Day: July 24, 2024

US Congress Wants To Let Private Companies Own The Law – set standards you must comply with but can’t actually find or see easily

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It sounds absolutely batty that there is a strong, bipartisan push to lock up aspects of our law behind copyright. But it’s happening. Even worse, the push is on to include this effort to lock up the law in the “must pass” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is the bill that Congress lights up Read more about US Congress Wants To Let Private Companies Own The Law – set standards you must comply with but can’t actually find or see easily[…]

FTC asks 8 big names to explain surveillance pricing tech

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into “surveillance pricing,” a phenomenon likely familiar to anyone who’s had to buy something in an incognito browser window to avoid paying a premium. Surveillance pricing, according to the FTC, is the use of algorithms, AI, and other technologies – most crucially combined with personal Read more about FTC asks 8 big names to explain surveillance pricing tech[…]

Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source. Sort of.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Several European countries are betting on open-source software. In the United States, eh, not so much. In the latest news from across the Atlantic, Switzerland has taken a major step forward with its “Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks” (EMBAG). This groundbreaking legislation mandates using open-source software Read more about Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source. Sort of.[…]

Google’s reCAPTCHAv2 is just labor exploitation, boffins say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google promotes its reCAPTCHA service as a security mechanism for websites, but researchers affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, argue it’s harvesting information while extracting human labor worth billions. The term CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart,” and, as Google explains, it refers to a challenge-response Read more about Google’s reCAPTCHAv2 is just labor exploitation, boffins say[…]