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Contraint de bloquer des noms de domaine, OpenDNS décide de quitter la France

Le DNS que vous avez demandé n’est plus disponible
Panneau stop

Une décision de justice demande à Cisco, Google et CloudFlare de bloquer l‘accès à plus d’une centaine de sites. Canal+ en est à l’origine, dans sa guerre contre le piratage sportif.

« En raison d’une décision de justice en France »

Certains pourraient y voir une manière d’écraser une mouche avec un bazooka, d’autres une manière de répondre aux « aux exigences des ayant-tous-les-droits ». La raison officielle est donnée par OpenDNS dans un billet de blog :

« À compter du 28 juin 2024, en raison d’une décision de justice en France rendue en vertu de l’article L.333-10 du code du sport français et d’une décision de justice au Portugal rendue en vertu de l’article 210-G(3) du code portugais du droit d’auteur, le service OpenDNS n’est actuellement pas disponible pour les utilisateurs en France et dans certains territoires français et au Portugal. Nous nous excusons pour la gêne occasionnée ».

Canal+ obtient le blocage DNS d’une centaine de sites

La décision de justice dont il est question a été publiée par nos confrères de l’Informé. Elle demande à Google, Cisco (propriétaire d’OpenDNS) et CloudFlare de bloquer l’accès à une centaine de sites, via leur résolveur DNS. Concrètement, les internautes utilisant le DNS d’un des trois services ne fait plus le lien entre le nom de domaine et l’adresse IP du serveur.

Il s’agit pour Canal+ de protéger ses droits et de rendre inaccessibles des sites diffusant des matchs des Champions League, de Premier League en football et du Top 14. « Après avoir obtenu le blocage par les fournisseurs d’accès et le déréférencement par Google de plusieurs sites illicites, Canal+ a décidé en octobre 2023 de passer à la vitesse supérieure en assignant cette fois Google, Cloudflare et Cisco », expliquent nos confrères.

Dans la décision du tribunal, publiée par nos confrères, il est indiqué : « La proportionnalité des blocages demandés est contestée par les défenderesses. Les sociétés Google, Cisco et Cloudflare prétendent que ces mesures seraient inutilement complexes et coûteuses dans la mesure où il existe de nombreux moyens autres de bloquer tout accès aux sites litigieux. De plus, les atteintes en cause ne seraient pas irrémédiables puisqu’il suffirait d’utiliser un VPN ou un autre service DNS alternatif pour contourner le blocage ». Ces arguments et les autres ont été rejetés par le tribunal.

OpenDNS renvoie un message « REFUSED »

Si on tente d’interroger le résolveur DNS en France ou au Portugal, on a désormais un beau message « REFUSED », avec un rappel du texte de loi en question. Comme le précise Stéphane Bortzmeyer, spécialiste du DNS, « ce n’est pas spécifique au nom de domaine demandé, tous donnent le même résultat. En outre, on peut vérifier, par exemple avec les sondes RIPE Atlas, que c’est pareil depuis quasiment tous les FAI français ».

CloudFlare aussi s’est exécuté avec désormais un message « Error HTTP 451 […] Unavailable For Legal Reasons ». Chez Google, le message d’erreur est plus succinct : « Hum, nous ne parvenons pas à trouver ce site ».

Des résolveurs DNS en pagaille

Stéphane Bortzmeyer est bien remonté contre cette décision de justice : « Les défenseurs de l’appropriation intellectuelle affirment souvent qu’elle sert à « protéger les créateurs » mais, comme on le voit ici, elle sert surtout à enrichir les clubs de football. Les personnes qui utilisaient OpenDNS le faisaient sans doute pour contourner une censure qui bénéficie surtout aux ayant-droits », ou encore parce que leurs objets connectés reposaient sur OpenDNS, ce qui n’est pas sans conséquence.

L'Internet des Objets, c'est quand on ne peut plus allumer la lumière car le contrôleur a les résolveurs #DNS d'#OpenDNS en dur et qu'on ne peut pas les changer : https://t.co/UqoWAih5oQ

— Stéphane Bortzmeyer (@bortzmeyer) June 28, 2024

Le spécialiste des infrastructures d’Internet et des DNS en profite pour rappeler que, en Europe, il y a d’autres résolveurs DNS : dns.sb, DNS4ALL, celui de FDN et même le sien personnel. Nous pouvons aussi ajouter Quad9. Il ajoute : « Si on utilise un résolveur public (ce qui n’est pas forcément une bonne idée), le choix est vaste et les alternatives nombreuses (aucune raison de tous aller sur le résolveur d’une grosse entreprise capitaliste états-unienne). Mais il n’est pas évident de choisir ».

