Its Technical

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ap215
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Re: Its Technical

Post by ap215 »

Don't expect The MAGA House do any shit this year & beyond.

More social media regulation is coming in 2023, members of Congress say

Days after Congress passed a bipartisan spending bill banning TikTok from government devices, legislators and advocates say they are looking to further regulate social media companies in the New Year.

TikTok, a video-sharing app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, attracts more than 1 billion users every month. Lawmakers and FBI Director Christopher Wray have voiced concerns that TikTok’s ownership structure could make U.S. user data vulnerable, since companies based in China are required by law to hand over user information if the government requests it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/01/more-so ... s-say.html
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

Post by ZoWie »

TikTok is like covid. The threat is real, but there's no genuine desire to actually deal with the problem. We'll just talk about it.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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Seattle schools sue tech giants over youth mental health crisis

Seattle Public Schools is suing social media companies including TikTok and Meta, saying the tech giants' "misconduct has been a substantial factor in causing a youth mental health crisis."

Driving the news: "This mental health crisis is no accident. It is the result of the Defendants’ deliberate choices and affirmative actions to design and market their social media platforms to attract youth," the lawsuit states.

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/08/seattl ... tal-health
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

Post by ZoWie »

While they're at it they should sue the Republicans for the disinformation crisis. The social media platforms also give right wing crazies another way to spread agitprop from Russia, China, and the US lunatic fringe.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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In op-ed, Biden calls on GOP, Dems to come together on Big Tech reform

In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, President Joe Biden called on Democrats and Republicans in Congress to come together what he called “Big Tech abuses” and urged lawmakers to pass “strong bipartisan legislation to hold” technology companies “accountable”

“The risks Big Tech poses for ordinary Americans are clear. Big Tech companies collect huge amounts of data on the things we buy, on the websites we visit, on the places we go and, most troubling of all, on our children,” the president wrote. “As I said last year in my State of the Union address, millions of young people are struggling with bullying, violence, trauma and mental health.

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ne ... s-congress
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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Justice Dept. sues Google over digital advertising dominance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, seeking to shatter its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government.

The government alleged in the complaint that Google is looking to “neutralize or eliminate” rivals in the online ad marketplace through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors’ offerings. It’s part of a new, if slow and halting, push by the U.S. to rein in big tech companies that have enjoyed largely unbridled growth in the past decade and a half.

https://apnews.com/article/justice-depa ... 6a7e947b81
ap215
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Microsoft reports outage for Teams, Outlook, other services

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft said it’s seeing some improvement to problems with its online services including the Teams messaging platform and Outlook email system after users around the world reported outages Wednesday.

In a status update, the tech company reported “service degradation” for a number of its Microsoft 365 services.

https://apnews.com/article/technology-s ... osition_11
ap215
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End of an era: Microsoft officially retires Internet Explorer

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — This Valentine’s Day didn’t show love to those who experienced the early stages of the world wide web.

As of Tuesday, Microsoft has officially disabled Internet Explorer for desktops, the tech company announced.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3 ... -explorer/
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

Post by ZoWie »

The latest Windows update puts Edge on your desktop whether or not you ever use it, and if you delete the icon the system will re-create it in time.

Google Image searches often turn up a supposed Russian space force logo that is actually the Edge icon. The real Russian space force logo looks more like Star Trek than ours does, and that's saying a lot. The Edge icon looks like it would be good key art for a surf movie.

Somebody's idea of a joke?
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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I'm so thankful i took computer class in school i'm afraid the Internet that we all know & love today will go by the wayside if the GOP gets their way.

What is Section 230, the rule that made the modern internet?

Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.

A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law — namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.

https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-c ... 2b48a8a0ff
gounion
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Re: Its Technical

Post by gounion »

ap215 wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:31 am I'm so thankful i took computer class in school i'm afraid the Internet that we all know & love today will go by the wayside if the GOP gets their way.

What is Section 230, the rule that made the modern internet?

Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.

A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law — namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.

https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-c ... 2b48a8a0ff
Depending upon the decision, it could put this board out of business.
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

Post by ZoWie »

Actually I think the Internet is still not a common carrier, and that's the problem. I don't believe it ever got common carrier status, meaning that while you can't sue the phone company when you get 500 robocalls saying you'll be arrested if you don't press one, now, you can sue ISPs and platforms, so they can legally censor the content all they want.

Were the net a common carrier, a different body of communications law would apply, and you could go after people who break the law directly for wire fraud or threatening violence or whatever. It would also enshrine net neutrality, and you could go after ISPs if they censor views they don't like.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

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The net seems to be in limbo. I could well be wrong, but I don't think it ever got common carrier status, meaning that not only can ISPs meddle in the content going over their wires, they are pretty much compelled to do just that, in order to avoid being named in suits.

It also means they are obligated to monitor their content, which of course gives them legal cover for all the sneaky spying with ad tailoring algorithms and tracking what everyone's looking at.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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YouTubers can swear at the start of videos again without getting demonetized

YouTube will ease its restrictions on swearing in videos after an update it rolled out in November sparked backlash from several creators, and the company will be reviewing videos that had their monetization affected by the policy. In a video uploaded to the Creator Insider channel, the company says it reviewed the data on how the new rules were enforced and found that they “resulted in a stricter approach than we intended.”

