 Facebook Suspends Tens of Thousands of Apps Following Data Investigation
Facebook revealed Friday that it had suspended "tens of thousands" of apps that may have mishandled users' personal data, [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source] part of an investigation sparked by the social giant's entanglement with Cambridge Analytica. From a report: The suspensions -- far more than the hundreds against which Facebook has taken action against in the past -- occurred for a "variety of reasons," the company said in a blog post, without elaborating. They w
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Why Prescription Drugs Cost So Much More in America
The US spends more per capita on medication than anywhere else in the world. It's a key electoral issue. From a report on Financial Times (paywalled): All over the world, drugmakers are granted time-limited monopolies -- in the form of patents -- to encourage innovation. But America is one of the only countries that does not combine this carrot with the stick of price controls. The US government's refusal to negotiate prices has contributed to spiralling healthcare costs which, said billionaire
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Traders Who Can't Code May Become Extinct, Goldman's Tech Pioneer Warns
Just how important will the ability to write computer code be to a successful career on Wall Street? From a report: According to R. Martin Chavez, an architect of Goldman Sachs Group's effort to transform itself with technology, "It's like writing an English sentence." As Chavez prepares to leave the company, the onetime commodities staffer who rose to posts overseeing technology and ultimately trading is reflecting on his "26-year adventure" in the industry. "The short, short description of it
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They Want To Believe: People Gather Near Area 51 To 'See Them Aliens'
Hundreds of people arrived early Friday at a gate at the once secret Area 51 military base in Nevada at the time appointed by an internet hoaxster to "storm" the facility to see space aliens and at least two were detained by sheriff's deputies. From a report: The Storm Area 51 invitation spawned festivals in the tiny Nevada towns of Rachel and Hiko nearest the military site, and a more than two-hour drive from Las Vegas. The Lincoln county sheriff, Kerry Lee, estimated late Thursday that about 1
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Secret FBI Subpoenas Scoop Up Personal Data From Scores of Companies
The F.B.I. has used secret subpoenas to obtain personal data from far more companies than previously disclosed, The New York Times reported Friday, citing newly released documents. From the report: The requests, which the F.B.I. says are critical to its counterterrorism efforts, have raised privacy concerns for years but have been associated mainly with tech companies. Now, records show how far beyond Silicon Valley the practice extends -- encompassing scores of banks, credit agencies, cellphone
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47% of Organizations Have Cyber Insurance, Up From 34% in 2017: Study
Cyberattacks are now considered by most execs to be the top business concern, far outranking economic uncertainty, brand damage, and regulation, according to a survey by insurance consultancy Marsh and tech giant Microsoft. From a report: The global survey of over 1,500 business leaders illustrates the rapid change in business leaders' perceived risks to their organizations and shows that having a cyber insurance policy is now more common than two years ago. In 2017, Marsh and Microsoft found th
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French Court Rules that Steam's Ban on Reselling Used Games is Contrary To European Law
A French high court this week delivered a blow to Valve, ruling that European consumers are legally free to resell digital games bought on Steam, just as they're able to resell packaged, physical games. From a report: The ruling was delivered by the High Court of Paris (Tribunal de grande instance de Paris) two days ago, according to a report on French games site Numerama. In a statement released today, Valve pledged to appeal the decision. The court's ruling is a victory for French consumer gro
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 Lookiero closes $19M led by MMC Ventures to be the Stitch Fix for Europe
Lookiero, the online personal shopping service for clothes and accessories, has closed a $19 million funding round led by London-based VC MMC Ventures with support from existing investor All Iron Ventures, and new investors Bonsai Partners, 10x and Santander Smart. The company will use the backing to expand in its main markets of Spain, France […]
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Silicon Valley Is Terrified of California's Privacy Law
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Silicon Valley is terrified. In a little over three months, California will see the widest-sweeping state-wide changes to its privacy law in years. California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) kicks in on January 1 and rolls out sweeping new privacy benefits to the state's 40 million residents -- and every tech company in Silicon Valley. California's law is similar to Europe's GDPR. It grants state consumers a right to know what information compan
