Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:Facebook’s decision to crack down on NYU’s Ad Observer highlights the increasingly fraught dynamic between tech companies and academics — Laura Edelson was in a state of panic, and I knew I was a little bit to blame for her freakout. — “If this is true,” Edelson told me this week during…
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Bobby Allyn / NPR:Interview with CEO of SkySilk, the hosting company that helped bring Parler online, who says he did it to spite tech giants like Amazon who abuse their might — On Jan. 10, just days after pro-Trump rioters blitzed the U.S. Capitol, Amazon Web Services pulled the plug on the conservative social media…
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Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:Lenders in India are using coercive loan apps that block features and shut down smartphones of customers who fall behind on payments — Lenders are turning to coercive loan apps that shut down smartphones if customers fall behind on payments. — • BANGALORE, INDIA
Wall Street Journal:Coalition of Microsoft, Salesforce, and healthcare providers to release a global “tamper-proof” standard for COVID-19 proof of vaccination apps in April — Microsoft, Salesforce contribute to software framework for apps that provide digital proof of vaccination to be used for travel, returning to work
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:REvil ransomware gang says it had breached Acer, sharing leaked images of internal docs on the dark web, and is demanding $50M; Acer says it is investigating — Taiwanese computer maker Acer has suffered a ransomware attack over the past weekend at the hands of the REvil ransomware gang …
Politico:Sources: social network SafeChat, which SimilarWeb says had 900K visitors last month, is a rising MAGA and anti-CCP hub, has undisclosed ties to The Epoch Times — As former President Donald Trump’s supporters have flocked to alternative social media networks, many are turning to SafeChat …
Miriam Gottfried / Wall Street Journal:Sources: Chicago-based Relativity, which law firms use to sift through data during discovery, gets an investment from Silver Lake valuing the company at $3.6B — The deal values Relativity at about $3.6 billion and will make Silver Lake its largest shareholder
Sean Coughlan / BBC:London police warn students about using Sci-Hub, calling the self-described “pirate” site for research papers “a threat to their personal information and data” — Police have warned students in the UK against using a website that they say lets users “illegally access” millions of scientific research papers.
Rest of World:Human rights activists say TikTok is repeating Facebook’s mistakes in Myanmar, by failing to anticipate a surge in misinformation and threats of violence — The social media giant failed to anticipate a predictable surge in misinformation and threats of violence. — • SINGAPORE
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:Coinbase will pay a $6.5M fine to settle with the CFTC, over allegations that it self-traded cryptocurrencies between 2015 and 2018 — Coinbase will pay a $6.5 million fine to settle allegations it self-traded cryptocurrencies between 2015 and 2018. — Crypto exchange Coinbase …