Big tech is a threat to our country.

[Winehole23]

how very cartel-like of them


Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week (https://www.wsj.com/articles/states-sue-google-over-digital-ad-practices-11608146817?mod=article_inline).

The suit, as filed, cites internal company documents that were heavily redacted. The Wall Street Journal reviewed part of a recent draft version of the suit without redactions, which elaborated on findings and allegations in the court documents.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-facebook-agreed-to-team-up-against-possible-antitrust-action-draft-lawsuit-says-11608612219

[boutons_deux]

The irony that Ken Paxton has his name on a law suit against Google that needs to be heard.
Paxton needs to be in jail yesterday

the 7 or 8 staff he fired or otherwise disposed of are all attorneys. ATTORNEY General Paxton isn't.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

:lol conflating newspaper closures to genocide

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The irony that Ken Paxton has his name on a law suit against Google that needs to be heard.
Paxton needs to be in jail yesterday

Abbot is worse.

[pgardn]

Abbot is worse.

well he is the governor.

Paxton through his entire career has put money in his pocket just through political crap.
first one to jail is Paxton.

[pgardn]

the 7 or 8 staff he fired or otherwise disposed of are all attorneys. ATTORNEY General Paxton isn't.

The attorneys he is hired to get him out of his current trouble are going to have a very difficult time.
and don’t get me wrong, this lawsuit against Google needs to be heard.
It’s just repulsive that Paxton has his name on it .

[FuzzyLumpkins]

well he is the governor.

Paxton through his entire career has put money in his pocket just through political crap.
first one to jail is Paxton.

Patrick is worst of all.

[Winehole23]

1341492068863062017

[FrostKing]

https://i.ibb.co/CJLsDpj/IMG-20201228-WA0031.jpg

[pgardn]

https://i.ibb.co/CJLsDpj/IMG-20201228-WA0031.jpg

"We must back the neo Nazis, TAK?
Why did the Germans invade us? we were more than willing to persecute Jews?

[FrostKing]

"We must back the neo Nazis, TAK?
Why did the Germans invade us? we were more than willing to persecute Jews?
Neo nazis because of mean language?

[ElNono]

1341492068863062017

Even if not a monopoly per se, they do have overarching market dominance. If we’re being honest, they’ve followed the Walmart model online. And this is why it’s not a monopoly, they do have strong competition from former monopolies moving into the online space.

That said, they definitely have a anti-competitive behavior, and that is just as punishable if the government decided to pursue it. I suspect Europe will be leading the charge here, as has been the case in the past decade or so, with the US eventually following suit.

[ElNono]

"We must back the neo Nazis, TAK?
Why did the Germans invade us? we were more than willing to persecute Jews?

lol @ 2.2million fine. Poor country’s fines :lol

[FrostKing]

lol @ 2.2million fine. Poor country’s fines :lol
We'll use it to print more Bibles

[ElNono]

We'll use it to print more Bibles

Maybe try building a military so you don’t get your ass kicked again imho

[ChumpDumper]

Maybe try building a military so you don’t get your ass kicked again imho:lmao

[FrostKing]

Maybe try building a military so you don’t get your ass kicked again imho
We could takeover Germany but don't want to take on their inferior multikulti population

[ElNono]

We could takeover Germany but don't want to take on their inferior multikulti population

I’ll be willing to bet on that if it happened tbh... maybe start simple and slow, like invading San Marino..

I mean a 2.2 million army doesn’t really get you that far

[ChumpDumper]

We could takeover Germany but don't want to take on their inferior multikulti population
Sure you could....:lol

[pgardn]

Neo nazis because of mean language?

Poland is loaded with them.
Germany and fascism would have gone over fine there. Can you wish to go back in time and just imagine.
Too bad it had to happen with WWII decimating Poland and Germany, eh?
Jews gained a foothold on the world stage and you can’t stand it.

[pgardn]

We could takeover Germany but don't want to take on their inferior multikulti population

The Polish pilots who fought valiantly for Britain just shaking their heads looking down on you.

[FrostKing]

Poland is loaded with them.
Germany and fascism would have gone over fine there. Can you wish to go back in time and just imagine.
Too bad it had to happen with WWII decimating Poland and Germany, eh?
Jews gained a foothold on the world stage and you can’t stand it.
Poland is full of neo-polaks that put country first. You should try it sometime so Americans are fed and have health care instead of gender studies in Pakistan.

Are you connecting the dots - they gained a foothold in the West by weakening your culture and heritage. Congrats.

[Spurtacular]

https://gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/061/159/789/original/5e3ee9dc7369be04.png

[Winehole23]

https://gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/061/159/789/original/5e3ee9dc7369be04.pngNot happening.

[pgardn]

Poland is full of neo-polaks that put country first. You should try it sometime so Americans are fed and have health care instead of gender studies in Pakistan.

Are you connecting the dots - they gained a foothold in the West by weakening your culture and heritage. Congrats.

Yeah.
Throw out all those Chinese and Indians who have come over and joined the science community.
Dumb fuck... our heritage... Our heritage is that we are more than willing to inherit people from other countries.
Weaking culture... sure thing, explain? You dont like Chinese food?

[Winehole23]

Antitrust enforcement in the US is a legit threat to Google's SOP. States are taking charge at the moment, I think we're up to three distinct multi-state lawsuits targeting Google.


The context in which Google gave Facebook special terms was an effort by publishers to circumvent Google’s online advertising monopoly by dealing directly with advertisers through a technical process called “header bidding,” hopefully cutting themselves better deals.


In March 2017, Facebook publicly endorsed header bidding. Google approached Facebook and in September 2018 reached the digital advertising agreement, the states allege. The draft lawsuit says Google code-named it “Jedi Blue.”



Here are the terms of the Jedi Blue contract:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/jedi-blue.jpg
I will focus on the “millisecond” timeout aspect, because while the other terms are such as could be drawn up over cheap steaks and bad red wine in a provincial airport hotel restaurant, the timeout involves and corrupts the inherent technical characteristics of the platform. Oddly, the Journal mentions it, but does not explain it. The heavily redacted original complaint does:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/google-timeouts.jpg

(FAN is “Facebook Audience Network,” presumably feeding the winning bid from Google’s auctions into its own systems.)

Recall the words “in an instant,” and “real time.” As it turns out, Google is gaming its own auction to make those wprds mean different things for different clients. (It’s as if I were buying material at a fabric store by the yard — except the store was using a rubber yardstick, stretching out the “yard” for lucky clients, shrinking it for the unlucky.) Computation takes time. Those extra-milliseconds Google granted Facebook are important, because the auction bidding itself can take milliseconds. The extra time allows Facebook’s systems to be a little bit slower. The extra time also allows Facebook an informational advantage, because — speculating here — it gives Facebook to merge its own data with that it gets from Google. Finally, the extra time allows Facebook to outwait other bidders.

* * *I said that Google’s advertising exchange was using a rubber yardstick. Michael Hudson has something to say about that (https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/09/michael-hudson-debt-land-and-money-from-polanyi-to-the-new-economic-archaeology.html):


For starters, any practical payment system for credit and trader requires accurate weighing and measuring. This calls for public oversight as a check on fraudulent practice. Trust cannot be left to individuals engaging in barter or credit on their own.



Yet this is exactly what we have done, because Google’s algorithm is proprietary, and Google’s auction is a black box to regulators.


Crooked merchants historically have used light weights [rubber milliseconds] when selling goods or lending out money so as to give their [disfavored, non-Facebook] customers less, and heavy weights when buying or collecting debts so as to gain an unduly large amount of silver or other commodities….
Biblical denunciations of merchants using false weights and measures find their antecedents in Babylonia. Hammurabi’s laws (gap x [Roth 1998:98], sometimes referred to as §94 and §95) stipulates that merchants who lend grain or money by a small weight but demand payment using a larger measure should forfeit whatever they had lent. Ale‑women found guilty of using crooked weights and measures in selling beer were to be cast into the water (§108 [Roth 1998:101])…. Such abuses are timeless. The 7th century BC prophet Amos (8:5ff.) depicts the Lord as denouncing wealthy Israelites “who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land” by scheming, “skimping the measure (making the ephah small), boosting the price (making the shekel great), and cheating with dishonest scales.” Likewise the prophet Micah (6:11) denounces merchants using “the short ephah, which is accursed? Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?” (Kula 1986 reviews Biblical and Koranic examples.)



