Category: Global Domination

Android Leaks Some Traffic Even When ‘Always-On VPN’ Is Enabled – Slashdot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Mullvad VPN has discovered that Android leaks traffic every time the device connects to a WiFi network, even if the “Block connections without VPN,” or “Always-on VPN,” features is enabled. BleepingComputer reports: The data being leaked outside VPN tunnels includes source IP addresses, DNS lookups, HTTPS traffic, and likely also NTP traffic. This behavior is Read more about Android Leaks Some Traffic Even When ‘Always-On VPN’ Is Enabled – Slashdot[…]

Judge Ruling That YouTube Ripping Tool May Violate Copyright Law goes nuts on argumentation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There are a number of different tools out there that let you download YouTube videos. These tools are incredibly useful for a number of reasons and should be seen as obviously legal in the same manner that home video recording devices were declared legal by the Supreme Court, because they have substantial non-infringing uses. But, Read more about Judge Ruling That YouTube Ripping Tool May Violate Copyright Law goes nuts on argumentation[…]

Book Publishing Giant Wiley Pulls Nearly 1400 Ebook Titles From GW Library Forcing Students To Buy Them Instead

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] George Washington University libraries have put out an alert to students and faculty that Wiley, one of the largest textbook publishers, has now removed 1,379 textbook titles that the library can lend out. They won’t even let the library purchase a license to lend out the ebooks. They will only let students buy the Read more about Book Publishing Giant Wiley Pulls Nearly 1400 Ebook Titles From GW Library Forcing Students To Buy Them Instead[…]

Why Reddit Is Losing It Over Samsung’s New Privacy Policy – it’s an incredible data grab

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Samsung recently updated it privacy policy for all users with a Samsung account, effective Oct. 1. One Redditor read the policy, did not like what they saw, and shared it to r/android, highlighting what they consider to be the doc’s worst policy points. The thread blew up, with Android users aplenty decrying Samsung’s new policy. Read more about Why Reddit Is Losing It Over Samsung’s New Privacy Policy – it’s an incredible data grab[…]

The Onion defends right to parody in very real supreme court brief supporting local satirist vs Police who were made fun of

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Onion, the long-running satirical publication, has filed a very real legal document with the US supreme court, urging it to take on a case centered on the right to parody. And in order to make a serious legal point, the filing does what the Onion does best, offering a big helping of total nonsense. Read more about The Onion defends right to parody in very real supreme court brief supporting local satirist vs Police who were made fun of[…]

Publishers Lose Their Shit After Authors Push Back On Their Attack On Libraries, start fake newsing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Friday, we wrote about hundreds of authors signing a letter calling out the big publishers’ attacks on libraries (in many, many different ways). The publishers pretend to represent the best interests of the authors, but history has shown over and over again that they do not. They represent themselves, and use the names of Read more about Publishers Lose Their Shit After Authors Push Back On Their Attack On Libraries, start fake newsing[…]

EA Announces New Anti-Cheat Tech That Operates At The Kernel Level ie takes over your PC, can read and write everything on it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It seems anti-cheat technology is the new DRM. By that I mean that, with the gaming industry diving headfirst into the competitive online gaming scene, the concern over piracy has shifted into a concern over cheating making those online games less attractive to gamers. And because the anti-cheat tech that companies are using is starting Read more about EA Announces New Anti-Cheat Tech That Operates At The Kernel Level ie takes over your PC, can read and write everything on it[…]

Blizzard really really wants your phone number to play its games – personal data grab and security risk

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When Overwatch 2 replaces the original Overwatch on Oct. 4, players will be required to link a phone number to their Battle.net accounts. If you don’t, you won’t be able to play Overwatch 2 — even if you’ve already purchased Overwatch. The same two-factor step, called SMS Protect, will also be used on all Call Read more about Blizzard really really wants your phone number to play its games – personal data grab and security risk[…]

Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow And Other Authors Publish Letter Protesting Lawsuit Against Internet Library

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A group of authors and other creative professionals are lending their names to an open letter protesting publishers’ lawsuit against the Internet Archive Library, characterizing it as one of a number of efforts to curb libraries’ lending of ebooks. Authors including Neil Gaiman, Naomi Klein, and Cory Doctorow lent their names to the letter, which Read more about Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow And Other Authors Publish Letter Protesting Lawsuit Against Internet Library[…]

Open internet at stake in UN ITU secretary-general election

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]  this year’s event has become a geopolitical football – and possibly a turning point for internet governance – thanks to the two candidates running in an election for the position of ITU secretary-general. […] The USA has put forward Doreen Bogdan-Martin for the gig. […] Russia has nominated Rashid Ismailov for the job. A Read more about Open internet at stake in UN ITU secretary-general election[…]

Subreddit Discriminates Against Anyone Who Doesn’t Call Texas Governor Greg Abbott ‘A Little Piss Baby’ To Highlight Absurdity Of Content Moderation Law Designed for White Supremacists

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last year, I tried to create a “test suite” of websites that any new internet regulation ought to be “tested” against. The idea was that regulators were so obsessively focused on the biggest of the big guys (i.e., Google, Meta) that they never bothered to realize how it might impact other decently large websites that Read more about Subreddit Discriminates Against Anyone Who Doesn’t Call Texas Governor Greg Abbott ‘A Little Piss Baby’ To Highlight Absurdity Of Content Moderation Law Designed for White Supremacists[…]

This Controversial Artist Matches Influencer Photoshoots With Surveillance Footage

