New web crawler launched by Meta last month is quietly scraping the internet for AI training data

Fortune [no paywall]: “Meta has quietly unleashed a new web crawler to scour the internet and collect data en masse to feed its AI model. The crawler, named the Meta External Agent, was launched last month according to three firms that track web scrapers and bots across the web. The automated bot essentially copies, or …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, E-Commerce, E-Records, Intellectual Property, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Invisible Rulers – What Really Drives Online Content

Mark Scott, Digital Bridge, Politico: “After years of tracking online disinformation, propaganda and other digital nastiness, Renée diResta sees patterns where others see chaos. In her new book, “Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality,” the former Stanford University researcher tries to parse together a theory about why, seemingly out of the blue, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Commerce, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines, Social Media

EU Proposal for an ePrivacy Regulation

“The European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on ePrivacy aims at reinforcing trust and security in the digital world. Why a reform of ePrivacy legislation? European legislation needs to keep up with the fast pace at which IT-based services are developing and evolving. The Commission has started a major modernisation process of the data protection …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Digital Rights, Government Documents, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Survey of Americans’ Online Security Top Concerns & Problematic Habits

US News – Data Privacy Paradox: “Americans are increasingly aware of the dangers lurking online and worry about the risks of data breaches, cyber attacks, ransomware, and more. The fears are well-founded. Already in the first months of 2024, a rash of data breaches has exposed potentially sensitive information of millions of people. One report …

Subjects: Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Data Governance, Digital Rights, Internet, Legislation, Privacy, Social Media

Americans’ Views on Book Restrictions in U.S. Public Schools 2024

“A study from the Knight Free Expression Research Series produced by Knight Foundation in partnership with Langer Research Associates. Book challenges and restrictions in U.S. public schools have increased dramatically since 2021. Yet research on public awareness, attitudes and engagement in these activities is limited. In an effort to fill this critical knowledge gap in …

Subjects: Censorship, Legal Research, Libraries, Privacy

Recovering locked Facebook accounts is a nightmare. That’s on purpose.

Washington Post: “…A quick Google search for “locked social media account” suggests plenty of people have already learned the hard way. Reddit threads, advice columns and emails to The Washington Post’s Help Desk show social media users are plagued by lost and hacked accounts and often driven to despair. Account recovery processes are frustrating and …

Subjects: Social Media

Don’t trust Google for customer service numbers. It might be a scam.

Washington Post [unpaywalled]: “Scams just keep popping up when you Google. On Monday, I found what appeared to be impostors of customer service for Delta and Coinbase, the cryptocurrency company, in the “People also ask” section high up in Google. A group of people experienced in Google’s intricacies also said this week that it took …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Search Engines, Transportation

Multinational Enterprise Information Platform

Annie Burns-Pieper] via Data is Plural: “The Multinational Enterprise Information Platform, a collaboration between the OECD and the UN Statistics Division, provides publicly sourced data on the 500 multinational corporations with the largest market capitalization. Its “Global Register” dataset examines the companies’ structure, listing each subsidiary’s name, parent company, address, alternative names, and various unique …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Is Your SSN in the National Public Data Breach? Here’s How to Find Out

PC Mag: “Two cybersecurity firms launch separate websites that can tell you if your personal information, including Social Security number, was exposed in the National Public Data breach. A massive data breach has Americans worried about their private info getting into the wrong hands, but a pair of newly released websites could make it easier …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Government Documents, Privacy