Search Results for: new york times

A Drug Company Made $114 Billion Gaming America’s Patent System by adding tiny bits to the original patent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The New York Times looks at the AbbVie’s anti-inflammatory drug Humira and their “savvy but legal exploitation of the U.S. patent system.” Though AbbVie’s patent was supposed to expire in 2016, since then it’s maintained a monopoly that generated $114 billion in revenue by using “a formidable wall of intellectual property protection and suing would-be Read more about A Drug Company Made $114 Billion Gaming America’s Patent System by adding tiny bits to the original patent[…]

Scientists simulate ‘baby’ wormhole in quantum computer

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Researchers have announced that they simulated two miniscule black holes in a quantum computer and transmitted a message between them through what amounted to a tunnel in space-time. They said that based on the quantum information teleported, a traversable wormhole appeared to have emerged, but that no rupture of space and time was physically Read more about Scientists simulate ‘baby’ wormhole in quantum computer[…]

Science Has a Nasty Photoshopping Problem

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dr. Bik is a microbiologist who has worked at Stanford University and for the Dutch National Institute for Health who is “blessed” with “what I’m told is a better-than-average ability to spot repeating patterns,” according to their new Op-Ed in the New York Times. In 2014 they’d spotted the same photo “being used in two Read more about Science Has a Nasty Photoshopping Problem[…]

TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The team behind the monitoring project — ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department — is led by Beijing-based executive Song Ye, who reports to ByteDance cofounder and CEO Rubo Liang. The team primarily conducts investigations into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team Read more about TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens[…]

Morgan Stanley Settles for $32m after Hard Drives With Data on 15m customers Turn Up On Auction Site

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has agreed to pay a $35 million fine to settle claims that it failed to protect the personal information of about 15 million customers, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. In a statement announcing the settlement, the S.E.C. Read more about Morgan Stanley Settles for $32m after Hard Drives With Data on 15m customers Turn Up On Auction Site[…]

Roblox and many other huge tech businesses Save Millions Taking Advantage Of A Massive Tax Dodge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Game-making platform and fledgling metaverse Roblox made the news yesterday as the focus of a New York Times report about a ‘90s era tax cut that’s spun out of control. Originally created to foster investment in small businesses, the Qualified Small Business Stock, or Q.S.B.S., exemption has transformed into a way for ultra-wealthy businesses to Read more about Roblox and many other huge tech businesses Save Millions Taking Advantage Of A Massive Tax Dodge[…]

How China Uses Western Influencers As Pawns In Its Propaganda War

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to the New York Times, China is recruiting YouTubers to report on the country in a positive light and counter the West’s increasingly negative perceptions. “The videos have a casual, homespun feel. But on the other side of the camera often stands a large apparatus of government organizers, state-controlled news media and other official Read more about How China Uses Western Influencers As Pawns In Its Propaganda War[…]

King of Ad Fraud Zhukov to reign in a US prison for years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Aleksandr Zhukov, a Russian national and the self-proclaimed “king of fraud,” this week received a 10-year prison sentence for carrying out a $7m digital ad fraud scheme. Zhukov was convicted in May of multiple counts of fraud and money laundering. He was arrested in Bulgaria in 2018 and extradited to America the following year. “Sitting Read more about King of Ad Fraud Zhukov to reign in a US prison for years[…]

Star System With Right-Angled Planets Surprises Astronomers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

this report from the New York Times about a “particularly unusual” star about 150 light-years away that’s orbited by three planets: What’s unusual is the inclinations of the outer two planets, HD 3167 c and d. Whereas in our solar system all the planets orbit in the same flat plane around the sun, these two Read more about Star System With Right-Angled Planets Surprises Astronomers[…]

5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Facebook Papers are based on leaks from former Facebook staffer Frances Haugen and other inside sources. Haugen has appeared before US Congress, British Parliament, and given prominent television interviews. Among the allegations raised are that Facebook: Knows that its algorithms lead users to extreme content and that it employs too few staff or contractors Read more about 5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations[…]

‘A Mistake by YouTube Shows Its Power Over Media’ – and Kafka-esque arbritration rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Every hour, YouTube deletes nearly 2,000 channels,” reports the New York Times. “The deletions are meant to keep out spam, misinformation, financial scams, nudity, hate speech and other material that it says violates its policies. “But the rules are opaque and sometimes arbitrarily enforced,” they write — and sometimes, YouTube does end up making mistakes. Read more about ‘A Mistake by YouTube Shows Its Power Over Media’ – and Kafka-esque arbritration rules[…]

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[…]

Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple didn’t know the Department of Justice was requesting metadata of Democratic lawmakers when it complied with a subpoena during a Trump-era leak investigation, CNBC reports. And it wasn’t the only tech giant tapped in these probes: Microsoft confirmed Friday it received a similar subpoena for a congressional staffer’s personal email account. Both companies were under Read more about Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals[…]

