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RFK Jr., Others, Speak at Facebook ‘Censorship’ Rally
With the advancement of digital technology and social media, people easily have the freedom to share what they have to say to others across the globe — or can they?
A large group of people, including some influential names, attended a rally outside of Facebook’s headquarters on May 19, organized by the grassroots group Humanity Against Censorship.
Rally-goers held signs denouncing Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
U.S. Postal Service Wants to Provide Digital ID and Collect More Biometric Data
In a new report on the role of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in identity verification, the Office of the Inspector General for the agency has pushed for it to have an expanded role in the collection of biometric data and the rollout of digital ID.
The report suggests extending the provision of in-person biometric data collection to the 4,800 locations where the USPS already provides a Passport Acceptance Service to the U.S. Department of State. It also notes that the USPS could provide biometric and verification services to other government agencies.
In an example of how the USPS’s expanded verification services could be utilized, the report proposes that the USPS could provide online name and address validation to government agencies by providing these agencies with a “confidence level” that a person lives at a specific address. The USPS notes that this confidence level could be generated by querying national databases such as the USPS’s Address Management System (AMS), the National Change of Address (NCOA) database, and the USPS’s Informed Delivery database.
The President of Facebook’s Science Feedback Is Hiding in Paris, Terrified of Appearing in Court
The DisInformation Chronicle reported:
Emmanuel Vincent is a hunted man.
On June 24, an officer of the French Ministry of the Interior, acting under the terms of the Hague Convention, summoned him to a police station and served him papers to appear in court for posting false and misleading statements in his role as president of Science Feedback, a Facebook fact checking service. On top of this, the beleaguered nonprofit has weathered multiple critiques for posting politicized, biased opinions that call themselves “fact checks” — including a Wall Street Journal editorial that called out Science Feedback for attacking Johns Hopkins physician-researcher Marty Makary, after he wrote an essay predicting the arrival of COVID-19 herd immunity.
“This is counter-opinion masquerading as fact checking,” the Wall Street Journal wrote, noting that Dr. Makary never made a factual claim; he had made a prediction based on his analysis of available evidence.
If You Can’t Leave Facebook, Know These Facebook Privacy Settings
It will be news to no-one that Facebook has a poor reputation when it comes to protecting your data.
Most notably, the Cambridge Analytica data misuse scandal saw a whistleblower reveal that the personal data belonging to millions of Facebook users was collected without their consent by a British consultancy firm for targeting voters. Since then, the personal information of more than 533 million accounts was found posted on a dark web forum and Facebook was forced to admit that it stored “hundreds of millions” of account passwords in plaintext for years, plus several leaks of scraped user data.
These scandals have led to the #DeleteFacebook movement, which has seen some of Facebook’s most vocal critics mobilized against privacy invasion, including WhatsApp founder Brian Acton, who sold the messaging app to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. But for so many deleting Facebook just isn’t that easy. Some have to use Facebook as part of their daily 9-to-5 grind, and some are obliged to stay to keep touch with family members who have yet to discover end-to-end encrypted messaging apps.
Samsung Is Investing $356 Billion in Chips, Biotech and AI
Many folks mainly associate Samsung with smartphones and TVs, but the company is looking at other parts of its business for long-term growth potential. In the five years to 2026, it will plow 450 trillion won ($356 billion) into strategic areas, with a focus on things like semiconductors, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
This marks Samsung’s largest investment pledge to date and it’s an increase from a 240 trillion won commitment it made last August. The figure is 30% more than the 330 trillion won the company invested in itself over the previous five-year period.
The Samsung Electronics division will use the funding to bolster its chip design and manufacturing process, according to The Korea Herald. The company is preparing to start making 3-nanometer chips to help it keep pace with TMSC. It’s also working on advanced chips for supercomputers, robots and AI purposes, and it plans to focus on the development of 6G tech.
Walmart Pulling Juneteenth Ice Cream After Social Media Backlash
Walmart is recalling its ice cream commemorating Juneteenth after it received heavy backlash on social media, with many critics calling out the company for using the holiday as a marketing scheme.
“Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope,” the packaging on the swirled red velvet and cheesecake flavored ice cream reads.
“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” Walmart said in a statement to FOX Television Stations. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate.”
