April 2, 2022

‘Biggest fraud in a generation’: The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP (NBC News)

NBC News: ‘Biggest fraud in a generation’: The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP. “Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations. They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.”

COVID-19 0
February 22, 2022

Techdirt: Nonprofit Forced To Delete Thousands Of Court Documents Obtained With A Fee Waiver Because PACER Is Greedy And Stupid

Techdirt: Nonprofit Forced To Delete Thousands Of Court Documents Obtained With A Fee Waiver Because PACER Is Greedy And Stupid. “In this case, a researcher obtained a waiver and accessed thousands of court records. Great news for the beneficiaries of the Free Law Project’s CourtListener site… or so you would think. But that’s not how this works, as the Free Law Project recently tweeted…. It had to delete thousands of court records this researcher legally obtained with a fee waiver because the federal court system says users with waivers can’t do what they want with the data and documents they’ve obtained.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
January 29, 2022

New York Times: How Trump Coins Became an Internet Sensation

New York Times: How Trump Coins Became an Internet Sensation. “What became clear was not just the coin’s unusual origins, but an entire disinformation supply chain that relied on falsehoods and misinformation at nearly every step. Fueling the coin’s success were fake social media accounts that pushed false ads and a fleet of misleading news websites that preyed on partisan discontent. Seen in full, the coin illustrates what watchdogs have long understood: Many untruths that Americans encounter online aren’t created by foreign actors trying to sow division. They simply exist to help someone, somewhere, make a quick buck.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
January 29, 2022

Motherboard: When Famous COVID Skeptics Finally Get Sick, It’s a Marketing Opportunity

Motherboard: When Famous COVID Skeptics Finally Get Sick, It’s a Marketing Opportunity. “As the Omicron wave continues to swamp the world, many, many more people are getting sick, including people who have made COVID skepticism or outright denial a cornerstone of their public-facing personae. And when anti-vaccine, anti-mandate celebrities and influencers get sick, they’re afforded a huge opportunity to show that they were right all along—that their refusal to take the virus seriously, or their faith in alternative treatments, was warranted.”

COVID-19 0
October 18, 2021

Bleeping Computer: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

Bleeping Computer: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink. “Canon USA is being sued for not allowing owners of certain printers to use the scanner or faxing functions if they run out of ink. David Leacraft, a customer of Canon, filed the class action lawsuit on Tuesday alleging deceptive marketing and unjust enrichment by the printer manufacturer.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
September 22, 2021

AP: Apple, Google raise new concerns by yanking Russian app

AP: Apple, Google raise new concerns by yanking Russian app. “Big Tech companies that operate around the globe have long promised to obey local laws and to protect civil rights while doing business. But when Apple and Google capitulated to Russian demands and removed a political-opposition app from their local app stores, it raised worries that two of the world’s most successful companies are more comfortable bowing to undemocratic edicts — and maintaining a steady flow of profits — than upholding the rights of their users.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
March 9, 2021

Ars Technica: Demand for fee to use password app LastPass sparks backlash

Ars Technica: Demand for fee to use password app LastPass sparks backlash. “Two investment firms, Elliott Management and Francisco Partners, acquired the service as part of their $4.3 billion buyout of Internet software group LogMeIn in September last year. Now, the app is warning users that they must pay as much as $36 a year if they want access to those cumbersome passwords on all their devices. Those who refuse to pay will have to choose between synching only to their desktop computers, or only to mobile devices such as phones.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
April 26, 2020

CNBC: Public companies took far more small business loans than first thought — here’s the latest tally

CNBC: Public companies took far more small business loans than first thought — here’s the latest tally. “Even as the U.S. small business relief program is set to reopen Monday with fresh funding, the full extent that public companies tapped the emergency facility is only now becoming clear. More than 200 public companies applied for at least $854.7 million from the government program that was billed as for small businesses without access to other sources of capital, according to Washington D.C.-based data analytics firm FactSquared.”

COVID-19 0

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