FTC List of Entities of Interest
December 15, 2020
I read “FTC Issues Orders to Nine Social Media and Video Streaming Services Seeking Data About How They Collect, Use, and Present Information.” In the write up are the names of the entities about which information is sought. Here these organizations are:
- Amazon
- ByteDance (TikTok)
- Discord Inc.
- Facebook, Inc.
- Reddit, Inc.
- Snap Inc.
- Twitter, Inc.
- WhatsApp Inc. (This is a Facebook property)
- YouTube LLC. (This is a Google property)
What interesting to me is that the FTC is taking action at this time. Here’s the list with the date on which the company began operating:
- Amazon, 1994, 26 years ago
- ByteDance (TikTok), 2012, 8 years ago
- Discord Inc., 2015, 5 years ago
- Facebook, Inc., 16 years ago
- Reddit, Inc., 15 years ago
- Snap Inc., 9 years ago
- Twitter, Inc., 14 years ago
- WhatsApp Inc., 2009, 11 years ago
- YouTube LLC., 15 years ago.
What’s this date information reveal? The mean time for the FTC to recognize a potential issue and begin an investigation is the lifespan of a boxer dog.
A Federal investigation, the legal proceedings, and the appeals if necessary can reach eight years. Thus, it is possible that by 2028, the action begun in 2020 may be resolved.
What’s this suggest, gentle reader? Act now, apologize if snagged by a legal hook, and keep movin’ on down the information highway.
Lax regulation and what it fosters may not permit appropriate, prompt resolution.
Stephen E Arnold, December 15, 2020
How Will MindGeek Get Paid? Umm, Encrypted and Anonymous Digital Currencies Maybe
December 11, 2020
I have followed the strong MasterCard and Visa response to revelations about MindGeek’s less-than-pristine content offerings. The Gray Lady wrote about MindGeek and then other “real” news sites picked up the story. A good example is “Visa, MasterCard Dump Pornhub Over Abuse Video Claims.” The write ups appear to have sidestepped one question which seems obvious to me:
How will MindGeek collect money?
There are some online ad outfits which have been able to place ads on Dark Web sites and on some other sites offering specialized content, not very different from MindGeek’s glittering content array. Amped up advertising seems one play.
But what about MindGeek’s paying customers?
Perhaps MindGeek, nestled in the Euro-centric confines of Montréal, will come up with the idea to use a digital currency. Invoices can be disseminated in secret messaging systems like those favored by the Russian based Edward Snowden. The payments can flow via encrypted digital currencies. Now many transactions can be tracked by government authorities in a number of countries. Nevertheless, making this type of shift is likely to increase the burden on investigators.
Just as killing off Backpage created additional work for some law enforcement professionals. The MasterCard and Visa termination may have a similar effect. Yes, the backlog can be resolved. But that is likely to add friction to some enforcement activities. A failure by regulatory agencies to get a handle of payments systems (encrypted and unencrypted) is now evident to some.
Stephen E Arnold, December 11, 2020
China: Control and Common Sense. Common Sense?
November 25, 2020
I must admit that I saw some darned troubling things when I last visited China and Hong Kong. However, I spotted an allegedly accurate factoid in “China Bans Spending by Teens in New Curbs on Livestreaming.” In one of my lectures about the Dark Web I pointed out livestreaming sites which permitted gambling, purchase of merchandise which is now called by the somewhat jarring term “merch,” and buying “time” with an individual offering “private sessions.” I pointed out examples on Amazon Twitch and on a service called ManyVids, an online outfit operating from Canada. (Yep, dull, maple crazed Canada.)
Here’s the passage of particular significance in my opinion:
Livestreaming platforms now must limit the amount of money a user can give hosts as a tip. Users must register their real names to buy the virtual gifts, in addition to the ban on teens giving such gifts. The administration also asked the platforms to strengthen training for employees who screen content and encouraged the companies to hire more censors, who also will need to register with regulators. The media regulator will create a blacklist of hosts who frequently violate the rules, and ban them from hosting livestreaming programs on any platform. [Emphasis added by Beyond Search]
Okay, spending controls will force buyers (sometimes known as “followers”) to be more creative in the buying time function.
But the killer point is “real names.”
No doubt there are online consumers who will bristle at censorship, registration, and blacklisting. Nevertheless, “real names” might be a useful concept for online services not under the watchful eye of party faithful grandmas in a digital hotong. What a quaint idea for outfits like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online content outputters to consider.
Stephen E Arnold, November 25, 2020
Drone Roads: Surveillance and Taxation Opportunities?
November 23, 2020
I learned about a Canadian company called AirMatrix. The firm’s tagline is:
The drones are coming. With AirMatrix, we can see clear skies ahead.
The company seeks to define drone highways. Why? AirMatrix states:
Many drone operators create routes on GPS maps that are errored up to 6 meters. In tight urban spaces, a 6-meter error can be a collision or even injury. This means they can’t go beyond visual line of sight without compromising safety. It also makes it difficult to scale any autonomous flights in shared airspace. AirMatrix solves this problem by building our maps to millimeter-level precision, based on proprietary datasets of real time traffic, geospatial data, and weather.
