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  Geebo 11:52 am on March 6, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), survey, UK ( 10 )   

  Facebook survey asks bizarre questions about child grooming 

  

  (Disclaimer: This post will be discussing frank topics that may be disturbing to some readers)

  Hot on the heels of Facebook trying to solve their foreign meddling problem with postcards, the social network finds itself in the news once again for all the wrong reasons. Over this past weekend, Facebook users in the UK were asked some rather odd and disconcerting questions in a survey about how they thought Facebook should handle certain volatile situations. A couple of those questions asked about the hypothetical grooming of a 14-year-old girl by an online predator.

  As The Guardian reports, the questions asked by Facebook were more than tone-deaf and insensitive by the way they were posed. Facebook asked how it should be handled if an adult man asked for sexual pictures of the 14-year-old girl. The responses users could choose from ranged from “this content should not be allowed on Facebook” to “I would not mind seeing it” and “I have no preference on this topic”. None of the responses included any kind of suggested contact with law enforcement. Facebook has come out with one of the understatements of the year by saying the survey was a mistake.

  Now do we think that Facebook is gearing up to become some kind of underground network for child predators? No, we do not. Facebook actually has a better record of dealing with online predators than a lot of other social platforms like Kik, Snapchat, and craigslist. However, this shows once again that Facebook is the textbook definition of ‘the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing’. Whether or not this survey was created by an algorithm or by committee, someone along the Facebook chain of command either allowed this survey to pass by them unnoticed or worse yet, approved the survey.

  This is yet another example of how Facebook’s sphere of influence has gotten away from them like so many wild horses. For a company that has such a global reach, maybe it’s time for the social giant to be reined in.

   

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  Geebo 11:33 am on March 5, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: armslist ( 12 ), guns ( 14 )   

  ‘Craigslist of guns’ shows deadly flaws in law 

  

  For all its faults, craigslist says they forbid guns from being sold on their platform. Gun sales still happen on craigslist since they don’t moderate their site, but if you want a classifieds site dedicated entirely to guns then Armslist has you covered. Armslist, which was started in 2007, is known as the craigslist of guns and allows private gun owners to sell and trade guns between themselves. While the practice is legal, in many states private gun sales do not require background checks meaning Armslist is a go to place for people who want a gun but are prohibited from owning one.

  Most recently, a gun that was traded on Armslist was used in the murder of a high-ranking Chicago police officer. This is just the latest in a line of incidents where guns from Armslist were used in violent crimes. Gun control advocacy group the Brady Campaign filed a lawsuit against Armslist stating they were negligent in allowing guns to be sold to criminals but the lawsuit was thrown out on the grounds of our old friend the Communications Decency Act of 1996. So does Armslist do anything to prevent guns from falling in the hands of criminals? They do the very bare minimum by making users click a button that says they’re over 18 and they’re legally able to purchase a gun and that’s it. Users don’t have to register or provide any kind of identification.

  That’s not even taking into account that Armslist users are susceptible to the same scams that proliferate on craigslist such as the fake check scam. That means that gun sellers would not only be out of the money they were hoping to get for the gun but the gun would now be out in the wild as well.

  Just because something is legal, doesn’t make it right. While Armslist is operating under the letter of the law it shows how easy it is for someone to buy a gun when it’s not legal for them to do so. Making it so private sellers do not have to complete background checks is a loophole in the law that needs to be closed, but until then, Armslist will continue to take advantage of it.

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  Geebo 10:23 am on March 2, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cryptocurrency ( 61 ), LeadInvest, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, texas ( 23 )   

  Texas cryptocurrency scam creeps up on craigslist 

  

  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  For years it’s been debated whether or not cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a worthwhile investment. Whether it’s due to the massive amount of power consumption needed to mine for cryptocurrency, its volatility in the current market, or its reputation for being the currency of choice in the trading of illegal goods on the internet, cryptocurrency has a less than stellar reputation among many investors. Now, the lure of easy money in the crypto market is being used to potentially scam investors out of their actual money.

  The Texas State Securities Board recently ordered a cease and desist order against a company called LeadInvest who claim to develop trading software for cryptocurrency. The reason for the C&D is because the company is allegedly misrepresenting itself by falsely claiming a number of famous people are on its management team like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among others.