Contraint de bloquer des noms de domaine, OpenDNS décide de quitter la France

Le DNS que vous avez demandé n’est plus disponible
Panneau stop

Une décision de justice demande à Cisco, Google et CloudFlare de bloquer l‘accès à plus d’une centaine de sites. Canal+ en est à l’origine, dans sa guerre contre le piratage sportif.

« En raison d’une décision de justice en France »

Certains pourraient y voir une manière d’écraser une mouche avec un bazooka, d’autres une manière de répondre aux « aux exigences des ayant-tous-les-droits ». La raison officielle est donnée par OpenDNS dans un billet de blog :

« À compter du 28 juin 2024, en raison d’une décision de justice en France rendue en vertu de l’article L.333-10 du code du sport français et d’une décision de justice au Portugal rendue en vertu de l’article 210-G(3) du code portugais du droit d’auteur, le service OpenDNS n’est actuellement pas disponible pour les utilisateurs en France et dans certains territoires français et au Portugal. Nous nous excusons pour la gêne occasionnée ».

Canal+ obtient le blocage DNS d’une centaine de sites

La décision de justice dont il est question a été publiée par nos confrères de l’Informé. Elle demande à Google, Cisco (propriétaire d’OpenDNS) et CloudFlare de bloquer l’accès à une centaine de sites, via leur résolveur DNS. Concrètement, les internautes utilisant le DNS d’un des trois services ne fait plus le lien entre le nom de domaine et l’adresse IP du serveur.

Il s’agit pour Canal+ de protéger ses droits et de rendre inaccessibles des sites diffusant des matchs des Champions League, de Premier League en football et du Top 14. « Après avoir obtenu le blocage par les fournisseurs d’accès et le déréférencement par Google de plusieurs sites illicites, Canal+ a décidé en octobre 2023 de passer à la vitesse supérieure en assignant cette fois Google, Cloudflare et Cisco », expliquent nos confrères.

Dans la décision du tribunal, publiée par nos confrères, il est indiqué : « La proportionnalité des blocages demandés est contestée par les défenderesses. Les sociétés Google, Cisco et Cloudflare prétendent que ces mesures seraient inutilement complexes et coûteuses dans la mesure où il existe de nombreux moyens autres de bloquer tout accès aux sites litigieux. De plus, les atteintes en cause ne seraient pas irrémédiables puisqu’il suffirait d’utiliser un VPN ou un autre service DNS alternatif pour contourner le blocage ». Ces arguments et les autres ont été rejetés par le tribunal.

OpenDNS renvoie un message « REFUSED »

Si on tente d’interroger le résolveur DNS en France ou au Portugal, on a désormais un beau message « REFUSED », avec un rappel du texte de loi en question. Comme le précise Stéphane Bortzmeyer, spécialiste du DNS, « ce n’est pas spécifique au nom de domaine demandé, tous donnent le même résultat. En outre, on peut vérifier, par exemple avec les sondes RIPE Atlas, que c’est pareil depuis quasiment tous les FAI français ».

CloudFlare aussi s’est exécuté avec désormais un message « Error HTTP 451 […] Unavailable For Legal Reasons ». Chez Google, le message d’erreur est plus succinct : « Hum, nous ne parvenons pas à trouver ce site ».

Des résolveurs DNS en pagaille

Stéphane Bortzmeyer est bien remonté contre cette décision de justice : « Les défenseurs de l’appropriation intellectuelle affirment souvent qu’elle sert à « protéger les créateurs » mais, comme on le voit ici, elle sert surtout à enrichir les clubs de football. Les personnes qui utilisaient OpenDNS le faisaient sans doute pour contourner une censure qui bénéficie surtout aux ayant-droits », ou encore parce que leurs objets connectés reposaient sur OpenDNS, ce qui n’est pas sans conséquence.

