Category: Global Domination

Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Federal law enforcement agencies secretly seek the data of Microsoft customers thousands of times a year, according to congressional testimony Wednesday by a senior executive at the technology company. Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for customer security and trust, told members of the House Judiciary Committee that federal law enforcement in recent years has Read more about Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’[…]

High Court disallows Dutch Filmworks forcing ISPs to give out personal details of potential movie downloaders

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As expected, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal in cassation by Dutch FilmWorks. The highest judicial body follows the motivation of the Prosecutor General, who previously issued advice on this. DFW announced in 2015 that it would take enforcement action against people who illegally download films. The matter was widely publicized. DFW wanted to address Read more about High Court disallows Dutch Filmworks forcing ISPs to give out personal details of potential movie downloaders[…]

Windows Users Surprised by Windows 11’s Short List of Supported CPUs – and front facing camera requirements

Posted on by Robin Edgar

While a lot of focus has been on the TPM requirements for Windows 11, Microsoft has since updated its documentation to provide a complete list of supported processors. At present the list includes only Intel 8th Generation Core processors or newer, and AMD Ryzen Zen+ processors or newer, effectively limiting Windows 11 to PC less Read more about Windows Users Surprised by Windows 11’s Short List of Supported CPUs – and front facing camera requirements[…]

Ubisoft Takes Down Fan’s Incredible Far Cry 5 ‘GoldenEye’ Maps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For the past few years, a YouTuber known as Krollywood has painstakingly recreated every level from GoldenEye 007 inside the level editor of Far Cry 5. This week, Ubisoft removed all of those levels from Far Cry 5 due to a copyright infringement claim. Kotaku first reported on Krollywood’s efforts earlier this month. Over the Read more about Ubisoft Takes Down Fan’s Incredible Far Cry 5 ‘GoldenEye’ Maps[…]

New ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Game Has Game Streamers Worried Over Integral Music In The Game, shows you how stupid copyright and DMCA is nowadays

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With streaming games and “let’s plays” becoming a dominant force of influence in the gaming world, one of the sillier trends we’ve seen is video games coming out with “stream safe” settings that strip out audio content for which there is no broadcast license. We’ve talked already about how this sort of thing is not Read more about New ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Game Has Game Streamers Worried Over Integral Music In The Game, shows you how stupid copyright and DMCA is nowadays[…]

Amazon is blocking Google’s FLoC

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Most of Amazon’s properties including Amazon.com, WholeFoods.com and Zappos.com are preventing Google’s tracking system FLoC — or Federated Learning of Cohorts — from gathering valuable data reflecting the products people research in Amazon’s vast e-commerce universe, according to website code analyzed by Digiday and three technology experts who helped Digiday review the code. Amazon declined to comment on this story. As Google’s system Read more about Amazon is blocking Google’s FLoC[…]

Open-source projects glibc and gnulib look to sever copyright ties with Free Software Foundation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The GNU C Library (glibc) and GNU Portability Library (gnulib) are laying the groundwork to divorce themselves from the troubled Free Software Foundation by removing the requirement for copyright assignment. This move follows in the footsteps of the same shift by the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) on 2 June. Like many projects under the GNU Read more about Open-source projects glibc and gnulib look to sever copyright ties with Free Software Foundation[…]

House introduces five antitrust bills targeting Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lawmakers in the House have introduced five new bills that would place significant limits on major tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.The proposed legislation is part of a broader effort to step up antitrust enforcement against tech giants.The bills would place new limits on the companies’ ability to acquire new business and change Read more about House introduces five antitrust bills targeting Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon[…]

Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple didn’t know the Department of Justice was requesting metadata of Democratic lawmakers when it complied with a subpoena during a Trump-era leak investigation, CNBC reports. And it wasn’t the only tech giant tapped in these probes: Microsoft confirmed Friday it received a similar subpoena for a congressional staffer’s personal email account. Both companies were under Read more about Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals[…]

European Commission Betrays Internet Users By Cravenly Introducing Huge Loophole For Copyright Companies In Upload Filter Guidance

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As a recent Techdirt article noted, the European Commission was obliged to issue “guidance” on how to implement the infamous Article 17 upload filters required by the EU’s Copyright Directive. It delayed doing so, evidently hoping that the adviser to the EU’s top court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), would release Read more about European Commission Betrays Internet Users By Cravenly Introducing Huge Loophole For Copyright Companies In Upload Filter Guidance[…]

Google to adapt its ad technology after France hands it a $267 million fine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has agreed to pay a €220 million ($267 million) fine and change its ad practices after France’s competition authority found it had abused its dominant online ad position. Following a 2019 complaint by News Corp. and French newspaper Le Figaro, France ruled that Google was favoring its own advertising services to the detriment of Read more about Google to adapt its ad technology after France hands it a $267 million fine[…]

Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is teeming with scams

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has long argued it needs to control app distribution on iPhones, otherwise the App Store would turn into “a flea market.” But among the 1.8 million apps on the App Store, scams are hiding in plain sight. Customers for several VPN apps, which allegedly protect users’ data, complained in Apple Read more about Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is teeming with scams[…]

Apple settles with student after authorized repair workers leaked her naked pics to her Facebook page. Apple blocks Right to repair for danger by unauthorised parties. Hmm.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has paid a multimillion-dollar settlement to an unnamed Oregon college student after one of its outsourced repair facilities posted explicit pictures and videos of her to her Facebook page. According to legal documents obtained by The Telegraph, the incident occurred in 2016 at a Pegatron-owned repair centre in Sacramento, California. The student had mailed Read more about Apple settles with student after authorized repair workers leaked her naked pics to her Facebook page. Apple blocks Right to repair for danger by unauthorised parties. Hmm.[…]

