Online proctoring companies claim to detect academic dishonesty solely through artificial intelligence, invariably leading to false-positives. At last, one company is making changes. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/long-overdue-reckoning-online-proctoring-companies-may-finally-be-here
NEW: Emails from 2016 show Ring provided dozens of free or discounted cameras to LAPD officers for official and personal use. In return, the LAPD officers encouraged the spread of Ring’s products throughout the community.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/emails-show-amazon-rings-hold-lapd-through-camera-giveaways
"It begins with one doorbell camera on the front of your house.. It extends to cameras inside the home...It would not surprise me if in the next year or two, Sidewalk becomes an avenue by which they can extend that surveillance out into the neighborhood."
Big Tech critic Lina Khan named chair of the FTC
Lina Khan, a prominent critic of Big Tech, has been named chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a White House spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
The update comes just hours after the Senate voted to confirm the 32-year-old to the agency in a 69-28 vote.
The designation as chairwoman will give Khan greater authority at the FTC at a time when the agency is pursuing an antitrust case against Facebook and as lawmakers look to revamp laws to give the agency greater authority to rein in the market power of tech giants. ...
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/558584-lina-khan-named-chair-of-the-ftc
Hi!
We've just created this mastodon account to communicate about the #unifiedpush project.
UnifiedPush is specifications and tools that let mobile users choose how push notifications are delivered. All in a free and open source way.
We have a bunch of tech and non-tech opened positions at /e/! Software engineers, hackers, designers...
Feel free to RT or to forward to friends!
NYCers have a new ridehailing alternative to Uber: The Drivers Cooperative is a driver-owned, app-based ride-hailing service that pays drivers more, charges riders less, and pays out any profits to driver-owners as periodic dividends.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/technology/nyc-uber-lyft-the-drivers-cooperative.html
Platform cooperativism is a powerful antidote to app-based gig work: a way to provide customers with the convenience that made app-based services so popular while putting workers in control of their days, schedules and conditions.
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If there's one lesson you'd hope governments would take away from the pandemic and the lockdown, it's that good internet policy - universal access at fair prices, managed in the public interest - is a prerequisite for *all* good policy.
Canada didn't get the memo.
Last week, the CRTC - Canada's telecoms regulator - released its long-awaited decision on the wholesale prices paid by small, innovative ISPs to access the facilities of Canada's telecoms monopolists.
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New York: Now is the time to speak up for your right to repair. https://act.eff.org/action/new-york-stand-up-for-your-right-to-repair
We’re excited to announce the Dark Patterns Tip Line with @consumerreports and friends @AccessNow @PenAmerica @DarkPatterns. Anyone can submit deceptive design patterns they see in everyday products and services. Submit one today! https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/05/help-bring-dark-patterns-light
This is so cool https://vimeo.com/551468278
Interesting article that directly compares Tesla's lock-in and remote control tactics to Apple's: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/14/tesla-apple-tech/
AirTags can enable stalking--especially for users who don't have an iPhone. "Apple’s failure to take seriously the safety of people who exist outside of the Apple ecosystem is inexcusable," write EFF's @evacide and @FoxCahn in @wired. https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-apples-air-tags-are-a-gift-to-stalkers/
Why is it so hard for people to have #privacy? Because a TV company can make almost as much profit selling customer data as it can selling the TVs. https://www.engadget.com/vizio-q1-earnings-inscape-013937337.html