BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Donald Trump's 'communications' platform permanently taken offline
Donald Trump's communications platform has been permanently shut down, his spokesperson told CNBC. "It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on," senior aide Jason Miller said. The platform, titled From the Desk of Donald J Trump, launched last month and served as a way for the former president to publish his own content including press releases and videos. ... Read more
2021-06-02 19:53:06
eBay sellers can no longer use PayPal under new terms
New terms of use for eBay have come into effect which mean the online auction house will now pay sellers directly rather than through PayPal. PayPal was acquired by eBay in its early days in 2002, and the two firms have worked in partnership ever since. The changes mean that while eBay buyers can still pay with PayPal, sellers will be paid straight into their bank accounts. But some sellers hav ... Read more
2021-06-01 19:56:35
JBS: World's largest meat supplier hit by cyber-attack
The world's largest meat processing company has been targeted by a sophisticated cyber-attack. Computer networks at JBS were hacked, causing some operations in Australia, Canada and the US to temporarily shut down, affecting thousands of workers. The company believes the ransomware attack originated from a criminal group likely based in Russia, the White House said. The attack could lead to sho ... Read more
2021-06-01 19:55:52
Gaza conflict: Instagram changes algorithm after alleged bias
Instagram is changing the way it showcases content after being accused of suppressing pro-Palestinian messages during the recent Gaza conflict. The app had favoured original content in its "stories" feature over existing, re-shared posts, but will now give them equal treatment, it said. The current system had a "bigger impact than expected" on some types of posts. But that w ... Read more
2021-05-31 20:53:34
Privacy group targets website 'cookie terror'
A privacy group has lodged hundreds of complaints against what it calls "cookie banner terror" online. Noyb, headed by well-known Austrian privacy advocate Max Schrems, is targeting companies which it says deliberately make it hard to opt-out of tracking cookies. "By law, users must be given a clear yes/no option," the group said. Marketing groups have blamed the EU's strict ... Read more
2021-05-31 20:51:08
Amazon offers 'wellness chamber' for stressed staff
Amazon plans to put "wellness chambers" in its warehouses so that stressed workers can sit inside and watch videos about relaxation. In a video shared on its Twitter account, Amazon said the "AmaZen" chamber would help staff focus on their mental health. But it deleted the post after a wave of ridicule from other social media users. The US retail giant has been repeatedly cr ... Read more
2021-05-30 20:38:52
Buying a pink NFT cat was a crypto nightmare
The hype surrounding NFTs (non-fungible tokens) has been hard to ignore. Bright, colourful digital-only art that is selling for millions - who wouldn’t be intrigued? But my first experience of investing in this world was a nightmare - with far too much time, money and stress wasted on… well, not very much. Because an NFT doesn’t have a physical representation like a painting, it exists only as ... Read more
2021-05-30 20:38:34
Legality of collecting faces online challenged
Clearview AI, a US firm with a database of three billion facial images from the internet, is facing a new legal challenge from privacy campaigners. Privacy International and others argue its methods of collecting photos and selling them to private firms and the police "go beyond what we could ever expect as online users". Clearview has said is has no contracts with any EU-based custome ... Read more
2021-05-27 20:47:39
Instagram lets users hide likes to reduce social media pressure
Instagram is offering its users the option to hide the number of likes they receive on posts on the app. The aim is to “depressurize people’s experience” on the platform, the social media giant said. Users with the feature enabled will now see the username of a follower who has liked the post, “and others”, instead of a number. The tool has been tested in several countries since 2019, but it is ... Read more
2021-05-27 20:04:26
Iran bans cryptocurrency mining for four months after blackouts
Iran has announced a four-month ban on the energy-consuming mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin after cities suffered unplanned blackouts. President Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting the main cause of the blackouts was a drought that had affected hydro-electric power generation. But he said cryptocurrency mining, 85% of which is unlicensed, was draining more than 2GW from the grid eac ... Read more
2021-05-26 19:57:12