I guess when I was telling people that Big Tech (aka People Farmers) never delete your data but just set a deleted=true flag, I was being overly generous.
Itâs amazing given how much insight I have into their bullshit that their bullshit still never ceases to surprise me.
Side note, if you want to see how common of a pattern this is, and I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier, go search Github.com for 'deleteduser.com', lots of examples of delete functions from apps there that do this type of thing.
32 years ago I started working on my first browser, Opera. I left Opera in 2011, but two years later I co-founded Vivaldi. Thus I have been making browsers now for 32 years, with a short break there between 2011 and 2013.
I have always felt that this work is important and no less today than before as more and more of you see the importance of alternatives to Big Tech.
Vivaldi is a European company with headquarters in Norway, servers in Iceland and team in Norway, Iceland, across Europe, Japan and a couple in the US.
We try our best to adapt to your needs. We build powerful browsers, with a lot of flexibility.
I welcome you to try us out and share with your friends!
Itâs a web browser. But fun. It comes with a bunch of clever features built-in. Itâs super flexible and does not track you. Get the Vivaldi browser for desktop, mobile, and your car!
Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit
“An independent privacy audit of Microsoft, Meta, and Google web traffic in California found that the companies may be violating state regulations and racking up billions in fines. According to the audit from privacy search engine webXray, 55 percent of the sites it checked set ad cookies in a user’s browser even if they opted out of tracking. Each company disputed or took issue with the research, with Google saying it was based on
... show more
Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit
âAn independent privacy audit of Microsoft, Meta, and Google web traffic in California found that the companies may be violating state regulations and racking up billions in fines. According to the audit from privacy search engine webXray, 55 percent of the sites it checked set ad cookies in a userâs browser even if they opted out of tracking. Each company disputed or took issue with the research, with Google saying it was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how its product works.â
Yes, I know this is no surprise to anyone. I suppose one just hopes are many years of fines and negative feedback, there would have been some change.
Other countries, like South Africa, have pretty advanced privacy protection legislation in place too, but there seems to be little evidence of South Africa actually hauling any of these companies over the coals. For example, Metaâs T&Cs for WhatsApp clearly state theyâll share user metadata with partners.
Making ourselves dependent on Big Tech has been a fatal mistake.
The Post Office scandal didn't come from nowhere. Outsourcing our systems to the exclusive product of a single provider means we're locked-in to using it and them.
This leads to over-charging that costs in failure and extracts value.
"For years, a handful of Big Tech companies have used their power to gain control of the UKâs digital infrastructure, locking the government into wasteful contracts and shaping tech policy in their favour."
đŁď¸ ORG's @jim on our new report calling for UK Digital Sovereignty.
âď¸ Small Missouri town ousts half its city council after $6 billion AI data center approval â petition calls for mayor's removal as frustration (and violence) over AI data centers mounts
Watch this like a hawk. The result of this battle is going to be massively telling. Not just about Reddit (I personally don’t trust/use it), but about how this fascist regime reacts to resistance from big tech in general. And it will have a far-reaching impact.
Watch this like a hawk. The result of this battle is going to be massively telling. Not just about Reddit (I personally donât trust/use it), but about how this fascist regime reacts to resistance from big tech in general. And it will have a far-reaching impact.
The Trump administration has stepped up an effort to unmask a Reddit user who criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After failing to obtain information through a summons issued to Reddit, the government reportedly issued a subpoena demanding that Reddit provide the information and appear before a grand jury in Washington, DC.
The Intercept described the subpoena today. âAccording to a subpoena obtained by The Intercept, Reddit has until April 14 to provide a wide range of personal data on one of its users, whom US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been trying unsuccessfully to identify for more than a month,â the article said arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20âŚ
âTeachers who use AI âwill replace those who donâtâ, the chair of the Oireachtas committee on artificial intelligence has warned.
Fianna FĂĄil TD Malcolm Byrne said he was worried Ireland was at risk of falling behind in discussions around how AI can be âresponsibly integrated into our formal education system.ââ
Fianna FĂĄil TD Malcolm Byrne is a fool who doesnât have the first clue about what heâs taking about.
Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history. Every time any of LinkedInâs one billion users visits linkedin.
Folks to me a decade ago: Aral, what’s all this tinfoil-hat stuff about Silicon Valley? You’re being alarmist! What’s the worst that could happen? Etc., etc.
Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley billionaire:
> Some people are like “oh, but isn’t it terrible to celebrate the power of weapons?” and I say, you know what, societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims. I think that it’s reasonable for philosophers to degrade those people and whine about how they’re sick in the head. But society needs them. Even if I’m sick in the head. We need people who are willing to fight for our country—and I’m not doing that directly, my life’s not on the line. But you need people like me who are sick in that way and don’t lose any sleep making tools of violence
... show more
Folks to me a decade ago: Aral, whatâs all this tinfoil-hat stuff about Silicon Valley? Youâre being alarmist! Whatâs the worst that could happen? Etc., etc.
Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley billionaire:
> Some people are like âoh, but isnât it terrible to celebrate the power of weapons?â and I say, you know what, societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims. I think that itâs reasonable for philosophers to degrade those people and whine about how theyâre sick in the head. But society needs them. Even if Iâm sick in the head. We need people who are willing to fight for our countryâand Iâm not doing that directly, my lifeâs not on the line. But you need people like me who are sick in that way and donât lose any sleep making tools of violence
âA jury in LA has delivered a damning verdict for two of the world's most popular digital platforms, Instagram and YouTube.
It ruled those apps are addictive, and deliberately engineered that way â and that its owners have been negligent in their safeguarding of the children who have used them. ⌠Some experts have described the verdict as big tech's "big tobacco" moment, and we know how that worked out - although it didn't stop people smoking altogether.â
3/3 đ¨ With the Parliament still unconvinced, four EU Commissioners decided to interfere, trying to pressure MEPs to support their mass surveillance proposal, even promoting the interests of #BigTech companies like Google, Meta and Snapchat!
Despite this blatant attempt to cow the Parliament into abandoning their position, MEPs held strong and continued to reject the mass scanning of our private communications đđ˝
This is the democratic accountability we expect and deserve from our lawmakers!
#BigTech Meta er ved en domstol i den amerikanske đşđ¸ delstat New Mexico blevet dømt til at betale 375 millioner dollar â 2,4 milliarder kroner â i erstatning
Meta für milliard-bøde for at bringe børn i fare pü sociale medier