L'Internet des Objets, c'est quand on ne peut plus allumer la lumière car le contrôleur a les résolveurs #DNS d'#OpenDNS en dur et qu'on ne peut pas les changer : https://t.co/UqoWAih5oQ

— Stéphane Bortzmeyer (@bortzmeyer) June 28, 2024

Le spécialiste des infrastructures d’Internet et des DNS en profite pour rappeler que, en Europe, il y a d’autres résolveurs DNS : dns.sb, DNS4ALL, celui de FDN et même le sien personnel. Nous pouvons aussi ajouter Quad9. Il ajoute : « Si on utilise un résolveur public (ce qui n’est pas forcément une bonne idée), le choix est vaste et les alternatives nombreuses (aucune raison de tous aller sur le résolveur d’une grosse entreprise capitaliste états-unienne). Mais il n’est pas évident de choisir ».

South African Researchers Test Use of Nuclear Technology To Curb Rhino Poaching

Researchers in South Africa have injected radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos to deter poaching, aiming to leverage existing radiation detectors at borders for early detection and interception of trafficked horns. The Associated Press reports: The research, which has included the participation of veterinarians and nuclear experts, begins with the animal being tranquilized before a hole is drilled into its horn and the nuclear material carefully inserted. This week, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand's Radiation and Health Physics Unit in South Africa injected 20 live rhinos with these isotopes. They hope the process can be replicated to save other wild species vulnerable to poaching -- like elephants and pangolins. "We are doing this because it makes it significantly easier to intercept these horns as they are being trafficked over international borders, because there is a global network of radiation monitors that have been designed to prevent nuclear terrorism," said Professor James Larkin, who heads the project. "And we're piggybacking on the back of that." According to figures by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an international conservation body, the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. It now stands at around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market. South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000, making it a hotspot with over 500 rhinos killed yearly. [...] While the idea has received support from some in the industry, the researchers have had to jump many ethical hurdles posed by critics of their methodology. Pelham Jones, chairperson of the Private Rhino Owners Association, is among the critics of the proposed method and doubts that it would effectively deter poachers and traffickers. "(Poachers) have worked out other ways of moving rhino horn out of the country, out of the continent or off the continent, not through traditional border crossings," he said. "They bypass the border crossings because they know that is the area of the highest risk of confiscation or interception." Professor Nithaya Chetty, dean of the science faculty at Witwatersrand, said the dosage of the radioactivity is very low and its potential negative impact on the animal was tested extensively.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Bipartisan Consensus In Favor of Renewable Power Is Ending

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: One of the most striking things about the explosion of renewable power that's happening in the U.S. is that much of it is going on in states governed by politicians who don't believe in the problem wind and solar are meant to address. Acceptance of the evidence for climate change tends to be lowest among Republicans, yet many of the states where renewable power has boomed -- wind in Wyoming and Iowa, solar in Texas -- are governed by Republicans. That's partly because, up until about 2020, there was a strong bipartisan consensus in favor of expanding wind and solar power, with support above 75 percent among both parties. Since then, however, support among Republicans has dropped dramatically, approaching 50 percent, according to polling data released this week. [...] One striking thing about the new polling data, gathered by the Pew Research Center, is how dramatically it skews with age. When given a choice between expanding fossil fuel production or expanding renewable power, Republicans under the age of 30 favored renewables by a 2-to-1 margin. Republicans over 30, in contrast, favored fossil fuels by margins that increased with age, topping out at a three-to-one margin in favor of fossil fuels among those in the 65-and-over age group. The decline in support occurred in those over 50 starting in 2020; support held steady among younger groups until 2024, when the 30-49 age group started moving in favor of fossil fuels. Democrats, by contrast, break in favor of renewables by 75 points, with little difference across age groups and no indication of significant change over time. They're also twice as likely to think a solar farm will help the local economy than Republicans are. Similar differences were apparent when Pew asked about policies meant to encourage the sale of electric vehicles, with 83 percent of Republicans opposed to having half of cars sold be electric in 2032. By contrast, nearly two-thirds of Democrats favored this policy. There's also a rural/urban divide apparent (consistent with Republicans getting more support from rural voters). Forty percent of urban residents felt that a solar farm would improve the local economy; only 25 percent of rural residents agreed. Rural residents were also more likely to say solar farms made the landscape unattractive and take up too much space. (Suburban participants were consistently in between rural and urban participants.) What's behind these changes? The single biggest factor appears to be negative partisanship combined with the election of Joe Biden. Among Republicans, support for every single form of power started to change in 2020 -- fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear. Among Democrats, that's largely untrue. Their high level of support for renewable power and aversion to fossil fuels remained largely unchanged. The lone exception is nuclear power, where support rose among both Democrats and Republicans (the Biden administration has adopted a number of pro-nuclear policies).

