Wyden suggested that the intelligence community might be helping data brokers violate an FTC order requiring that Americans are provided "clear and conspicuous" disclosures and give informed consent before their data can be sold to third parties. In the seven years that Wyden has been investigating data brokers, he said that he has not been made "aware of any company that provides such a warning to users before collecting their data."If you’re curious about why we need much stronger privacy laws in the US, this article is a good start. Thanks Senator Wyden for fighting the good fight.
How am I supposed to use the internet now? The experience of asking that question and getting a series of good answers, to me, it felt like the conversation you have with a friend that finally convinces you to make a break-up stick. A break-up with someone who maybe has always sucked, or at least, sucked for awhile.This episode of Search Engine is a great conversation with Ezra Klein about being aware of where your attention is going.
"But it’s interesting: the appeal of these checkpoint videos is precisely the fact that they are NOT designed. This subculture has repurposed a plot of unloved YouTube real estate and totally turned it around, charged it up with emotional energy, all without changing a single line of JavaScript or CSS. So, maybe the deep lesson of the checkpoint isn’t “make it like this!” but “don’t MAKE it at all”."Great look at a type of comment that the systems aren’t designed for but people want to make.
"Whatever lawmakers are willing to set it at, let's double that, just to be safe. That's what I say. I say, whatever it is, let's double it. We've tried underpaying people. That doesn't work. Let's try overpaying for a little bit. I think that's the best strategy right now."I love those angry IKEA guy videos and it’s great to hear more of his story. If you haven’t seen them yet [dramatic music starts] that’s on you. LOOK INWARD.
"Small and quick decisions done back then, that would later make a serious impact on and shape my life. curl has been one of my main hobbies ever since – and of course also a full-time job since a few years back now."curl is one of those ubiquitous tools that all developers use. It's just part of the water we swim in and I forget that tools don't just spring from Earth fully-formed. This is a fun look at where curl came from and where it's going. These hobbyists, amirite?
"So today I set out to actually see what it is one agrees to when they accept all."Peeling back the layers on those cookie agreement dialogs helps us learn about how web advertising works (and how massive the industry is).
"Seven out of 50 video clusters the researchers identified are deemed 'situational' music. This designation doesn't operate under the standard concept of genres but rather the context in which the music takes place. This includes relaxation music like 'Ambient/Chillout,' 'Sounds of Nature,' and the ASMR-affiliated 'Hair Dryer Sound.' The paper concludes that situational music, sometimes deemed trivial by musicologists, is growing in popularity."One great aspect of the Internet is that old (or new!) niche media can find its audience. This ambient music is my jam, glad I found it. [via waxy via mefi]
"’00: There also must be some really good music discussion forums."[pained face] The Internet is complicated and didn't go as planned. Paul Ford converses with his past self about where we are in 2020.
"’20: Independent forums are mostly dead, swallowed up by Reddit, social media, and the like. I cannot overemphasize how much the lesson of the web is that people, given the choice between the freedom of operating and managing their own platform, and running a centralized platform that they do not control, will choose the centralized platform."Sometimes it's worth explaining the joke!
Update (3/9): LOL