How is what Google is doing with its 300 millisecond “timeout” for Facebook any different from these “timeless abuses”? Answer, it isn’t. Is this a “free market”? No. If every giant, data-driven Silicon Valley is rigging the game like Google — and why wouldn’t they? — do we even have a “free market society”? No, we don’t.

Hudson also points out the essential role of temples in maintaining weights and measures:


Who else but temples and palaces could have provided honest standards? Monetary exchange could not have been workable without their oversight of standardized weights and measures, attesting to the purity of the monetary metals, and sanctions against fraud. That is why silver was minted in temples from Mesopotamia through Rome. Our word for ‘money’ comes from Rome’s Temple of Juno Moneta…


https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/01/google-rigged-its-own-advertising-auction-in-favor-of-facebook-for-a-price-and-what-that-means-for-the-so-called-free-market.html

[Spurtacular]

Well, this just shits on :cry Private company :cry

:lol :lmao :rollin

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/061/751/190/original/c35595ce37739d8c.png

[spurraider21]

Twitter isn’t the only place Roseanne can speak

[hater]

Twitter isn’t the only place Roseanne can speak

Its the biggest audience she can reach.

Think a bit before you post

[spurraider21]

Its the biggest audience she can reach.

Think a bit before you post
thats fine. that doesnt make it analogous to the case you mentioned

[FrostKing]

https://i.ibb.co/w63tkL6/41086.jpg

[ChumpDumper]

https://i.ibb.co/w63tkL6/41086.jpganti-capitalist tbh

[Winehole23]

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1350618956680216577?s=20

1350618956680216577

[FrostKing]

Creepy white guy with BLM tbh

[Winehole23]

David Dayen, author of "Monopolized" reads the tea leaves

1351279457521324033

[Winehole23]

GOP freshmen request unity on antitrust enforcement against big tech

1352463163187474435

[ElNono]

Twitter permanently bans suspect Iran account after post threatens former President Donald Trump

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Twitter said Friday it has permanently banned an account that some in Iran believe is linked to the office of the country's supreme leader after a posting that seemed to threaten former President Donald Trump.

In the image posted by the suspect account late Thursday, Trump is shown playing golf in the shadow of a giant drone, with the caption "Revenge is certain" written in Farsi.

In response to a request for comment from The Associated Press, a Twitter spokesman said the account was fake and violated the company's "manipulation and spam policy," without elaborating how it came to that conclusion.

The tweet of the golfer-drone photo violated the company's "abusive behavior policy," Twitter's spokesman added.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/22/twitter-bans-iran-account-after-post-threatens-donald-trump/6679023002/

[Isitjustme?]

https://i.ibb.co/w63tkL6/41086.jpg

Forgot Poland was still a thing. They must thank God every day the west saved them in WW2.

[ElNono]

Twitter bans MyPillow CEO
Mike Lindell had promoted conspiracy theories about the presidential election.

Twitter has pulled the plug on the account of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

A spokesperson for Twitter said, "This account was suspended for repeated violations of our civic integrity policy.” Twitter confirmed late Monday that the ban on the entrepreneur from Minnesota is a permanent one.

The ban is the latest in a series of disciplinary actions taken by Twitter that include, most notably, the banning of former President Donald Trump in an effort to reduce the spread of blatant political lies and punish those who incited violence, particularly in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Lindell has been a vocal backer of Trump, and reports surfaced earlier this month that he suggested the president declare martial law in the wake of what he saw as widespread election fraud.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/26/twitter-bans-mypillow-ceo-462531

[Winehole23]

1356255859286937606

[spurraider21]

1356255859286937606
well yeah, when an account gets suspended for saying

"MAGA, Democrats suck!

and btw kill the jews, race war now"

thats not targeting "conservatism" :lol

[Winehole23]

well yeah, when an account gets suspended for saying

"MAGA, Democrats suck!

and btw kill the jews, race war now"

thats not targeting "conservatism" :loluniting against racist oppression and violence is optional, of course. the GOP brand doesn't have to be white people scared of change and others who don't resemble them.

[SnakeBoy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2eJyh_HgY&feature=emb_logo

Crack is a helluva drug

[ElNono]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2eJyh_HgY&feature=emb_logo

Crack is a helluva drug

That guy was a presidential adviser... smh

[Ef-man]

Fox is losing viewership and feels screwed post-trump.
:tu


https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/media/fox-news-future-reliable-sources/index.html

[boutons_deux]

Expert: Sarah Palin's case against the NYT is a landmine for the First Amendment

For more than half a century, conservatives have wanted to eradicate New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 Supreme Court decision that is the nation's most important First Amendment case.

If the Supreme Court invalidates NYT, federal judges—including the 230 appointed by President Trump—will preside over more libel suits against journalists he calls "the enemy of the people."

Anyone who makes factual errors when criticizing government or accusing a person of misconduct could be dragged into court and left destitute by a jury's verdict or legal bills.

Public officials with government jobs and public figures—those who are well-known or have entered a public controversy—can win lawsuits that previously would have been unsuccessful.

The NYT ruling is essential to our democracy because

it protects discussion of political issues and the fitness of those seeking public office.

Justice William Brennan's famous passage in the case exemplifies its significance:

"Thus, we consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that

debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and

that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

https://www.rawstory.com/palin-new-york-times/

===================

Another tactic in the oligarchy's putsch to overturn democracy was St Ronnie The Diseased Useful Idiot repealing the Fairness Doctrine in 1987

"The fairness doctrine had two basic elements:

It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_interest), and

to air contrasting views regarding those matters.

The demise of this FCC rule has been considered by some to be a contributing factor for the rising level of party polarization (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarization_(politics)) in the United States."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_fairness_doctrine

Rush Limbaugh in early '90s was one of the first torch bearers of right wing hate media as a result of the Fairness Doctrine cancellation, leading to inflammation of the right and today's death-to-America's polarization,

followed by shitbag Murdoch and shitbag Roger Ailes in 1996 with Fox so-called News.

Conservatives want to repeal 230 so they can intimidate and silence in court the media critics of their bullshit

[Spurtacular]

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/065/666/514/original/bfd71419f1a3864b.jpeg

[Spurtacular]

1356255859286937606

:cry System tells me that they're clean as a whistle :cry

[Ef-man]

:cry muh gab ain’t big tech :cry

[ElNono]

:cry muh gab ain’t big tech :cry

gab is a cheap knockoff...

[Winehole23]

:cry muh gab ain’t big tech :cryit isn't. it's just an app.

[Ef-man]

it isn't. it's just an app.

Well embraced by incels from right like derptacular.

[Spurtacular]

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/065/886/646/original/c97c1b1875fd68f2.jpg

[ElNono]

Well embraced by incels from right like derptacular.

Losses To Romance Scams Reached a Record $304 Million in 2020

The current COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent stay-at-home and social distancing directives might have played a major role in romance scams losses reaching record levels in 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report last week. From a report:Total losses were estimated at a record $304 million (https://www.zdnet.com/article/losses-to-romance-scams-reached-a-record-304-million-in-2020/), up about 50% from 2019, with the average loss last year being estimated at $2,500 per individual. "From 2016 to 2020, reported total dollar losses increased more than fourfold, and the number of reports nearly tripled," the agency said. The FTC believes that the 50% spike in extra losses recorded in 2020 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited people's ability to meet in person and has forced more users towards using online long-distance and impersonal communications, such as dating apps. In most cases, the ruse of these scams is that the targets of a romance scam have to send money back to the crooks.

[Winehole23]

Facebook will ban Australian users from sharing or viewing newsPUBLISHED WED, FEB 17 2021 1:56 PM EST
UPDATED WED, FEB 17 2021 2:02 PM EST






KEY POINTS


Facebook announced that it will no longer allow publishers and users in Australia to share or view news content.
Facebook's decision to ban Australian news stories from its service comes in stark contrast to Google, which struck a revenue-sharing agreement with News Corp. in accordance with the new law.





https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/17/facebook-will-ban-australian-users-from-sharing-or-viewing-news.html (https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/17/facebook-will-ban-australian-users-from-sharing-or-viewing-news.html?__twitter_impression=true)

[Spurtacular]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OMraR6Ct0Y

[Ef-man]

House Republicans Wasted No Time Introducing the Dumbest Internet Bill of 2021.

