Tag Archives: internet

Google May Use AI To Replace Hacked Passwords

Ars Technica reports: Google’s Chrome browser might soon get a useful security upgrade: detecting passwords used in data breaches and then generating and storing a better replacement. Google’s preliminary copy suggests it’s an “AI innovation,” though exactly how is unclear. Chrome already has a feature that warns users if the passwords they enter have been identified in a breach and …

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AT&T Ends NY Home Service Over Low-Income Law

CNET reports: A new broadband law is going into effect this week in New York state requiring internet provider to offer low-income residents access to monthly broadband rates of $15 for 25Mbps or $20 for 200Mbps. As a response, AT&T has decided that it no longer plans to offer its 5G home internet in the Empire State and will begin …

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Appeals Court Strikes Down Net Neutrality Rules

The New York Times reports: A federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s landmark net neutrality rules on Thursday, ending a nearly two-decade effort to regulate broadband internet providers like utilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, said that the F.C.C. lacked the authority to reinstate rules that prevented broadband providers from slowing …

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Amazon Launches Hyundai Sales, Including Financing

Via press release from Amazon: Starting today, vehicle shoppers in 48 U.S. cities can browse, order, finance, and schedule pickup of a new Hyundai vehicle from their local participating dealer directly on Amazon. Amazon Autos offers online automotive shopping from Hyundai dealers across major metropolitan areas nationwide. We continue to add more Hyundai dealerships, and next year, we will roll …

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Dems Call For End To Domain Registry “Monopoly”

Ars Technica reports: US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York have called on government bodies to investigate what they allege is the “predatory pricing” of .com web addresses, the Internet’s prime real estate. In a letter delivered today to the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of the …

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Man Who Voiced AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” Dies At 74

Ars Technica reports: Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the online service America Online’s iconic “You’ve got mail” greeting, has died at age 74, one day before his 75th birthday, according to Cleveland’s WKYC Studios, where he worked for many years. The greeting became a cultural touchstone in the 1990s and early 2000s in the early Internet era; it was heard …

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Telecoms Sue To Block FTC’s “Click To Cancel” Rule

Reuters reports: An industry group representing cable and internet providers sued along with two others on Wednesday to block a U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule that requires companies to offer simple cancellation mechanisms for subscriptions. NCTA – The Internet & Television Association and groups representing the home security and online advertising industries said in papers filed with the 5th U.S. …

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FCC Reverses Trump-Era Ruling, Restores Net Neutrality

Reuters reports: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules and reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump. The commission voted along party lines to finalize a proposal first advanced in October to reinstate open internet rules adopted in 2015 and re-establish the commission’s broadband authority. Reinstating the …

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Twitter/X Alternative Post News To Shut Down Soon

The Verge reports: Post News, a Twitter alternative that emerged in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover, is shutting down. Noam Bardin, the platform’s founder and former CEO of Waze, writes that Post News “is not growing fast enough to become a real business or a significant platform.” The Andreessen Horowitz-backed platform launched in a closed beta in November 2022, …

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Traffic Has Plummeted For Right Wing Sites Since 2020

Mediaite reports: Major hard-right media outlets saw their online traffic plummet in January of 2024 when compared to January 2020, according to new data from The Righting. Townhall, Washington Free Beacon, and Breitbart have seen their digital traffic plummet a whopping 87% in the two years, according to the Comscore data set. Other major drops were registered by the Daily …

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Google Settles $5B Lawsuit Over “Incognito” Browser

Business Insider reports: On Thursday, Google agreed to settle a $5 billion class-action privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser to track their internet use. The lawsuit filed in 2020 claimed Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode. The suit argued …

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Britain May Ban Rumble Platform Under Coming Law

The Times Of London reports: The “free speech” website that hosts Russell Brand could be forced out of the UK under new online safety laws, experts have said. Rumble, a video-sharing platform based in North America, has become home to Brand and other figures with extreme views, including Andrew Tate and Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist. It also hosts extreme …

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Yelp Names Businesses Caught Buying Fake Reviews

Engadget reports: Since 2012, Yelp has caught nearly 5,000 businesses engaging in shady tactics, like paying customers for favorable ratings or hiring people to write phony reviews. Now, the company has a new tool to help people — and maybe the feds — track businesses that have tried to manipulate their standing on the review platform. Yelp is releasing a …

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Las Vegas Cyber Attack Continues Into Third Day

NBC News reports: MGM Resorts on Wednesday said that a cyber incident that has significantly disrupted properties across the United States for the past three days represents a material risk to the company. At the same time, the major credit rating agency Moody’s warned that the cyberattack could negatively affect MGM’s credit rating, saying the attack highlighted “key risks” within …

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Major Newspaper Chain Deletes All Comments Sections

Axios reports: MediaNews Group, the local newspaper company owned by Alden Global Capital, has shut down all of its comment sections as of July 1st, due to difficulties in moderating them, executives told Axios. MediaNews Group, also known as Digital First Media, is home to hundreds of weekly newspapers and dozens of daily newspapers, including major regional outlets such as …

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FTC Proposes $50,000 Fines For Fake Online Reviews

The Washington Post reports: Fake reviews are ruining the web. But there’s some new hope to fight them. The Federal Trade Commission on Friday proposed new rules to take aim at businesses that buy, sell and manipulate online reviews. If the rules are approved, they’ll carry a big stick: a fine of up to $50,000 for each fake review, for …

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TikTok Attempts To Limit Screen Time For Teen Users

The Verge reports: TikTok has announced a batch of new features intended to reduce screen time and improve the well-being of its younger users. In the coming weeks, a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes will be automatically applied to every TikTok user under 18 years old. Teens that hit this limit will be asked to enter a passcode …

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Record $9.1B Spent Online By Black Friday Shoppers

Axios reports: A record $9.12 billion was spent online for Black Friday, with electronics driving much of the growth compared to last year, according to new Adobe Analytics data. These record-breaking sales happened amid rising concerns about inflation and the cost of living. Purchases on electronics led the way, soaring by 221% compared to an average day in October. Smart …

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Fox News Columnist Calls For Banning “Online Porn”

Davis Marcus writes for Fox News: In 1994, when then-mayor Rudy Giuliani began the transformation of crime and poverty ridden New York City, one of his first actions was to kick the porn theaters out of Times Square. It was not a minor policy, what he understood was that those coursing avenues are the public square, and porn was choking …

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Cosmetics Giant Revlon Files For Bankruptcy

Reuters reports: Revlon Inc has filed for bankruptcy after the U.S cosmetics firm buckled under debts it built up in a bid to compete with online-focused upstarts. Known for its nail polishes and lipsticks, the 90-year-old company listed assets and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion in a court filing on Wednesday. Revlon has in recent years lost …

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