Category: Global Domination

At Amazon, Some Brands Get More Protection From Fakes Than Others

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There are two classes of merchant on Amazon.com: those who get special protection from counterfeiters and those who don’t. From a report: The first category includes sellers of some big-name brands, such as Adidas, Apple and even Amazon itself. They benefit from digital fortifications that prevent unauthorized sellers from listing certain products — an iPhone, Read more about At Amazon, Some Brands Get More Protection From Fakes Than Others[…]

Moscow metro launches facial recognition payment system despite privacy concerns

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than 240 metro stations across Moscow now allow passengers to pay for a ride by looking at a camera. The Moscow metro has launched what authorities say is the first mass-scale deployment of a facial recognition payment system. According to The Guardian, passengers can access the payment option called FacePay by linking their photo, Read more about Moscow metro launches facial recognition payment system despite privacy concerns[…]

Tesla’s Bringing Car Insurance to Texas W/ New ‘Safety Score’ by eating and selling your location data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After two years of offering car insurance to drivers across California, Tesla’s officially bringing a similar offering to clientele in its new home state of Texas. As Electrek first reported, the big difference between the two is how drivers’ premiums are calculated: in California, the prices were largely determined by statistical evaluations. In Texas, your Read more about Tesla’s Bringing Car Insurance to Texas W/ New ‘Safety Score’ by eating and selling your location data[…]

Researchers show Facebook’s ad tools can target a single specific user

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new research paper written by a team of academics and computer scientists from Spain and Austria has demonstrated that it’s possible to use Facebook’s targeting tools to deliver an ad exclusively to a single individual if you know enough about the interests Facebook’s platform assigns them. The paper — entitled “Unique on Facebook: Formulation Read more about Researchers show Facebook’s ad tools can target a single specific user[…]

Amazon copied products and rigged search results, documents show

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon.com Inc has been repeatedly accused of knocking off products it sells on its website and of exploiting its vast trove of internal data to promote its own merchandise at the expense of other sellers. The company has denied the accusations. But thousands of pages of internal Amazon documents examined by Reuters – including emails, Read more about Amazon copied products and rigged search results, documents show[…]

Software Removes The Facebook From Facebook’s VR Headset (Mostly)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s not a jailbreak, but [basti564]’s Oculess software nevertheless allows one the option to remove telemetry and account dependencies from Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR headsets. It is not normally possible to use these devices without a valid Facebook account (or a legacy Oculus account in the case of the original Quest), so the ability to Read more about Software Removes The Facebook From Facebook’s VR Headset (Mostly)[…]

Study reveals Android phones constantly snoop on their users

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new study by a team of university researchers in the UK has unveiled a host of privacy issues that arise from using Android smartphones. The researchers have focused on Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, and Huawei Android devices, and LineageOS and /e/OS, two forks of Android that aim to offer long-term support and a de-Googled experience Read more about Study reveals Android phones constantly snoop on their users[…]

Facebook Banned Creator of Unfollow Everything App That Made Facebook Less Toxic

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A developer who created a browser extension designed to help Facebook users reduce their time spent on the platform says that the company responded by banning him and threatening to take legal action. Louis Barclay says he created Unfollow Everything to help people enjoy Facebook more, not less. His extension, which no longer exists, allowed Read more about Facebook Banned Creator of Unfollow Everything App That Made Facebook Less Toxic[…]

England’s Data Guardian warns of plans to grant police access to patient data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

England’s National Data Guardian has warned that government plans to allow data sharing between NHS bodies and the police could “erode trust and confidence” in doctors and other healthcare providers. Speaking to the Independent newspaper, Dr Nicola Byrne said she had raised concerns with the government over clauses in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Read more about England’s Data Guardian warns of plans to grant police access to patient data[…]

MEPs support curbing police use of facial recognition, border biometric data trawling drastically

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Police should be banned from using blanket facial-recognition surveillance to identify people not suspected of crimes. Certain private databases of people’s faces for identification systems ought to be outlawed, too. That’s the feeling of the majority of members in the European Parliament this week. In a vote on Wednesday, 377 MEPs backed a resolution restricting Read more about MEPs support curbing police use of facial recognition, border biometric data trawling drastically[…]

Search providers compaining that EU Google antitrust measures didn’t achieve anything

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Four search providers – DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Qwant, and Lilo – have penned an open letter to the European Commission claiming that Google is suppressing search engine competition. The EU has made a number of efforts to counter Google’s search monopoly, including a July 2018 fine and ruling that the company engaged in “illegal tying of Read more about Search providers compaining that EU Google antitrust measures didn’t achieve anything[…]

There’s a Murky Multibillion-Dollar Market for Your Phone’s Location Data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Companies that you likely have never heard of are hawking access to the location history on your mobile phone. An estimated $12 billion market, the location data industry has many players: collectors, aggregators, marketplaces, and location intelligence firms, all of which boast about the scale and precision of the data that they’ve amassed. Location firm Read more about There’s a Murky Multibillion-Dollar Market for Your Phone’s Location Data[…]

Clearview AI Says It Can Do the ‘Computer Enhance’ Thing – wait, this evil has not yet been purged?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sketchy face recognition company Clearview AI has inflated its stockpile of scraped images to over 10 billion, according to its co-founder and CEO Hoan Ton-That. What’s more, he says the company has new tricks up its sleeve, like using AI to draw in the details of blurry or partial images of faces. Clearview AI has Read more about Clearview AI Says It Can Do the ‘Computer Enhance’ Thing – wait, this evil has not yet been purged?[…]

