more risk than benefit to users. New research suggests the privacy threat may be greater than previously thought. The findings demonstrate how common it is Read more about Uncovered: 1,000 phrases that incorrectly trigger Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant[…]
How many government demands for user data has Zoom received? We won’t know until “later this year,” an updated Zoom blog post now says. The video conferencing giant previously said it would release the number of government demands it has received by June 30. But the company said it’s missed that target and has given Read more about Zoom misses its own deadline to publish its first transparency report[…]
Twenty consumer and citizen rights groups have published an open letter [PDF] urging regulators to pay closer attention to Google parent Alphabet’s planned acquisition of Fitbit. The letter describes the pending purchase as a “game-changer” that will test regulators’ resolve to analyse how the vast quantities of health and location data slurped by Google would Read more about Consumer orgs ask world’s competition watchdogs: Are you really going to let Google walk off with all Fitbit’s data?[…]
This latest device succeeds the previous Librem 13 laptop, which ran for four generations, and includes a slightly bigger display, a hexa-core Ice Lake Intel Core i7 processor, gigabit Ethernet, and USB-C. As the name implies, the Librem 14 packs a 14-inch, 1920×1080 IPS display. Purism said this comes without increasing the laptop’s dimensions thanks Read more about Purism’s quest against Intel’s Management Engine black box CPU now comes in 14 inches[…]
The company said that it continued sharing user data with approximately 5,000 developers even after their application’s access expired. The incident is related to a security control that Facebook added to its systems following the Cambridge Analytica scandal of early 2018. Responding to criticism that it allowed app developers too much access to user information, Read more about Facebook says 5,000 app developers got user data after Cambridge Analytica scandal cutoff date[…]
If I told you that my entire computer screen just got taken over by a new app that I’d never installed or asked for — it just magically appeared on my desktop, my taskbar, and preempted my next website launch — you’d probably tell me to run a virus scanner and stay away from shady Read more about Microsoft is forcing Edge on Windows users with a malware-like install[…]
The internet’s domain names have become potentially trademarkable following a decision by the US Supreme Court today that Booking.com can in fact be registered with America’s Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) – against officials’ objections. The near-unanimous decision [PDF] – Justice Stephen Breyer was the sole rebel – went against the PTO’s legal arguments that Read more about The internet becomes trademarkable, sort of, with near-unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Booking.com[…]
Comcast has agreed to be the first home broadband internet provider to handle secure DNS-over-HTTPS queries for Firefox browser users in the US, Mozilla has announced. This means the ISP, which has joined Moz’s Trusted Recursive Resolver (TRR) Program, will perform domain-name-to-IP-address lookups for subscribers using Firefox via encrypted HTTPS channels. That prevents network eavesdroppers Read more about Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. Comcast to handle DNS-over-HTTPS for Firefox-using subscribers[…]
Names, adresses and mobile numbers have been sold for fraud using WhatsApp. Most of these numbers come from callcentres, mainly those selling energy contracts. The fresher a lead is, the more they are worth: betwween 25 cents and 2 euros. The money is usually transferred through mules, who keep a percentage of the proceeds. Source: Read more about tens of thousands of mobile numbers of 50+ year olds sold for whatsapp fraud[…]
In the case of Firefox users, some discovered that the new default Windows 10 browser, which is shipped to their devices via Windows Update, sometimes imports the data from Mozilla’s application even if they don’t give their permission. Some of these Firefox users decided to kill the initial setup process of Microsoft Edge, only to Read more about Microsoft Edge Accused of Sneakily Importing Firefox Data on Windows 10[…]
Google has introduced “continuous match mode” for apps on its voice-powered Assistant platform, where it will listen to everything without pausing. At the same time it has debuted related developer tools, new features, and the ability to display web content on its Smart Display hardware using the AMP component framework. The Chocolate Factory has big Read more about Google isn’t even trying to not be creepy: ‘Continuous Match Mode’ in Assistant will listen to everything until it’s disabled[…]
A popular website with a comprehensive database of repair manuals for ventilators and other medical devices has received a letter from a medical equipment company saying that its copyrights are being infringed. Kyle Wiens, CEO of the repair website iFixit—which posts guides on how to repair anything from sewing machines to video game consoles—shared the Read more about Steris, Medical Device Maker Threatens iFixit Over Ventilator Repair Project, publishing manuals[…]
