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

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - Meta Discovers Its Biggest Misinfo Campaign Yet
Meta found 7,704 accounts and 954 pages on Facebook and Instagram boosting pro-China content and criticizing US policies.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - Facebook Rejects Its Own Supreme Court's Order to Ban Cambodian Ex-PM
Meta has rejected its own Oversight Board’s recommendation to immediately suspend the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen, an authoritarian dictator who refers to political dissidents as dogs and has been accused of using Meta’s platforms to incite violence.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

I think it was 8 years ago when I learned more about third party ‘reputation manager’ companies that larger companies pay to post positive comments about their products. I visited one of the websites for hire.

 

[squeekness]

I think it was 8 years ago when I learned more about third party ‘reputation manager’ companies that larger companies pay to post positive comments about their products. I visited one of the websites for hire.

Good thing I don't depend on RT to decide what movies I want to see.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gizmodo - If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare
Bad news: your car is a spy. Every major car brand failed a recent privacy and security test from Mozilla. You’re probably driving around in a "privacy nightmare" that may collect information as sensitive as your race, health status, and sexual activity.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Most-downloaded app in App Store sells products linked to forced labor in China, analysis shows

Stop buying from Temu, Wish, and AliExpress

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Ars Technica - States’ attempts to age-gate the Internet blocked by constitutional hurdles
State's own expert criticized law exempting platforms most dangerous for kids.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Vice - TikTok Blocked 'WGA' Searches Amid Writer's Strike Because It Thought It Was a Conspiracy
Update: After this article was published, TikTok told Motherboard that it stopped blocking the search term "WGA." The article and headline have been updated to reflect this.

Gizmodo - Threads Wont Show Search Results for 'Covid' or 'Vaccine'
The company is limiting results returned for for covid-related keywords to one link from a single source: the CDC.

Gizmodo - Pulitzer Winner Michael Chabon Sues Meta for Allegedly Using His Copyrighted Material to Train AI

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Google wants to prioritize AI drivel on the same level or better than human websites and articles.

Google Removes ‘Written by People’ From Suggestions for Websites

Google quietly removed the guidance that content should be “written by people” in its guidance for website owners who want to do better in search results. The change will likely encourage the deluge of robot-generated content that’s spreading across the web.

gizmodo.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

In Spain, dozens of girls are reporting AI-generated nude photos of them being circulated at school: ‘My heart skipped a beat’

While the police investigate, the mothers of the affected have organized to take action and try to stop those responsible

english.elpais.com

 

[squeekness]

In Spain, dozens of girls are reporting AI-generated nude photos of them being circulated at school: ‘My heart skipped a beat’

While the police investigate, the mothers of the affected have organized to take action and try to stop those responsible

english.elpais.com

People suck.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Online Ads Can Infect Your Device with Spyware

An investigative report reveals that new spyware can slip in unseen through online ads—and there is currently no defense against it

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[squeekness]

Outstanding.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

FCC Aims to Reinstate Net Neutrality Rules After US Democrats Gain Control of Panel

The US Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she plans to reinstate net neutrality oversight of broadband providers that was rescinded under former president Donald Trump.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Google Bard AI Conversations Are Showing Up in Google Search

Why are these private conversations showing up in Google Search?

www.howtogeek.com

AI is also spyware. There’s gonna be a lot of leaks to the public net of private files and data in the future by people that have it installed as it trawls through their computers, tablets, and phones, as well as what data is in the ‘cloud’.

FTC files a massive antitrust lawsuit against Amazon

FTC Chair Lina Khan has had Amazon in her sights for years.

www.theverge.com

 

[Lily Adler]

I think it was 8 years ago when I learned more about third party ‘reputation manager’ companies that larger companies pay to post positive comments about their products. I visited one of the websites for hire.

I can hear the "Marvel bias is real" chants right now from Snyderbros.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Amazon Is Using Your Conversations With Alexa to Train AI

Not only will the tech giant's little assistant be listening to you, it'll sometimes use those conversations to train the company's newest product.

gizmodo.com

 

[squeekness]

Glad I don't have one.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

After USB-C win, EU tells Tim Cook that Apple must 'open up its gates to competitors' - 9to5Mac

The iPhone 15 has USB-C, a move largely due to impending legislation in the European Union requiring smartphones and other...

9to5mac.com

Report says TikTok steroid videos pull millions of views, target teens

TikTok videos promoting and glorifying steroids and other performance enhancement products are pulling in hundreds of millions of views, and sometimes teenagers are the target audience, according to a new report.

scrippsnews.com

 

[Teelie]

Glad I don't have one.

I do but it isn't plugged in and hasn't been for years. And in the brief time it was, it was a hallway adjacent to the kitchen and barely worked even then.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

These Latest Celebrity Deepfakes Show How Advanced Scams Have Become

It's more important than ever to be vigilant and careful on the internet.

lifehacker.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

The Washington Post - Amazon’s Alexa has been claiming the 2020 election was stolen
The popular voice assistant says the 2020 race was stolen, even as parent company Amazon promotes the tool as a reliable election news source -- foreshadowing a new information battleground

Garbage in, garbage out. AI is at its core a sophisticated copy and aggregation of copy algorithm.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Facebook’s sexist, ageist ad-targeting violates Calif. law, court finds

"Shocking" ruling could have "devastating effects," tech law expert warns.

arstechnica.com

 

[squeekness]

Facebook’s sexist, ageist ad-targeting violates Calif. law, court finds

"Shocking" ruling could have "devastating effects," tech law expert warns.

arstechnica.com

Nothing Facebook does surprises me, lol.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

So Far, AI Is a Money Pit That Isn't Paying Off

While the stock market may love the term "AI," companies haven't figured out how to optimally monetize the services that go along with it.

gizmodo.com

If anything helps slow down so-called AI, it will be weak or negative ROI.