Category: Global Domination

ICE Is Grabbing Data From Schools, Abortion Clinics and news orgs with no judicial oversight

Posted on by Robin Edgar

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are using an obscure legal tool to demand data from elementary schools, news organizations, and abortion clinics in ways that, some experts say, may be illegal. While these administrative subpoenas, known as 1509 custom summonses, are meant to be used only in criminal investigations about illegal imports or unpaid Read more about ICE Is Grabbing Data From Schools, Abortion Clinics and news orgs with no judicial oversight[…]

Cruz, Warren Intro America Act to Break Up huge advertisers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability Act, aka the AMERICA Act. Say what you will about government; Congress’ acronym acumen is untouchable. Introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, the bill would prohibit companies from owning multiple parts of the digital ad ecosystem if they “process more than $20 billion in Read more about Cruz, Warren Intro America Act to Break Up huge advertisers[…]

‘A Blow for Libraries’: Internet Archive Loses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit by money grubbing publishers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A judge ruled against Internet Archive, a free online digital library, on Friday in a lawsuit filed by four top publishers who claimed the company was in violation of copyright laws. The publishers, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House filed the lawsuit against Internet Archive in 2020, claiming the Read more about ‘A Blow for Libraries’: Internet Archive Loses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit by money grubbing publishers[…]

Nike Blocks F1 Champ Max Verstappen’s ‘Max 1’ Clothing Brand because they can own words now

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Nike’s argument is that Max 1 is too similar to its longtime “Air Max” shoe line, including other “Max Force 1” products and other variations that include similar keywords. Verstappen had named his line of products after himself and his current racing number but encountered legal trouble soon after launch. The Benelux Office for Read more about Nike Blocks F1 Champ Max Verstappen’s ‘Max 1’ Clothing Brand because they can own words now[…]

“Click-to-cancel” rule would penalize companies that make you cancel by phone

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Canceling a subscription should be just as easy as signing up for the service, the Federal Trade Commission said in a proposed “click-to-cancel” rule announced today. If approved, the plan “would put an end to companies requiring you to call customer service to cancel an account that you opened on their website,” FTC commissioners said. Read more about “Click-to-cancel” rule would penalize companies that make you cancel by phone[…]

Dashcam App is driving nazi informer wet dream, Sends Video of You Speeding and other infractions Directly to Police

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Speed cameras have been around for a long time and so have dash cams. The uniquely devious idea of combining the two into a traffic hall monitor’s dream device was not a potential reality until recently, though. According to the British Royal Automobile Club, such a combination is coming soon. The app, which is reportedly Read more about Dashcam App is driving nazi informer wet dream, Sends Video of You Speeding and other infractions Directly to Police[…]

TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In 2017, the DHS began quietly rolling out its facial recognition program, starting with international airports and aimed mainly at collecting/scanning people boarding international flights. Even in its infancy, the DHS was hinting this was never going to remain solely an international affair. It made its domestic desires official shortly thereafter, with the TSA Read more about TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers[…]

Big Four publishers move to crush the Internet Archive

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Monday four of the largest book publishers asked a New York court to grant summary judgment in a copyright lawsuit seeking to shut down the Internet Archive’s online library and hold the non-profit organization liable for damages. The lawsuit was filed back June 1, 2020, by the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley Read more about Big Four publishers move to crush the Internet Archive[…]

AI-generated art may be protected, says US Copyright Office – requires meaningful creative input from a human

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] AI software capable of automatically generating images or text from an input prompt or instruction has made it easier for people to churn out content. Correspondingly, the USCO has received an increasing number of applications to register copyright protections for material, especially artwork, created using such tools. US law states that intellectual property can Read more about AI-generated art may be protected, says US Copyright Office – requires meaningful creative input from a human[…]

SCOPE Europe becomes the accredited monitoring body for a Dutch national data protection code of conduct

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]SCOPE Europe is now accredited by the Dutch Data Protection Authority as the monitoring body of the Data Pro Code. On this occasion, SCOPE Europe celebrates its success in obtaining its second accreditation and looks forward to continuing its work on fostering trust in the digital economy. When we were approached by NLdigital, the creators Read more about SCOPE Europe becomes the accredited monitoring body for a Dutch national data protection code of conduct[…]

Anker Eufy security cam ‘stored unique ID’ of everyone filmed in the cloud for other cameras to identify – and for anyone to watch

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A lawsuit filed against eufy security cam maker Anker Tech claims the biz assigns “unique identifiers” to the faces of any person who walks in front of its devices – and then stores that data in the cloud, “essentially logging the locations of unsuspecting individuals” when they stroll past. […] All three suits allege Anker Read more about Anker Eufy security cam ‘stored unique ID’ of everyone filmed in the cloud for other cameras to identify – and for anyone to watch[…]

Telehealth startup Cerebral shared millions of patients’ data with advertisers since 2019

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cerebral has revealed it shared the private health information, including mental health assessments, of more than 3.1 million patients in the United States with advertisers and social media giants like Facebook, Google and TikTok. The telehealth startup, which exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic after rolling lockdowns and a surge in online-only virtual health Read more about Telehealth startup Cerebral shared millions of patients’ data with advertisers since 2019[…]