European Union officials are preparing to bring antitrust charges against Amazon for abusing its dominance in internet commerce to box out smaller rivals, according to people with knowledge of the case. Nearly two years in the making, the case is one of the most aggressive attempts by a government to crimp the power of the Read more about Amazon Set to Face Antitrust Charges in European Union[…]
Back in March, the Internet Archive launched its National Emergency Library, a program that made roughly 1.4 million books available to the public without the usual waitlists. But on Wednesday, the organization announced it was ending the program two weeks early after four major publishers decided to sue Internet Archive for copyright infringement. Internet Archive Read more about Internet Archive Ends Free Ebook Program Early due to money grubbing copyright enforcers suing them for being a library[…]
Fed up with the DRM in a General Electric refrigerator that pushed the owner to buy expensive manufacturer-approved replacement water filters, an anonymous hacker went to the trouble of buying a domain name and setting up a website at gefiltergate.com to pen a screed about appliance digital rights restriction management (DRM) and how to bypass Read more about Someone got so fed up with GE fridge DRM – yes, fridge DRM – they made a whole website on how to bypass it[…]
In an utterly heartless move, the Trump administration on Friday eliminated health care protections for transgender people during an ongoing global pandemic that has claimed more lives in the U.S. than in any other country. It did this by finalizing a rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits health programs Read more about Trump Administration Eliminates Transgender Health Protections[…]
The stance seems to be: If minister Grapperhaus tells a webhost to remove content, they should do it without the court system intervening. As soon as they invoke kiddie porn you know that something totalitarian is being justified. Because once that is allowed, then they expand the powers to all content. And noboday can be Read more about Dutch Justice minister wants to put webhosters that won’t do what he wants on a shaminglist, unburdened by proof and using kiddie porn as an excuse[…]
The real Space Force may be going down in flames against the fictional Space Force: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the newly founded military branch appears to be losing a trademark battle with the Netflix comedy show of the same name. Netflix “has outmaneuvered the U.S. government to secure trademark rights to ‘Space Force’ in Read more about Space Force Losing Trademark Battle With Netflix’s Space Force[…]
If you’re a free Zoom user, and waiting for the company to roll out end-to-end encryption for better protection of your calls, you’re out of luck. Free calls won’t be encrypted, and law enforcement will be able to access your information in case of ‘misuse’ of the platform. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan today said that the Read more about Zoom won’t encrypt free calls because it wants to comply with law enforcement[…]
The GSM Association, the body that represents mobile carriers and influences the development of standards, has suggested its members bake virus contact-tracing functionality into their own bundled software. The body today popped out a paper [PDF] on contact-tracing apps. After some unremarkable observations about the need for and operations of such apps, plus an explanation Read more about GSMA suggests mobile carriers bake contact-tracing into their own apps – if governments ask for it[…]
In one fell swoop, Facebook may have changed its mind about how the online news media will operate from here on out. Undermining a now age-old assumption, Facebook told Ars Technica on Thursday that embedding from Instagram may not shield news organizations from freely cross-posting on their sites. A spokesperson said: While our terms allow Read more about Did Instagram Just Say It’s Rewriting Online Copyright? Use their embedded API at your peril[…]
Today, member companies [Note only four members – ed] of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Internet Archive (“IA”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit asks the Court to enjoin IA’s mass scanning, public display, and distribution of entire literary Read more about Publishers bizarrely File Suit Against Internet Archive for Systematic Mass Scanning and Distribution of Literary Works[…]
Contact tracing apps have the potential to slow the spread of COVID-19. But without proper security safeguards, some fear they could put users’ data and sensitive info at risk. Until now, that threat has been theoretical. Today, Amnesty International reports that a flaw in Qatar’s contact tracing app put the personal information of more than Read more about Qatar’s contact tracing app put over one million people’s info at risk[…]