Discussion: Online Piracy, Net Neutrality, Killswitch, and Other Internet Issues II

[MagnarTheGreat]

Vice - Crypto.com Says Alleged $15 Million Hack Was Just an 'Incident'

NBC News - Hi-tech heists: Crypto hackers make a killing robbing trading platforms (December 2021)
One of the biggest heists happened this month, when the crypto trading platform Bitmart said hackers stole almost $200 million after they broke into a company account.

Web3 is going just great (bad news compilation website)
...and is definitely not an enormous grift that's pouring lighter fluid on our already-smoldering planet.

 

[Lily Adler]

Senate Panel Approves Antitrust Bill to Rein in Big Tech (commondreams.org)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Vice - Crypto.com Says Alleged $15 Million Hack Was Just an 'Incident'

NBC News - Hi-tech heists: Crypto hackers make a killing robbing trading platforms (December 2021)
One of the biggest heists happened this month, when the crypto trading platform Bitmart said hackers stole almost $200 million after they broke into a company account.

Web3 is going just great (bad news compilation website)
...and is definitely not an enormous grift that's pouring lighter fluid on our already-smoldering planet.

Gizmodo - The Celebrities We've Lost to NFTs

We’ve all been there. Someone you admire suddenly adds laser eyes to their avatar. They’ve been red-pilled into the world of crypto.

Their agents might be pushing them to embrace this MLM scheme.



See also:
[Youtube] Christopher Natsuume - Let me explain Blockchain gaming and Play-to-Earn.
[Youtube] Folding Ideas - Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

How-To Geek - Another Crypto Platform Hacked, $80 Million Stolen

Gizmodo - OpenSea Says 80% of NFTs Made With Its Free Tool Are Fraudulent
In spite of that, the company, one of the largest NFT marketplaces online, reversed an earlier decision aimed at reducing misuse of its tool.

Forbes - [Citing National Security,] President Joe Biden Is Going After Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrencies And NFTs

Web3 is going just great (bad news compilation website)
...and is definitely not an enormous grift that's pouring lighter fluid on our already-smoldering planet.

NY Times - The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon
A Times investigation reveals how Israel reaped diplomatic gains around the world from NSO’s Pegasus spyware — a tool America itself purchased but is now trying to ban.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Vice - Crypto Co-Founder Revealed to Be Infamous Fraudster, Investors Shaken

 

[Teelie]

All of this and more is why I don't trust crypto.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

The Verge - Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter
A metaverse pivot isn’t going to fix the social network’s main problems: slowing user and ad growth

Bloomberg News - DeFi Project Known as Wormhole Hit With a Potential $320 Million Hack

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Reuters - Bill targeting Apple and Google approved by U.S. Senate panel

Apple and other device makers would pass the loss of revenue from their 30% cut to customers in other ways like higher costs for services and devices so it's not like this is easily escaped. But as usual it's the U.S. Senate where dreams generally go to die.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

USA Today - Facebook's historic stock drop spurs market slide. What's that mean for your 401(k)

Bloomberg News - Meta Erases $251 Billion in Value, Biggest Wipeout in History

• Shares slump 26%, dragging down Snap, Pinterest, Twitter
• Wall Street cuts price targets on Meta shares after earnings

CNBC - Facebook stock plummets 26% in its biggest one-day drop ever



Looks like Zuckerberg's Second Life VR / PlayStation Home VR isn't going so good.

And Facebook user growth and views just ain't what it used to be.

Too bad Meta helped tank the whole market!







--------------------

Gizmodo - Another Secretive [Israeli] Spyware Firm Has Been Helping Hack iPhones

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Facebook brings video game Tea-bag culture into their VR platform.

Vice - Woman Says She Was ‘Virtually Gang-Raped’ in Facebook's Metaverse
“Within 60 seconds of joining—I was verbally and sexually harassed.”

In response, Vivek Sharma, Meta’s vice president of Horizon, told Verge that the incident was “absolutely unfortunate,” and the beta tester didn’t use a safety feature that’s meant to block someone from interacting with you. Sharma said the tester’s report was “good feedback.”