Bing Censors Image Search for ‘Tank Man’ Even in US

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bing, the search engine owned by Microsoft, is not displaying image results for a search for “Tank man,” even when searching from the United States. The apparent censorship comes on the anniversary of China’s violent crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. “There are no results for tank man,” the Bing website reads after Read more about Bing Censors Image Search for ‘Tank Man’ Even in US[…]

Google, Facebook, Chaos Computer Club join forces to oppose German state spyware

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Plans by the German government to allow the police to deploy malware on any target’s devices, and force the tech world to help them, has run into some opposition, funnily enough. In an open letter this month, the Chaos Computer Club – along with Google, Facebook, and others – said they are against proposals to Read more about Google, Facebook, Chaos Computer Club join forces to oppose German state spyware[…]

Google reportedly made it harder to find Android privacy settings

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google’s approach to Android privacy is coming under fire following revelations from Arizona’s antitrust lawsuit over phone tracking. As Insider reports, freshly unredacted documents in the case suggest Google made Android privacy settings harder to find. When Google tested OS releases that surfaced privacy features, the company reportedly saw greater use of those features as Read more about Google reportedly made it harder to find Android privacy settings[…]

WhatsApp Won’t Limit Functionality if You Refuse Privacy Policy – for now. But it will pester you about it.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WhatsApp initially threatened to revoke core functions for users that refused to accept its controversial new privacy policy, only to walk back the severity of those consequences earlier this month amid international backlash, and now, it’s doing away with them altogether (for the time being, at least). In a reversal, the company clarified on Friday Read more about WhatsApp Won’t Limit Functionality if You Refuse Privacy Policy – for now. But it will pester you about it.[…]

Creepy Social Media Face Stealing firm Clearview hit with complaints in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Data rights groups have filed complaints in the UK, France, Austria, Greece and Italy against Clearview AI, claiming its scraped and searchable database of biometric profiles breaches both the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The facial recognition company, which is based in the US, claims to have “the largest known database of Read more about Creepy Social Media Face Stealing firm Clearview hit with complaints in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the UK[…]

The New Sonos One SL Reminds Us That Smart Devices Have a Shelf Life, forces you to spying S2 update

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] if you’re thinking of buying a new One SL, you ought to keep in mind that it’ll only work with the newer Sonos S2 app. This won’t be a problem for every Sonos owner, especially if you bought all your Sonos devices in the past year or two. It might be an issue, however, Read more about The New Sonos One SL Reminds Us That Smart Devices Have a Shelf Life, forces you to spying S2 update[…]

Redditors Launch A ‘Rescue Mission’ For Embattled Sci-Hub, With The Ultimate Aim Of Building A Decentralized Version

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Techdirt has just written about belated news that the FBI gained access two years ago to the Apple account of Alexandra Elbakyan, the founder of Sci-Hub. This is part of a continuing attempt to stop the widespread sharing of academic papers, mostly paid for by the public, and currently trapped behind expensive paywalls. You might Read more about Redditors Launch A ‘Rescue Mission’ For Embattled Sci-Hub, With The Ultimate Aim Of Building A Decentralized Version[…]

Pentagon Surveilling Americans Without a Warrant, Senator Reveals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Senator Wyden’s office asked the Department of Defense (DoD), which includes various military and intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), for detailed information about its data purchasing practices after Motherboard revealed special forces were buying location data. The responses also touched on military or intelligence use Read more about Pentagon Surveilling Americans Without a Warrant, Senator Reveals[…]

Facebook Ordered to Stop German WhatsApp Users’ Data Collection

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook Inc. was ordered to stop collecting German users’ data from its WhatsApp unit, after a regulator in the nation said the company’s attempt to make users agree to the practice in its updated terms isn’t legal. Johannes Caspar, who heads Hamburg’s privacy authority, issued a three-month emergency ban, prohibiting Facebook from continuing with the Read more about Facebook Ordered to Stop German WhatsApp Users’ Data Collection[…]

Justice Department Quietly Seized Washington Post Reporters’ Phone Records During Trump Era

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Department of Justice quietly seized phone records and tried to obtain email records for three Washington Post reporters, ostensibly over their coverage of then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, according to officials and government letters reviewed by the Post. Justice Department regulations typically mandate that news organizations Read more about Justice Department Quietly Seized Washington Post Reporters’ Phone Records During Trump Era[…]

WhatsApp’s privacy policy – not accepting will slowly kill your functionality and then delete your history

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After facing international backlash over impending updates to its privacy policy, WhatsApp has ever-so-slightly backtracked on the harsh consequences it initially planned for users who don’t accept them—but not entirely. In an update to the company’s FAQ page, WhatsApp clarifies that no users will have their accounts deleted or instantly lose app functionality if they Read more about WhatsApp’s privacy policy – not accepting will slowly kill your functionality and then delete your history[…]

Lone Developer Stands Up To Grand Theft Auto DMCA Claim, Wins – reverse engineered  code the original code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Earlier this year fans reversed engineered the source code to Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. They released it to the web, but Grand Theft Auto copyright holder Take-Two pulled it offline via a DMCA claim. But one fan stood up to the publisher and has now succeeded in getting the Read more about Lone Developer Stands Up To Grand Theft Auto DMCA Claim, Wins – reverse engineered  code the original code[…]