As Flock reckons with a scandal over cops misusing data, Wired reports separately today that CBP personnel have “allegedly used government databases to spy on exes, crushes, and colleagues.” We’ve apparently learned nothing since we found out NSA agents were eavesdropping on love interests in 2013. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Edward Snowden is being incubated somewhere in the government.
In the months since Australia’s social media ban, Meta says it has blocked 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts that appeared to belong to users under 16, according to Bloomberg.
Australia’s prime minister ramped up penalties for social media platforms in June after a study found that four in five teens under 16 in Australia were still using them.
The group says that while changes like more limited data retention is welcomed, the devil is in the details. “Transforming an exceptionally dangerous mass surveillance system into one that is fully protective of civil rights and civil liberties is a difficult, if not impossible task,” it writes.
[American Civil Liberties Union]
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept Media claim Truth Social’s up to $100,000 /month subscription is “profoundly corrupt” and “unconstitutional,” alleging Trump is illegally “profiting by selling government information.” The Intercept and FPT are asking the court to block the Truth Social subscription.
The drivers won the right to unionize last year after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill enabling gig workers to unionize. The ridehail drivers would remain independent contractors but would be able to negotiate with the companies for better pay and benefits. The state is the second to allow ridehail drivers to unionize, after Massachusetts. Illinois is also considering its own legislation.
Empty offices. Bald-faced lies. No real consequences. Our investigation suggests it’s cheap and easy to dodge the US drone ban — but at least the FCC is revoking Odyssey Robot’s authorizations after we made the agency aware. The FCC’s order doesn’t begin to explore whether Odyssey might be DJI in disguise.
On Monday, FlightAware filed a lawsuit claiming Kalshi used its flight-tracking data without permission to “run gambling markets on flight cancellations.” FlightAware has since dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice, though it’s unclear why.
Aptoide is the first third-party app store inside Google Play after Epic’s victory, but Aptoide CEO Paulo Trezentos tells me “I’d say 50% of people with a US account are not yet able to access it.” Most Verge staffers I’ve asked can, but a fully updated Pixel 9 review unit can’t. Google spox Dan Jackson tells me the feature is fully rolled out. Can you see it?
Possibly not since ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn escaped Japanese authorities by hiding inside a music equipment box have we seen a powerful executive smuggle himself out of a country. The New York Times reports that our own chief executive Donald Trump hid in an airport catering container to travel surreptitiously from Turkey to Britain in July. Of course he left journalists on Air Force One unaware, perhaps as bait for “threats” from Iran.
[The New York Times]
The flight-tracking site claims Kalshi is using its data to “run gambling markets on flight cancellations” even after it asked the prediction market platform to stop. “Kalshi instead accessed FlightAware’s data without authorization and then represented to customers that market outcomes were ‘verified from FlightAware,’” the lawsuit states.
David Ellison has reportedly decided to begin the process of moving Paramount out of California on October 1st if state attorney general Rob Bonta refuses to settle. As Variety notes, October 1st is when Paramount has to begin paying Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders $7 million per day in fees as the companies await their antitrust trial set for next March.