According to Ars Technica, House Republicans introduced a new bill on Tuesday that would ban municipal broadband networks nationwide. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio) included the proposal as part of their larger “Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda.”

The CONNECT Act, or “Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition” will supposedly not affect existing municipal broadband services, but is written to prevent cities and states from forming their own broadband networks unless “there is no more than one other commercial provider of broadband internet access that provides competition for that service in a particular area,” the bill states. Additionally, existing municipal broadband networks would be prohibited from expanding their network into new areas.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/house-republicans-wasted-no-time-introducing-the-dumbest-internet-bill-of-2021/ar-BB1dOlSi?ocid=msedgntp

[Spurtacular]

BOOM! Poland Will Fine Big Tech $13.5 Million Per Case For Removing Ideological Content: “Poland spent 45 years under Communism…It taught us the value of free speech” (https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/boom-poland-will-fine-big-tech-13-5-million-per-case-removing-ideological-content-poland-spent-45-years-communismit-taught-us-value-free-speech/)

[Winehole23]

one reason big tech is a problem is that the DOJ and the stares won't take on monopolies or anticompetitive practices.


Having covered telecom for twenty years, I've found there's a good shortcut to determining if somebody's really serious about fixing US broadband issues: can they admit that (1) monopolies exist, and (2) that this results in a lack of competition. The data is indisputable on this point. US broadband is heavily monopolized (https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-in-internet-providers/), and as a result is mediocre on nearly every metric that matters, whether we're talking about availability, speed, price, or customer service.

And yet, there's a parade of lawmakers, regulators (like former FCC boss Ajit Pai), think tankers and others who are, for either financial or rigid ideological reasons, still incapable of acknowledging that reality. As a result, they can't really fix the problem.

Take the lion's share of the GOP, for example. The party just spent four years gutting (https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170328/09565737026/consumer-broadband-privacy-protections-are-dead.shtml) most meaningful oversight (https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210217/07093546258/new-bill-tries-to-ban-community-broadband-during-pandemic.shtml) of America's broken broadband sector under the completely false claim (https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190927/10225543081/massive-study-proves-once-all-that-no-net-neutrality-did-not-hurt-broadband-investment.shtml) that this would somehow result in monopolies like AT&T and Comcast doing a better job, expanding access, and boosting overall network investment. That simply never happened, and anybody claiming otherwise is lying to you.

Now, with Covid shining a bright light on the essential nature of broadband, the GOP has been forced to at least pretend they care about the problem. As a result, they've ushered forth a series of bills (https://republicans-energycommerce.house.gov/news/press-release/ec-gop-leaders-unveil-the-boosting-broadband-connectivity-agenda/) professing to "bridge the digital divide." Not too surprisingly, not a single bill acknowledges that private sector monopolization, limited competition, or high prices are even a problem.

Instead, the focus of all of the GOP's bills are focused exclusively on placing the blame entirely on the back of local governments. And while governments can sometimes be a pain in the ass to work with (not that working with Verizon, AT&T or Comcast is any real treat for governments either), the problem at this point isn't really local government. We've spent twenty years hamstringing local government authority and giving all the power to incumbent private players through a litany of policy. And the result has been: precisely the shitty, Comcast-dominated market we all know and love. "More of that," is not a serious solution.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210217/07093546258/new-bill-tries-to-ban-community-broadband-during-pandemic.shtml

[Spurtacular]

Every Deleted Parler Post, Many With Users' Location Data, Has Been Archived (https://gizmodo.com/every-deleted-parler-post-many-with-users-location-dat-1846032466?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter)

[ChumpDumper]

Every Deleted Parler Post, Many With Users' Location Data, Has Been Archived (https://gizmodo.com/every-deleted-parler-post-many-with-users-location-dat-1846032466?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter)Yup.

Parler users are especially stupid.

Did you use Parler, derp?

[Spurtacular]

:cry

Do you know whether Twitter is archiving tweets?

Yes or no.

[ChumpDumper]

Do you know whether Twitter is archiving tweets?

Yes or no.I'm not on twitter; I know tweets are archived all over the place and I'm sure twitter does.

Not with personal information like your Parler.:lmao

[Winehole23]

"if we don't cheat, we lose money"


Some Facebook employees believed they were promoting “deeply wrong” data about how many users advertisers could reach, and one warned that the company had counted on “revenue we should have never made” based on its inflated numbers, according to recently unsealed internal emails.


The Financial Times reported (https://www.ft.com/content/c144b3e0-a502-440b-8565-53a4ce5470a5) the statements today based on a newly unredacted filing (https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.330648/gov.uscourts.cand.330648.257.0.pdf) from a 2018 lawsuit in California. The lawsuit claims that Facebook knowingly overestimated its “potential reach” metric for advertisers, largely by failing to correct for fake and duplicate accounts. The filing states that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg acknowledged problems with the metric in 2017, and product manager Yaron Fidler proposed a fix that would correct the numbers. But the company allegedly refused to make the changes, arguing that it would produce a “significant” impact on revenue.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/18/22289232/facebook-ad-revenue-proposed-reach-inflation-lawsuit-unredacted-filings

[Winehole23]

Facebook silencing the "4th estate".

"I don't have a problem with that."

:lmaoLike this?

1363620126424256514

1363620851451654146

[DarrinS]

Judd Legum is not pleased.

[Winehole23]

Judd Legum is not pleased.Shapiro and a passel of conservtives crush liberal media daily on FB. It isn't even a contest.

[FrostKing]

https://i.ibb.co/NWDCfV4/image0-3.png

[Winehole23]

Republicans for, Democrats against. States could change the landscape for tech companies dramatically by breaking the duopoly and allowing fair competition for apps.


Two weeks ago, Apple and Google managed to defeat a major bill in North Dakota to force competition in app stores. This week, the Arizona House of Representatives defied the tech giants and passed the very same bill.https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/apple-threatens-north-dakota-suffers

[Winehole23]

The nomination of Tim Wu may tip Biden's hand


Longtime tech critic Tim Wu is joining the Biden administration as an adviser on technology and competition, a signal that the White House is likely to push for policies that rein in Big Tech.

Wu will be serving on the National Economic Council as special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy, the White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/05/white-house-announces-additional-policy-staff/) said this morning. Wu confirmed the news in a tweet (https://twitter.com/superwuster/status/1367814526159253506).



Wu is best known in tech circles as the man who coined the term "net neutrality" in the early 2000s. He has held several positions at the federal level before, including advisory roles with both the Federal Trade Commission and the National Economic Council. He has also been a full professor at Columbia University law school since 2006, where he teaches First Amendment (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/06/do-you-lose-free-speech-rights-if-you-speak-using-a-computer/) and antitrust (https://www.wired.com/story/tim-wu-says-us-must-enforce-antitrust-laws/) law.

His 2010 book The Master Switch (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/12/ars-book-review-the-master-switch-by-tim-wu/) argued that the open Internet as we knew it was barreling toward a closed-off, walled-garden future. In 2018 he published another book, The Curse of Bigness (https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-9997454-6-5), in which he argued that US regulators' failure to enforce antitrust laws had led to "a new gilded age" and all its attendant problems.https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/tech-critic-tim-wu-joins-biden-admin-as-tech-competition-advisor/

[Winehole23]

If Biden hired Tim Wu and Lina Khan (two top antitrust profs) as window dressing they just threw their reputations away, but I doubt that's the case. it looks like US antitrust enforcement is coming back.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-name-antitrust-scholar-lina-khan-for-ftc-post-11615316987

[Winehole23]

ST concordance on Lina Khan:

Amazon’s Antitrust Antagonist Has a Breakthrough Idea (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/technology/monopoly-antitrust-lina-khan-amazon.html)

https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=261884&page=5&p=9530451&highlight=khan#post9530451


In early 2017, when she was an unknown law student, Ms. Khan published “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” in the Yale Law Journal. Her argument went against a consensus in antitrust circles that dates back to the 1970s — the moment when regulation was redefined to focus on consumer welfare, which is to say price. Since Amazon is renowned for its cut-rate deals, it would seem safe from federal intervention.


Ms. Khan disagreed. Over 93 heavily footnoted pages, she presented the case that the company should not get a pass on anticompetitive behavior just because it makes customers happy. Once-robust monopoly laws have been marginalized, Ms. Khan wrote, and consequently Amazon is amassing structural power that lets it exert increasing control over many parts of the economy.