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Experts Warn World 'Grossly Unprepared' For Future Pandemics
Prominent international experts are warning that a virulent flu pandemic capable of spreading across the world in 36 hours, killing up to 80 million people, is entirely plausible and efforts by governments to prepare for it are "grossly insufficient." The Guardian reports: The first annual report by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an independent group of 15 experts convened by the World Bank and WHO after the first Ebola crisis, describes the threat of a pandemic spreading around the w
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Alchemist Accelerator is launching a European program
Enterprise-focused startup accelerator Alchemist is expanding its footprint this morning with the launch of an initiative focused on European startups. While Alchemist was happy to accept European companies into their US program before — they tell me they’ve had about 25 European startups go through Alchemist already — it hasn’t been a focus. With the […]
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Japan's Hayabusa 2 Targets Final Asteroid Landing
The team overseeing the Hayabusa2 mission for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is putting the vehicle through its paces one more time as it prepares to release the last rover it has on board. "That rehearsal, which took place Sept. 16 (Sept. 17 local time at mission control), sent two target markers toward the asteroid," reports Space.com. From the report: Each target marker is a reflective ball that's about 4 inches (10 centimeters) across and filled with smaller balls -- like a hi
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Vianai emerges with $50M seed and a mission to simplify machine learning tech
You don’t see a startup get a $50 million seed round all that often, but such was the case with Vianai, an early stage startup launched by Vishal Sikka, former Infosys managing director and SAP executive. The company launched recently with a big check and a vision to transform machine learning. Just this week, the […]
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Beats headphones will get iOS 13 audio sharing next week
Audio sharing is among the more delightful features arriving as part of Apple's iOS 13 update. With it, users will be able to share songs across nearby device — a sort of 2019 version of buying a headphone splitter or handing someone your earbud. Beats pinged TechCrunch this morning to let us know that the […]
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World's Most Destructive Botnet Returns With Stolen Passwords and Email In Tow
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: If you've noticed an uptick of spam that addresses you by name or quotes real emails you've sent or received in the past, you can probably blame Emotet. It's one of the world's most costly and destructive botnets -- and it just returned from a four-month hiatus. A post published on Tuesday by researchers from Cisco's Talos security team helps explain how Emotet continues to threaten so many of its targets.
Spam sent by Emotet often appea
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Tonic launches a personalized news reader that respects user privacy
Personalization technology can lead to better experiences as it allows apps to customize their content for each individual user. But it can also chip away at user privacy. A company called Canopy wants to change that. It has developed a personalization engine that works without requiring users to log in or even provide an email. […]
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How Kobalt is betting on music's middle class and DIY stars
Streaming services have made music ubiquitous, driving more exploration by consumers who don't have to pay for each song or album individually. Musicians are correspondingly able to find their own niche of fans scattered around the world. (This is the third installment of our EC-1 series on Kobalt Music Group and changes in the music […]
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Google is investing $3.3B to build clean data centers in Europe
Google announced today that it was investing 3 billion euro (approximately $3.3 billion USD) to expand its data center presence in Europe. What’s more, the company pledged the data centers would be environmentally friendly. This new investment is in addition to the $7 billion the company has invested since 2007 in the EU, but today’s […]
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Bill Gates: Don't Break Up Tech Giants, It Won't Stop Anticompetitive Behavior
dryriver shares a report from ZDNet: Speaking with Bloomberg, Microsoft co-founder Gates said it is better to regulate big tech companies. Breaking them up will simply result in two companies indulging in bad behavior. "I don't know the last time a company was broken up but you have to really think, 'Is that the best thing if there's a way that a company's behaving that you want to get rid of?' Then you should just say, 'Hey, OK, that's a banned behavior,'" said Gates. "Splitting a company in tw
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Twitter discloses another 10,000 accounts suspended for fomenting political discord globally
