Robots: Stealing Our Jobs or Solving Labour Shortages?
By: The Guardian October 2, 2020 As the coronavirus pandemic enveloped the world last year, businesses increasingly turned to automation in order to address rapidly changing conditions. Floor-cleaning and microbe-zapping disinfecting robots were introduced in hospitals, supermarkets and other environments. Some enterprises found that, given the new emphasis on hygiene and social distancing, robotic […]
There’s a Multibillion-Dollar Market for Your Phone’s Location Data
By: The Markup September 30, 2020 Companies that you likely have never heard of are hawking access to the location history on your mobile phone. An estimated $12 billion market, the location data industry has many players: collectors, aggregators, marketplaces, and location intelligence firms, all of which boast about the scale and precision of the […]
Facebook’s Effort to Attract Preteens Goes Beyond Instagram Kids, Documents Show
By: The Wall Street Journal September 28, 2021 Inside Facebook, employees have spent years laying plans to attract preteens, spurred by fears the company could lose a new generation of users critical to its future. The company formed a team to study preteens, set a three-year goal to create more products for them […]
Facebook Algorithm Change re Political Content
By: Linkedin Septemver 24, 2021 The most interesting thing in tech: Facebook is making a big change in their algorithm, reducing political posts. But the study that led to this change says something profound about Facebook and about other tech companies that rely on algorithms too. Read More
Apple, Google Raise New Concerns by Yanking Russian App
By: AP News September 22, 2020 BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Big Tech companies that operate around the globe have long promised to obey local laws and to protect civil rights while doing business. But when Apple and Google capitulated to Russian demands and removed a political-opposition app from their local app stores, it raised worries that […]
Ant to Fully Share Consumer Credit Data With China’s Government
By: The Wall Street Journal September 22, 2021 Credit data generated by Ant Group Co.’s popular consumer lending service will be fully integrated into a government credit-reporting system, a significant step in a continuing effort to bring the financial-technology giant into line with Chinese regulators’ priorities. Ant’s service Huabei, which means “just spend” […]
Facebook Oversight Board Launches Review of Company’s XCheck System
By: The Wall Street Journal September 21, 2021 Facebook Inc.’s FB 1.57% Oversight Board said it is reviewing the company’s practice of holding high-profile users to separate sets of rules, citing apparent inconsistencies in the way the social-media giant makes decisions. The inquiry follows an investigation by The Wall Street Journal into the system, known internally as “cross-check” or “XCheck.” […]
Law Enforcement’s Use of Commercial Phone Data Stirs Surveillance Fight
By: The Wall Street Journal September 15, 2021 In January 2020, a 14-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Missouri and classified as a runaway by local police. Her phone had been wiped of data and left behind, leaving few clues about her whereabouts. Several hundred miles away in Fayetteville, Ark., […]
Voters Want Congress to Focus on National Security, Jobs – Not Breaking Up Tech Companies
By: American Edge Project September 15, 2021 WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new survey released today by Ipsos in partnership with the American Edge Project (AEP) shows that voters in frontline districts want their elected officials to focus on issues of national security, jobs, and health care as opposed to breaking up tech companies. The poll, […]