Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 13, 2025

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 13, 2025 – 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 the …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

How to turn off autoplay on your social media feeds

Tech Crunch: “There are times when you may want to prevent videos and GIFs from automatically playing in your social media feeds. This could be because you’re trying to conserve cellular data, limit the addictiveness of these apps, or maintain better control over your viewing experience, as when a video is going viral that you …

Subjects: Social Media

US investors in spyware firms nearly tripled in 2024: report

The Record: The number of U.S.-based investors bankrolling spyware companies nearly tripled in 2024, with 31 American firms found to be backing the manufacturers compared to just 11 in 2023. The finding was published by the Atlantic Council think tank in a report released Wednesday which analyzed 561 spyware entities — vendors, supplies, partners, investors, …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

What Is Browser Fingerprinting? (And How to Stop It!)

YouTube “Every day when you browse the internet, you share identifiable information about your device and browser that companies use to target you with advertising and track your activity across the web. In this video interview with Ruihildt from the Mullvad Browser team, we uncover how this tracking technology works and how you can fight …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Why AI Cheats: The Deep Psychology Behind Deep Learning

Psychology Today – AI cheats not because it’s broken, but because it has learned our own bad habit. Key points: AI cheats because its reward system favors pleasing answers over truthful ones. AI mirrors human biases by reinforcing user preferences instead of challenging them. Fixes to reduce cheating expose a trade-off between safety and creativity. …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

ODNI – JCAT First Responder’s Toolbox

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) has compiled these resources “JCAT First Responders Toolbox.” JCAT First Responder’s Toolbox containing information from 2016-present on responding to terrorist events or scenarios. Two of their reports Large Public Gatherings Attractive Targets for Violent Extremists (May 14, 2025) and Third-Party Security Critical …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Court Rejects Verizon Claim That Selling Location Data Without Consent Is Legal

Ars Technica: “Verizon lost an attempt to overturn a $46.9 million fine for selling customer location data without its users’ consent. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit rejected Verizon’s challenge in a ruling (PDF) issued today. The Federal Communications Commission fined the three major carriers last year for violations revealed in 2018. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Systematic attribution of heatwaves to the emissions of carbon majors

“Extreme event attribution assesses how climate change affected climate extremes, but typically focuses on single events Furthermore, these attributions rarely quantify the extent to which anthropogenic actors have contributed to these events. Here we show that climate change made 213 historical heatwaves reported over 2000–2023 more likely and more intense, to which each of the …

Subjects: Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Legal Research

AI Adoption Rate Trending Down for Large Companies

Apollo Academy: “The US Census Bureau conducts a biweekly survey of 1.2 million firms, and one question is whether a business has used AI tools such as machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents or voice recognition to help produce goods or services in the past two weeks. Recent data by firm size shows that …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster Sue Perplexity AI Over Copyright Infringement

Legal News Feed: “In a significant legal development, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. and Merriam-Webster Inc. filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Perplexity AI Inc., accusing the startup of unauthorized replication of their copyright-protected content. This case, initiated on Wednesday, emphasizes the ongoing tensions between traditional publishers and emerging AI technologies regarding the use …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Courts, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Influencer FBI

The Atlantic gift article – “About four hours after the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated by an unknown shooter at Utah Valley University Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel posted a picture of himself with Kirk on his personal X account. The undated photo shows the two men grinning, apparently about to tape Kirk’s daily …

Subjects: Courts, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines, Social Media