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Developing New Way To Make iPhone Batteries Easier To Replace

According to a report from The Information, Apple is developing a new "electrically induced adhesive debonding" technology that would make iPhone batteries easier to replace. 9to5Mac reports: Currently, replacing an iPhone battery requires using tweezers to remove the existing battery, which is held in place by adhesive strips. Then, you must use a "specialized machine and tray" to press the new battery into place. The new process uses metal instead of foil to cover the battery, as The Information explains: "The new technology --- known as electrically induced adhesive debonding -- involves encasing the battery in metal, rather than foil as it is currently. That would allow people to dislodge the battery from the chassis by administering a small jolt of electricity to the battery, the people said. Consumers still have to pry open the iPhone themselves, which is not an easy process because of the adhesives and screws that keep the iPhone's screen sealed in place." Even with this change, however, Apple will still recommend that iPhone users visit a professional to replace their battery. If Apple's development of this new bonding technology goes according to plan, it could debut it with at least one iPhone 16 model this year. According to the report, it would then expand to all versions of the iPhone 17 next year.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lawsuit Claims Microsoft Tracked Sex Toy Shoppers With 'Recording In Real Time' Software

Samantha Cole reports via 404 Media: A woman is suing Microsoft and two major U.S. sex toy retailers with claims that their websites are tracking users without their consent, despite promising they wouldn't do that. In a complaint (PDF) filed on June 25 in the Northern District of California, San Francisco resident Stella Tatola claims that Babeland and Good Vibrations -- both owned by Barnaby Ltd., LLC -- allowed Microsoft to see what visitors to their websites searched for and bought. "Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other Barnaby website users, and constituting the ultimate violation of privacy, Barnaby allows an undisclosed third-party, Microsoft, to intercept, read, and utilize for commercial gain consumers' private information about their sexual practices and preferences, gleaned from their activity on Barnaby's websites," the complaint states. "This information includes but is not limited to product searches and purchase initiations, as well as the consumer's unique Microsoft identifier." The complaint claims that Good Vibrations and Babeland sites have installed trackers using Microsoft's Clarity software, which does "recording in real time," and tracks users' mouse movements, clicks or taps, scrolls, and site navigation. Microsoft says on the Clarity site that it "processes a massive amount of anonymous data around user behavior to gain insights and improve machine learning models that power many of our products and services." "By allowing undisclosed third party Microsoft to eavesdrop and intercept users' PPSI in such a manner -- including their sexual orientation, preferences, and desires, among other highly sensitive, protected information -- Barnaby violates its Privacy Policies, which state it will never share such information with third parties," the complaint states. The complaint includes screenshots of code from the sexual health sites that claims to show them using Machine Unique Identifier ("MUID") cookies that "identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites," according to Microsoft, and are used for "advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes." The complaint claims that this violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Federal Wiretap Act, and Californians' reasonable expectation of privacy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Vision Pro Launches In First Countries Outside the US

After launching in the United States earlier this year, Apple's Vision Pro is now available to buy in China, Japan, and Singapore. "The Apple Vision Pro will also roll out to Germany, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada on July 12th, with preorders for those regions available starting today at 5AM PT," notes The Verge. Apple is documenting the international launch via a recent blog post. According to CNBC, the device starts at $4,128 (29,999 yuan) in China, compared to $3,500 in the U.S. Meanwhile, Apple is already hard at work on a more budget-friendly model. In Bloomberg's "Power On" newsletter, Apple news-breaker Mark Gurman reports today that the tech giant is "working on a cheaper headset, a second Vision Pro model and augmented-reality glasses to better compete with Meta."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Appeals Court Seems Lost On How Internet Archive Harms Publishers