  One of the reasons the state of Texas became involved was because LeadInvest was said to have flooded craigslist with ads for their services targeting residents of the Lone Star State. If you see a cryptocurrency ad on a less than reliable website like craigslist, think of it like those ads on daytime TV trying to sell you physical coins as an investment option. They’re usually not telling you something that’s in the fine print that shows you how worthless the investment really is. Even under normal circumstances, cryptocurrencies are a highly risky venture. If you decide to risk money on such an investment, always be aware of the inherent risks involved and never invest money you can’t afford to lose.

   
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  Geebo 9:35 am on March 1, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Barack Obama, Facebook ( 182 )   

  Obama: Facebook causes different realities for Americans 

  

  Late last week, former President Barack Obama gave a speech at MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. During that speech President Obama called on companies like Google and Facebook to recognize that they’re more than just companies but are also platforms that could be used for the public good. Instead, they’ve divided us as a country and have created different realities for Americans.

  President Obama goes on to say that it’s not differing opinions that are causing the problem but that facts are being misrepresented. He adds that with the distortion of the actual facts, it makes it “difficult to figure out how democracy works over the long term.” The problem is that companies like Facebook really aren’t in the public’s interest since they’re more concerned about their bottom line rather than furthering any cause for democracy.

  You see, Facebook is what’s known as a walled garden. They want you to remain on Facebook as long as possible without venturing to the outside internet, If anything, Facebook probably wants you to continue to surround yourself in your own confirmation biases so you’ll remain on their platform longer and longer. Whether or not any of those biases are correct in their assumptions is immaterial to Facebook as long as you stay within the confines of their social network and keep clicking those ads. After all, the ads are tailored for your experience.

   
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  Geebo 9:58 am on February 28, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Backpage ( 69 ), Communications Decency Act ( 5 ), FOSTA ( 6 ), Human trafficking ( 100 ), SESTA ( 4 ), Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 ( 3 )   

  Major bill passed to help fight online human trafficking 

  

  Yesterday, the US House of Representatives passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, or FOSTA as it’s better known. This act would allow prosecutors and victims of online trafficking to either prosecute, or seek damages against websites that knowingly assisted in the trafficking of women and children. To be more specific, FOSTA is designed to allow sites like Backpage, who allegedly worked with traffickers to make the ads of trafficked victims appear more legitimate, to stop hiding behind the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

  As you may know, the CDA was the statute that Backpage hid behind for many years claiming that the ads on their website for ‘adult services’ were protected speech and that they had no control over what appeared in these ads. Time and again prosecutors and trafficking victims were stymied in seeking justice against Backpage because of the outdated terms of the CDA. However, after the House overwhelmingly passed FOSTA yesterday, Backpage became one major step closer to losing that protection that has afforded them to make millions of dollars from the sales of women and children into slavery. What’s next is for the bill to be approved by the Senate which has its own version of the bill called “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” or SESTA.

  While many tech pundits and insiders claim FOSTA and SESTA are potential internet censorship laws, they have no one to blame but Backpage. It shouldn’t have had to come to this, but Backpage insisted on making their millions in one of the most unethically ways possible. Had Backpage not blamed everything on third parties and used the CDA as it was not intended, further legislation would not have been needed. Not to mention that many of these pundits and insiders complain when the law has not caught up to technology when it comes to innovation, but use a 22-year-old law to defend the practice of online trafficking as free speech. 22 years ago, the internet was a far cry from what it is today. Why shouldn’t the law be allowed to reflect that?

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  Geebo 10:26 am on February 27, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: AiFi, Amazon Go ( 8 ), retail ( 49 )   

  Startup promises cashier-less experience in every store 

  

  Previously we’ve posted on this blog about Amazon Go, Amazon’s attempt at having a cashier-less store where you can just grab and go whatever you need and have it charged to your Amazon account. While it was initially delayed, had a few hiccups on start, and has live employees at its stores, Amazon Go has turned out to be somewhat of a success for Amazon. Now, a relatively new startup is poised to upset Amazon’s apple cart.

  A startup called AiFi claims they’ve developed an Amazon Go-like system that could be installed in any existing store. Not only that, but AiFi says that their system is scalable to fit a store of any size. From the smallest mom and pop store to the biggest box store, AiFi can supposedly scale itself to fit any sized marketplace.

  The problem, as is with many startups, is this just bluster or does AiFi actually have the technology to back up their claims? Too many startups have turned out to be just vaporware or not practical in the real world. Remember Jucicero anyone? It will be interesting to see if AiFi has actually figured out the problems to cashier-less shopping that took a multi-billion dollar corporation like Amazon so long to try to tackle.