Amazon has so much data on so many customers, it is so willing to forgo profits, it is so aggressive and has so many advantages from its shipping and warehouse infrastructure that it exerts an influence much broader than its market share. It resembles the all-powerful railroads of the Progressive Era, Ms. Khan wrote: “The thousands of retailers and independent businesses that must ride Amazon’s rails to reach market are increasingly dependent on their biggest competitor.”

https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278209&page=3&p=9736072&highlight=Lina%20Khan#post9736072

[Winehole23]

git em

1372149645745426441

[boutons_deux]

Facebook guidelines allow users to call for death of public figures



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/mar/23/facebook-guidelines-allow-for-users-to-call-for-death-of-public-figures

[boutons_deux]

Facebook: From Election to Insurrection

How Facebook Failed Voters and Nearly Set Democracy Aflame

Facebook could have prevented 10.1 billion estimated views for top-performing pages that repeatedly shared misinformation 1 (https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/facebook_election_insurrection/#report-back_endnote-01) .



An analysis of the steps Facebook took throughout 2020 shows that if the platform had acted earlier, adopting civil society advice and proactively detoxing its algorithm, it could have stopped 10.1 billion estimated views of content from top-performing pages that repeatedly shared misinformation over the eight months before the US elections.


Failure to downgrade the reach of these pages and to limit their ability to advertise in the year before the election meant Facebook allowed them to almost triple their monthly interactions, from 97 million interactions in October 2019 to 277.9 million interactions in October 2020 - catching up with the top 100 US media pages 2 (https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/facebook_election_insurrection/#report-back_endnote-02) (ex. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News) on Facebook.


Facebook has now rolled back many of the emergency policies it instituted during the elections, returning to the algorithmic status quo that allowed conspiracy movements like QAnon and Stop the Steal to flourish.


https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/facebook_election_insurrection/

[Winehole23]

1374785783706447872

[Winehole23]

middleman defense showing cracks


Over the years, several customers have been injured by defective products they purchased on the site from third-party sellers, including one woman whose eye was blinded by a defective dog leash and another who was burned by a laptop battery. The case (https://today.westlaw.com/Document/Ifc07fbf08d9411eb81c8922ff12ce1b7/View/FullText.html?transitionType=SearchItem&contextData=(sc.Default)) currently before the Texas Supreme Court involves a 19-month-old toddler who suffered permanent damage to her esophagus when she ingested a lithium-ion battery that popped out of a knockoff remote control.


For years, Amazon has claimed that it is not liable in such cases since it functions as a middleman for sales made through its Marketplace platform.


The toddler’s mother purchased the knockoff Apple TV remote from a third-party seller called “USA Shopping.” After the battery burned her daughter, she sought to find out who was behind the Amazon storefront, discovering that it was run by one “Hu Xi Jie” out of Shenzhen, China. Neither the mother nor Amazon has been able to locate or contact Hu Xi Jie.

Lawyers for the child’s mother have argued that Amazon is liable for the defective remote since the site serves the same function as a physical retail store, which is to put products into the stream of commercehttps://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/amazon-argues-its-not-liable-for-product-that-severely-injured-toddler/

[Winehole23]

THIS PROBLEM IS WAY TOO BIG TO FIX


Amazon’s lawyer argued that vetting products in advance of listing them on the site was impossible given the scale of the problem.

[pgardn]

THIS PROBLEM IS WAY TOO BIG TO FIX

I would bet they have already vetted products for safety.
You dont move that much material and not have some sort of leak or something that a worker finds and claims is a safety hazard.

[Winehole23]

I would bet they have already vetted products for safety.
You dont move that much material and not have some sort of leak or something that a worker finds and claims is a safety hazard.Avoiding legal liability is also important, having vetting procedures cuts against that and profitability.

[Winehole23]

Facebook autogenerates pages for white power freaks and other friendly extremists.


Facebook’s groups problem hasn’t gone unnoticed within the company. Facebook’s own researchers warned top executives (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/02/70-of-top-civic-facebook-groups-are-toxic-or-violent-report-finds/) as early as August 2020 that 70 percent of the 100 most active US “civic” groups on the platform were “considered non-recommendable for issues such as hate, misinfo, bullying, and harassment.” One particularly large group with 58,000 members spread “enthusiastic calls for violence every day.”


Facebook’s stated desire (https://about.fb.com/news/2020/05/investments-to-fight-polarization/) to combat polarization has long been at odds with its quest to maximize engagement. In 2017, an internal task force found (https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-it-encourages-division-top-executives-nixed-solutions-11590507499) that reducing polarization on the site would also reduce engagement. The task force was soon disbanded, and most of its suggested fixes were shelved.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/facebook-is-autogenerating-pages-for-white-supremacists/

[SnakeBoy]

Ollyahgawky good or bad now?

[Winehole23]

Ollyahgawky good or bad now?If you can start by answering your own question, we can have a conversation about that.

I won't hold my breath.

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1378837575012544516?s=19

[ChumpDumper]

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1378837575012544516?s=19

:tu

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1378837575012544516?s=19

:tu

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1378873704839516161?s=19

[ChumpDumper]

:lol MJT

[daboom1]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXgUS0Tfp6kqXR9i89nIWwDAyqTIeo-ncJTQ&usqp=CAU

[Ef-man]

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1378873704839516161?s=19

Was she going for a second round of sex and was tweeting about the erection of her boyfriend?

[ChumpDumper]

Was she going for a second round of sex and was tweeting about the erection of her boyfriend?Qhris loves whores if they're Republicans.

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1378873704839516161?s=19

:lol still checking evil twitter...

[Ef-man]

:lol still checking evil twitter...

:lmao

Qchrisy still playing the innocent victim with bot-like behavior.

[daboom1]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXgUS0Tfp6kqXR9i89nIWwDAyqTIeo-ncJTQ&usqp=CAU

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXgUS0Tfp6kqXR9i89nIWwDAyqTIeo-ncJTQ&usqp=CAU

[Blake]

middleman defense showing cracks

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/amazon-argues-its-not-liable-for-product-that-severely-injured-toddler/

That's an interesting one. If it was sold at a Walmart brick and mortar, would Walmart be liable? I haven't ever heard that too be the case.

[Blake]

Hey Chris, remember when you said you were going to leave the site forever? What's the status on that?

[ElNono]

:cry

gothem

[boutons_deux]

AP email

Facebook pledged to suspend political donations, then quietly funneled $50,000 to GOP group pushing voter suppression laws (https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJw1kttu4jAQhp-G3BHFh5wuctGWIoWFIHaBLleRD5PgEuwocWDTp68DXcnjkX97N NZ8v2AWatONWWt6601baccWMg33vgFrofOGHrpSyQzTIERJ6Mm MSpcTT_Vl1QFcmWoy2w3gtQNvlGBWGT0VoCii3jmLeACUhihKO OdpGnPKpZA4AAE4rRB9dmWDVKAFZHCDbjQavCY7W9v2M_Iyw0u 3WtMODet8pSszHV1UTAA35jJvG5A1yLk1837oW9By3ppGWfebZ kaW1lxAz8gCxhUS-Dj-xc0l_zRjsXhBm32N1m-rOydF8KN_FQtBtosD2vy5K_axDJz2r_h8Jy5o8XXA7n0ryEZt1 eouP3K72Z9w8Zb3uS7QSeVRrl9vguysuB7PJ_K75Ziqaucfvwp cbdX-TMRh26x362Fu6f11fxTvIOOklAP8GsNbvtz2nspwgFEwzTwgQU h95DNEIWVhwOMgCquEhwSnCU4xYbGIKU9nNLjW2O8H3lsmLr4w V6_LJOu0ERoad11PrB66Q1W6fB20smMJmnE3wSdF-_TCg2tZg4bOeUSWzDqgKI5QEodR9B-bw0xoHCdhiDzXWBpXpbMfVBOp7vrwwzdvzM8f)

[Winehole23]

1380550609028399113

[Winehole23]

Reveal amassed internal injury records from 23 of the company’s 110 fulfillment centers nationwide. Taken together, the rate of serious injuries for those facilities was more than double the national average for the warehousing industry: 9.6 serious injuries per 100 full-time workers in 2018, compared with an industry average that year of 4.https://revealnews.org/article/behind-the-smiles/

[Winehole23]

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/12/facebook-loophole-state-backed-manipulation

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1382786605971300366?s=19

[Ef-man]

https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1382786605971300366?s=19

Lovely qtard tears, they taste wonderful.

