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  Geebo 10:26 am on January 9, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Ajit Pai ( 20 ), California ( 21 ), Nebraska ( 4 ), net neutrality ( 32 )   

  States taking up the fight for Net Neutrality 

  

  When the FCC, along with Chairman Ajit Pai, repealed the Net Neutrality protections they also claimed the authority to prevent the states from creating and enforcing their own Net Neutrality legislation. This seems to fly in the face of the current administration’s supposed support of states’ rights. However, this hasn’t stopped some of the states from introducing their own legislation despite the FCC’s proclamation.

  Two states that you wouldn’t normally mention in the same sentence, California and Nebraska, have both introduced legislation intended to keep paid prioritized internet traffic, throttling and blockages out of their states. If these state laws were to pass, it would make it difficult for ISPs operating in multiple states to have separate networks for each state and may make them abide by Net Neutrality in each state.

  If the federal government really wanted to make an example of any state that enforced their own Net Neutrality laws, they technically could pull federal funding from any of the states. A state like California could more than likely weather that storm, but a state like Nebraska could be hurt significantly. The question is, does the current administration really want the PR nightmare that would come with cutting off state funding over Net Neutrality?

   

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  Geebo 10:02 am on January 8, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Human trafficking ( 100 ), Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Safety ( 46 )   

  January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month 

  

  For those of you who may bot have heard, the President has declared January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In that vein, Local News 8 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, published a story about Human Trafficking Awareness Month with a local outreach program known as Operation Shield.

  The article goes on to detail about how you can protect your children from human traffickers, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but we should also look at one of the misconceptions about human trafficking that many people have. Human trafficking is not just a big city, or inner city issue. It affects every ethnicity and financial designation. Victims can be from the biggest cities in the nation to the smallest towns in Middle America. Due to the influence of social media and sites like Backpage and craigslist human trafficking has become an issue that we all need to be aware of, and yes, it’s even happening near where you live.

  Now, getting back to the tips on keeping your children safe, the article linked to has some great tips such as keeping track of your children’s online activity and making sure they don’t have any social media friends they’ve never met in real life. One tip that wasn’t mentioned that is known trick of human traffickers is the modeling or talent scam. Many times traffickers will pose as modeling or talent agents telling teenagers they can make a lot of money modeling or singing. Too many victims have been lured into trafficking with the promises of money and fame only to be turned out on to the streets and Backpage by violent pimps and traffickers. Please educate your children to be aware of anyone who may approach them with promises of money as one of those things that are way too good to be true.

  Twin Cities suburbs fight against human trafficking | Greg's Corner is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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  Geebo 10:31 am on January 5, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: craigslist ( 129 ), OfferUp ( 23 ), stolen goods ( 3 )   

  What to do when your stolen stuff shows up online 

  

  For some reason, the media loves to glorify stories about ordinary citizens who get their stolen goods back when they show up on places like craigslist or OfferUp. A majority of the time the stories are about bicycles because its something that the original owner can just ride away on once they locate it and meet the thief. Here’s an example.

  The problem is with these kind of homemade stings is that they can easily go wrong. For instance, two people in the Dallas, Texas area are dead after a man found his stolen camera on OfferUp. He confronted the seller and was able to get his camera back, however, an argument ensued which resulted in gunfire being exchanged. Tragically, both the man and the alleged thief were killed.

  Both craigslist and OfferUp are notorious for thieves trying to sell stolen goods on their platforms. If something of yours is stolen in any kind of burglary it’s a great idea to look on these platforms for your items. However, under no circumstances should you approach these thieves on your own. Always notify your local law enforcement. They may not work at the speed you wish they would. They may not even be able to get your stuff back, but no gadget or bicycle or any other material good is worth putting your life in mortal danger.

   
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  Geebo 10:12 am on January 4, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Online Classifieds ( 12 ), SafeTrade ( 5 ), Safety ( 46 )   

  Craigslist-like crimes overwhelming police 

  

  News station WKMG in Orlando, Florida, recently ran a report about crimes committed through online classifieds like craigslist and apps like OfferUp and LetGo have been overwhelming the detectives of the Orlando Police Department. One of their lead detectives says that robbery is the most common of the crimes committed, usually involving high-end smart phones since they involve a lot of money but are easy to grab. The detective goes on to name the usual suspects of which sites and apps these robberies are largely facilitated through and they are craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo and Facebook Marketplace.

