Category: Global Domination

The End Of Ownership: How Big Companies Are Trying To Turn Everyone Into Renters

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We’ve talked a lot on Techdirt about the end of ownership, and how companies have increasingly been reaching deep into products that you thought you bought to modify them… or even destroy them. Much of this originated in the copyright space, in which modern copyright law (somewhat ridiculously) gave the power to copyright holders to Read more about The End Of Ownership: How Big Companies Are Trying To Turn Everyone Into Renters[…]

Boffins propose Pretty Good Phone Privacy to end pretty invasive location data harvesting by telcos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In “Pretty Good Phone Privacy,” [PDF] a paper scheduled to be presented on Thursday at the Usenix Security Symposium, Schmitt and Barath Raghavan, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, describe a way to re-engineer the mobile network software stack so that it doesn’t betray the location of mobile network Read more about Boffins propose Pretty Good Phone Privacy to end pretty invasive location data harvesting by telcos[…]

Apple App Store, Google Play Store Targeted by Open App Markets Act

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Open App Markets Act, which is being spearheaded by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, and Marsha Blackburn, is designed to crack down on some of the scummiest tactics tech players use to rule their respective app ecosystems, while giving users the power to download the apps they want, from the app stores they want, without retaliation. Read more about Apple App Store, Google Play Store Targeted by Open App Markets Act[…]

Amazon Drops Policy claiming ownership of Games made by employees After Work Hours

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon.com Inc. withdrew a set of staff guidelines that claimed ownership rights to video games made by employees after work hours and dictated how they could distribute them, according to a company email reviewed by Bloomberg. […] The old policies mandated that employees of the games division who were moonlighting on projects would need to Read more about Amazon Drops Policy claiming ownership of Games made by employees After Work Hours[…]

China stops networked vehicle data going offshore under new infosec rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China has drafted new rules required of its autonomous and networked vehicle builders. Data security is front and centre in the rules, with manufacturers required to store data generated by cars – and describing their drivers – within China. Data is allowed to go offshore, but only after government scrutiny. Manufacturers are also required to Read more about China stops networked vehicle data going offshore under new infosec rules[…]

Have you made sure you have changed these Google Pay privacy settings?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google Pay is an online paying system and digital wallet that makes it easy to buy anything on your mobile device or with your mobile device. But if you’re concerned about what Google is doing with all your data (which you probably should be), Google doesn’t make it easy for Google Pay has some secret Read more about Have you made sure you have changed these Google Pay privacy settings?[…]

create virtual cards to pay with online with Privacy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Protect your card details and your money by creating virtual cards at each place you spend online, or for each purchase Create single-use cards that close themselves automatically browser extension to create and auto-fill card numbers at checkout Privacy Cards put the control in your hands when you make a purchase online. Business or personal, Read more about create virtual cards to pay with online with Privacy[…]

Post-implementation review of the repeal of section 52 of the CDPA 1988 and associated amendments – Call for views – GOV.UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) sets the term of protection for works protected copyright. For artistic works, the term of protection is life of the author plus 70 years. For more information on the term of copyright, see our Copyright Notice: Duration of copyright (term) on this subject. Section 52 CDPA previously Read more about Post-implementation review of the repeal of section 52 of the CDPA 1988 and associated amendments – Call for views – GOV.UK[…]

Ancestry.com Gave Itself the Rights to Your Family Photos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Blackstone-owned genealogy giant Ancestry.com raised a ton of red flags earlier this month with an update to its terms and conditions that give the company a bit more power over your family photos. From here on out, the August 3 update reads, Ancestry can use these pics for any reason, at any time, forever. Read more about Ancestry.com Gave Itself the Rights to Your Family Photos[…]

WhatsApp head says Apple’s child safety update is a ‘surveillance system’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

One day after Apple confirmed plans for new software that will allow it to detect images of child abuse on users’ iCloud photos, Facebook’s head of WhatsApp says he is “concerned” by the plans. In a thread on Twitter, Will Cathcart called it an “Apple built and operated surveillance system that could very easily be Read more about WhatsApp head says Apple’s child safety update is a ‘surveillance system’[…]

How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy institutes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A recent scientific paper proposed that, like Big Tobacco in the Seventies, Big Tech thrives on creating uncertainty around the impacts of its products and business model. One of the ways it does this is by cultivating pockets of friendly academics who can be relied on to echo Big Tech talking points, giving them added Read more about How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy institutes[…]

Major U.K. science funder to require grantees to make papers immediately free to all

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will expand on existing rules covering all research papers produced from its £8 billion in annual funding. About three-quarters of papers recently published from U.K. universities are open access, and UKRI’s current policy gives scholars two routes to comply: Pay journals for “gold” open access, which makes a paper Read more about Major U.K. science funder to require grantees to make papers immediately free to all[…]

Apple confirms it will begin scanning your iCloud Photos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Apple told TechCrunch that the detection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is one of several new features aimed at better protecting the children who use its services from online harm, including filters to block potentially sexually explicit photos sent and received through a child’s iMessage account. Another feature will intervene when a user Read more about Apple confirms it will begin scanning your iCloud Photos[…]

Apple is about to start scanning iPhone users’ photos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple is about to announce a new technology for scanning individual users’ iPhones for banned content. While it will be billed as a tool for detecting child abuse imagery, its potential for misuse is vast based on details entering the public domain. The neural network-based tool will scan individual users’ iDevices for child sexual abuse Read more about Apple is about to start scanning iPhone users’ photos[…]