Cry some more.

[ElNono]

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Gets 'Freedom Expression' Award Sponsored by YouTube

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki received a "Free Expression" award from the Freedom Forum Institute in a virtual ceremony sponsored by YouTube, an online video platform owned by Google.

On Thursday, YouTube creator Molly Burke presented Wojcicki with the accolade in a video shared to the platform. "I'm so excited to be here tonight to present Susan Wojcicki with the Free Expression award. As the CEO of YouTube, Susan is facing some of the most critical issues around free expression today," Burke said.

Wojcicki sat down for an interview during the online ceremony, during which she emphasized the importance of free speech and the role that YouTube plays in protecting it.

https://www.newsweek.com/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-gets-freedom-expression-award-sponsored-youtube-1585147

1384019927699365888


lmao... not a user or consumer of youtube, tbh, so can easily side with derp on this one.

[Spurtacular]

Censored by FB.

https://api-assets.infowars.com/2021/04/breonnataylorBLMcensor2491848756.jpg

[Winehole23]

big tech tends and teases "conspiracy theories and extremism"


the study: https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/recommended-reading-amazons-algorithms-conspiracy-theories-and-extremist-literature/

the newpaper article about it: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-algorithms-promote-extremist-misinformation-report-says/

[Trill Clinton]

BLM movement and the BLM organization are two different things tbh.

[spurraider21]

1387869314632536064

[Spurtacular]

1387869314632536064

Corporate welfare. Twitter's actions are counter intuitive to business.

[Spurtacular]

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Gets 'Freedom Expression' Award Sponsored by YouTube

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki received a "Free Expression" award from the Freedom Forum Institute in a virtual ceremony sponsored by YouTube, an online video platform owned by Google.

On Thursday, YouTube creator Molly Burke presented Wojcicki with the accolade in a video shared to the platform. "I'm so excited to be here tonight to present Susan Wojcicki with the Free Expression award. As the CEO of YouTube, Susan is facing some of the most critical issues around free expression today," Burke said.

Wojcicki sat down for an interview during the online ceremony, during which she emphasized the importance of free speech and the role that YouTube plays in protecting it.

https://www.newsweek.com/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-gets-freedom-expression-award-sponsored-youtube-1585147

1384019927699365888


lmao... not a user or consumer of youtube, tbh, so can easily side with derp on this one.


:lol A good number of these awards are based on this. These idiots were just too lazy to create a facade.

[ChumpDumper]

Corporate welfare.

How is it corporate welfare, derp?

[spurraider21]

Corporate welfare. Twitter's actions are counter intuitive to business.
not really. makes them more advertiser-friendly

[Spurtacular]

not really. makes them more advertiser-friendly

Yea, advertisers love to reach thirty percent of what they could've reached. Everyone knows that.

[spurraider21]

Yea, advertisers love to reach thirty percent of what they could've reached. Everyone knows that.
maybe they saw how badly trump got ratio'd on Nov 3 and didnt think it was as big a loss as you think

they appear to have been right

[ChumpDumper]

Gab has 4 million registered users.

Is that what Twitter is missing, derp?

[Spurtacular]

maybe they saw how badly trump got ratio'd on Nov 3 and didnt think it was as big a loss as you think

they appear to have been right

There isn't one exec worth his weight in salt that doesn't know those numbers are bull shit.

You blue anons aren't changing hearts and minds, nor are they.

But they're getting corporate welfare, so....

[ChumpDumper]

There isn't one exec worth his weight in salt that doesn't know those numbers are bull shit.

You blue anons aren't changing hearts and minds, nor are they.

But they're getting corporate welfare, so....You keep saying that.

What do you mean by corporate welfare?

[Spurtacular]

Gab has 4 million registered users.

Is that what Twitter is missing, derp?

Most of that in a quarter with no marketing budget?

This isn't going well for you.

[ChumpDumper]

Most of that in a quarter with no marketing budget?

This isn't going well for you.You didn't answer the question.

Is that what Twitter is missing, derp?

Yes or no.

[koriwhat]

BLM movement and the BLM organization are two different things tbh.

Sounds like the same shit line of thinking like, "Socialism just hasn't been implemented right yet."

Lmao the movement is nothing more than smoke & mirrors for those commies who command idiots in the streets to burn, loot, and murder. Almost as good as antifa being considered anti-fascist.

[Winehole23]

is Hawley too young to remember warrantless domestic sureveillance under GWB and Obama? or is he just playing dumb?

1389360073764315140

[Winehole23]

Trump to remain in Facebook jail "indefinitely"

Trump’s Facebook suspension will continue, oversight board says (https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article251158959.html)

[Ef-man]

Trump to remain in Facebook jail "indefinitely"

Trump’s Facebook suspension will continue, oversight board says (https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article251158959.html)

:lmao. :lmao

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1390307275101724677?s=19

[spurraider21]

if big tech only existed to further the left's cause and censor conservatism, they're doing a really shitty job at it

1390303129543921671

[daboom1]

Shapiro is a grifter

[ChumpDumper]

Shapiro is a grifterSo is Trump but you love him, Qhris.

[spurraider21]

Shapiro is a grifter
(((grifter))) amirite?

[Ef-man]

:lmao :lmao

Devin Nunes’s Attorney Sanctioned, Ordered to Pay CNN $21,000 For Filing ‘Frivolous’ Defamation Lawsuit.

A federal judge in Maryland this week followed through on a previous warning to sanction a lawyer best known for representing Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in a series of failed defamation lawsuits against media companies, saying the lawyer’s latest case against CNN was “frivolous” in nature.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennet, an appointee of George W. Bush, ruled that attorney Steve Biss had “unreasonably and vexatiously” attempted to continue litigating a lawsuit against the news network after the case had already been dismissed with prejudice for failing to state a claim in March. Despite that ruling, Biss filed an amended complaint that the court went on to describe as “nothing more than a repetition of the original complaint with no new material factual allegations.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/devin-nunes-s-attorney-sanctioned-ordered-to-pay-cnn-21-000-for-filing-frivolous-defamation-lawsuit/ar-BB1gqMcT?ocid=msedgntp

[Ef-man]

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/1e/df/f2/1edff2148abae5d95433de10fcfe8215.jpg

[Winehole23]

Lina Khan nomination sails through committee


Did Hovenkamp’s predictions that Khan would face unified Republican opposition, and perhaps Democratic opposition, pan out? No. Two days ago, Khan not only got every Democrat in the Senate Commerce Committee, but eight out of twelve (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/12/lina-khan-bipartisan-ftc-487554) Republican votes. That means she’ll probably get something on the order of 70-80 votes on the floor of the Senate.


That’s a power move for a number of reasons.


One, it means that Khan is going into the FTC with a mandate from the Senate to take on big tech. The Senators know who she is, they questioned her on what she believes, and they voted for her. Officials at the discredited commission know that when she speaks, she is commanding significant political clout.


Two, Khan’s Senate vote flips the traditional political axis. Traditionally it’s been hard to get progressives into positions of authority, which is why Hovenkamp assumed that Khan would have a rough political road. But in this case, it’s precisely Khan’s aggressive take on the need to break up big tech that drew interest from the GOP.
https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/antitrust-establishment-horrified

[Winehole23]

tricky

1393274839822217221

[DMC]

Shapiro is a grifter

You saying he's a janky motherfucker?

[DMC]

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/1e/df/f2/1edff2148abae5d95433de10fcfe8215.jpg

Do better.

[daboom1]

You saying he's a janky motherfucker?

He's more worried about offending his sponsors these days.

