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Submission + - Dutch Privacy Watchdog Recommends Government Organizations Stop Using Facebook (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Dutch privacy watchdog AP on Friday said it was recommending that government organizations should stop using Facebook as long as it is unclear what happens with personal data of users of the government's Facebook pages. "People that visit a government's page need to be able to trust that their personal and sensitive data is in safe hands," AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement. Junior minister for digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen said Facebook parent company Meta had to make clear before the summer how it could take away the government's concerns on the safety of data. "Otherwise we will be forced to stop using Facebook, in line with this advice," she said.

Submission + - Propellantless propulsion drive just produced enough thrust to counter gravity (thedebrief.org)

Submitted by garyisabusyguy
garyisabusyguy writes: Dr. Charles Buhler, a NASA engineer and the co-founder of Exodus Propulsion Technologies, has revealed that his company’s propellantless propulsion drive, which appears to defy the known laws of physics, has produced enough thrust to counteract Earth’s gravity.

“The most important message to convey to the public is that a major discovery occurred,” Buhler told The Debrief. “This discovery of a New Force is fundamental in that electric fields alone can generate a sustainable force onto an object and allow center-of-mass translation of said object without expelling mass.”

“There are rules that include conservation of energy, but if done correctly, one can generate forces unlike anything humankind has done before,” Buhler added. “It will be this force that we will use to propel objects for the next 1,000 years until the next thing comes.”

Submission + - IMF sounds alarm on ballooning US national debt: 'Something will have to give

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes:

Under current policies, public debt in the U.S. is projected to nearly double by 2053. The IMF identified “large fiscal slippages” in the U.S. in 2023, with government spending surpassing revenue by 8.8% of GDP – a 4.1% increase from the previous year, despite strong economic growth.

If this trend continues, the Congressional Budget Office anticipates the national debt will grow to an astonishing $54 trillion in the next decade. Higher interest rates are also compounding the pain of higher debt.

Should that debt materialize, it could risk America’s economic standing in the world.

The IMF is talking down to Washington like we’re a Third World country because that’s the direction Washington is taking us.

Interest payments alone on the current debt is $1.6T/year.

Submission + - British Columbia bans autonomous cars

Submitted by Baloo Uriza
Baloo Uriza writes: In a rare display of sanity in the automotive space, British Columbia has banned autonomous cars from its highways, after years of watching autonomous cars hamper emergency response efforts in California and outright kill a pedestrian in Arizona. Let's hope this regulatory trend continues, and moves into the human space by pulling licenses of drivers with a known history of poor driving.

Submission + - Dual standards at YouTube expose viewers to scams

Submitted by NewtonsLaw
NewtonsLaw writes: Almost everyone knows of at least one YouTube channel that has been unfairly demonetized or even entirely deleted by YouTube for nothing more than an allegation of "misleading" or "misinformation". The corporation claims that it does this to keep users of the platform safe.

However, this standard is almost never applied to advertisers, as witnessed by
this video which has also been running as a pre-roll/mid-roll ad recently and falsely offers access to Netflix, PrimeTV, Disney+ and Hulu without any monthly subscription.

Both the ad and the video that is played during the ad have been reported to @teamyoutube on X and via the report functions on the website but it continues to run and it will likely continue to do so until the advertiser has spent their budget.

This kind of hypocrisy does not endear the platform to its "partners" and also leaves happless users vulnerable to scams such as this.

The official response from @teamyoutube is simply that they investigate all reports — yet this is just the latest in a long list of ads for scam products such as free energy generators, drones that claim premium features but turn out to be toys and other products that are nothing like those being advertised.

Submission + - House Passes Bill Requiring Warrant To Purchase Data From Third Parties (thehill.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The House on Wednesday approved a bill that would limit how the government can purchase data from third parties — legislation that scored a vote after negotiations with a group of GOP colleagues who briefly tanked a vote on warrantless spy powers. Dubbed the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale, the legislation passed 219-199. It requires law enforcement and other government entities to get a warrant before buying information from third-party data brokers who purchase information gleaned from apps. [...] Senior administration officials said the measure would blind U.S. intelligence outfits from getting information easily purchased by foreign intelligence operations.

“In practice, these standards make it impossible for the [intelligence community], law enforcement to acquire a whole host of readily available information that they currently rely on,” an administration official said. “Covered customer records as defined in the bill is very broad and includes records pertaining to any U.S. person or indeed any foreigner inside the United States. And as a practical matter, there’s often no way to establish whether a particular individual was in the U.S. at a particular time a piece of data was created. Unless you did one thing, which is paradoxically to intrude further into their privacy just to figure out whether you could obtain some data.” “It can be impossible to know what’s in a data set before one actually obtains a data set,” the official continued. “So you’d be barred from getting that which you don’t even know.”

Submission + - Section 702 reauthorization bill (RISAA) (eff.org)

Submitted by mockojumbie
mockojumbie writes: "any company or individual that provides ANY service whatsoever may be forced to assist in NSA surveillance, as long as they have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored—such as routers, servers, cell towers, etc. That sweeps in an enormous range of U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers and therefore have access to equipment on which communications transit. Barber shops, laundromats, fitness centers, hardware stores, dentist’s offices"
https://www.zwillgen.com/law-e...

Comment Re:Well... (Score 1) 125

I don't think this specified children, though, it applies to any 'sexualized' image, doesn't it?

So what about if you make a 'sexualized' image of your wife? Surprise, you may have broken the law.

It's insane and unenforceable, which is what they want- this gives them the excuse they need to further curtail your privacy rights in search of Naughty Images.

Submission + - EU: Meta cannot rely on "Pay or Okay" (noyb.eu)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Today, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued its first decision on "Pay or Okay" in relation to large online platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Meta offers users a choice: "consent" to tracking, or pay over €250/year to use its sites without invasive monetization of personal data. The EDPB is quoted as saying "In most cases, it will not be possible for large online platforms to comply with the requirements for valid consent if they confront users only with a binary choice between consenting to processing of personal data for behavioral advertising purposes and paying a fee".

Submission + - Post Office Horizon scandal explained: Everything you need to know (computerweekly.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: “Computer Weekly has investigated the Post Office Horizon scandal since 2008 and is, in fact, part of the story. This guide contains essential information about the scandal”

“In 1999, the Post Office’s single shareholder, the UK government, began automating accounting processes at about 14,000 Post Office branches. This saw the introduction of a centralised computer system from supplier Fujitsu, which all branches were connected to. This system replaced traditional paper-based accounting practices.”

“But problems ensued, and there was a sudden increase in the number of subpostmasters suffering unexplained accounting shortfalls. Rather than investigate the problems and fix them, the Post Office blamed the branch operators, many of whom it prosecuted for financial crimes, with many more made bankrupt and sacked.”

Submission + - Post Office chief exonerated of all misconduct claims (independent.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Post Office chief executive Nick Read exonerated of all misconduct claims after report

In a statement, the Post Office said: “Over the last few months an independent barrister has been investigating a Speak Up complaint into various allegations, which included a number of misconduct allegations against our CEO, Nick Read.

“Following several interviews and examination of documents by the barrister, Nick has been exonerated of all the misconduct allegations and has the full and united backing of the Board to continue to lead the business.

“The Board regards the Speak Up process as critical to the open and supportive culture it wants to encourage at the Post Office.

“The integrity of that Speak Up process relies on confidentiality for whistleblowers and therefore we will not be providing further detail on this or any other Speak Up investigation.

“It is unacceptable that this specific process was referred to in the public domain but notwithstanding that, Post Office wants to make clear that Speak Up allegations will always be thoroughly and consistently investigated, whoever they are aimed at.”

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