The update means that creators will still be able to make at least some money on videos, even if there’s mild swearing up front, though the restrictions remain confusing and don’t fully revert to the older rules.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/7/23629 ... rs-outrage
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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To me it's the whole thing that's a nightmare & taking them off cable is an even bigger joke.

Warner Bros. Discovery Worried That ‘HBO’ Name Turns Off New Subscribers

Warner Bros. Discovery is pushing forward with a plan to drop “HBO” from the name of its flagship streaming service HBO Max.

That decision for the long-planned rebranding of the combined HBO Max and Discovery+ services was partially informed by the company’s belief that “the HBO name turns off many potential subscribers,” Bloomberg reported on Thursday and TheWrap independently confirmed.

https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-dis ... -relaunch/
ap215
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YouTube to remove overlay banner ads in April

Officials at YouTube say they will make a significant change next month that will improve the overall experience for streamers.

Starting in April, YouTube will drop support for overlay advertisements, a format that showed an interactive, commercial banner across the lower-third of a YouTube video when played on computers.

https://thedesk.net/2023/03/youtube-ove ... usinesses/
Motor City
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Re: Its Technical

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqa8Zo2XWc4
Artificial Intelligence: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of our lives, from self-driving cars to ChatGPT. John Oliver discusses how AI works, where it might be heading next, and, of course, why it hates the bus.
Image
ap215
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AI-generated images from text can't be copyrighted, US government rules

Any images that are produced by giving a text prompt to current generative AI models, such as Midjourney or Stable Diffusion, cannot be copyrighted in the US. That's according to the US Copyright Office (USCO), which has equated such prompts to a buyer giving directions to a commissioned artist. "They identify what the prompter wishes to have depicted, but the machine determines how those instructions are implemented in its output," the USCO wrote in new guidance it published to the Federal Register.

"When an AI technology receives solely a prompt from a human and produces complex written, visual, or musical works in response, the 'traditional elements of authorship' are determined and executed by the technology — not the human user," the office stated.

https://www.engadget.com/ai-generated-i ... xBRymC9Gpp
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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I personally think this whole hearing by the GOP on TikTok is nothing but a charade & theater they couldn't care less about tech or anything in general.

TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Zi Chew grilled by US lawmakers

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday battered TikTok's chief executive about potential Chinese influence over the platform and said its short videos were damaging children's mental health, reflecting bipartisan concerns over the app's power over Americans.

CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress did little to assuage U.S. worries over TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance and added fresh momentum to lawmakers' calls to ban the platform nationwide.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tikt ... 023-03-23/
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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Twitter files complaint against source code leak

Twitter has filed a legal complaint to take down parts of Twitter's sour code, which was leaked and posted on the Microsoft-owned software repository GitHub

GitHub agreed to immediately removed the content after Twitter sent over a copyright infringement notice, according to an NYT report

https://www.techcircle.in/2023/03/27/tw ... -code-leak
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

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Twitter is running on auto, and ultimately it will be turned off after a hack that makes history, and not the good kind, unless of course it simply crashes and burns first. Musk is the embodiment of the Peter Principle. He couldn't run a lemonade stand, but he finds people who can perform good work despite their bad boss...... until they burn out.

Now, tiktok. Congress has one of these committee hearings every year, where both parties grandstand against social media manipulation of the young, and no legislation results. Since it's only March, maybe this year we'll get two of them. I watch them as entertainment, they're the best thing on, but I know that I'm watching a show.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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RIP Twitter.

Elon Musk is rebranding Twitter as X Corp

Twitter “no longer exists” and has merged with the newly created shell firm X Corp, according to an April 4 legal document filed by Twitter in a California court. CEO Elon Musk apparently confirmed the news by tweeting an X.

The change was only discovered in documents related to a lawsuit filed against the company by right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer last year.

https://qz.com/elon-musk-is-rebranding- ... 1850324904
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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It'll be DOA in the MAGA House.

White House Eyes AI, Algorithmic Regulation

The Biden administration is looking to potentially regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic processes.

On Tuesday (April 11), the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the White House’s chief communications policy advisory arm, put out a request for comment on just how that might come about.

https://www.nexttv.com/news/white-house ... regulation
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ZoWie
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Re: Its Technical

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This congress can't even stop them from encouraging teenage girls to develop eating disorders.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
ap215
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Re: Its Technical

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House Democrats Frame TikTok Issues as Part of Industrywide Problem

Democrats on the House Energy & Commerce Committee have a lot of unanswered questions about embattled short-form video site TikTok that they want the company to clear up, but they have also given the social media outlet some input on how it might save itself amid calls for an outright ban.

TikTok has been promoting its pro-social uses — helping diverse small businesspeople and veterans — in high-profile ads in the Washington, D.C., market as it attempts to avoid such a ban.

https://www.nexttv.com/news/house-democ ... de-problem
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