Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Category Archives: E-Commerce

Why Tech Companies Are Not Your Friends

The New York Times – Lessons From Roku [unpaywalled]- “Roku recently changed its policy to make it even harder for customers to take legal action. It’s a reminder of how we need to protect ourselves….In reality, the tech products we buy can evolve to keep protecting those interests — and the hoops we have to jump through to gain some control are often impractical. Here’s a reminder of what to remember. We don’t really own our tech products. More than a decade ago, when we bought a TV it was just that — a big screen that let you plug into it whatever you wanted. Nowadays, the vast majority of TVs connect to the internet and run the manufacturer’s operating system and apps. Even though you bought the TV, the software component, a major part of what makes the product work, remains controlled by the company…Changes to the product’s software interface and data collection practices can happen at any moment. In extreme examples, a device can stop working. In 2020, for instance, Amazon deactivated the Echo Look, a camera that helped people organize their wardrobes. It issued a promotional credit for owners to buy a different Amazon gadget that lacked similar features.The less extreme, more common situation is when companies stop supporting older products because they need to sell new gadgets. Apple’s original Apple Watch from 2015, for example, no longer gets software updates and now barely works…”

We tested Amazon’s new shopping chatbot. It’s not good.

Washington Post via MSN: “Amazon is experimenting with an artificial intelligence chatbot to help you figure out what to buy. Instead of sorting through thousands of options for vacuum cleaners, you can ask the chatbot to recommend the best models for hardwood floors or for sucking up pet hair. The chatbot called Rufus, which Amazon… Continue Reading

Perplexity brings Yelp data to its chatbot

The Verge: “Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas tells The Verge that many people are using chatbots like regular search engines. It makes sense to offer information on things they look for, like restaurants, directly from the source. So it’s integrating Yelp’s maps, reviews, and other details in responses when people ask for restaurant recommendations. “Our underlying… Continue Reading

Everything You Need to Know About Facebook Marketplace Scams

AARP: “…It’s difficult to gauge the extent of the risk. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, hasn’t disclosed how many complaints it’s received about scammers or how many it’s taken action against, though from July to September 2023 alone, the website removed 827 million fake Facebook accounts, according to a Meta spokesperson. However, the BBB’s Scam Tracker… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 2, 2024

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 2, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on… Continue Reading

Scam Baiting: An Innovative Approach to Combating Online Fraud

Via LLRX – Scam Baiting: An Innovative Approach to Combating Online Fraud – The thesis of Kyra Strick‘s instructive paper promotes a proactive approach to a rapidly increasing online security crisis. Strick states that in the dynamic landscape of cybersecurity, scam baiting has emerged as a captivating and unconventional approach to combating online fraud. Scam baiting is… Continue Reading

Toward a durable, dictator-proof Washington Post

Via LLRX – Toward a durable, dictator-proof Washington Post – David H. Rothman’s timely, outside the box commentary addresses the growing wave of news outlets abruptly closing down their websites, laying off staff, and in some cases, eliminating access to their respective archives. Rothman proposes an alternative to “how do I charge them enough” to… Continue Reading

Axel Springer vs. Google

Fortune: “Axel Springer is at Google’s throat again. The German news-publishing giant (for which I worked in my days at Politico) has a long history of battling Google over the issue of so-called ancillary copyright fees—payments for carrying snippets of text and thumbnail images in search results. But now it’s waging war on another front:… Continue Reading

The Best VPNs to Protect Yourself Online

Wired – “It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can make you a less tempting target for hackers. A virtual private network (VPN) is like a protective tunnel you can use to pass through a public network, protecting your data from outside eyes. Whether you’re worried about hiding your… Continue Reading

Amazon’s Big Secret

The Atlantic [unpaywalled] – “…Nearly 30 years after the company was founded, we still don’t really know where its profits come from. The answer will loom large in the antitrust case against it. Under SEC rules, public corporations must file quarterly reports disclosing revenue, expenses, profits, and other metrics. Initially, only company-wide data were required.… Continue Reading