Technology
[Taylor Lorenz at UserMag] This is like something from a cyberpunk novel: "The phrase “cute winter boots” is not about footwear. It's a code phrase being used to discuss resistance to Trump and how to fight back against the draconian immigration policies his administration is enacting. Users
Technology
[Mike Masnick at TechDirt] On Zuckerberg's claims about why he's changing Meta's fact-changing policy: "If you only remember two things about the government pressure campaign to influence Mark Zuckerberg’s content moderation decisions, make it these: Donald Trump directly threatened to throw Zuck
Technology
[Joseph Cox at 404 Media] Not just obeying in advance but actively collaborating: "Multiple speech and content moderation experts 404 Media spoke to drew some parallels between these recent changes and when Facebook contributed to a genocide in Myanmar in 2017, in which Facebook was used to spread anti-Rohingya
Technology
[Mark Lemley on LinkedIn] Meta's lawyer in its AI case has fired them as a client, and is not beating around the bush as to why: "I have struggled with how to respond to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness.
Technology
[Andrew J. Hawkins at The Verge] I think this is the wrong kind of protectionism: "The Biden administration finalized a new rule that would effectively ban all Chinese vehicles from the US under the auspices of blocking the “sale or import” of connected vehicle software from “countries of concern.
Technology
[Mike Masnick in TechDirt] Mark Zuckerberg is very obviously running scared from the incoming Trump administration: "Since the election, Zuckerberg has done everything he can possibly think of to kiss the Trump ring. He even flew all the way from his compound in Hawaii to have dinner at Mar-A-Lago
Technology
[Rae Morey at The Repository] The bananas activity continues over at Automattic / Matt Mullenweg's house: "Members of the fledgling WordPress Sustainability Team have been left reeling after WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg abruptly dissolved the team this week. [...] The disbandment happened after team rep Thijs Buijs announced in
Technology
[Jason Kottke] Jason nails what the supposed focus on free speech by Meta and others is really about: "What Zuckerberg and Meta have realized is the value, demonstrated by Trump, Musk, and MAGA antagonists, of saying that you’re “protecting free speech” and using it as cover for almost
Technology
[Alex Weprin at The Hollywood Reporter] I don't think this is a great thing at all: "Meta will also move its trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California, with content review to be based in Texas. “As we work to promote free expression, I
Technology
[Ryan Barrett] Ryan Barrett takes Stewart Brand's Pace Layering and adapts it to model technology progress: "I’ve been a fan of Stewart Brand‘s Pace Layering for decades now. Really great framework for thinking about how different ecosystems and emergent forces interact. I’ve been thinking
Technology
[Thanos Pappas at CarScoops] There are a few different levels to this story about the VW Group's terrible cybersecurity: "According to a new report from Germany, the VW Group stored sensitive information for 800,000 electric vehicles from various brands on a poorly secured and misconfigured Amazon
Technology
[OpenStreetMap] Meta has contributed 178,710 Euros (an oddly specific number!) to OpenStreetMap. On one level: hooray for people contributing to open source. On another: Meta has a $1.5 Trillion market cap and uses OpenStreetMap in multiple applications. To be fair, it also provides direct non-monetary contributions, but regardless,