  It used to be that meeting someone in a public place was enough to discourage any criminal activity from happening, but as time has progressed since the advent of online classifieds these rules have since changed since criminals have changed their tactics and have become more brazen. Now it is highly recommended to complete these transactions at your local police station as many of them have set up safe trading zones.

  Many of these classifieds sites and apps don’t offer this kind of advice or make it difficult to find. However, Geebo has a highly visible link in each of its ads to the SafeTrade initiative, where you can find a list of participating police stations across the country.

   
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  Geebo 10:13 am on January 3, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), Google ( 33 ), monopolies ( 3 )   

  Should Facebook be broken up? 

  

  British media trade magazine Press Gazette recently ran an article where one of the directors of the London School of Economics has called for Facebook and Google to be broken up as virtual monopolies. While the two companies may not be publishers themselves, in today’s digital world these two companies have an enormous influence on what media gets to be shared. While the UK has stricter antitrust laws should Facebook and Google be broken up in the US?

  When we think back to monopolies in the US being broken up we think back to companies like Standard Oil, US Steel and AT&T. While Facebook and Google are not similar companies to these ones from history, they do trade in the currency of our modern age, information, which these two companies do seem to have an inordinate amount of control on the flow of information. Even noted consumer advocate Ralph Nader says these companies release products and policies out onto the world without realizing what the consequences will be.

  Now, some may say that Facebook and Google aren’t monopolies and that there is competition to these platforms, but is there really? While there may be other social networks and other search engines do any of them even compare to the industry leaders? Facebook has 2 billion users. Can anyone even name what the #2 social network is? Even if it is Twitter, their userbase doesn’t even come close to Facebook’s. What is the #2 search engine? Yahoo? Bing? Google is so large that their name has become a verb for looking things up on the internet.

  Due to their undue influence on today’s media, maybe it’s time for Facebook and Google to start thinking smaller before the government does it for them?

   
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  Geebo 10:01 am on January 2, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gift cards ( 107 ), Scams ( 1,610 )   

  New gift card scam on the rise 

  

  With the holidays having just passed it’s almost a guarantee that many of us have gift cards looking to burn a hole in our pockets. While gift cards make a convenient gift to give and receive unfortunately, there are some risks inherent with gift cards these days. In the past. we’ve discussed such scams as people wanting gift cards as payment for either items or services. This practice is discouraged as once you give someone the gift card’s serial number they can make off with the value of the card without having to provide you with anything.

  Another common gift card scam is the gift card exchange. These are places or offers online who ask to buy your unwanted gift cards. Again, the scam here is mostly the same where the scammers will try to get the card number before paying you anything and once that value of the card is gone there is no way to get it back. If you have a gift card to a merchant you don’t normally patronize, think about giving it to someone who does or donating it to charity.

  However, a newer and even quick scam is being reported by both the Better Business Bureau and the FBI that rips you off before you even make it back to you car. According to reports, these scammers go into the stores that sell gift cards and scratch off the strips hiding the card’s number. Once that particular card is activated, the scammers are able to automatically steal that card’s value. So if you’re purchasing a gift card, make sure the card’s safety strip hasn’t been scratched off already.

   
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  Geebo 10:01 am on December 29, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: LetGo ( 10 ), merger, OfferUp ( 23 ), startup ( 4 )   

  What the Letgo/OfferUp merger story could really mean 

  

  The online classifieds industry has been abuzz lately with the story of a potential merger between classifieds apps LetGo and OfferUp as reported by Recode. While the talks never went past the approaching stage, Recode seems to think that a merger of the two or an acquisition of OfferUp by LetGo could be inevitable. However, if a merger were to take place, would the emerging business be a successful one?

  According to Recode, the financial situations of either company doesn’t appear to be too rosy. OfferUp has had trouble raising a new round of Funding while LetGo is still focused on building a userbase. If both companies were to merge at present, it seems like it would not benefit either company, leaving the merged company with razor-thin profit shares if any.

  The problem with companies like this are the same ones that many tech start-ups have. Instead of trying to succeed with their own vision, many tech start-ups are simply looking to be bought out by a much larger and successful brand. Since LetGo and OfferUp have had no offers by their bigger competitors they may be looking to consolidate in order to simply keep their heads above water.

