Downloading “free” apps onto devices more often than not allows app providers to collect personal data on users. Of course, companies that manufacture and sell devices tend to collect personal data on users too (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Having access to this data allows companies and providers to analyze users’ habits and preferences so they can market additional products and services to them. They can also sell users’ data to 3rd parties. This practice is sometimes referred to as “Surveillance Capitalism.” As more customers are becoming aware of this, more want to be able to “opt out” of privacy invasive data collection. Companies aren’t necessarily making this easy though. Recently Verizon was exposed for automatically enrolling its customers into a new program that scans users’ browser histories. Facebook, Google, and Snapchat are now also being exposed for continuing to collect data on without users’ knowledge or consent.
Tag: big tech
Big Tech bully…
Secret Twitter program fast-tracks elite users’ takedown demands
Facebook was recently raked over the coals by a former employee for having policies that give preferential treatment and protect high profile users only, but now it seems this is not such a rare occurrence among social media giants.
Take Twitter, for example, which just got exposed for running a secret program designed to give priority to its most prominent users, and protect them from what is perceived as attacks by “trolls and bullies.”
Twitter is carrying out its decision, Bloomberg reported, to protect the political elites and celebrities via a program called Project Guardian, that pushes reports about abusive content posted against these users to the front of the moderation queue.
Apart from shielding who Twitter picks as the most important people on the platform (reports about the secretive program say that many who are protected by it are unaware of this), the company is also able to control what content gets viral and has wide reach, and quickly stem the spread of tweets it disapproves of.
Facebook Court Filing Admits ‘Fact Checks’ Are Just A Matter Of ‘Protected’ Opinion
Surprisingly little attention is being paid to a bombshell admission made by the attorneys representing the corporation formerly known as Facebook, Inc., which has now transitioned into Meta Platforms, Inc.
In a court filing responding to a lawsuit filed by John Stossel claiming that he was defamed by a “fact check” Facebook used to label a video by him as “misleading,” Meta’s attorneys assert that the “fact check” was an “opinion,” not an actual check of facts and declaration of facts. Under libel law, opinions are protected from liability for libel.
The deplatformers…
Verizon accused of collecting customer browsing history (and more)
The My Verizon App has been accused of secretly collecting a user’s browser information, tracking apps, location, and contacts, for the purposes of understanding user interests. The mobile network provider appears to be automatically enrolling users in the data collection feature.
Input was first to report about Verizon’s “Custom Experience” feature that is concealed in the My Verizon app. There is also the “Custom Experience Plus” feature that is more invasive in data collection.
According to Verizon, the purposes of these features are to “personalize” users’ experience and “give you more relevant product and service recommendations” through the “information about websites you visit and apps you use on your mobile device.”
The company further states that a user “must opt in to participate and you can change your choice at any time.” However, it appears users are automatically enrolled.
I came here to do 2 things…
Climate scientist asks YouTube to censor climate “misinformation”
A climate change scientist has complained to YouTube for appearing to promote what he suggests is climate change denial content. The scientist told the platform that it should treat climate change “misinformation” the same way it has been treating COVID-19 “misinformation.”
Prof. Michael Mann, the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, tweeted: “Hey @Youtube. It’s good you’re taking down COVID denial videos. Now it’s time for you to remove climate denial videos. They pose an even greater threat to humanity in the long term.”
His tweet was in response to another user who tweeted that he has been getting recommendation of a 2013 climate change denial video too often.
The video, titled “Why has Global Warming Paused? – William Happer,” featuresPrinceton University physics professor and Trump appointee to the National Security Council William Happer.
Twitter Bans Account That Posted Updates About Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein Trial
Twitter has banned the popular Maxwell Trial Tracker account from its platform. The account, affiliated with The Free Press Report from the PatriotOne Substack, posted updates about the claims raised in the criminal trial against Maxwell, who is accused of trafficking teenage girls for deceased billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a post written to the PatriotOne substack, The Free Press Report wrote “I woke up this morning and the @TrackerTrial account on Twitter was suspended. All the other accounts that I have made in the past were also suspended.”
According to a screen shot provided in the Substack article, the @TrackerTrial account was suspended for allegedly breaking Twitter’s “rules against platform manipulation and spam.”
“The @TrackerTrial account was the largest account on Twitter that specifically tracked the Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein trial.”
The Free Press Report noted that all other accounts previously created by the same user were banned, including another popular account that tracked Nancy Pelosi’s stock market purchases and sales.
Military Officers: To Combat ‘Disinformation,’ The Government And Its Big Tech Buddies Should Tell You What To Think
Four military officers who describe themselves as “researchers” at the Army’s highly respected Cyber Institute have published an article that adds to the growing concern about the ongoing politicization of the military. Published by the military’s National Defense University (NDU), their article purports to analyze the dangers of misinformation and disinformation and to advise the Biden administration about how to counter it.
The article’s authors all are military officers and at least two are professors at West Point. They say their article “is written in response to the Capitol insurrection.”
Ironically, the article is itself misinformation. That this misinformation is published by military officers associated with two highly prestigious institutions, the NDU and the Cyber Institute, makes it all the more inappropriate and dangerous.
The article attempts to address a real and dangerous issue: how mis- and disinformation can endanger national security. Preparing for and combatting disinformation is a complex issue that involves disciplines from sociology and psychology to highly technical cyberwarfare issues.
The difference between misinformation and disinformation is generally understood to be a matter of intent; disinformation is intentionally and maliciously deceptive. Disinformation is as old as warfare itself; only the techniques vary. The U.S. military has been practicing and studying it and related disciplines for many years. Misinformation has been a staple of military operations since the days of the Trojan horse and Sun Tzu.
You must be logged in to post a comment.