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s an increasingly common sight on vacation, particularly in tourist destinations: An influencer sets up in front of a popular local landmark, sometimes even using props (coffee, beer, pets) or changing outfits, as a photographer or self-timed camera snaps away. Others are milling around, sometimes watching. But often, unbeknownst to everyone involved, another device is Read more about This Controversial Artist Matches Influencer Photoshoots With Surveillance Footage[…]

Fitbit accounts are being replaced by Google accounts

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New Fitbit users will be required to sign-up with a Google account, from next year, while it also appears one will be needed to access some of the new features in years to come. Google has been slowly integrating Fitbit into the fold since buying the company back in November 2019. Indeed, the latest products Read more about Fitbit accounts are being replaced by Google accounts[…]

Meta ordered to pay $175 million in patent infringement case

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the company to pay Voxer, the developer of app called Walkie Talkie, nearly $175 million as an ongoing royalty. Voxer accused Meta of infringing its patents and incorporating that tech in Instagram Live and Facebook Live. In 2006, Tom Katis, the founder of Voxer, started working on a Read more about Meta ordered to pay $175 million in patent infringement case[…]

US Military Bought Mass Monitoring Tool That Includes Internet Browsing, Email Data, Cookies from guy who helps run TOR

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Multiple branches of the U.S. military have bought access to a powerful internet monitoring tool that claims to cover over 90 percent of the world’s internet traffic, and which in some cases provides access to people’s email data, browsing history, and other information such as their sensitive internet cookies, according to contracting data and other Read more about US Military Bought Mass Monitoring Tool That Includes Internet Browsing, Email Data, Cookies from guy who helps run TOR[…]

Meta sued for allegedly secretly tracking iPhone users

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta was sued on Wednesday for alleged undisclosed tracking and data collection in its Facebook and Instagram apps on Apple iPhones. The lawsuit [PDF], filed in a US federal district court in San Francisco, claims that the two applications incorporate use their own browser known as a WKWebView that injects JavaScript code to gather data Read more about Meta sued for allegedly secretly tracking iPhone users[…]

Study Shows That Copyright Filters Harm Creators Rather Than Help Them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The EU Copyright Directive contains one of the worst ideas in modern copyright: what amounts to a requirement to filter uploads on major sites.  Despite repeated explanations of why this would cause huge harm to both creators and members of the public, EU politicians were taken in by the soothing words of the legislation’s proponents, who even went Read more about Study Shows That Copyright Filters Harm Creators Rather Than Help Them[…]

Google now lets you request the removal of search results that contain personal data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is releasing a tool that makes it easier to remove search results containing your address, phone number and other personally identifiable information, 9to5Google has reported. It first revealed the “results about you” feature at I/O 2022 in May, describing it as a way to “help you easily control whether your personally-identifiable information can be Read more about Google now lets you request the removal of search results that contain personal data[…]

Germany’s blanket data retention law is illegal, EU top court says

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Germany’s general data retention law violates EU law, Europe’s top court ruled on Tuesday, dealing a blow to member states banking on blanket data collection to fight crime and safeguard national security. The law may only be applied in circumstances where there is a serious threat to national security defined under very strict terms, the Read more about Germany’s blanket data retention law is illegal, EU top court says[…]

DHS built huge database from cellphones, computers seized at border, searchable without a warrant, kept for 15 years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

U.S. government officials are adding data from as many as 10,000 electronic devices each year to a massive database they’ve compiled from cellphones, iPads and computers seized from travelers at the country’s airports, seaports and border crossings, leaders of Customs and Border Protection told congressional staff in a briefing this summer. The rapid expansion of Read more about DHS built huge database from cellphones, computers seized at border, searchable without a warrant, kept for 15 years[…]

California signs social media terms of service disclosure law

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] AB 587 requires social media companies to post their terms of service online, as well as submit a twice-yearly report to the state attorney general. The report must include details about whether the platform defines and moderates several categories of content, including “hate speech or racism,” “extremism or radicalization,” “disinformation or misinformation,” harassment, and Read more about California signs social media terms of service disclosure law[…]

S.Korea fines Google, Meta billions of won for privacy violations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In a statement, the Personal Information Protection Commission said it fined Google 69.2 billion won ($50 million) and Meta 30.8 billion won ($22 million). The privacy panel said the firms did not clearly inform service users and obtain their prior consent when collecting and analysing behavioural information to infer their interests or use them Read more about S.Korea fines Google, Meta billions of won for privacy violations[…]

Cory Doctorow Launches New Fight against Copyrights, Creative Chokepoints, and Big Tech’s ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Creators aren’t getting paid,” says Cory Doctorow. “That’s because powerful corporations have figured out how to create chokepoints — that let them snatch up more of the value generated by creative work before it reaches creative workers.” But he’s doing something about it. Doctorow’s teamed up with Melbourne-based law professor Rebecca Giblin, the director of Read more about Cory Doctorow Launches New Fight against Copyrights, Creative Chokepoints, and Big Tech’s ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’[…]

A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal, destroyed his digital life with no recourse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It was a Friday night in February 2021. His wife called an advice nurse at their health care provider to schedule an emergency consultation for the next morning, by video because it was a Saturday and there was a pandemic going on. The nurse said to send photos so the doctor could review them in Read more about A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal, destroyed his digital life with no recourse[…]

Oracle facing class action over ‘brokering’ personal data of 5 billion people

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Oracle is the subject of a class-action suit alleging the software giant created a network containing personal information of hundreds of millions of people and sold the data to third parties. The case [PDF] is being brought by Johnny Ryan, formerly a policy officer at Brave, maker of the privacy-centric browser, and now part of Read more about Oracle facing class action over ‘brokering’ personal data of 5 billion people[…]