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1p-OkhWYAEZoRI?format=jpg&name=900x900

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1395849301503451140?s=19

[spurraider21]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1395849301503451140?s=19
:tu

[DarrinS]

That's like donating $5

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1395849301503451140?s=19

:tu

[boutons_deux]

Can Democracy Survive Amazon?

https://capitalandmain.com/can-democracy-survive-amazon-conversation-with-writer-alec-mcgillis-0520

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E195NQrX0AMf3Bu?format=jpg&name=900x900

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1396174005590241289?s=19

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1396174005590241289?s=19

Breitbart made it political, looks like Facebook was correct :tu

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2Ue-TVWUAUD7us?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2Ue-TYXIAwaXJk?format=jpg&name=medium

[Winehole23]

kismet, I'm sure

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2V47_hXEAEr3li?format=jpg&name=900x900

[DMC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E195NQrX0AMf3Bu?format=jpg&name=900x900

White collar crime down. Good

[DMC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2Ue-TVWUAUD7us?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2Ue-TYXIAwaXJk?format=jpg&name=medium

If you haven't realized Bezos and Musk are being paid to put US spy satellites in orbit, can't help you.

[Spurtacular]

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/076/626/032/original/af34fb8a423600b5.jpeg

[Ef-man]

MAGAtards cannot code!

A string of top accounts on the new pro-Trump app GETTR were hacked and defaced on its July 4 launch day.

GETTR, the new social media platform set up by allies of former President Donald Trump, was been hacked on the day of its July 4 launch.

The platform's most popular verified users, mostly former Trump aides, had their accounts compromised. GETTR's official support page was also targeted.

Jason Miller, who founded the platform and was formerly a spokesperson to Trump, had his page taken over.

The accounts of Mike Pompeo, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Harlan Hill, Sean Parnell, and the pro-Trump broadcaster Newsmax were also hacked.

All of these account's profiles were changed to show the same message: "@JubaBaghdad was here :) ^^ free palestine ^^."

The accounts were first hacked at around 8:30 a.m. EST, and the majority of the profiles returned to their previous state by 10:00 a.m. EST.

Insider spoke to the user @JubaBaghdad, who claimed responsibility for the hack, via Twitter direct message.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-string-of-top-accounts-on-the-new-pro-trump-app-gettr-were-hacked-and-defaced-on-its-july-4-launch-day/ar-AALLm07?ocid=msedgntp

[Spurtacular]

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/079/338/575/original/e146bd5882a066af.jpeg

[Winehole23]

1415710661082972161

[Winehole23]

1415710290709151749

[Spurtacular]

https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/079/446/250/original/ba5599080ea0fcee.png

[Winehole23]

1417530189668618247

[ElNono]

YouTube Just Punished Brazil's President for Spreading Lies About COVID
The move is the strongest yet from the social media giants to censor the outspoken, right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, who is already fighting back.

RIO DE JANEIRO — YouTube has removed videos posted by Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro for violating its content policies, in the strongest measure yet that tech giants in the social media–loving country have taken toward censoring the president.

YouTube has said that if Bolsonaro breaks the video-sharing service’s rules again, his channel may be suspended for a week and, in case of recurrence, he should be permanently banned.

The video platform told the far-right leader last week that 15 of his videos had been removed from his channel for spreading COVID-19 misinformation—some of which promoted quack coronavirus cures that critics say can sometimes cause collateral health damages like kidney failure.

The news came days after the president was discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for an intestinal blockage that provoked a 10-day hiccup attack that hindered his ability to speak.

President Bolsonaro has so far remained silent on YouTube’s decision, but he’s been increasingly vocal in railing against lockdowns, stirring vaccine suspicions and COVID-related hoaxes, ridiculing people for wearing masks and downplaying the dangers of the virus as “a little flu.” Last year, the former army captain accused the press of “tricking” citizens about the severity of the virus.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88nk3a/youtube-just-punished-brazils-president-for-spreading-lies-about-covid

[Winehole23]

Apple to roll out spyware in IOS 15 that turns your device into a narc.


Apple intends to install software on American iPhones to scan for child abuse imagery, according to people briefed on its plans, raising alarm among security researchers who warn that it could open the door to surveillance of millions of people’s personal devices.

Apple detailed its proposed system — known as “neuralMatch” — to some US academics earlier this week, according to two security researchers briefed on the virtual meeting.


The automated system would proactively alert a team of human reviewers if it believes illegal imagery is detected, who would then contact law enforcement if the material can be verified. The scheme will initially roll out only in the US.


Apple confirmed its plans in a blog post, saying the scanning technology is part of a new suite of child protection systems that would “evolve and expand over time”. The features will be rolled out as part of iOS 15, expected to be released next month….


“It is an absolutely appalling idea, because it is going to lead to distributed bulk surveillance of . . . our phones and laptops,” said Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge.
https://www.ft.com/content/14440f81-d405-452f-97e2-a81458f5411f

[Winehole23]

Although the system is currently trained to spot child sex abuse, it could be adapted to scan for any other targeted imagery and text, for instance, terror beheadings or anti-government signs at protests, say researchers. Apple’s precedent could also increase pressure on other tech companies to use similar techniques.


“This will break the dam — governments will demand it from everyone,” said Matthew Green, a security professor at Johns Hopkins University, who is believed to be the first researcher to post a tweet about the issue.

[Winehole23]

automation isn't a panacea, but kind of the reverse -- it's generally used to increase rather than to replace painful drudgery.

1423342090944008194

[dbestpro]

There is a new trend where businesses are denied the ability to accept Mastercard or Visa based off your political view.

[Winehole23]

There is a new trend where businesses are denied the ability to accept Mastercard or Visa based off your political view.do tell

[spurraider21]

There is a new trend where businesses are denied the ability to accept Mastercard or Visa based off your political view.


do tell
https://media0.giphy.com/media/COYGe9rZvfiaQ/giphy.gif

[Winehole23]

this fucker needs to ride a rocket into the sun

1424801149626961942

[spurraider21]

:lmao taliban are literally just republicans

1427658106054406149

[Winehole23]

Lina Khan


https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/08/ftc-alleges-facebook-resorted-illegal-buy-or-bury-scheme-crush

[Winehole23]

damn, dog

1428417681351348224

[Nathan89]

this fucker needs to ride a rocket into the sun

1424801149626961942

That's disgusting.

[Winehole23]

1430533669857419269

[Winehole23]

three companies control 90% of the US market -- an oligopoly

paper ballots marked by hand would eliminate the systemic risk

https://apnews.com/article/technology-software-election-2020-1341028212960b9b4ed713620d764629

[Winehole23]

Gateway Pundit demonetized by Google/Youtube



https://www.blockislandtimes.com/sites/manisses/files/2018/03/field/image/Tots%20%26%20Pears.jpg

[ElNono]

Facebook Apologizes After Its AI Labeled Black Men 'Primates'

Facebook users who watched a newspaper video featuring black men were asked if they wanted to "keep seeing videos about primates (https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58462511)" by an artificial-intelligence recommendation system. From a report: Facebook told BBC News it "was clearly an unacceptable error", disabled the system and launched an investigation. "We apologise to anyone who may have seen these offensive recommendations." It is the latest in a long-running series of errors that have raised concerns over racial bias in AI.

[Thread]

Facebook Apologizes After Its AI Labeled Black Men 'Primates'

Facebook users who watched a newspaper video featuring black men were asked if they wanted to "keep seeing videos about primates (https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58462511)" by an artificial-intelligence recommendation system. From a report: Facebook told BBC News it "was clearly an unacceptable error", disabled the system and launched an investigation. "We apologise to anyone who may have seen these offensive recommendations." It is the latest in a long-running series of errors that have raised concerns over racial bias in AI.

...big deal. I just hated the AI ever since the last issue of Tecmo Super Bowl.

[Winehole23]

:lol

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E-21CspVIBkpfwF?format=png&name=900x900

[Winehole23]

good thread on the Epic v Apple injunction

tl;dr

Federal claims and counterclaims thrown out, but Epic can proceed in CA.

1436369122099712005

[Winehole23]

another hot take:

1436372920285204481

[Winehole23]

be evil


1436581472467554304

[Winehole23]

lot of countries lined up to kick Google in the nuts for self-dealing


The case is about what’s called local search, like when you look for “restaurants near me” or “hardware store.” This is a huge category of search traffic—nearly half (https://neilpatel.com/blog/definitive-guide-local-seo/) of all Google searches, according to some analysts. Google’s critics and competitors have long complained that Google unfairly uses its dominance to steer local search results to its own offerings, even when that might not be the most helpful result. Think about how, if you search on Google for “Chinese restaurant,” the top of the results page will probably feature a widget that Google calls the OneBox. It will include section of Google Maps and a few Google reviews of Chinese restaurants near you. You’ll have to scroll down to find the top organic results, which may be from Yelp or TripAdvisor.



