Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

"Canada’s privacy commissioner has begun a probe into billboards that use facial detection technology for targeted advertising. The billboards, located near Toronto’s Union Station, reportedly analyze only the age and gender of passerbys, according to their owner, Cineplex Digital Media (CDM). They’re part of a growing wave of technology that uses cameras, large databases and in some cases artificial intelligence to survey people in public." Urgh, fuck this surveillance bullshit 🚮

Canada’s privacy regulator to probe billboards equipped with facial scanning tech

The billboards, located near Toronto’s Union Station, reportedly analyze only the age and gender of people nearby, according to their owner.

#News #Surveillance

Another cautionary tale to add to the 'cloud sync is not a backup' list;

hey.paris

20 Years of Digital Life, Gone in an Instant, thanks to Apple

Summary: A major brick-and-mortar store sold an Apple Gift Card that Apple seemingly took offence to, and locked out my entire Apple ID, effectivel...

Also, since this is the likely source of some discourse that has crossed my timeline in the past 24 hours, a few thoughts; 1) While schadenfreude is wholly inappropriate, there is a core of truth in any 'this is what you get' type of responses you might see. Because this is not the first time this has happened to someone, it is not unique to Apple, and the above 'cloud sync is not a backup' is a piece of advice that has been given but gone unheeded many, many times. 2) I am kind of rolling my eyes at the 'I have been nothing but loyal for many, many years' vibes this has. Not only does it not really matter to the current situation this person finds themselves in, it reeks of privilege, and entitlement. 3) Because YES, it could totally HAPPEN TO YOU TOO, independent of your technology choices. The KYC legislation as it exists in many countries these days makes it more likely, not less. The resulting fraud detection and response is automated, and imperfect. 1/ 🧵

This toot reminds me of a thread I did on Twitter, over a decade ago now, about making a self-help comic book for white cis males, aimed at teaching them about privilege, and empathy. (It would not qualify for the quoted poll, read an actual book) It would be modeled on the Hero's Journey. The Mentor would be a wise old African woman, who sends our white male on a quest; to defeat that which endangers women most. To do this, our hero would have to defeat Privilege and Supremacy, and free Empathy. In the process, our hero would learn that the biggest hurdle to fulfilling his quest and returning to the Mentor is himself. To succeed, he would need to defeat his own assumptions first, because they make him powerless against Privilege. After Privilege has been defeated, he needs to travel across barren lands to find Empathy, and earn the treasure he seeks. Once freed, Empathy grants him two weapons essential to defeating Supremacy; Humility, and the Heart of Empathy. 1/ 🧵

discuss.systems

Irene Zhang (@irene@discuss.systems)

Men, have you read any books about feminism or the patriarchy? They must be a full-length book at least 100 pages. Audio books are fine but they mu...

"Hundreds of foreign troll accounts were used during last month's Dutch election campaign to amplify messages by politicians, research by RTL Nieuws has found. The accounts retweeted posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, by political leaders and prominent commentators, giving them greater reach on the social media platform. The fake accounts almost exclusively amplified far-right parties such as Forum voor Democratie or Geert Wilders’s PVV, or promoted tweets that expressed hardline views on issues like immigration." It's almost as if staying on X, granting it continued legitimacy as a communication platform, was a bad idea all along.

DutchNews.nl

Foreign ”troll army“ skewed election campaign towards far right - DutchNews.nl

Hundreds of foreign troll accounts were used during last month’s Dutch election campaign to amplify messages by politicians, research by RTL ...

#News #OrganisedAffiliatedFuckers #GetOffX #RipItOut #NLpol

Hey, mensen in Nederland; heeft iemand een goede aanbeveling voor metalen bekers van een lokale aanbieder? RVS, stapelbaar, zonder deksel of handvat? Bij voorkeur met een gerolde, niet-scherpe rand? Het enige dat ik tot nu toe kan vinden zijn 'travel mug' versies met plastic deksel, merkloze dingen op Bol punt com, enzovoort. Moet wel ergens te koop zijn, toch? #dtv

The weirdest thing about the US government shutdown affecting air travel, to me at least, is that there seems to be no movement that emphasises NOT FLYING. Like, seriously, what the fuck? I get that there may be some mitigating factors, like having already booked tickets for that national plane travel ritual they call 'Thanksgiving' well in advance, but just not flying doesn't even seem to come up as a consideration. How about not being an asshole to people in high-stress jobs during what is probably the busiest time of the year, who are now not even getting paid, and showing a little solidarity, while also working on kicking your domestic flying habit? The fucking entitlement 😒