   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on February 26, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Ajit Pai ( 20 ), net neutrality ( 32 ), NRA ( 2 )   

  Ajit Pai receives gun award from NRA for ‘saving the internet’ 

  

  In our last post, we observed how tone-deaf FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the current administration is when it comes to the overwhelming popular support for net neutrality. For those who may not know the concept of net neutrality promises a free an open internet where all internet traffic is treated equally, Without it, internet service providers could throttle traffic to any competing service like Netflix and then have you pay extra to access that service.

  However, when it comes to being tone-deaf, it appears that no one beats the National Rifle Association, otherwise known as the NRA. While the wounds of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead were still fresh in the mind of the public, the NRA decided to present its Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire award to Ajit Pai for what American Conservative Union Executive Director Dan Schneider called “saving the internet”, while NRA board member Carolyn Meadows said that Pai “fought to preserve your free speech rights”. Although, neither speaker clarified how Pai has done either of these things.

  This kind of grandstanding in the face of tragedy is nothing new for the NRA. They once famously refused to cancel their annual convention in Denver shortly after the infamous shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. As you can expect, the award includes a handmade Kentucky long rifle that Pai can claim at his discretion. One has to wonder if this will be the gun that Pai uses to take net neutrality out back and shoot it.

   
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  Geebo 10:06 am on February 23, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Ajit Pai ( 20 ), FCC ( 30 ), net neutrality ( 32 )   

  60 days to die: Can net neutrality be saved? 

  

  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

  Yesterday, the apparent demise of the net neutrality became more of a reality. The Federal Communications Commission published the ‘Restoring Internet Freedom Order’ in the federal register yesterday, meaning that on April 23rd, 60 days after publication, the order will go into effect. This will allow internet providers to throttle internet traffic and limit speeds as they see fit.

  So what’s being done to stop the order before April? Well, a coalition of 23 state Attorneys General are suing the FCC claiming that the order itself is illegal. In Congress, net neutrality supporters say they have the votes to have the order blocked, but not enough to override a Presidential veto which is almost a certainty.

  While politicians have a history of turning a deaf ear to their constituents, the unprecedented and overwhelming support of net neutrality is just one of the many examples how tone-deaf the current administration really is. They show that the will of the people means nothing in the face of corporate campaign money.

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  Geebo 10:01 am on February 22, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: craigslist ( 129 ), modeling ( 8 ), scam ( 22 )   

  Why online modeling jobs are bad news 

  

  Earlier this week, we put up a blog post about two girls from California were saved from potential human traffickers after being offered a bogus modeling job. More recently, another modeling scam appeared, this time in Michigan where someone was offering modeling jobs on craigslist and Facebook for a store whose owner had no idea their store was being used in a scam. While the false promises of modeling jobs are often used by human traffickers, they’re used by online predators as well.

  While those are drastic situations, there are other modeling scams that involve trying to get you to spend money on things you shouldn’t have to. For example, many ads for modeling jobs that you’ll find online or hear about on the radio aren’t jobs at all. There actually more of a sales pitch to get you to buy things like classes and photos, but only through them.

  While you may be able to find one or two legitimate modeling jobs online, for the most part legitimate modeling jobs are done through modeling agencies. If someone is advertising for models on craigslist it’s more than likely they don’t have the best intentions in mind to say the least. The Federal Trade Commission website has some tips on how not to get scammed by modeling ads.

   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on February 21, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: forged title ( 3 ), Scams ( 1,610 ), used car ( 40 )   

  Beware buying a car with a phony title 

  

  When buying a used car online the main scams you had to worry about were either wiring money to a scam artist when the car doesn’t actually exist or buying a car that’s been stolen. Now a report is coming put of Texas that tells of a different elaborate scam that could leave you just as broke.

  According to the report, scammers are buying cars from junkyards that have been declared unrepairable and the car’s title is supposed to reflect this. Instead, the scammers get the cars running again and forge titles that say the cars are street worthy. They then list the cars for sale on less than reputable websites well below market value. Once the buyer takes the title to the DMV they find out that the car has been condemned, can not be driven on the street, and the only way the buyer can recoup some of their loss is to sell the car for parts.

  Remember, when purchasing a used car online, always be wary of a price that seems too good to be true. More often than not, those deals turn out to be scams. Before buying any car you should ask for the car’s VIN number and check it with one of the many services that provides a car’s history. Steps like this may take some extra time but in the long run will save you from losing thousands of dollars on a car that shouldn’t be on the market to begin with.

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