This dynamic has exasperated Google critics and competitors for years. One of those aggrieved competitors, Yelp, initiated the case (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/technology/google-turkey-regulators.html) in Turkey by lodging a complaint with the country’s competition authority. Google argues that its local search results are designed to be maximally helpful for users, not to pad its own bottom line. But the Turkish regulators disagreed, concluding that Google “has violated Article 6 of the Turkish Competition Law by abusing its dominant position in the general search services market to promote its local search and accommodation price comparison services in a way to exclude its competitors.” (I’m quoting a translation provided by a Turkish lawyer.) In April they imposed a fine (https://www.reuters.com/technology/turkey-fines-google-abusing-dominant-position-2021-04-14/) of about $36 million. That’s less than Google earned every two hours, on average, in 2020. But while the fine was trivial, the rest of the decision was not. The authority issued a preliminary ruling ordering Google to come up with a way of displaying local search results that doesn’t favor itself over competitors.
https://www.wired.com/story/google-getting-caught-in-global-antitrust-net/

[Winehole23]

Sixteen Tons, etc..

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_bdoB9XIAE4IL-?format=jpg&name=medium

[Winehole23]

https://i.imgur.com/hG7KsfU.gif

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_ldRA9WYAQK7j9?format=png&name=large

[Winehole23]

how about that?

1439979840837496835

[Winehole23]

Delaware sues FB

1440305425845391373

[Winehole23]

crap AI punishes Amazon delivery drivers "in error"

1440255226078920712

[Winehole23]

sure, that'll help

1440429000384409604

[Ef-man]

Big tech strikes back at Texas! :wow

Technology trade groups that represent Facebook, Google’s YouTube and Twitter are suing Texas to stop a new state law that cracks down on social media companies for censoring conservative speech.

Big Tech Sues Texas (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/facebook-youtube-and-twitter-strike-back-sue-over-texas-social-media-censorship-law/ar-AAOIeYb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531)

[Winehole23]

in 21st century capitalism you don't own the car, you're just a subscriber

1441501895575625728

[Winehole23]

utopia/dystopia


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FASvlayXoAAXWsJ?format=png&name=small

[spurraider21]

in 21st century capitalism you don't own the car, you're just a subscriber

1441501895575625728
not sure that volkswagon falls under the umbrella of "big tech"

also not sure how this means people dont own their cars

[Winehole23]

not sure that volkswagon falls under the umbrella of "big tech"

also not sure how this means people dont own their cars
fair, my take was more facetious than serious

being locked out of essential functions of your own car because of computerization has a big tech-y feel to it. anecdotally, similar has happened to Tesla owners.

[spurraider21]

fair, my take was more facetious than serious

being locked out of essential functions of your own car because of computerization has a big tech-y feel to it. anecdotally, similar has happened to Tesla owners.
if you elect to purchase a car with that kind of computerization, you are assume that risk though. i also dont know if there are ways to modify the level of security as an owner through some settings.

[Winehole23]

if you elect to purchase a car with that kind of computerization, you are assume that risk though. i also dont know if there are ways to modify the level of security as an owner through some settings.not sure it's possible to buy cars without microcontrollers/microprocessors anymore.

cars are designed to make it essentially make them impossible to fix beyond routine maintenance and even that can be tricky.

[spurraider21]

not sure it's possible to buy cars without microcontrollers/microprocessors anymore.

cars are designed to make it essentially make them impossible to fix beyond routine maintenance and even that can be tricky.
but cars that dont require a login/password scenario? plenty of those around

[Winehole23]

but cars that dont require a login/password scenario? plenty of those aroundor auee.

I wasn't being argumentative

[Winehole23]

FB juices hate and division, that's why it has been a virtual mint for right-wingers

1446496433566146566

[SnakeBoy]

1450212973314658305

[Winehole23]

Prosecutor seeks to make Zuck personally liable for the Cambridge Analytica data leak


Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of scandal-plagued Facebook, might be held personally liable for damages in a consumer protection lawsuit filed in Washington, DC.


DC Attorney General Karl Racine’s office filed a suit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in December 2018 against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica data-leak fiasco (https://gizmodo.com/inside-cambridge-analytica-few-knew-how-soon-the-end-w-1825863109), alleging that the social media giant had misled consumers about its privacy policies. Racine announced on Tuesday that his investigation had determined Zuckerberg played a much bigger role in the incident than prosecutors were previously aware, according to the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/technology/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-lawsuit.html), and will be adding him to the suit. This would be one of the first times a regulator has tried to find Zuckerberg personally liable for the actions of his company.
https://gizmodo.com/mark-zuckerberg-will-be-added-as-a-defendant-in-lawsuit-1847901669

[Thread]

Prosecutor seeks to make Zuck personally liable for the Cambridge Analytica data leak

https://gizmodo.com/mark-zuckerberg-will-be-added-as-a-defendant-in-lawsuit-1847901669

The Zuckster no longer (good now). The Zuckster (bad now).
tee, hee.

[Winehole23]

how very cartel-like of them

https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-facebook-agreed-to-team-up-against-possible-antitrust-action-draft-lawsuit-says-11608612219some receipts, remarkable lack of circumlocution in the primary sources

1451579387183341591

[Winehole23]

An even juicier thread on the Texas lawsuit against Google

FB/Google collusion

1451619916994396164

[Winehole23]

1451619922916745218

1451619927538864129

[Winehole23]

1451619933478014979


1451619937475198977

[DMC]

It's all these fucking microcontrollers. We don't own anything.

[Winehole23]

Read through, it's eye watering

[spurraider21]

1450212973314658305
about the level of sophistication i'd expect from him

[DMC]

I'm not reading that shit you post whore.

[DMC]

about the level of sophistication i'd expect from him

He's more successful than you.

[spurraider21]

He's more successful than you.
true. he's a smart cookie who had resources to do some great things. doesnt mean his political/economic takes are well thought out

[Winehole23]

true. he's a smart cookie who had resources to do some great things. doesnt mean his political/economic takes are well thought out~$5 billion in public subsidies sure didn't hurt

to him who has, even more will be given.

[Winehole23]

https://www.goodjobsfirst.org/blog/los-angeles-times-stirs-debate-elon-musk%E2%80%99s-use-subsidies-tesla-spacex-and-solarcity

[Winehole23]

Also, didn't hurt that his parents owned an emerald mine...

[ElNono]

Also, didn't hurt that his parents owned an emerald mine...

“My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.”

[ElNono]

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/395/120/826.jpg

[Winehole23]

“My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.”Born on third base and his stans act like he hit a triple.

[Winehole23]

1451722110343254023

[Winehole23]

Wrong thread

[Winehole23]

Ad-based services aren't necessarily your friend

1452397750239252485
1452627175941804047

[boutons_deux]

The rot always starts at the top, Zuck is an immoral, unethical shitbag, chasing $Bs at all costs

Facebook employees snapped as unresponsive management did nothing on Jan 6th:

'We’re FB, not some naive startup'

https://www.rawstory.com/facebook-capitol-riot

[boutons_deux]

“The Facebook Papers” Expose Tech Giant’s Greed

https://truthout.org/articles/the-facebook-papers-expose-tech-giants-greed/

[RandomGuy]

Read through, it's eye watering

Seems time to anti-trust them in the dick, and keep stomping when they are down. It's them or us at this point.

[RandomGuy]

Ad-based services aren't necessarily your friend

1452397750239252485
1452627175941804047

Nope. Never were.

[boutons_deux]

Rep. Ro Khanna Decries Facebook’s Role in India


https://truthout.org/video/rep-ro-khanna-decries-facebooks-role-in-india/

[boutons_deux]

Facebook quickly leads users from Melania Trump to QAnon and white genocide: whistleblower

https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/lauren-haugen.png?id=27763614&width=800&height=450

A researcher employed by the social media company

set up (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-knew-radicalized-users-rcna3581) a fake account

showing interest in politics, parenting, Christianity, Fox News and Donald Trump, and

within two days the algorithm was recommending groups dedicated to QAnon and other conspiratorial content

that violated Facebook's own rules.

https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-haugen-facebook

[boutons_deux]

https://www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/banner_image_1x_xl/public/2021-10/GettyImages-1236117029-zuckerberg-facebook-papers.jpg?h=b9a61c46&itok=rBxNi1wq

[Ef-man]

Facebook quickly leads users from Melania Trump to QAnon and white genocide: whistleblower

https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/lauren-haugen.png?id=27763614&width=800&height=450

A researcher employed by the social media company

set up (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-knew-radicalized-users-rcna3581) a fake account

showing interest in politics, parenting, Christianity, Fox News and Donald Trump, and

within two days the algorithm was recommending groups dedicated to QAnon and other conspiratorial content

that violated Facebook's own rules.

https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-haugen-facebook


:lol Explains Qchrisy!