   
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  Geebo 10:29 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Ashley Benson, Backpage ( 69 ), Human trafficking ( 100 ), lawsuit ( 48 ), Oregon ( 4 )   

  Backpage being sued in the death of trafficked woman 

  

  Recently, it was announced that controversial classifieds site Backpage was being sued again over its alleged role in the sex trafficking trade. Backpage is being sued by the estate of Ashley Benson who was said to have been trafficked on Backpage by an abusive pimp. In 2014, she was strangled to death in a Portland, Oregon, hotel by a john who had been stalking her through Backpage. The lawsuit accuses Backpage of failing to prevent sex trafficking and prostitution on its site and changes user-generated ads in an attempt to downplay the trafficking aspect.

  Historically, Backpage has been successful in court against such lawsuits y hiding behind the antiquated Communications Decency Act of 1996. However, that protection is starting to diminish for Backpage after a Congressional investigative committee found evidence that Backpage was editing the user submitted ads to their legal advantage. After that discovery was made public Backpage settled a major lawsuit in the State of Washington where they were being sued by woman who said they were trafficked on Backpage while being underage.

  With Congress pressing to have the Communications Decency act to be amended to remove protections for websites that traffic women and children, if that legislation is made into law, we could see the floodgates open with lawsuit after lawsuit against Backpage. In the end, that may be the better way to finally put a stop to their hand in sex trafficking as it could potentially take away what Backpage cares about most, the money they make off of the victims of human trafficking.

   
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  Geebo 10:10 am on December 27, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ethnic cleansing ( 8 ), Facebook ( 182 ), Myanmar ( 11 ), Rohingya ( 9 )   

  Is Facebook complicit in ethnic cleansing? 

  

  If you’re not familiar with the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, they’ve been called the most persecuted people in the world. The government of Myanmar has been accused of what essentially amounts to ethnic cleansing of trying to remove the minority Muslim Rohingya in the largely Buddhist country. Myanmar even refuses to recognize them as citizens while placing discriminatory restrictions against them.

  So how does Facebook fit into all of this? According to reports by both The Atlantic and The Daily Beast, Facebook is considered the de facto internet in Myanmar. And much like it has in America, Facebook has been used to spread false information about the Rohingya people. To compound matters, Facebook is being accused of deleting the posts of pro-Rohingya activists under the vague terms of their ‘community guidelines’. Not just in Myanamar either as a Canadian activist has said that some of his posts criticizing the Myanmar government have been deleted. In many other cases, entire Facebook accounts have been deactivated. Meanwhile, Facebook’s response to the criticism can be summarized as a dismissive ‘we’re looking into it.’

  This is yet another example of how Facebook’s power and reach has gotten out of their control and probably the most devastating example. Even if it’s not intentional, Facebook gives the impression that they’re largely unsympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya which allows this campaign of hate to continue against them unabated in a country that the Rohingya have lived in for centuries.

  Facebook is helping crush dissent in yet another country | Greg's Corner is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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  Geebo 10:01 am on December 26, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Amazon ( 112 ), Human trafficking ( 100 ), Microsoft ( 22 ), Newsweek, Seattle ( 8 )   

  Do tech companies foster a culture of human trafficking? 

  

  Before being lambasted by Congress for their alleged roles in the Russian ad scandal, many tech giants like Google opposed an amendment to the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that would allow the prosecution of websites that hosted obvious ads for sex trafficking. After their PR disaster in Congress, many tech firms reversed their position and supported the amendment, but why did they oppose it in the first place?

  A number of arguments against the amendment from tech companies was because they felt they might get caught up unfairly in prosecution. Could another reason be that some of these companies foster a culture where sex trafficking is not only tolerated but encouraged? Now, it’s not being said that the heads of these companies have some kind of unspoken rule where they will look the other way if their employees are caught engaging in sec trafficking, however there does seem to be a belief among the male employees of many of these companies that sex trafficking is not only acceptable but they also allegedly get together to compare notes about it.

  Newsweek recently broke a story where they allege that in the Seattle area many employees of both Amazon and Microsoft were caught allegedly engaging in behavior at local illegal brothels where Asian women were being trafficked. Some of these employees were said to have spent anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 a year in these brothels. The employees were even said to have communicated with these brothels while using their company emails.

  While both Amazon and Microsoft condemn these activities, if there is this cavalier attitude towards the trafficking of women in these companies who’s to say there aren’t similar attitudes in other tech companies in other regions of the country? With the slew of accusations of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley recently, could there also be an environment where brothels are frequented where women who can barely speak English are being kept against their wills. If the Seattle allegations are any indication then the answer seems to be yes.