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Tinder just permabanned me or the problem with big tech
Banned by algorithm with no explanation - the dark side of big tech's automated moderation.
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 13,064 posts.
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With Windows 10, Microsoft Disregards User Choice and Privacy
Microsoft had an ambitious goal with the launch of Windows 10: a billion devices running the software by the end of 2018. In its quest to reach that goal, the company aggressively pushed Windows 10 on its users and went so far as to offer free upgrades for a whole year. However, the company’s...
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The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
Personal blog of Stephen Diehl - Software engineer writing about technology, programming, and the future
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TikTok updated privacy policy to collect faceprints and voiceprints (2021)
TikTok has violated privacy regulations before, and they are in position to share millions of American users' data with the Chinese government.
1655
We can't have nice things because of AI scrapers
In the past few months the MetaBrainz team has been fighting a battle against unscrupulous AI companies ignoring common courtesies (such as robots.txt) and scraping the Internet in order to build up their AI models . Rather than downloading our dataset in one complete download, they insist on loading all of…
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The money spent on lotteries doesn’t go to the park
The $6-10 lottery application fee that Recreation.gov charges doesn’t go to the park, but into Recreation.gov’s pockets. In 2022, for 6 out of these 9 lotteries, Recreation.gov makes made more money than the park.
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A sad update about a scissors maker that went viral
Back in 2014, a lovely short film by Shaun Bloodworth called The Putter went viral. The film shows Cliff Denton making scissors for Ernest Wright & Sons. Denton
1659
Software made me loathe my car
I am the disgruntled owner of a 2015 BMW 320d xDrive. That’s a luxury car, at least to a Dane. And I’m a bit surprised that it’s come to this point. It is, mechanically, a wonderful car. The double-clutch transmission is smooth, it’s easy to drive, the engine is modest, but decent, the milage is great (20 km/l or ~47…
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Apple Just Lost Me
AndreGarzia.com website
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Bill Watterson’s refusal to license Calvin and Hobbes (2016)
When Calvin and Hobbes went out of print twenty years ago, I think most people assumed it would return at some point. I know I certainly did. Calvin and Hobbes was a formative part of my youth - the sly brilliant writing and stark black and white illustrations providing color to my sense of
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Windows 11, Amazon, and Uncomfortable Questions
Android app development books
1664
I've been advocating for RSS support, and you should too
I've been using Feeder to keep up with the news for awhile now. For a long time, I just checked AllSides. But then I found out NPR in my state supports ...
1665
The Internet of creation disappeared. Now we have surveillance and control
An interview with this specialist in human rights, technology and freedom of expression to discuss how today’s societies are advancing to the drumbeat of “digital colonialism”.
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CCC captures U.S. military biometrics database
The U.S. military used biometric devices en masse to capture people in Afghanistan. Some devices were left behind during the hasty withdrawal of NATO troops. CCC researchers found large amounts of...
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TPP Leak Confirms the Worst: US Still Trying to Trade Away Internet Freedoms
After years of secret trade negotiations over the future of intellectual property rights (and limits on those rights), the public gets a chance to looks at the results. For those of us who care about free speech and a balanced intellectual property system that encourages innovation, creativity, and...
1670
What Will Happen in the 2020s
It’s 2020. Time to look forward to the decade that is upon us. One of my favorite quotes, attributed to Bill Gates, is that people overestimate what will happen in a year and underestimate what will happen in a decade. This is an important decade for mankind. It is a decade in which we will […]
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Open Letter to Google on Mandatory Developer Registration for App Distribution
Open Letter to Google Regarding Mandatory Developer Registration for Third-Party App Distribution
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Screenshots from developers: 2002 vs. 2015 (2015)
Same people, 13 years later.
1674
Study: Some car models consuming around 50% more fuel than official results
New cars, including the Mercedes A, C and E class, BMW 5 series and Peugeot 308, are now swallowing around 50% more fuel than their lab test results, new…
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With questionable copyright claim, Jay-Z orders deepfake parodies off YouTube
With a questionable claim to copyright, Jay-Z ordered two deepfake audio parodies of his voice off YouTube. I talked to the video's creator about the future of AI for creative expression.
1677
Introducing EFF's Stupid Patent of the Month
Here at EFF, we see a lot of stupid patents. There was the patent on “scan to email.” And the patent on “bilateral and multilateral decision making.” There are so many stupid patents that Mark Cuban endowed a chair at EFF dedicated to eliminating them. We wish we could catalog them all, but with...
1678
What I Heard from Trump Supporters
After the election, I decided to talk to 100 Trump voters from around the country. I went to the middle of the country, the middle of the state, and talked to many online. This was a...
1679
Maybe Bluesky has "won"
November has sucked so far. One upside of the terrible nonsense is that more people are fleeing X. Many are choosing Bluesky. I’ve seen a bunch of takes about this recently, but I keep seeing things I disagree with. I figure that’s a good enough excuse to write more about this weird-assed social network.
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The coming tsunami of fakery
How the Dead Internet Theory is fast becoming reality thanks to zero, marginal-cost content generated at infinite scale