Page 3 - Open Sourced News Today

Why some like Apple’s new privacy labels, despite their flaws Vox.com 2/24/2021 Open Sourced logo Apple’s privacy “nutrition labels” have been in the App Store for just over two months now. Privacy advocates were generally pleased to see these easy-to-read versions of app privacy policies; educating users about the secretive inner workings of their apps is almost always a positive development. The labels are just one of Apple’s new policies to give users more privacy at the possibl...

Facebook is finally banning vaccine misinformation Vox.com 2/8/2021 Open Sourced logo Almost a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, Facebook is taking its strictest stance yet against vaccine misinformation by banning it entirely. The ban won’t just apply to Covid-19 vaccine misinformation. That means, for instance, posts claiming that vaccines cause autism, or that measles can’t kill people, are no longer allowed on Facebook. At the same time, the platform will also encourage Americans to g...

Why Facebook and Apple are fighting over your privacy Vox.com 2/1/2021 Sara Morrison © Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images Apple is rolling out new privacy protections that could affect Facebook’s data-driven ad business. Open Sourced logo Facebook and Apple’s fight over your data is heating up. Apple’s tracking-optional mobile operating system update is coming to iPhones this spring, and the new privacy-preserving features will give users the ability to opt out o...

How Trump’s internet built and broadcast the Capitol insurrection Vox.com 1/8/2021 Rebecca Heilweil and Shirin Ghaffary © Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images People associated with far-right online movements such as QAnon breached the Capitol on Wednesday. Open Sourced logo Ali Alexander, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist, posted a video to YouTube on Christmas Day, urging people to come to Washington, DC, on the day that Congress would finalize Joe Biden’s elect...

Facebook has taken its greatest action against Trump yet, two weeks before the end of his presidency.

Facebook blocks Trump’s accounts indefinitely Vox.com 1/7/2021 Rebecca Heilweil and Shirin Ghaffary © Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images President Donald Trump spoke behind protective glass at the “Stop the Steal” Rally on January 6. Open Sourced logo Social media companies are grappling with the reactions to the insurrection that broke out on Wednesday at the US Capitol. Despite plenty of time and warning, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube still seemed to be scrambling in th...

Facebook is lifting its political ad ban — in Georgia only Vox.com 12/15/2020 Rebecca Heilweil © Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images All four Georgia Senate candidates are upset they can’t run political ads on Facebook. (Above, a Georgia voter in November.) Open Sourced logo Less than a week after Joe Biden secured a victory in the 2020 presidential election, it looked like Facebook’s post-election plan was backfiring. In November, the company announced it wou...

Justice Department now says its email accounts were “potentially accessed” in Russia hack Vox.com 1/6/2021 Sara Morrison © Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images A joint task force of US security agencies says that Russia is “likely” the actor behind the massive malware attack on federal agencies last year. Open Sourced logo Federal security agencies have finally confirmed that the massive hack of government and private computer systems that was uncovered in mid-Decem...

How influencers are being recruited to promote the Covid-19 vaccine Vox.com 12/14/2020 Rebecca Heilweil © Mark Lennihan / POOL / AFP Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, receives the first Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York. Open Sourced logo On Monday morning, the first person in the United States received a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. Now images of Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at...

Why the US government wants Facebook to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp Vox.com 12/10/2020 Rebecca Heilweil © Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images On Wednesday, 48 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Facebook, arguing that the company is a monopoly and that it should be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. Open Sourced logo On Wednesday, the US Federal Trade Commission and 48 US state attorneys general filed ...