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Internet Archive (IA) went before a three-judge panel Friday to defend its open library's controlled digital lending (CDL) practices after book publishers last year won a lawsuit claiming that the archive's lending violated copyright law. In the weeks ahead of IA's efforts to appeal that ruling, IA was forced to remove 500,000 books from its collection, shocking users. In an open letter to publishers, more than 30,000 readers, researchers, and authors begged for access to the books to be restored in the open library, claiming the takedowns dealt "a serious blow to lower-income families, people with disabilities, rural communities, and LGBTQ+ people, among many others," who may not have access to a local library or feel "safe accessing the information they need in public." During a press briefing following arguments in court Friday, IA founder Brewster Kahle said that "those voices weren't being heard." Judges appeared primarily focused on understanding how IA's digital lending potentially hurts publishers' profits in the ebook licensing market, rather than on how publishers' costly ebook licensing potentially harms readers. However, lawyers representing IA -- Joseph C. Gratz, from the law firm Morrison Foerster, and Corynne McSherry, from the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation -- confirmed that judges were highly engaged by IA's defense. Arguments that were initially scheduled to last only 20 minutes stretched on instead for an hour and a half. Ultimately, judges decided not to rule from the bench, with a decision expected in the coming months or potentially next year. McSherry said the judges' engagement showed that the judges "get it" and won't make the decision without careful consideration of both sides. "They understand this is an important decision," McSherry said. "They understand that there are real consequences here for real people. And they are taking their job very, very seriously. And I think that's the best that we can hope for, really." On the other side, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the trade organization behind the lawsuit, provided little insight into how the day went. When reached for comment, AAP simply said, "We thought it was a strong day in court, and we look forward to the opinion." [...] "There is no deadline for them to make a decision," Gratz said, but it "probably won't happen until early fall" at the earliest. After that, whichever side loses will have an opportunity to appeal the case, which has already stretched on for four years, to the Supreme Court. Since neither side seems prepared to back down, the Supreme Court eventually weighing in seems inevitable.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nearly 4,000 Arrested In Global Police Crackdown On Online Scam Networks

According to Interpol, nearly 4,000 people around the world have been arrested for a variety of online crimes, with $257 million in assets seized. The Record reports: The operation, dubbed First Light, was conducted by police officers from 61 countries and targeted phishing, investment fraud, fake online shopping sites, romance scams, and impersonation scams, according to a statement by Interpol. In addition to arresting thousands of potential cybercriminals, the police also identified over 14,600 other possible suspects across all continents. During the searches, law enforcement seized suspects' real estate, high-end vehicles, expensive jewelry, and many other high-value items and collections. They also froze 6,745 bank accounts used for transferring money obtained through illegal operations. In one case, the police intercepted $331,000 gleaned from a business email compromise fraud involving a Spanish victim who unknowingly transferred money to someone in Hong Kong. In another case, authorities in Australia successfully recovered $3.7 million on behalf of an impersonation scam victim after the funds were fraudulently transferred to bank accounts in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The criminal networks identified during the operation were spread around the globe. In Namibia, for example, the police rescued 88 local youths who were forced into conducting scams as part of a sophisticated international crime network, according to Interpol. Law enforcement from Singapore, Hong Kong, and China prevented an attempted tech support scam, saving a 70-year-old victim from losing $281,200 worth of savings.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mechanic's Viral TikTok Highlights Right To Repair Issues With Newer Car Models

Parks Kugle reports via the Daily Dot: A mechanic went viral when he posted a TikTok about technicians being locked out of computer systems in a new Dodge Ram. TikTok user Shorty of Shorty's Speed Shop (@shortysspeedshop) garnered over 301,000 views when he showed viewers what mechanics had to do to be able to repair newer car models. "It has officially happened. 2024 Ram 3500, authorization denied," Shorty said as he showed viewers the computer screen. "Cannot get into anything on this except generic OBD2 Software." Shorty went on to explain that this update made his "manufacturer software 100 percent irrelevant." Then, Shorty showed viewers the Vehicle Security Professional (VSP) Registry on the National Automaker Service Task Force (NASTF) website. According to NASTF, automakers require mechanics to become credentialed VSPs if they want to purchase key and immobilizer codes, PIN numbers, and special tool access from Automaker websites. A VSP is required to "verify proof of ownership/authority prior to performing any security operation." "It's all part of the NASTF Security Professional Registery," Shorty explained. Shorty believes that this rule allows manufacturers to lock mechanics out of anything they "deem security sensitive." Shorty then broke down the "requirements to gain VSP access." According to him, these include a $325 fee "every two years" and a $100 fee for every subsequent two-year license renewal. He says mechanics also need "commercial liability insurance of $1 million" and a "fidelity or employee dishonesty bond of $100,000." The VSP application page on NASTF's website confirms that there is a $100 Application Fee that covers a "Two Year Renewal" and a $325 Primary Account fee that covers a "Two Year License." It also confirms his claims about the required commercial liability insurance and fidelity or employee dishonesty bond. "There's a lot of people that don't know that this is going on, and it's going to affect everybody getting their cars fixed," Shorty remarked.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