Twitter’s ongoing, and possibly Sisyphean, effort of policing and removing nefarious content disseminated on its platform is taking another step forward today. The company’s safety team has disclosed the removal of another 10,112 accounts across six countries that were found to be actively spreading misinformation and encouraging unrest in politically sensitive climates. The accounts noted […]
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Authorities Consider Taking Legal Action Against Facebook Over Storm Area 51 Event
Local authorities in Rachel, Nevada -- the location of a planned Aliengate festival that evolved out of a viral Facebook event -- are considering taking legal action to cover $250,000 the county plans to spend to prepare for the potential onslaught of visitors. Gizmodo reports: Matty Roberts created the "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" Facebook event on June 27 as a joke, but the event went viral and evolved into an actual festival -- Alienstock -- which was planned for September 19-22
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Two Years Later, Hackers Are Still Breaching Local Government Payment Portals
Two years after hackers first started targeting local government payment portals, attacks are still going on, with eight cities having had their Click2Gov payment portals compromised in the last month alone, security researchers from Gemini Advisory have revealed in a report shared with ZDNet today. From the news report: These new hacks have allowed hackers to get their hands on over 20,000 payment card details belonging to US citizens, which are now being traded on the dark web, the cyber-secur
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Instagram's Opioid Recovery Hashtags Are Full of Drug Dealers
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: Dozens of top posts under the #opioidcrisis and #opioidaddiction hashtags contained comments touting Oxycontin, Percocet, Codeine, and other prescription opioids -- along with phone numbers and usernames for encrypted messaging accounts. A typical entry, under a video describing tens of thousands of deaths by drug overdose, offered "fast deals" on "Oxys, Roxy, Xans, Addy, codeine, perc...Available 24.7 for delivery." Social media's role in
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Vaping Criminal Probe Announced By FDA As Illnesses Rise To 530
The FDA has revealed a criminal investigation into the outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, which have risen to 530 across 38 states, according to the CDC. The Washington Post says there have been seven confirmed deaths from these illnesses so far. CNET reports: The FDA reportedly said it isn't seeking prosecution for ill people who've vaped cannabis and come forward with information. "The focus is on the supply chain," Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, told
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YouTube Creators May Lose Verified Badges As Verification Process Becomes Stricter
YouTube is rolling out changes to its verification program for creators, making it tougher for growing channels to earn a checkmark beside their name and removing verification badges from people who don't meet the heightened criteria. An anonymous Slashdot reader shares a report from The Verge: YouTube's current system allows anyone with more than 100,000 subscribers to be verified. Now, YouTube is emphasizing verifying prominent channels that have a "clear need for proof of authenticity," accor
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Alphabet Partners With FedEx, Walgreens To Bring Drone Delivery To the US
Google's Wing drone-delivery company announced today that it would be partnering with FedEx and Walgreens to bring autonomous drone deliveries to the U.S. in October. "The pilot program will be launched in Christiansburg, Virginia, one of the two areas in the state that Wing has been testing its drone technology for years," reports Quartz. From the report: People expecting packages from FedEx will be able to choose to get their deliveries made via drone, assuming that they live in certain areas
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Google Makes the Largest Ever Corporate Purchase of Renewable Energy
Two years ago, Google became the first company of its size to buy as much renewable electricity as the electricity it used. But as the company grows, so does its demand for power. To stay ahead of that demand, Google just made the largest corporate renewable energy purchase in history, with 18 new energy deals around the world that will help build infrastructure worth more than $2 billion. From a report: The projects include massive new solar farms in places like Texas and North Carolina where t
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Facebook employee dies after apparent suicide at company's Menlo Park headquarters
An employee of Facebook died by apparent suicide Thursday morning, Menlo Park police reported and the company confirmed. “We were saddened to learn that one of our employees passed away at our Menlo Park headquarters earlier today,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email. The male employee was pronounced dead at the scene, which […]
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The emergence of super apps in Latin America
Because of its vast population distributed in more or less similar countries regarding language, culture and religion, Latin America is an especially compelling region for the emergence of super apps.
