Category: Global Domination

Supreme Court overrules Chevron, kneecapping federal regulators

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned a long-standing legal doctrine in the US, making a transformative ruling that could hamper federal agencies’ ability to regulate all kinds of industry. Six Republican-appointed justices voted to overturn the doctrine, called Chevron deference, a decision that could affect everything from pollution limits to consumer protections in the US. Read more about Supreme Court overrules Chevron, kneecapping federal regulators[…]

The Pentagon’s Antivaccine Propaganda Endangered Public Health and Tarnished U.S. Credibility

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to a June Reuters exposé, the Pentagon ran a secret antivaccine campaign in several developing countries at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Why? “To sow doubt about the efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China,” Reuters reported. Trump’s secretary of defense signed off on it; the Read more about The Pentagon’s Antivaccine Propaganda Endangered Public Health and Tarnished U.S. Credibility[…]

Apple set to pay away Batterygate and audio defect lawsuits for pocket change

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple is preparing to settle two lawsuits next month over alleged iPhone flaws, provided the respective judges agree to the terms of the deals. The first planned settlement, for In re Apple Inc. Stockholder Derivative Litigation, 4:19-cv-05153-YGR, aims to resolve investor pique over the impact of “Batterygate” on Apple stock. Filed in 2019, the case Read more about Apple set to pay away Batterygate and audio defect lawsuits for pocket change[…]

EU’s ‘Going Dark’ Expert Group Publishes 42-Point Surveillance Plan For Access To All Devices And Data At All Times

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Techdirt has been covering the disgraceful attempts by the EU to break end-to-end encryption — supposedly in order to “protect the children” — for two years now. An important vote that could have seen EU nations back the proposal was due to take place recently. The vote was cancelled — not because politicians finally came Read more about EU’s ‘Going Dark’ Expert Group Publishes 42-Point Surveillance Plan For Access To All Devices And Data At All Times[…]

Julian Assange to finally go free in guilty plea deal with US

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been freed from prison in the UK after agreeing to plead guilty to just one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, brought against him by the United States. Uncle Sam previously filed more than a dozen counts. Assange has spent the past five years in a Read more about Julian Assange to finally go free in guilty plea deal with US[…]

Windows 11 is now automatically enabling OneDrive folder backup without asking permission

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has made OneDrive slightly more annoying for Windows 11 users. Quietly and without any announcement, the company changed Windows 11’s initial setup so that it could turn on the automatic folder backup without asking for it. Now, those setting up a new Windows computer the way Microsoft wants them to (in other words, connected Read more about Windows 11 is now automatically enabling OneDrive folder backup without asking permission[…]

Record labels sue AI music generators for ‘massive infringement of recorded music’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Major music labels are taking on AI startups that they believe trained on their songs without paying. Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group sued the music generators Suno and Udio for allegedly infringing on copyrighted works on a “massive scale.” The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) initiated the lawsuits and Read more about Record labels sue AI music generators for ‘massive infringement of recorded music’[…]

Microsoft Account to local account conversion guide erased from official Windows 11 guide

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has been pushing hard for its users to sign into Windows with a Microsoft Account. The newest Windows 11 installer removed the easy bypass to the requirement that you make an account or login with your existing account. If you didn’t install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account and now want to stop sending Read more about Microsoft Account to local account conversion guide erased from official Windows 11 guide[…]

EFF: New License Plate Reader Vulnerabilties Prove The Tech Itself is a Public Safety Threat

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Automated license plate readers “pose risks to public safety,” argues the EFF, “that may outweigh the crimes they are attempting to address in the first place.” When law enforcement uses automated license plate readers (ALPRs) to document the comings and goings of every driver on the road, regardless of a nexus to a crime, it Read more about EFF: New License Plate Reader Vulnerabilties Prove The Tech Itself is a Public Safety Threat[…]

Forbes accuses Perplexity AI of bypassing robots.txt web standard to scrape content, Tollbit startup gains publicity by baselessly accusing everyone of doing this too in open letter. Why do we listen to this shit?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] A letter to publishers seen by Reuters on Friday, which does not name the AI companies or the publishers affected, comes amid a public dispute between AI search startup Perplexity and media outlet Forbes involving the same web standard and a broader debate between tech and media firms over the value of content in Read more about Forbes accuses Perplexity AI of bypassing robots.txt web standard to scrape content, Tollbit startup gains publicity by baselessly accusing everyone of doing this too in open letter. Why do we listen to this shit?[…]

500,000 Books Have Been Deleted From The Internet Archive’s Lending Library by Greedy Publishers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

If you found out that 500,000 books had been removed from your local public library, at the demands of big publishers who refused to let them buy and lend new copies, and were further suing the library for damages, wouldn’t you think that would be a major news story? Wouldn’t you think many people would Read more about 500,000 Books Have Been Deleted From The Internet Archive’s Lending Library by Greedy Publishers[…]

EU delays decision over continuous spying on all your devices *cough* scanning encrypted messages for kiddie porn

Posted on by Robin Edgar

European Union officials have delayed talks over proposed legislation that could lead to messaging services having to scan photos and links to detect possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Were the proposal to become law, it may require the likes of WhatsApp, Messenger and Signal to scan all images that users upload — which would Read more about EU delays decision over continuous spying on all your devices *cough* scanning encrypted messages for kiddie porn[…]

FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Forbes has learned the shipping and business services company is using AI tools made by Flock Safety, a $4 billion car surveillance startup, to monitor its distribution and cargo facilities across the United States. As part of the deal, FedEx is providing its Flock surveillance feeds to law enforcement, an arrangement that Flock has Read more about FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network[…]

Signal, MEPs urge EU Council to drop law that puts a spy on everyone’s devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Thursday, the EU Council is scheduled to vote on a legislative proposal that would attempt to protect children online by disallowing confidential communication. The vote had been set for Wednesday but got pushed back [PDF]. Known to detractors as Chat Control, the proposal seeks to prevent the online dissemination of child sexual abuse material Read more about Signal, MEPs urge EU Council to drop law that puts a spy on everyone’s devices[…]

If Creepy Spyware Clearview AI scanned your face, you may get equity in the company

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI has agreed to an unusual settlement to a class action lawsuit, The New York Times reports. Rather than paying cash, the company would provide a 23 percent stake in its company to any Americans in its database. Without the settlement, Clearview could go bankrupt, according to court documents. If Read more about If Creepy Spyware Clearview AI scanned your face, you may get equity in the company[…]

Sonos draws more customer anger — this time for its privacy policy. Now they will sell your customer data, apparently

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s been a rocky couple of months for Sonos — so much so that CEO Patrick Spence now has a canned autoreply for customers emailing him to vent about the redesigned app. But as the company works to right the ship, restore trust, and get the new Sonos Ace headphones off to a strong start, Read more about Sonos draws more customer anger — this time for its privacy policy. Now they will sell your customer data, apparently[…]

Mozilla caves to public and restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia that circumvent Russian censorship

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin. The browser extensions, which are hosted on the Mozilla store, were made unavailable in the Land of Putin on or around June 8 after a request by the Russian government and its internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor. Read more about Mozilla caves to public and restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia that circumvent Russian censorship[…]

Mozilla Firefox Blocks Add-Ons which Circumvent Censorship in Russia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Mozilla Foundation, the entity behind the web browser Firefox, is blocking various censorship circumvention add-ons for its browser, including ones specifically to help those in Russia bypass state censorship. The add-ons were blocked at the request of Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor — the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Read more about Mozilla Firefox Blocks Add-Ons which Circumvent Censorship in Russia[…]

We are losing vast swathes of our digital past, and copyright stops us saving it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It is hard to imagine the world without the Web. Collectively, we routinely access billions of Web pages without thinking about it. But we often take it for granted that the material we want to access will be there, both now and in the future. We all hit the dreaded “404 not found” error from Read more about We are losing vast swathes of our digital past, and copyright stops us saving it[…]

First-mover advantage found in the arts shows copyright isn’t necessary to protect innovative creativity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

One of the arguments sometimes made in defence of copyright is that without it, creators would be unable to compete with the hordes of copycats that would spring up as soon as their works became popular. Copyright is needed, supporters say, to prevent less innovative creators from producing works that are closely based on new, Read more about First-mover advantage found in the arts shows copyright isn’t necessary to protect innovative creativity[…]

Japan’s Push To Make All Research Open Access is Taking Shape

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Japanese government is pushing ahead with a plan to make Japan’s publicly funded research output free to read. From a report: In June, the science ministry will assign funding to universities to build the infrastructure needed to make research papers free to read on a national scale. The move follows the ministry’s announcement in Read more about Japan’s Push To Make All Research Open Access is Taking Shape[…]

documents scattered

Google Leak Reveals Thousands of Privacy Incidents

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has accidentally collected childrens’ voice data, leaked the trips and home addresses of car pool users, and made YouTube recommendations based on users’ deleted watch history, among thousands of other employee-reported privacy incidents, according to a copy of an internal Google database which tracks six years worth of potential privacy and security issues obtained Read more about Google Leak Reveals Thousands of Privacy Incidents[…]

Adobe changes TOS, says it can republish what you made for free

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Adobe has decided that if you use its software, it can re-use anything you create. Considering you pay to use the software, that’s a bit grating. 4.2 Licenses to Your Content. Solely for the purposes of operating or improving the Services and Software, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free sublicensable, license, to use, reproduce, publicly display, Read more about Adobe changes TOS, says it can republish what you made for free[…]

YouTube’s Crackdown on Adblockers Makes Videos Unwatchable – now skips to end of video

Posted on by Robin Edgar

YouTube has been at war with adblockers for quite some time now and has employed various tactics to keep users off those extensions. Its most recent defense strategy is to skip right to the end of the video you’re playing. If you try replaying it, it’ll do that again. If you tap anywhere on the Read more about YouTube’s Crackdown on Adblockers Makes Videos Unwatchable – now skips to end of video[…]

Samsung Requires Independent Repair Shops to Share Customer Data, Snitch on People and destroy phones Using Aftermarket Parts, Leaked Contract Shows

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In exchange for selling them repair parts, Samsung requires independent repair shops to give Samsung the name, contact information, phone identifier, and customer complaint details of everyone who gets their phone repaired at these shops, according to a contract obtained by 404 Media. Stunningly, it also requires these nominally independent shops to “immediately disassemble” any Read more about Samsung Requires Independent Repair Shops to Share Customer Data, Snitch on People and destroy phones Using Aftermarket Parts, Leaked Contract Shows[…]