'The Greatest Social Media Site Is Craigslist'

An anonymous reader quotes an op-ed for Slate, written by Amanda Chen: In August 2009, Wired magazine ran a cover story on Craigslist founder Craig Newmark titled "Why Craigslist Is Such a Mess." The opening paragraphs excoriate almost every aspect of the online classifieds platform as "underdeveloped," a "wasteland of hyperlinks," and demands that we, the public, ought to have higher standards. The same sentiment can found across tech forums and trade publications, a missed opportunity that the average self-professed LinkedIn expert on #UX #UI #design will have you believe that they are the first to point out. But as sites like Craigslist increasingly turn into digital artifacts, more people, myself included, are starting to see the beauty that belies those same features. Without them, where else on the internet could you find such ardent professions of desire or loneliness, or the random detritus of a life so steeply discounted? The site has changed relatively little in both functionality and appearance since Newmark launched it in 1995 as a friends and family listserv for jobs and other opportunities. Yet in spite of that, it remains a household name whose niche in the contemporary digital landscape has yet to be usurped, with an estimated 180 million visits in May 2024. Though, it's certainly not for a lack of newcomers attempting to stake their claims on the booming C2C market; in the U.S., Facebook Marketplace, launched in 2016, is its closest direct competitor, followed by platforms like Nextdoor and OfferUp. Craigslist's business model is quite simple: Users in a few categories -- apartments in select cities, jobs, vehicles for sale -- pay a small but reasonable fee to make posts. Everything else is free. Its Perl-backed tech is straightforward. The team is relatively lean, as the company considers functions like sales and marketing superfluous. This strategy has allowed Craigslist to stay extremely profitable throughout the years without implementing sophisticated recommendation algorithms or inundating the webpage with third-party advertisements. Its runaway success threatens decades-old industry gospels of growth, disruption, and innovation, and might force tech evangelists to admit they don't fully understand what people want. [...] These days I find myself casually browsing Craigslist in lieu of Instagram. Like readers of a local paper, I use it to keep a pulse on what's happening around me, even if I'll never know who these people are. That's beside the point. Perhaps Craigslist's single greatest cultural contribution, and my favorite place to lurk, is the "missed connections." The feature has inspired countless copycats, artistic reinterpretations, human interest stories, and analyses (one in particular extrapolated that Monday evenings are the most lovelorn time across the country). There is something deeply comforting about seeing those intangible threads of yearning which permeate a city so plainly laid out, as confirmation that you're not alone in wanting to be seen by others alive in the same place and time as you. Sometimes I'll peruse random job listings or the "free" section. This leads to the ever-amusing exercise, which I'll often invite friends to participate in, of speculating about the motivations and circumstances behind an object's acquisition and imminent relinquishment. I'll even visit the clunky, dial-up era-style discussion forums, subdivided into topics labeled things like "death and dying" or "haiku hotel," where a unique penchant for whimsy and romance can be felt deeply throughout. On Craigslist, a post can be a shout into the void that may or may not be returned, an affirmation of life, but regardless, in 45 days it's gone. Positioned somewhere in between digital ephemera and archive, the site's images and language are often utilitarian, occasionally unintelligible, and just when you least expect it, absurd, poetic, and profound. "Frequently, technologists remain convinced that the market will eventually reveal a solution for all of our deep-seated societal problems, something that we can hack if only granted access to better tech," writes Chen, in closing. "From the start, the industry has advanced the idea that change is inherently good, even if only for its own sake, which can be viewed as symptomatic of the accelerating conditions of late-stage capitalism. Of course, there are many ways in which change is desperately needed in this moment, but when it comes to the particular case of Craigslist, it hardly seems necessary."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Game Pass Ad in Windows 11 Settings Sparks User Backlash

An anonymous reader shares a report: Starting with those builds, Windows 11 will show a Game Pass recommendation / ad within the Settings app. The advertisement will appear on both Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro if you actively play games on your PC. Microsoft lists this feature first under the "Highlights" section of its blog post about the update. Some users aren't pleased. "Microsoft has gone too far," news blog TechRadar wrote.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