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AT&T Says Customers Can't Sue the Company For Selling Location Data To Bounty Hunters
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: AT&T is arguing that its customers can't sue the company for selling location data to bounty hunters, according to recently filed court records. AT&T says the customers signed contracts that force them into arbitration, meaning consumers have to settle complaints privately with the company rather than in court. The filing is in response to a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The issue circles around mandatory
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North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds in 50 Years
Slowly, steadily and almost imperceptibly, North America's bird population is dwindling. From a report: The sparrows and finches that visit backyard feeders number fewer each year. The flutelike song of the western meadowlark -- the official bird of six U.S. states -- is growing more rare. The continent has lost nearly 3 billion birds representing hundreds of species over the past five decades, in an enormous loss that signals an "overlooked biodiversity crisis," according to a study from top or
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Finding sustainable success with Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
"We were so low that people would take advantage of us. People we knew well would just lie to us. One of my favorites was a company we did an enormous amount of work for and really helped save. We then went to see the CEO and he said, 'I really love you guys but […]
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Apple's iOS 13 Just Launched But iOS 13.1, iPadOS Arrive Next Week
Apple's latest iPhone software, iOS 13, is now available -- but on Tuesday, you'll already be able to download the first update, iOS 13.1. And you'll be able to revitalize your iPad with Apple's software created for its tablets. From a report: Apple may be best known for its hardware, but it's really the seamless integration of its devices with its software that's set it apart from rivals. The company's ability to control every aspect of its products -- something that began when Steve Jobs and S
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YouTube overhauls its problematic verification program
YouTube’s verification program is getting a massive overhaul, the company announced today, which will likely result in a number of less prominent creators losing their verification status. Previously, YouTube allowed any channel that reached 100,000 subscribers to request verification. That limit is being removed, with a change to the verification program that rolls out in […]
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How the Internet Archive is Waging War on Misinformation
San Francisco-based non-profit is archiving billions of web pages in a bid to preserve web history. From a report: Since the 2016 US election, as fears about the power of fake news have intensified, the archive has stepped up its efforts to combat misinformation. At a time when false and ultra-partisan content is rapidly created and spread, and social media pages are constantly updated, the importance of having an unalterable record of who said what, when has been magnified. "We're trying to put
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Downloading Stays Legal, No Site Blocking, Swiss Copyright Law Says
From a report: Switzerland's National Council has passed amendments aimed at modernizing the country's copyright law to make it more fit for the digital age. While services that host pirate sites or distribute content can expect a tougher ride moving forward, users will still be able to download pirate content for personal use. Furthermore, Swiss Internet service providers will not be required to prevent their customers accessing pirate sites.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Amazon's 'Climate Pledge' Commits To Net Zero Carbon Emissions By 2040 and 100% Renewables by 2030
In Washington today, Amazon announced a series of initiatives and issued call for companies to reduce their carbon emissions ten years ahead of the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement as part of sweeping effort to reduce its own environmental footprint. From a report: "We're done being in the middle of the herd on this issue -- we've decided to use our size and scale to make a difference," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive, in a statement. "If a company with as much physical
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Philippines Declares New Polio Outbreak After 19 Years
twocows writes: Philippine health officials declared a polio outbreak in the country on Thursday, nearly two decades after the World Health Organization declared it to be free of the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said at a news conference that authorities have confirmed at least one case of polio in a 3-year-old girl in southern Lanao del Sur province and detected the polio virus in sewage in Manila and in waterways in the southern Davao r
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iOS 13 pushes the envelope across the board
Apple released iOS 13, the new major version of iOS. This isn't a groundbreaking release that is going to change the way you use your phone. But Apple has done some tremendous work across the board to improve some low-level features, as well as most Apple apps. In many ways, iOS 13 feels like a […]