Holy shit: German Courts saying DNS Service (Quad9) Is Implicated In Any Copyright Infringement At The Domains It Resolves

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Back in September 2021 Techdirt covered an outrageous legal attack by Sony Music on Quad9, a free, recursive, anycast DNS platform. Quad9 is part of the Internet’s plumbing: it converts domain names to numerical IP addresses. It is operated by the Quad9 Foundation, a Swiss public-benefit, not-for-profit organization. Sony Music says that Quad9 is implicated Read more about Holy shit: German Courts saying DNS Service (Quad9) Is Implicated In Any Copyright Infringement At The Domains It Resolves[…]

YouTube Chills the Darned Hell Out On Its Cursing Policy, but you still can’t fucking say fuck

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google’s finally rolling back its unpopular decree against any kinds of profanity in videos, making it harder for any creators used to offering colorful sailor’s speech in videos from monetizing content on behalf of its beloved ad partners. The only thing is, Google still seems to think the “f-word” is excessively harsh language, so sorry Read more about YouTube Chills the Darned Hell Out On Its Cursing Policy, but you still can’t fucking say fuck[…]

When Given The Choice, Most Authors Reject Excessively Long Copyright Terms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Recently, Walled Culture mentioned the problem of orphan works. These are creations, typically books, that are still covered by copyright, but unavailable because the original publisher or distributor has gone out of business, or simply isn’t interested in keeping them in circulation. The problem is that without any obvious point of contact, it’s not possible to Read more about When Given The Choice, Most Authors Reject Excessively Long Copyright Terms[…]

Texas Bill Would Make ISPs censor any abortion information

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, Texas introduced a bill that would make it illegal for internet service providers to let users access information about how to get abortion pills. The bill, called the Women and Child Safety Act, would also criminalize creating, editing, or hosting a website that helps people seek abortions. If the bill passes, internet service Read more about Texas Bill Would Make ISPs censor any abortion information[…]

JPMorgan Chase ‘requires workers give 6 months notice’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A veteran JPMorgan Chase banker fumed over the financial giant’s policy requiring certain staffers to give six months’ notice before being allowed to leave for another job. The Wall Street worker, who claims to earn around $400,000 annually in total compensation after accumulating 15 years of experience, griped that the lengthy notice period likely means Read more about JPMorgan Chase ‘requires workers give 6 months notice’[…]

Guy Embezzles Cool $9 Million From Poop-to-Energy Ponzi Scheme

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A guy embezzled nearly $9 million by convincing investors he was turning cow poop into green energy—and then not building any of the machines at all. On Monday, 66-year-old Raymond Brewer of Porterville, California pled guilty to charges that he’d defrauded investors. Court records show that Brewer Read more about Guy Embezzles Cool $9 Million From Poop-to-Energy Ponzi Scheme[…]

You don’t own what you buy: Roald Dahl eBooks Censored Remotely after you bought them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Owners of Roald Dahl ebooks are having their libraries automatically updated with the new censored versions containing hundreds of changes to language related to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race,” reports the British newspaper the Times. Readers who bought electronic versions of the writer’s books, such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Read more about You don’t own what you buy: Roald Dahl eBooks Censored Remotely after you bought them[…]

Signal says it will shut down in UK over Online Safety Bill, which wants to install spyware on all your devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The Online Safety Bill contemplates bypassing encryption using device-side scanning to protect children from harmful material, and coincidentally breaking the security of end-to-end encryption at the same time. It’s currently being considered in Parliament and has been the subject of controversy for months. [ something something saving children – that’s always a bad sign Read more about Signal says it will shut down in UK over Online Safety Bill, which wants to install spyware on all your devices[…]

Google’s Play Store Privacy Labels Are a ‘Total Failure:’ Study

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] “There are two main problems here,” Mozilla’s Caltrider said. “The first problem is Google only requires the information in labels to be self-reported. So, fingers crossed, because it’s the honor system, and it turns out that most labels seem to be misleading.” Google promises to make apps fix problems it finds in the labels, Read more about Google’s Play Store Privacy Labels Are a ‘Total Failure:’ Study[…]

AI-created images lose U.S. copyrights in test for new technology

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters. “Zarya of the Dawn” author Kris Kashtanova is entitled to a copyright for the parts of the book Kashtanova wrote and arranged, but not Read more about AI-created images lose U.S. copyrights in test for new technology[…]

3 motion points allow you to be identified within seconds in VR

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[..] In a paper provided to The Register in advance of its publication on ArXiv, academics Vivek Nair, Wenbo Guo, Justus Mattern, Rui Wang, James O’Brien, Louis Rosenberg, and Dawn Song set out to test the extent to which individuals in VR environments can be identified by body movement data. The boffins gathered telemetry data Read more about 3 motion points allow you to be identified within seconds in VR[…]

Google’s wants Go reporting telemetry data by default

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Russ Cox, a Google software engineer steering the development of the open source Go programming language, has presented a possible plan to implement telemetry in the Go toolchain. However many in the Go community object because the plan calls for telemetry by default. These alarmed developers would prefer an opt-in rather than an opt-out regime, Read more about Google’s wants Go reporting telemetry data by default[…]