One Fastly customer triggered internet meltdown by changing a setting

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A major internet blackout that hit many high-profile websites on Tuesday has been blamed on a software bug. Fastly, the cloud-computing company responsible for the issues, said the bug had been triggered when one of its customers had changed their settings. The outage has raised questions about relying on a handful of companies to run Read more about One Fastly customer triggered internet meltdown by changing a setting[…]

How Lies on Social Media Are Inflaming the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a 28-second video, which was posted to Twitter this week by a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to launch rocket attacks at Israelis from densely populated civilian areas. © Hosam Salem for The New York Times The Al Shrouq building in central Gaza, which Read more about How Lies on Social Media Are Inflaming the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict[…]

Court Chides F.B.I., but Re-Approves Warrantless Surveillance Program

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For a second year, the nation’s surveillance court has pointed with concern to “widespread violations” by the F.B.I. of rules intended to protect Americans’ privacy when analysts search emails gathered without a warrant — but still signed off on another year of the program, a newly declassified ruling shows. In a 67-page ruling issued in Read more about Court Chides F.B.I., but Re-Approves Warrantless Surveillance Program[…]

Privacy Laws Giving Big Internet Companies A Convenient Excuse To Avoid Academic Scrutiny – or not? A Balanced argument

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For years we’ve talked about how the fact that no one really understands privacy, leads to very bad attempts at regulating privacy in ways that do more harm than good. They often don’t do anything that actually protects privacy — and instead screw up lots of other important things, from competition to free speech. In Read more about Privacy Laws Giving Big Internet Companies A Convenient Excuse To Avoid Academic Scrutiny – or not? A Balanced argument[…]

Quest for Hollywood Fame Splits Redditors at Heart of Market Frenzy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Late on Wednesday, a moderator of the popular Reddit message board WallStreetBets posted several screenshots on the chat app Discord. They showed that other moderators had quietly started talking among themselves about landing a movie deal. “What’s our cut?” one of the moderators had asked in a Discord chat, according to the screenshots. By Thursday Read more about Quest for Hollywood Fame Splits Redditors at Heart of Market Frenzy[…]

GameStop Stock Breaks Records As Reddit Traders War With Short Sellers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Struggling retailer GameStop’s stock curiously hit an all time high today. But it’s not because Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo suddenly decided to stop selling their games digitally. And it’s not because a new set of Funko Pops has taken the internet’s imagination by storm. No, the stock price jumped to an all-time high because some Read more about GameStop Stock Breaks Records As Reddit Traders War With Short Sellers[…]

Behind a Secret Deal Between Google and Facebook – how monopolies define winners and kill losers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 2017, Facebook said it was testing a new way of selling online advertising that would threaten Google’s control of the digital ad market. But less than two years later, Facebook did an about-face and said it was joining an alliance of companies backing a similar effort by Google.Facebook never said why it pulled back Read more about Behind a Secret Deal Between Google and Facebook – how monopolies define winners and kill losers[…]

Julian Assange will NOT be extradited to the US over WikiLeaks hacking and spy charges, rules British judge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Accused hacker and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US to stand trial, Westminster Magistrates’ Court has ruled. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Assange this morning that there was no legal obstacle to his being sent to the US, where he faces multiple criminal charges under America’s Espionage Act and Computer Read more about Julian Assange will NOT be extradited to the US over WikiLeaks hacking and spy charges, rules British judge[…]

Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Earlier this month, the book industry website Publishers Marketplace announced that Little, Brown would be publishing “Re-Entry,” a novel by James Hannaham about a transgender woman paroled from a men’s prison. The book would be edited by Ben George. Two days later, Mr. Hannaham got an email from Mr. George, asking him to send the Read more about Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?[…]

Pornhub removes all unverified videos from its platform after Mastercard and Visa drop them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, infamous porn-hosting site Pornhub made a big change by cutting off “unverified” uploads. Now, the company is taking things a step further and has removed all content that wasn’t uploaded by either a “content partner” or a verified user. Overnight, Pornhub has removed millions of uploaded videos — and, according to Vice, the Read more about Pornhub removes all unverified videos from its platform after Mastercard and Visa drop them[…]

Analysis of Trump’s tweets reveals systematic diversion of the media

Posted on by Robin Edgar

President Donald Trump’s controversial use of social media is widely known and theories abound about its ulterior motives. New research published today in Nature Communications claims to provide the first evidence-based analysis demonstrating the US President’s Twitter account has been routinely deployed to divert attention away from a topic potentially harmful to his reputation, in Read more about Analysis of Trump’s tweets reveals systematic diversion of the media[…]

Report: Financial records appear to show Ivanka Trump got ‘consulting fees’ to reduce father’s tax bill

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Tax records obtained by The New York Times appear to show that President Trump reduced his taxable income by treating his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, as a consultant, then deducting this as a business expense. The Times reports that Trump Organization tax records show between 2010 and 2018, President Trump wrote off as business expenses Read more about Report: Financial records appear to show Ivanka Trump got ‘consulting fees’ to reduce father’s tax bill[…]