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Subscription email app Tempo hits the right minimalist notes
Email will likely never die, but if new apps can change how we think about using it, maybe it will feel like the worst parts have croaked. In the wake of popular apps like Inbox and Mailbox being sunsetted, like many, I’ve been left rudderless trying to find an email client that fills the void. […]
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India Tells Tech Firms To Protect User Privacy, Prevent Abuse
Technology firms must protect user privacy and prevent abuse of their platforms, India's IT minister said on Thursday, speaking as the government draws up a data privacy law and seeks to push companies to store more data locally. From a report: Federal Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he wanted Indians to have access to more technology platforms but said this should not undermine user privacy. "I have only one caveat -- it must be safe and secure, it must safeguard th
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Huawei's Flagship Mate 30 Pro Has Impressive Specs But No Google
The Mate 30 series of smartphones from Huawei is now official, starting with the Mate 30 Pro and the Mate 30. From a report: The announcement of Mate 30 series comes at a difficult time for Huawei, whose presence on the USA's entity list prevents US companies from doing business with the Chinese firm. Google said last month that these phones won't ship with Google's apps and services, nor will they come with the Play Store pre-installed, which is how most Android users outside of China download
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Solar and Wind Power So Cheap They're Outgrowing Subsidies
For years, wind and solar power were derided as boondoggles. They were too expensive, the argument went, to build without government handouts. Today, renewable energy is so cheap that the handouts they once needed are disappearing. From a report: On sun-drenched fields across Spain and Italy, developers are building solar farms without subsidies or tax-breaks, betting they can profit without them. In China, the government plans to stop financially supporting new wind farms. And in the U.S., deve
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Google is Bringing Its AI Assistant Service To People Without Internet Access
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google Assistant, the digital assistant from the global search giant, is available to users through their smartphones, laptops, and smart speakers. Earlier this year, the company partnered with KaiOS to bring Assistant to some feature phones with internet access. Now Google is going a step further: Bringing its virtual assistant to people who have the most basic cellphone with no internet access. It's starting this program in India. At an event in New Delhi o
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Nintendo Switch Lite review
Let me preface this by saying: I realize that I'm not necessarily the target user for the original Nintendo Switch. First: I don't own a TV, and haven't since high school. Second: I travel all the time for this damn job. The combination of these things have made the device's convertible form factor a bit […]
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'Personal Carbon Sequestration' Device Uses Algae To Remove CO2 From the Air
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company: In the future, your office might have an extra appliance next to the copy machine and the refrigerator: an algae bioreactor. Designed to fit inside offices and eventually sit on the rooftops throughout cities, it can capture as much carbon from the atmosphere as an acre of trees. And there's an initial prototype already at work. Inside the bioreactor, algae does the work. "What's amazing about algae is it's really cheap and it's easy to grow
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Is that supplement safe to take? This AI tool scours research to find out
Dietary supplements are used by millions who accept the occasionally scarce evidence they help out with some condition or another. But also scarce is documentation of potential harmful interactions with other supplements or drugs. A new tool called Supp.ai looks through years of health research papers to extract potential conflicts that may not be listed anywhere else.
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Airbnb says it will go public next year
Airbnb has said that it will have its initial public offering in 2020. The company is one of the last of the big unicorn herd that grew up roughly a decade ago and includes Uber, Lyft, the We Company, and Postmates, to declare its public market intentions. Yesterday evening the company announced that it had […]
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Google announces 18 new renewable energy deals
Google today announced its largest package of renewable energy deals yet. Worth a total of 1,600-megawatts, the package includes 18 deals in the U.S., Chile and Europe. This brings Google’s current set of wind and solar agreements to about 5,500 megawatts (MW) and the company’s number of total renewables projects it’s involved in to 52. […]
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