Is Big Tech in Big Trouble? It depends…

Big Tech is in Big Trouble!For awhile now, we’ve been hearing rumors of anti-trust actions against the four main Big Tech companies.

Recently, the word is that actual charges will be brought starting in June of this year.

When you put all the recent stories together – along with some other interesting events involving Big Tech – it DOES look like something is finally about to happen.

But will any of it actually change anything?

It’s easy to be cynical, but I do see an opportunity here to make a difference…

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Even your APPS are invading your privacy!

Location Data Companies

As regular readers know, I’m not a big fan of the traditional smartphone craze.

Sure, they’re really handy gizmos, but the amount of data being hoovered up and shipped off to large service providers is a bit frustrating.

As if things aren’t bad enough on that front, it gets better! It turns out that even individual APPS running on your phone are spying on you – specifically, they’re tracking your location (among other things).

What’s more, your location data can be easily linked to you as a private individual. To top it all off, this data is bought and sold to anyone who will pay – and all in the blink of an eye!

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Surprise! Big Data doesn’t care about your right to Free Speech

Alphabet SoupIn a shocking revelation that simply re-affirmed what everyone already knew, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals again ruled that internet platforms have nothing to do with the First Amendment because they’re private corporations.

Well, duh!

In a ruling on February 26th, the court said that, “merely hosting speech by others is not a traditional, exclusive public function and does not alone transform private entities into state actors subject to First Amendment constraints.”

Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming – again…

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The Biggest threat to Privacy: Browser Fingerprints

A lot of people these days are talking about protecting their online privacy.

We have hearings going on, threats of breaking up Facebook and other Big Tech companies, data leaks, and so on.

Many people are going so far as to boycott Google (which is easier said than done).

But so far, no one – except Mozilla – is talking about the biggest threat to online privacy: Browser Fingerprints.

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Are Big American Tech companies a dying breed?

TechWarsOh dear God, make it stop.

There was a time when American Big Tech was the end-all and be-all.

It seems those days are rapidly going the way of the dodo.

For sure, there will be many companies that survive – and even flourish.

But it’s becoming painfully obvious that certain political, social, and cultural influences are starting to crush innovation, cripple sales, and piss off a whole lot of ordinary folks…

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Just how BIG is Big Data? Some fun internet facts

Ah, the internet… It’s big. Really, really BIG.

We don’t often think about these things, but just how much storage space is needed for the internet to go?

What kind of power is needed to make Google googley?

How on earth does YouTube store and process all that crazy video data?

Join Cletus and me for a look at some fun facts and statistics about YouTube, Google, and the internet as a whole!

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Big Data, spying, & 5G pushers: Who are THEY??

We hear a lot of about “THEY”. Big data violates our privacy, new potentially dangerous tech like 5G is pushed by “them”, and so on.

But just who is this “they“, anyway?

It turns out, the answer is: It’s complicated!

The best place to look is the big data/spying nonsense. The real history of the internet gives a pretty good idea of just how it all works.

When you lump greedy CEOs together with power-hungry (and often paranoid) politicians, and then toss in some Tech Evangelists for good measure, you get exactly what we have today…

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