9 Horrifying Facts From the Facebook Whistleblower Interview

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, the Wall Street Journal published internal research from Facebook showing that the social media company knows precisely how toxic its own product is for the people who use it. But tonight, we learned how the Journal obtained those documents: A whistleblower named Frances Haugen, who spoke with CBS News’ 60 Minutes about the Read more about 9 Horrifying Facts From the Facebook Whistleblower Interview[…]

Google (G00G) Urges EU Judges to Slash ‘Staggering’ $5 Billion Fine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google called on European Union judges to cut or cancel a “staggering” 4.3 billion euro ($5 billion) antitrust fine because the search giant never intended to harm rivals. The company “could not have known its conduct was an abuse” when it struck contracts with Android mobile phone makers that required them to take its search Read more about Google (G00G) Urges EU Judges to Slash ‘Staggering’ $5 Billion Fine[…]

Lawsuit prepped against Google for using Brit patients’ data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A UK law firm is bringing legal action on behalf of patients it says had their confidential medical records obtained by Google and DeepMind Technologies in breach of data protection laws. Mishcon de Reya said today it planned a representative action on behalf of Mr Andrew Prismall and the approximately 1.6 million individuals whose data Read more about Lawsuit prepped against Google for using Brit patients’ data[…]

Leaked Documents Show How Amazon’s Astro Robot Tracks Everything You Do – incompetently

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon’s new robot called Astro is designed to track the behavior of everyone in your home to help it perform its surveillance and helper duties, according to leaked internal development documents and video recordings of Astro software development meetings obtained by Motherboard. The system’s person recognition system is heavily flawed, according to two sources who Read more about Leaked Documents Show How Amazon’s Astro Robot Tracks Everything You Do – incompetently[…]

Bing Search Results Erases Images Of ‘Tank Man’ On Anniversary Of Tiananmen Square Crackdown (2021)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, internet users noticed Microsoft’s Bing search engine was producing some interesting results. Or, rather, it wasn’t producing expected search results for some possibly interesting reasons. Users searching for the most iconic image of the protests — that of the unidentified person known only as “Tank Man” — Read more about Bing Search Results Erases Images Of ‘Tank Man’ On Anniversary Of Tiananmen Square Crackdown (2021)[…]

Marvel Files Lawsuit to Keep Iron Man, Spider-Man Rights From Creators

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The families of iconic Marvel comic book writers and artists Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan, and Don Rico have filed termination of copyright notices on the superheroes they helped create. Marvel—which Disney has owned since 2009—unsurprisingly, disagrees and has filed lawsuits against all five to keep the characters in the Marvel stable Read more about Marvel Files Lawsuit to Keep Iron Man, Spider-Man Rights From Creators[…]

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Feature Doesn’t Stop Tracking

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 2014, some very pervy creeps stole some very personal iCloud photos from some very high-profile celebs and put them on the open web, creating one very specific PR crisis for Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. The company was about to roll out Apple Pay as part of its latest software update, a process that took Read more about Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Feature Doesn’t Stop Tracking[…]

Apple Confirms Fortnite Won’t Come Back to iPhones Anytime Soon

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today, Tim Sweeney confirmed on Twitter just how massive of an “L” Epic took in its recent trial against Apple. Apple has effectively “blacklisted” Fortnite from all Apple products until the legal clash between the two massive corporations reaches its conclusion, which could take as long as five years. (It’s even longer in Peely years.) Read more about Apple Confirms Fortnite Won’t Come Back to iPhones Anytime Soon[…]

Lithuania tells citizens to throw Xiaomi mobiles away for censoring functionality

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In an audit it published yesterday [PDF] the agency called out Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G phone handset firmware for being able to censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”. Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius told reporters at the audit’s release: “Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, Read more about Lithuania tells citizens to throw Xiaomi mobiles away for censoring functionality[…]

UK appeals court rules AI cannot be listed as a patent inventor

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Add the United Kingdom to the list of countries that says an artificial intelligence can’t be legally credited as an inventor. Per the BBC, the UK Court of Appeal recently ruled against Dr. Stephen Thaler in a case involving the country’s Intellectual Property Office. In 2018, Thaler filed two patent applications in which he didn’t Read more about UK appeals court rules AI cannot be listed as a patent inventor[…]

Ig Nobel Prizes blocked by YouTube takedown over 1914 song snippet – can’t find human to fix the error

Posted on by Robin Edgar

YouTube, the Ig Nobel Prizes, and the Year 1914 YouTube’s notorious takedown algorithms are blocking the video of the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. We have so far been unable to find a human at YouTube who can fix that. We recommend that you watch the identical recording on Vimeo. The Fatal Song This is Read more about Ig Nobel Prizes blocked by YouTube takedown over 1914 song snippet – can’t find human to fix the error[…]

Australia gave police power to compel sysadmins into assisting account takeovers – so they plan to use it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Australia’s Federal Police force on Sunday announced it intends to start using new powers designed to help combat criminal use of encryption by taking over the accounts of some social media users, then deleting or modifying content they’ve posted. The law also requires sysadmins to help those account takeovers. The force (AFP) stated its intentions Read more about Australia gave police power to compel sysadmins into assisting account takeovers – so they plan to use it[…]