T-Mobile Faces Backlash Over Broken Price Guarantee

T-Mobile is facing customer outrage after announcing a $5-per-line price increase on plans that were marketed with a "lifetime" price guarantee. The move has sparked over 1,600 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, ArsTechnica reports Kathleen Odean, 70, of Rhode Island, is among the affected customers. "The promise was absolutely clear," she told Ars. "It's right there in writing: 'T-Mobile will never change the price you pay for your T-Mobile One plan.'" T-Mobile claims an FAQ page allows for price changes, but customers argue this caveat was never prominently disclosed. The company's 2017 press release touted the guarantee without mentioning exceptions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

'Let's Not Go Overboard' On Worries About AI Energy Use, Bill Gates Says

An anonymous reader shares a report: Bill Gates has defended the rapid rise in energy use caused by AI systems, arguing the technology would ultimately offset its heavy consumption of electricity. Speaking in London, Gates urged environmentalists and governments to "not go overboard" on concerns about the huge amounts of power required to run new generative AI systems, as Big Tech companies such as Microsoft race to invest tens of billions of dollars in vast new data centres. Data centres will drive a rise in global electricity usage of between 2-6 per cent, the billionaire said. "The question is, will AI accelerate a more than 6 per cent reduction? And the answer is: certainly," said Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who has been a prolific investor in companies developing sustainable energy and carbon- reduction technologies. In May, Microsoft admitted that its greenhouse gas emissions had risen by almost a third since 2020, in large part due to the construction of data centres. Gates, who left Microsoft's board in 2020 but remains an adviser to chief executive Satya Nadella, said tech companies would pay a "green premium" -- or higher price -- for clean energy as they seek new sources of power, which was helping to drive its development and deployment. "The tech companies are the people willing to pay a premium and to help bootstrap green energy capacity," he said at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London on Thursday.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Cuts Ties With Entrust in Chrome Over Trust Issues

Google is severing its trust in Entrust after what it describes as a protracted period of failures around compliance and general improvements. From a report: Entrust is one of the many certificate authorities (CA) used by Chrome to verify that the websites end users visit are trustworthy. From November 1 in Chrome 127, which recently entered beta, TLS server authentication certificates validating to Entrust or AffirmTrust roots won't be trusted by default. Google pointed to a series of incident reports over the past few years concerning Entrust, saying they "highlighted a pattern of concerning behaviors" that have ultimately seen the security company fall down in Google's estimations. The incidents have "eroded confidence in [Entrust's] competence, reliability, and integrity as a publicly trusted CA owner," Google stated in a blog. The move follows a May publication by Mozilla, which compiled a sprawling list of Entrust's certificate issues between March and May this year. Entrust -- after an initial PR disaster -- acknowledged its procedural failures and said it was treating the feedback as a learning opportunity.

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The Majority of Gen Z Describe Themselves as Video Content Creators

For the first two decades of the social internet, lurkers ruled. Among Gen Z, they're in the minority, according to survey data from YouTube. From a report: Tech industry insiders used to cite a rule of thumb stating that only one in ten of an online community's users generally post new content, with the masses logging on only to consume images, video or other updates. Now younger generations are flipping that divide, a survey by the video platform said. YouTube found that 65 percent of Gen Z, which it defined as people between the ages of 14 and 24, describe themselves as video content creators -- making lurkers a minority. The finding came from responses from 350 members of Gen Z in the U.S., out of a wider survey that asked thousands of people about how they spend time online, including whether they consider themselves video creators. YouTube did the survey in partnership with research firm SmithGeiger, as part of its annual report on trends on the platform. YouTube's report says that after watching videos online, many members of Gen Z respond with videos of their own, uploading their own commentary, reaction videos, deep dives into content posted by others and more. This kind of interaction often develops in response to videos on pop culture topics such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" or the Fallout video game series. Fan-created content can win more watch time than the original source material, the report says.

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Supreme Court Ruling Kneecaps Federal Regulators

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a long-standing legal doctrine in the US, making a transformative ruling that could hamper federal agencies' ability to regulate all kinds of industry. The Verge adds: Six Republican-appointed justices voted to overturn the doctrine, called Chevron deference, a decision that could affect everything from pollution limits to consumer protections in the US. Chevron deference allows courts to defer to federal agencies when there are disputes over how to interpret ambiguous language in legislation passed by Congress. That's supposed to lead to more informed decisions by leaning on expertise within those agencies. By overturning the Chevron doctrine, the conservative-dominated SCOTUS decided that judges ought to make the call instead of agency experts.

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