[Adam Lambert]

Ad-based services aren't necessarily your friend

1452397750239252485
1452627175941804047

I don't follow the theory here.

[Winehole23]

I don't follow the theory here.the ostensible point of having to zoom in to see street names is to reveal advertised locations. it's not a super big deal all by itself, but it is part of an electronic sensorium will a million finicky details like this.

[Adam Lambert]

Feels like a byproduct of the design rather than a goal. Not sure having every street name on a 5 square mile view of your smartphone map is a very good user experience.

[boutons_deux]

Feels like a byproduct of the design rather than a goal. Not sure having every street name on a 5 square mile view of your smartphone map is a very good user experience.

The street names are all there, but don't fit, aren't readable, fittable when zoomed out.

All exposed when zooming in.

"@Aanand", hilariously stupid fuckhead.

[vy65]

OP is right, but not in the way he thinks

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-papers-democracy-election-zuckerberg/620478/

[DMC]

Google might hide the names of streets but anyone can still pick out a flag lot by the shadows produced during the solstice and a 3mph breeze across the Mojave.

[Thread]

The rot always starts at the top, Zuck is an immoral, unethical shitbag, chasing $Bs at all costs

Facebook employees snapped as unresponsive management did nothing on Jan 6th:

'We’re FB, not some naive startup'

https://www.rawstory.com/facebook-capitol-riot


“The Facebook Papers” Expose Tech Giant’s Greed

https://truthout.org/articles/the-facebook-papers-expose-tech-giants-greed/

Gov't making yet another. fresh, their mightiest attempt to get a piece of that Internet boodle. Google told 'em to go fuck their mother some more, so, they're going after FB and will get the Goog's in the end if they can get FB.

Passing the same tired old shit bag of money back & forth, R to D, D to R, back & forth ain't shit. Christ-a-might, MF Biden is finding that out as he's knelt and given back 1/2 of $3.5 trillion of that old, used $.

FB/Internet is new money, money from home, untouched and right-fucking-there. Cold-hard-cash. Gov't has MSM firmly on their side in this latest attempt to take a healthy share of that pie.

Buit Zuck ain't gonna give it up so easy, bless-his-heart.

[Will Hunting]

Google might hide the names of streets but anyone can still pick out a flag lot by the shadows produced during the solstice and a 3mph breeze across the Mojave.
:lol one of the funniest moments in ST history

[DMC]

:lol one of the funniest moments in ST history

We need a Wild Cobra's greatest hits thread.

[Will Hunting]

We need a Wild Cobra's greatest hits thread.
50% of them can be found in that thread alone :lol

[boutons_deux]

FTC Study Highlights How 'Big Telecom' Privacy Practices Are Even Worse Than 'Big Tech'

telecom and cable companies collect an absolute ocean of data on U.S. consumers,

then "sell" access to that data to third parties (they usually just call it something else) without being clear about it.

They then provide users with opt out and transparency tools that are intentionally cumbersome, if they work at all.

This data then bounces around the internet creating potential harm and abuse among countless parties,

whether stalkers, law enforcement, people pretending to be law enforcement, or other corporations.

The FTC found that many ISP and cable companies "privacy policies" are utterly theatrical in nature.

As in they're designed to be so cumbersome as to deter people from using them (which companies then use as evidence that consumers "don't care about privacy").

Other times the "opt out" tools don't work at all,

and in some cases they result in even more user data being collected.

None of this is made particularly clear to the end user (https://www.vice.com/en/article/93b9nv/internet-service-providers-collect-sell-horrifying-amount-of-sensitive-data-government-study-concludes):

"...rapid consolidation has allowed ISPs to access and control a much larger and broader cache of consumer data than ever before, without having to explain fully their purposes for such collection and use, much less whether such collection and use is good for consumers."


https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20211025/08255347816/ftc-study-highlights-how-big-telecom-privacy-practices-are-even-worse-than-big-tech.shtml

[Nathan89]

https://twitter.com/IMAO_/status/1453048132858699776?s=20

[Nathan89]

https://twitter.com/lporiginalg/status/1453179794573561858?s=20:lmao

[Winehole23]

that's still not censorship, but you sure seem to like it when it happens to someone you don't like.

Pots jeering at kettles, tbh

[Ef-man]

A piece of shit by any other name still smells the same.

Facebook changes its company name to Meta.

Facebook is changing its company name as it shifts its focus to the "metaverse" and confronts wide-ranging scrutiny of the real-world harms from its various platforms after a whistleblower leaked hundreds of internal documents.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that Facebook will change its corporate name to Meta, effectively demoting Facebook's namesake service to being just one of the company's subsidiaries, alongside Instagram and WhatsApp, rather than the overarching brand.
The company formerly known as Facebook also said in a press release that it plans to begin trading under the stock ticker "MVRS" on December 1.

Facebook to Rebrand as Meta (https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/28/tech/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-keynote-announcements/index.html)

[koriwhat]

Should be called Beta for that bitchass Zuckerberg.

[boutons_deux]

Mark Zuckerberg Changes Name to Mother Teresa

“The name ‘Mark Zuckerberg’ did not accurately describe my function:

to be a force for good,

spreading love and kindness throughout the metaverse,” he said.

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/mark-zuckerberg-changes-name-to-mother-teresa (https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/mark-zuckerberg-changes-name-to-mother-teresa)

[boutons_deux]

Is Facebook Doing US Government’s Censorship Work in Nicaraguan Elections?

A few days before the Nicaraguan presidential elections on November 7,

Facebook and other social media companies began closing down many of the pages used by Sandinista supporters

in their campaign to re-elect President Daniel Ortega.

This blatant censorship move was said to be because they had discovered “troll farms” operated by government agencies.

But many of the 1,500 accounts closed appear simply to belong to pro-Sandinista journalists or young commentators.

TikTok, Twitter and Instagram took similar action, and Google said that it has closed 82 YouTube channels and three blogs in a related operation.

The fact that there are five opponents of Daniel Ortega standing might be an inconvenient truth, of course,

given that many of the reports of

Facebook’s censorship repeated the US government’s contention (https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/blinken-accuses-nicaraguas-ortega-preparing-sham-election-2021-10-22/) that the Nicaraguan elections are a “sham”

with no real opponents (despite the fact that two of the parties standing were in government between 1990 and 2007).

Facebook’s head of security, ... failed to respond to accusations that huge numbers of genuine accounts had been disabled.

https://www.laprogressive.com/censorship-work-in-nicaraguan-elections

After 100+ years, CIA STILL fucking over, subverting all countries South of the Border.

[RandomGuy]

TWEET

Still not an answer:

Is slavery evil? simple yes or no.

[Winehole23]

Partial solution: interoperability



The go-to tactic for increasing switching costs is blocking interoperability. If Facebook had to federate with smaller services – including ones that you could run yourself for you and your family or friends – then you could quit Facebook and still stay connected to the people you love.

Which means that if governments moved to increase interop, they'd offer immediate relief to the hostages in Big Tech's walled gardens – by letting you move your media, conversations, address books, apps and other valuable digital assets to new services.

One way to do this is through legislation. The ACCESS Act is an excellent bill and it deserves your support:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/access-act-takes-step-towards-more-interoperable-future
https://pluralistic.net/2021/11/22/amr-vs-babies/#jam-to-day

[Winehole23]

Censorship!

1464262719905878017

[DMC]

What's the contradiction between censorship claims and having top performing posts? Do you understand how censorship works?

[Winehole23]

What's the contradiction between censorship claims and having top performing posts? Do you understand how censorship works?Sure.

Feel free to provide some relevant examples and we can discuss em.

[DMC]

Sure.

Feel free to provide some relevant examples and we can discuss em.

You shouldn't need examples to understand that entities with top performing comments can still experience censorship. If you understand that and admit it, why are you pretending to show a contradiction?

[ChumpDumper]

lol "censorship"