Blame the victim and this **** shouldn't be enabled by default for anybody.

UPDATE: USA Today - Meta to add personal boundary for VR world after virtual rape claim

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - Gettr Fired Its Entire Cybersecurity Team and Never Replaced Them, Former Employees Say

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Mashable - Americans, get jealous: Meta threatens to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe
OK, do the U.S. now!

At issue are European data regulations that prevent Meta from ingesting Europeans' data on American servers. Basically, Meta says the ability to process user data in between countries is crucial for its business both operationally and for ad targeting. European laws meant to protect user privacy by keeping users' data within the EU's jurisdiction have invalidated previous systems. So, because Meta has been unable to reach new data sharing agreements, it's threatening to walk away from the continent with Facebook and Instagram.

Zuck's having another baby man temper tantrum because he doesn't want to be regulated like everyone else. Speaking of which, the United States needs better data protection as well.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Two Arrested [by FBI / U.S. Department of Justice] for Alleged Conspiracy to Launder $4.5 Billion in Stolen Cryptocurrency

The Verge - A cringe rapper slash Forbes contributor allegedly found with billions in stolen Bitcoin

Market Watch - New York hipster duo charged in mega bitcoin heist were ‘serial entrepreneurs’ who used startups to launder money, prosecutors say

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Superb Owl meme: The spelling error that turned into a meme - CNN

Today is Owl Day!

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

CNBC - Google plans privacy change similar to Apple’s, which wiped $230 billion off Facebook’s market cap

Don't get too excited, Google and Apple just want to monopolize the tracking on their platforms doing it themselves instead of letting Facebook in on it for their financial gain.

Gizmodo - Facebook Has a New Metascapegoat
As President of Global Affairs, former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will craft policy and deal with political issues so Zuckerberg doesn't have to.

For those unaware, Clegg joined Meta (than Facebook) back in 2018 following a lengthy career in UK politics. Clegg served as a member of the Liberal Democrats after spending five years in the European parliament, eventually working his way up to Deputy Prime Minister. Under his tenure, the party went from holding 57 seats to just eight. We’ll let you be the judge of his political effectiveness.

Still, Facebook reportedly saw potential in Clegg as a useful bulwark against impending EU regulations thanks to his connections in the European parliament. The context for his arrival is important as well. Clegg hopped onboard months after Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect and less than one full year after Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica debacle.

Since he was hired, Clegg has at times acted like Meta’s obedient attack dog, authoring op-eds pushing back against major Facebook critics and presenting full-throated praise of the company’s supposed virtues. Recently, Clegg was at the forefront of Meta’s skirmish with news outlets and whistleblower Frances Haugen over the myriad salacious accusations of wrongdoing included in what’s come to be known as “The Facebook Papers.”

 

[Teelie]

Google's changes are more or less toothless ones since they rely far more heavily on ad revenue than Apple does.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - The Facebook Whistleblower's New SEC Complaints Hit Meta in the Money Bags

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Banned Militias Are Sneaking Back on Facebook to Grift Off the DC Trucker Convoy

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Walgreens replaced some fridge doors with screens. And some shoppers absolutely hate it - CNN

Zuckerberg looks it this and says, 'No! You're supposed to put my ****ty VR headset on to purchase things instead in muh Metaverse.'

Just put an ad/billboard in your aisles or walls instead like a normal store instead of wasting even more electricity. This stuff inevitably breaks down too and what then?

Technology like VR headsets and stuff like this makes life more difficult, inconvenient, and expensive for the end user, not less.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Forbes - Interest In NFTs And The Metaverse Is Falling Fast
If Google is any indicator, public interest appears to be falling fast in the concepts of NFTs and the metaverse.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

They can’t buy it and eliminate a competitor that’s why like they have in the past.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - Fake Cops Stole User Data from Meta and Apple
Cybercriminals commandeered police email accounts to get home addresses, phone numbers, and more, a new report shows.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Hackers Steal $620 Million in Massive Gaming Crypto Heist

 

[Teelie]

But Bitcoin is the future.