Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans (www.androidauthority.com)
Google has quietly deprecated the Messages and Dialer apps in AOSP, and it could have ramifications for upstart brands and custom ROM fans.
Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake (techcrunch.com)
An internal investigation by IRL's board of directors found that 95% of the app's reported 20 million users were "automated or from bots."
RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days (arstechnica.com)
The closed display halves almost touch, and that can smash debris into the screen.
After porn-y protest, Reddit ousted mods; replacing them isn’t simple (arstechnica.com)
Hackers to leak 80GB of Reddit data unless API changes reversed (www.forbes.com)
YouTube under no obligation to host anti-vaccine advocate’s videos, court says (arstechnica.com)
YouTube had the discretion to take down content that harmed users, judge said.
Jitsi, the open-source video conferencing platform, now requires a Google, Microsoft, or Facebook account for their online service. - Beehaw (beehaw.org)
While Jitsi is open-source, most people use the platform they provide, meet.jit.si [http://meet.jit.si], for immediate conference calls. They have now introduced a “Know Your Customer” policy and require at least one of the attendees to log in with a Facebook, Github (Microsoft), or Google account. If you prefer not to...
Facebook owner Meta breaks privacy rules, Norway regulator tells court (www.reuters.com)
OSLO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is breaking European data privacy rules in Norway, the country's data regulator told a court on Wednesday, in a case that could have wider European implications.
Blue-blocking glasses might not do much of anything, says new review (newatlas.com)
In a study of studies, researchers concluded that eyeglasses that block blue light might not deliver on claims made by advertisers or optometrist offices. They caution consumers to think twice about shelling out the extra cash for the specs....
EU Just Changed Smartphones Forever (youtu.be)
A new EU law will require all mobile devices to have user-replaceable batteries by 2027. In this episode we take a look at the law, it's consequences and right to repair.
US Spies Are Lobbying Congress to Save a Phone Surveillance 'Loophole' (www.wired.com)
The National Security Agency has urged top lawmakers to resist demands that it obtain warrants for sensitive data sold by data brokers.
Nefarious Data Collection Masking as Public Art? An A.I. Company Has Placed Mirrored Spheres Around the World in a Massive Eye-Scanning Project | Artnet News (news.artnet.com)
A.I. company Worldcoin has rolled out 1,500 Orbs to more than 35 cities in a bid to create digital identities for the world's citizens.
FTC readies lawsuit that could break up Amazon (www.politico.com)
A case would be a high-water mark for FTC Chair Lina Khan who gained prominence criticizing the company’s dominance.
Kevin Mitnick, formerly the world’s ‘most-wanted’ hacker, has passed away (www.engadget.com)
'I can't afford food': Etsy sellers' income wiped out as it holds thousands in sales reserves (news.sky.com)
Some sellers say they were going from strength to strength, but now they have been left unable to pay their bills, with their only source of income coming from Etsy sales.
Free VPN App with 5 Million Downloads Acts as DDoS Botnet (restoreprivacy.com)
Researcher claims that Swing VPN is a DDoS botnet that uses people’s devices to launch debilitating attacks on websites and online services.
Guy Banned by Midjourney for Generating Images of Politicians Cheating (futurism.com)
Someone used Midjourney to AI-generate images of politicians cheating on their spouses — though claims that it was well-intentioned.
'Heavy debt': Elon Musk says Twitter cash flow negative after ad revenue declines (www.cnbc.com)
Musk said early Saturday that cash flow at Twitter remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue coupled with "heavy debt."
OC The AI genie is here. What we're deciding now is whether we all have access to it, or whether it's a privilege afforded only to rich people, corporations, and governments.
I know a lot of people want to interpret copyright law so that allowing a machine to learn concepts from a copyrighted work is copyright infringement, but I think what people will need to consider is that all that's going to do is keep AI out of the hands of regular people and place it specifically in the hands of people and...
FTC prepares “the big one,” a major lawsuit targeting Amazon’s core business (arstechnica.com)
Amazon to be accused of punishing sellers who don't use its fulfillment services.
Apple says UK Online Safety Bill is “serious threat” to end-to-end encryption (arstechnica.com)
Apple has joined the growing number of organizations opposed to the UK's pending Online Safety Bill, saying the proposed law threatens the end-to-end encryption that protects private messages....
EU advances rules that wrestle control of user data away from Big Tech (www.theverge.com)
Including protections against unlawful data transfers.
Twitter’s Lawyers Admit They’re Overwhelmed As Nearly 2000 Laid Off Employees File Arbitration Claims (www.techdirt.com)
1,986 former Twitter employees have filed arbitration claims....
Suicide Hotlines Promise Anonymity. Dozens of Their Websites Send Sensitive Data to Facebook – The Markup (themarkup.org)
Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads. Here's what you need to know (theconversation.com)
Google is paving the way to serve you ads based directly on your browsing history, instead of cookies.