Australian Court Rules That AI Can Be an Inventor, as does South Africa

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In what can only be considered a triumph for all robot-kind, this week, a federal court has ruled that an artificially intelligent machine can, in fact, be an inventor—a decision that came after a year’s worth of legal battles across the globe. The ruling came on the heels of a years-long quest by University of Read more about Australian Court Rules That AI Can Be an Inventor, as does South Africa[…]

Amazon hit with $887 million fine by European privacy watchdog

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon has been issued with a fine of 746 million euros ($887 million) by a European privacy watchdog for breaching the bloc’s data protection laws. The fine, disclosed by Amazon on Friday in a securities filing, was issued two weeks ago by Luxembourg’s privacy regulator. The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection said Amazon’s processing Read more about Amazon hit with $887 million fine by European privacy watchdog[…]

Bungie & Ubisoft Sue Destiny 2 Cheatmakers Ring-1 For Copyright Infringement

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bungie and Ubisoft have filed a lawsuit against five individuals said to be behind Ring-1, the claimed creator and distributor of cheat software targeting Destiny and Rainbox Six Seige. Among other offenses the gaming companies allege copyright infringement and trafficking in circumvention devices, estimating damages in the millions of dollars. […] Filed in a California Read more about Bungie & Ubisoft Sue Destiny 2 Cheatmakers Ring-1 For Copyright Infringement[…]

Edward Snowden calls for spyware trade ban amid Pegasus revelations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Governments must impose a global moratorium on the international spyware trade or face a world in which no mobile phone is safe from state-sponsored hackers, Edward Snowden has warned in the wake of revelations about the clients of NSO Group. Snowden, who in 2013 blew the whistle on the secret mass surveillance programmes of the Read more about Edward Snowden calls for spyware trade ban amid Pegasus revelations[…]

How To Check If Your iPhone Is Infected With Pegasus Using MVT

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The revelation that our government might be using spyware called Pegasus to hack into its critics’ phones has started a whole new debate on privacy. The opposition is taking a dig at the ruling party every chance it gets, while the latter is trying to damage control after facing such serious allegations. Amidst the chaos, Read more about How To Check If Your iPhone Is Infected With Pegasus Using MVT[…]

Huge data leak shatters the lie that the innocent need not fear surveillance – governments are spying on critics, journos, etc without a warrant using commercial Pegasus spyware by NSO

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Billions of people are inseparable from their phones. Their devices are within reach – and earshot – for almost every daily experience, from the most mundane to the most intimate. Few pause to think that their phones can be transformed into surveillance devices, with someone thousands of miles away silently extracting their messages, photos and Read more about Huge data leak shatters the lie that the innocent need not fear surveillance – governments are spying on critics, journos, etc without a warrant using commercial Pegasus spyware by NSO[…]

Police Are Telling ShotSpotter to Alter Evidence From Gunshot-Detecting AI

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On May 31 last year, 25-year-old Safarain Herring was shot in the head and dropped off at St. Bernard Hospital in Chicago by a man named Michael Williams. He died two days later. Chicago police eventually arrested the 64-year-old Williams and charged him with murder (Williams maintains that Herring was hit in a drive-by shooting). Read more about Police Are Telling ShotSpotter to Alter Evidence From Gunshot-Detecting AI[…]

QR Menu Codes Are Tracking You More Than You Think

Posted on by Robin Edgar

If you’ve returned to the restaurants and bars that have reopened in your neighborhood lately, you might have noticed a new addition to the post-quarantine decor: QR codes. Everywhere. And as they’ve become more ubiquitous on the dining scene, so has the quiet tracking and targeting that they do. That’s according to a new analysis Read more about QR Menu Codes Are Tracking You More Than You Think[…]

Want unemployment benefits in the US? You may have to submit to facial recognition with a little known company ID.me

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Watkins, a self-described privacy advocate whose mother and grandmother shredded personal information when he was growing up, said he is unwilling to complete the identity verification process his state now requires, which includes having his face analyzed by a little-known company called ID.me. He sent a sharply worded letter to his state’s unemployment agency Read more about Want unemployment benefits in the US? You may have to submit to facial recognition with a little known company ID.me[…]

Commission starts legal action against 23 EU countries over copyright rules they won’t implement that favour big tech over small business and forced censorship

Posted on by Robin Edgar

EU countries may be taken to court for their tardiness in enacting landmark EU copyright rules into national law, the European Commission said on Monday as it asked the group to explain the delays. The copyright rules, adopted two years ago, aim to ensure a level playing field between the European Union’s trillion-euro creative industries Read more about Commission starts legal action against 23 EU countries over copyright rules they won’t implement that favour big tech over small business and forced censorship[…]

Japanese Police Arrest Man For Selling Modded Save Files For Single-Player Nintendo Game

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Japan’s onerous Unfair Competition Prevention Law has created what looks from here like a massive overreach on the criminalization of copyright laws. Past examples include Japanese journalism executives being arrested over a book that tells people how to back up their own DVDs, along with more high-profile cases in which arrests occurred over the selling Read more about Japanese Police Arrest Man For Selling Modded Save Files For Single-Player Nintendo Game[…]