Tech

Meta has misled users about scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, lawsuit says

Meta is facing a lawsuit over its advertising policies. Consumer Federation of America has filed a proposed lawsuit against Meta, accusing it of “failing to safeguard users” from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit, first reported by Wired claims that Meta violated consumer protection laws in Washington D.C. because it misled Facebook and Instagram users regarding scams on their apps, and that the company “chased profits instead of protecting its users.” The filing includes a number of examples of alleged scam advertisements that CFA claims it found in Meta’s ad libraries. Ads promoting “a free government iPhone” and those offering $1,400 checks for people born in specific years are included. CFA claims that many of the ads are AI videos. CFA’s lawsuit includes some examples of alleged scam advertisements. The report also highlighted Meta’s processes that have made it difficult for its employees to combat malicious advertisers. CFA’s lawsuit claims that Meta claims it is doing everything it can to crackdown on scam advertising. Meta has taken deliberate steps and adopted policies to increase its bottom line, at the expense of users’ safety and wellbeing. Meta does not ban advertisers it has determined to be a greater risk to its users, as other tech companies such as Google have done. Instead, Meta charges them more. Meta profits more the riskier an advertiser is. Meta’s spokesperson said that CFA’s accusations “misrepresent our work” and that they will be fought. “We aggressively fight scams across all our platforms to protect businesses and people. Last year, we removed 159 million ads, 92% before anyone reported them. We also took down 10.9 millions accounts on Facebook and Instagram that were associated with criminal scam centres. We fight scams because they are bad for business — people don’t want them, advertisers don’t want them, and we don’t want them either.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-has-misled-users-about-scam-ads-on-facebook-and-instagram-lawsuit-says-193220235.html?src=rss

Tech

OpenClaw AI Agents Begin Gaining Access to VPN Connections

Windscribe’s VPN is now natively integrated with the AI agent OpenClaw platform, giving you more control over your virtual private networks.

Tech

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 22, #1768

Here are some hints and the correct answer to today’s Wordle, April 22, No. 1,768.

Tech

AI company deletes the 3 million OKCupid photos it used for facial recognition training

If online platforms violate privacy policies and sell your photos, they may be forced to pay a settlement fee that is not disclosed 12 years later. Who says justice is dead? Reuters reports that Clarifai, an AI company, has removed 3 million profile pictures taken from OkCupid dating site in 2014. Clarifai, based in Delaware, reportedly certified to the FTC the deletion of data on April 7th. The company confirmed to US Representative Lori Trahan, D-MA, that it had deleted any models trained on the data. Clarifai informed the representative’s office it had not shared the data. The FTC launched the investigation in 2019 after The New York Times reported Clarifai’s training database was built using OkCupid dating profiles. This behavior was a direct breach of OkCupid’s privacy policy. Clarifai requested the data from OkCupid executives in 2014, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters. Apparently, they obliged.

Clarifai uses this creepy facial profiling example to sell its services.

Clarifai”We’re collecting data now and just realized that OkCupid must have a HUGE amount of awesome data for this,” Clarifai founder Matthew Zeiler wrote in an email to OkCupid co-founder Maxwell Krohn. The AI startup used images from the dating site to create a facial recognition system that can identify an individual’s age and gender. Clarifai’s brilliant and ethical idea of tapping into unauthorised city surveillance cameras was shut down. Zeiller told The New York Times that people should get over it in 2019. “There must be a level of trust in tech companies like Clarifai, to use powerful technology for good purposes. Get comfortable with that,” declared the AI founder. As part of the settlement the FTC “permanently banned” OkCupid for misrepresenting its privacy and data collection controls. TechCrunch notes how strange it is to use that as a penalty, given that FTC rules already bar that behavior.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/ai-company-deletes-the-3-million-okcupid-photos-it-used-for-facial-recognition-training-195223996.html?src=rss

Tech

GIGABYTE’s X870E AORUS Elite X3D Is Built to Be the Ultimate AMD Gaming Foundation

High-end specs with DIY-friendly features. Gigabyte Aorus Elite is a powerful PC that can be built without the usual installation headaches.

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NASA’s Curiosity Rover found promising organic chemicals on Mars

The search for life on Mars continues. The first wet chemistry experiment of its kind, published in Nature on Tuesday, confirmed that essential ingredients of life were preserved in ancient Martian rocks. The molecules were found in 3.5 billion-year-old Martian sandstone. NASA’s Curiosity Rover collected the clay-filled rock samples from Glen Torridon in Mars’ massive Gale Crater. The data was analyzed by the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars mobile instrument suite. This experiment was unique because it was the first study conducted off-Earth to use the chemical tetramethylammoniumhydrxide (TMAH). The reagent is used to allow Curiosity to read the smaller organic molecules that are present on the Martian surface. The data confirmed the presence of naphthalene (one of the largest and complex organic compounds found on Mars) and benzothiophene (another of the largest and complex organic compounds). The experiment also revealed the first detection of possible N-heterocycles on which DNA and RNA is built. NASA”That discovery is quite profound, because these structures could be chemical precursors for more complex nitrogen-bearing molecule,” wrote Amy Williams in NASA’s announcement. “Nitrogen homocycles have not been confirmed on the Martian surfaces or in Martian meteorites.” As with previous discoveries of organic materials on Mars, this isn’t the smoking gun that we’ve been looking for. It adds to the growing body of evidence that at least the foundations of modern life were present on a prehistoric version of the planet. The study confirms that organic matter can survive on Mars for millions of years. This will encourage future experiments. The paper’s authors claim the data will assist NASA to optimize its final (and second) TMAH experiment with Curiosity. The study opens the door for future TMAH experiments on the Rosalind-Franklin Mars rover, and the Dragonfly mission that will visit Saturn’s moon Titan. Both missions are scheduled for 2028 at the earliest.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-curiosity-rover-found-promising-organic-chemicals-on-mars-174514375.html?src=rss