hackingbear writes: People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, said on Wednesday that any non-bank payment company with half of the market in online transactions or two entities with a combined two-thirds share could be subject to antitrust probes, potentially dealing another blow to financial technology giant Ant Group Co. and its biggest rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. Ant’s Alipay accounts…
Tag: controversial
SpaceX’s 1st Starlink launch of 2021 is now set for Wednesday
SpaceX intends to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, with lifespans of around 5 years, into low-Earth orbit. The goal is global internet access. Astronomers are concerned. Here’s how to watch Wednesday’s launch. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/spacexs-1st-starlink-launch-of-2021…
EFF, Cory Doctorow Warn About the Dangers of De-Platforming and Censorship
Last week Cory Doctorow shared his own answer for what Apple and Google should’ve done about Parler:
They should remove it, and tell users, “We removed Parler because we think it is a politically odious attempt to foment violence. Our judgment is subjective and may be wielded against others in future. If you don’t like our judgment, you shouldn’t use our app…
An Interview With an Anonymous Amazonian
Logic magazine has interviewed an anonymous engineer at Amazon Web Services. An excerpt from the story, which touches a wide-range of topics including controversial work with the military and police and takes on other cloud providers: So when you use AWS, part of what you’re paying for is security. Right; it’s part of what we sell. Let’s say a prospective customer…
France Bans Use of Drones To Police Protests In Paris
France’s top administrative court has backed privacy campaigners by imposing a ban on police use of drones for covering public protests in Paris. The BBC reports: The Council of State said Paris police prefect Didier Lallement should halt “without delay” drone surveillance of gatherings on public roads. The ruling comes weeks after MPs backed a controversial security bill that includes police…
High-Frequency Traders Push Closer To Light Speed With Cutting-Edge Cables
High-frequency traders are using an experimental type of cable to speed up their systems by billionths of a second, the latest move in a technological arms race to execute stock trades as quickly as possible. From a report: The cable, called hollow-core fiber, is a next-generation version of the fiber-optic cable used to deliver broadband internet to homes and businesses. Made…
Proposed US Law Could Slap Twitch Streamers With Felonies For Broadcasting Copyrighted Material
Republican senator Thom Tillis has introduced a proposal to turn unauthorized commercial streaming of copyrighted material into a felony offense with a possible prison sentence. It’s currently being included in a must-pass spending bill. Kotaku reports: Currently, such violations, no matter how severe, are considered misdemeanors rather than felonies, because the law regards streaming as a public performance. With Twitch currently…
Massachusetts Lawmakers Vote To Pass a Statewide Police Ban On Facial Recognition
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Massachusetts lawmakers have voted to pass a new police reform bill that will ban police departments and public agencies from using facial recognition technology across the state. The bill was passed by both the state’s House and Senate on Tuesday, a day after senior lawmakers announced an agreement that ended months of deadlock….
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Will Step Down on January 20
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced plans to depart the commission when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th. Pai has served on the FCC since 2012. From a report: “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Chairman of the FCC over the past four years,” Pai said in a…
The Supreme Court Will Hear Its First Big CFAA Case
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in a case that could lead to sweeping changes to America’s controversial computer hacking laws — and affecting how millions use their computers and access online services. From a report: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was signed into federal law in 1986 and predates the modern internet as we know it, but…