Google’s Dystopian Crisis Tracking Could Be Straight out of George Orwell’s 1984

Google’s move is merely the latest in a long line linking big tech companies ever more closely with the government and the security state.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus Google Feature photo

In the fight against COVID–19 (coronavirus), Google has announced it is partnering with dozens of governments around the world, sharing its users’ location history, and, in the process, giving us an insight into how much the Silicon Valley company knows about us. “As global communities respond to COVID-19, we've heard from public health

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Facebook Is Using Those New “Like” Emojis To Keep Tabs On Your Emotions

If Facebook’s goal is to change your behavior, they need to know your psychological response to photos and videos the same way the tobacco industry needs to know people’s brain chemistry when choosing additives in cigarettes.

Jack Smith IV | MIC
By Jack Smith IV | MIC
In this Oct. 10, 2011 file photo, a magnifying glass is posed over a monitor displaying a Facebook page in Munich. (AP Photo, Joerg Koch, File)

Facebook wants to know: How are you feeling? There's a water crisis on the other side of the planet. Donald Trump tweeted his latest offensive screed. Your old friend's brother unexpectedly and tragically died. Do you like it? Better yet, do you love it? Does it make you sad or angry? Does it make you say "wow"? Facebook has upgraded the

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Massachusetts Joins New Jersey In Demanding Police Warrants For Cell Phone Tracking

Police in Massachusetts must obtain court approval before obtaining data from, or tracking a mobile phone.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
cell phone

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week ruled that law enforcement within the state can no longer surveil the metadata of a mobile phone or track a mobile phone without first obtaining court approval. Citing 2012’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on United States v. Jones as precedence, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court used Associate

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