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Daily Archives: October 26, 2022

Google can now remove your identifying search results, if they’re the right kind

Ars Technica: “Google has been pushing out a tool for removing personally identifiable information—or doxxing content—from its search results. It’s a notable step for a firm that has long resisted individual moderation of search content, outside of broadly harmful or copyright-violating material. But whether it works for you or not depends on many factors. As with almost all Google features and products, you may not immediately have access to Google’s new removal process. If you do, though, you should be able to click the three dots next to a web search result (while signed in), or in a Google mobile app, to pull up “About this result.” Among the options you can click at the bottom of a pop-up are “Remove result.” Take note, though, that this button is much more intent than immediate action—Google suggests a response time of “a few days.” Google’s blog post about this tool, updated in late September, notes that “Starting early next year,” you can request regular alerts for when your personal identifying information (PII) appears in new search results, allowing for quicker reporting and potential removal. I took a trial run through the process by searching my name and a relatively recent address on Google, then reporting it. The result I reported was from a private company that, while putting on the appearance of only posting public or Freedom of Information Act-obtained records, places those records next to links that send you to the site’s true owner, initiating a “background check” or other tracking services for a fee…”

Your Guide to America’s Finances

“Your Guide to America’s Finances is an overview of U.S. government finances where you’ll find information on money coming in (revenue), money going out (spending), the deficit, and debt. Your Guide presents a series of pages exploring each topic through educational content and interactive visualizations, providing a comprehensive overview of the trillions of dollars collected… Continue Reading

Past PACER users would each get at least $350 in refunds under lawsuit settlement

ABA Journal: “The U.S. government has agreed to pay $125 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming that the judiciary overcharged users of PACER, its electronic system of court records. The deal, revealed in a motion for preliminary approval, would give most class members at least $350 in refunds for PACER charges between April… Continue Reading

DRM On My Mind

Via LLRX – DRM On My Mind – Christine Park Adjunct Professsor of Law, Fordham Law Library highlights risks of and legal restrictions related to digital rights management. LLRX welcomes further discussion of efforts to implement solutions, “before it’s too late.” See also David H. Rothman’s article Will Amazon’s new ePub capability help the anti-DRM movement? Continue Reading

The Latecomer’s Guide to TikTok

The New York Times – TikTok has become massively influential We’re here to help you understand how it all works. “It has become impossible to ignore TikTok. It’s been a hugely popular short-form video app for hyperkinetic bursts of self-expression for years, now with more than a billion active users worldwide (some even use it… Continue Reading

Committee Releases Report on Insurer and PBM Compliance with Affordable Care Act’s Birth Control Coverage Requirement

(Oct. 25, 2022)—”Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released a staff report entitled, Barriers to Birth Control:  An Analysis of Contraceptive Coverage and Costs for Patients with Private Insurance.  The report presents findings from the Committee’s review of birth control coverage offered by five of the nation’s… Continue Reading

Countries’ climate promises still not enough to avoid catastrophic global warming

Climate Plans Remain Insufficient: More Ambitious Action Needed Now – “A new report from UN Climate Change shows countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward but underlines that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. According to the report,… Continue Reading

Protecting Children’s Data Privacy Policy Paper I: International Issues and Compliance Challenges

“Complying with the growing number of laws on children’s privacy in the global marketplace is an increasingly complex undertaking. It involves reconciling measures to protect children from online harm and intrusions into their privacy with the equally important necessity for children to participate and engage online and to access beneficial or even essential online resources.… Continue Reading

Fuels Knowledge Graph Project

“The Fuels Knowledge Graph Project (FKGP), funded through the Federal Chief Data Officers (CDO) Council, explored the use of knowledge graphs to achieve more consistent and reliable fuel management performance measures. The team hypothesized that better performance measures and an interoperable semantic framework could enhance the ability to understand wildfires and, ultimately, improve outcomes. To… Continue Reading