WhatsApp fights bill that compels tech firms to use non-existent ‘accredited technology’ to rein in child abuse
The head of Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service is currently in the UK to whip up a row with the government about end-to-end encryption. Speaking to journalists in London on Thursday, Will Cathcart, did everything but compare the UK’s proposed new internet law to the erosion of online privacy in countries...
NASA announces discovery of second potentially habitable Earth-size exoplanet orbiting nearby star
A NASA mission has spotted an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting a small star about 100 light-years away, NASA announced on Tuesday in a statement. The planet, named TOI 700 e, is likely rocky and 95 per cent the size of our world. The celestial body is the fourth planet to be...
Companies constantly install invasive computer codes on your devices and mobile phones to keep an eye on you – Epstein
Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist for the American Institute of Behavioural Research and Technology, recommends taking the following steps to protect your privacy: Use a virtual private network (VPN) such as Nord, which is only about $3 per month and can be used on up to six devices. In my...
Big Tech: Social media collect data and your photos, which are used to train facial recognition software
The Google Nest security system has a hidden microphone built into it that isn’t featured in any of the schematics for the device. Voice data, and all the information delivered through your daily conversations, is tremendously valuable to Big Data, and add to their ever-expanding predictive modelling capabilities. You cannot...
The Internet is like an ancient city, its latest incarnation resting atop ruins of so many civilisations
We all do it. Make little snap judgments about everyday strangers as we go about our lives. Without giving it a second’s thought, we sketch minibiographies of the people we pass on the sidewalk, the guy seated across from us on the train, or the woman in line in front...
NASA’s Orion capsule 25-day flight to the Moon and back excites space scientists in US, Europe
NASA’s Orion capsule splashed down safely off the coast of Mexico on December 11, bringing a close to the first test flight of a new spaceship meant to carry people back to the Moon. Researchers are excited to now download data from the successful 25-day flight to the Moon and...
NASA announces its Orion spacecraft has reached the Moon, will now go farther from Earth and return in December
The Orion spacecraft swooped just 130 kilometres above the lunar surface on November 21, the closest a capsule designed to hold people has been to the Moon in half a century. In the lunar darkness the capsule, which launched as part of the Artemis I mission last week, flew directly...
How US churches breach privacy with spyware to force congregants conform to what pastors want
While the accessibility functionalities are meant to help software developers build out features that assist people with disabilities, these apps take advantage of such permissions to either capture screenshots of everything actively being viewed on the internet device or detect the name of apps as they’re being used and record...
Shameware: Evangelical churches in US resort to ‘Covenant Eyes’ spyware to root out porn addiction
Gracepoint is the kind of evangelical Southern Baptist church that’s compelled to publicly enumerate all of the ways it’s not a cult. “We’ll admit that we’re a bit crazy about the Great Commission and sharing the Gospel,” reads an FAQ page titled, “Is Gracepoint a Cult?” So when Grant Hao-Wei...
Scientists develop Artificial Intelligence that can predict a crime a week before it happens
An artificial intelligence can now predict the location and predict rate of crime across a city a week in advance with up to 90 per cent accuracy. Similar systems have been shown to perpetuate racist bias in policing, and the same could be true in this case, but the researchers...
