“More than at any point since the QAnon conspiracy began, there is a tremendous opportunity to pull disaffected followers out of the conspiracy,” writes FiveThirtyEight. And while it’s just one of three possible scenarios, online posts suggest at least some members are abandoning the group, “but they will need support to really sever their connection.” ABC News reports that some QAnon…
Tag: New York Times
‘Terms of Service’ Agreements Are Unbalanced, Need Reforming, Urges New York Times
“The same legalese that can ban Donald Trump from Twitter can bar users from joining class-action lawsuits,” warns the official Editorial Board of the New York Times, urging “It’s time to fix the fine print.” [Alternate URL here] [M]ost people have no idea what is signed away when they click “agree” to binding terms of service contracts — again and again…
GM Will Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles By 2035
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: General Motors said Thursday it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world’s largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. The announcement could put…
Does Facebook Have a Joe Biden Problem?
Last week the Democratic party took control of all three branches of the U.S. government — and the BBC’s North America technology reporter notes they dislike Facebook even more now than during the Cambridge Analytica scandal: Since then, Democrats — Joe Biden included — have been appalled by what Facebook has allowed on its platform. Talking to a CNN anchor in…
Are Experts Underselling the Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines?
David Leonhardt won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2011. This week in a New York Times newsletter, he argues that early in the pandemic experts around the world mistakenly discouraged mask use because of “a concern that people would rush to buy high-grade medical masks, leaving too few for doctors and nurses. The experts were also [at the time] unsure…
Intelligence Analysts Use US Smartphone Location Data Without Warrants, Memo Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: A military arm of the intelligence community buys commercially available databases containing location data from smartphone apps and searches it for Americans’ past movements without a warrant, according to an unclassified memo obtained by The New York Times. Defense Intelligence Agency analysts have searched for the movements of Americans within…
Biden Sworn In as 46th President
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, taking office at a moment of profound economic, health and political crises with a promise to seek unity after a tumultuous four years that tore at the fabric of American society. New York Times: With his hand on a five-inch-thick Bible that has been…
Is There a Tech Worker ‘Exodus’ From the San Francisco Bay Area?
The New York Times reports on an “exodus” of tech workers from the San Francisco Bay Area, where “Rent was astronomical. Taxes were high. Your neighbors didn’t like you” — and your commute could be over an hour. The biggest tech companies aren’t going anywhere, and tech stocks are still soaring… But the migration from the Bay Area appears real. Residential…
Google Closes the Fitbit Acquisition, Pledges To Not Use Data For Ads
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Today Google’s senior VP of Hardware, Rick Osterloh, announced Google has closed its acquisition of Fitbit. The $2.1 billion deal was announced back in November 2019, which kicked off a regulatory review process from governments around the world concerned about Google’s influence over the Internet and the data it can collect on…
House Votes To Impeach President Trump a Historic Second Time
A House majority, including several Republicans, on Wednesday voted to impeach President Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” The New York Times reports: The House had enough votes on Wednesday to impeach President Trump for inciting a violent insurrection against the United States government, as more than a half-dozen members of the president’s party joined Democrats to charge him with high crimes…