The company points out that:
Our drone roads help pave the way for government, civil, commercial, and public service drones to share airspace safely and efficiently. Drone operators can pilot multiple autonomous drones simultaneously, confident that the airspace is under control – even as more and more drones take flight. With every use, local governments will benefit from toll collection, providing a new revenue stream for the city. Not only will you make back your investment, but your drone road system can generate income without adding long-term cost to your constituents. Cities will also gain the ability to govern this new transportation infrastructure, with full transparency and control of its users.
The company’s FAQ provides additional information.
Interesting concept. Fascinating use cases: Surveillance, use taxes, take off and destination data, and drones which “drop off” the system, among others.
Stephen E Arnold, November 23, 2020
Size of the US Secret Service?
November 16, 2020
I read “Expansive White House Covid Outbreak Sidelines 10% of Secret Service.” If the headline is accurate, the US Secret service consists of 1,300 officers in the “uniformed division.” The key phrase is “uniformed division.” To the untrained eye, these officers appear in uniforms similar to those of other police. However, there are non-uniformed Secret Service officers. A list of USSS field offices is here. A year ago I learned at a law enforcement conference that there were more than 7,000 employees in the USSS. Net net: The USSS has a reasonably deep roster and can cooperate with the US Capitol Police to deal with events of interest. (The USCP is responsible for Congress; the USSS, the White House. When the vice president moves from the White House to Capitol Hill, the protective duties shift as well.) The article left me with the impression that Covid has impaired the USSS. In my opinion, the USSS is on duty and robust.
Stephen E Arnold, November 16, 2020
Google Boss to EU: Nope, Did Not See How to Counter Regulatory Hurdles
November 16, 2020
Ooops. And “Hey, I have not seen the report.”
Sound familiar?
“Google CEO Apologises for Document, EU’s Breton Warns Internet Is Not Wild West” reports that:
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has apologised to Europe’s industry chief Thierry Breton over a leaked internal document proposing ways to counter the EU’s tough new rules for technology companies.
The write up noted:
Pichai apologised for the way the document came out, a paper which he had not seen nor signed off, saying that he would engage directly with Breton if he sees language and policy that specifically targets Google, another person familiar with the call said.
Yep, a bionic response from Google’s non-digital intelligence node.
Ooops. Ooops. Ooops. Ooops. Error like YouTube filtering. Ooops. Ooops.
PS. Where’s the list of Google 165 critics? Why does this Reuters’ story have different date and time stamps? Just curious.
Stephen E Arnold, November 16, 2020
Are Big Tech Companies Like Countries? Not Exactly
November 11, 2020
The BBC published “China to Clamp Down on Internet Giants.” The article explains that China has figured out that online outfits may pose a challenge to government officials, procedures, and methods. The article explains:
China has proposed new regulations aimed at curbing the power of its biggest internet companies. The regulations suggest increasing unease in Beijing with the growing influence of digital platforms.
China has taken steps to make sure ants won’t ruin the government picnic. Other companies are affected as well. Europe is taking a similar, but uniquely European approach. Plus, the United States, asleep at the regulatory switch for a couple of decades, has heard the regulatory bleats as well.
The proposed rule changes in China, according to the BBC:
…will also take aim at companies that treat customers differently based on their data and spending habits.
Are big tech companies like countries? No, no they are not. Some big tech companies may not agree until the regulators grab their insect spray and zap the ants and other creatures buzzing in an annoying manner.
Stephen E Arnold, November 11, 2020
Gravity and the Ant: Real Power Can Crush Even the Hardy
November 6, 2020
I read a news story called “How Billionaire Jack Ma Fell to Earth and Took Ant’s Mega IPO with Him” from the trust principles outfit Thomson Reuters. The story was sort of news and sort of MBA analysis.
The news part is that the Chinese regulators pulled the plug on an initial public offering for an alternative bank. The entrepreneur Jack Ma learned that the Chinese government was not too keen on a person offering an alternative to the existing financial system in the Middle Kingdom.
Long story short: No IPO.
The analysis part of the write up veered into “humility” and “hubris.” These are concepts once taught when students went to school and suffered through in person classes about Greek tragedy, philosophy, and maybe history.
Long story short: Individuals have a tough time when there is an authority with power.
What’s interesting to me is that the Ant crushed story did not find a contrast between China’s approach to an entrepreneur and the US government’s approach to entrepreneurs. The subject seems rich with possibilities:
- The US has not one Ant but an anthill of ants with names like FAANG, bit telcos, and Goldman Sachs type outfits.
- China acted quickly to deal with an alternative to established institutions. US regulators have allowed many ants to rework the economic landscape.
- The big Ant Ma has dropped from sight at least for now. The anthill’s occupants are everywhere: New products, services, and features.
The difference between the Chinese approach and the US approach to upstarts is fascinating.
Net net: Power has pull. The gravity of the situation is obviously clear to Jack Ma. In the US, some of the ants are scrambling to control the flow of information within their systems.
Interesting how one Ant can put large scale systems in sharp relief.
Stephen E Arnold, November 6, 2020
NASA and Software Integration
November 6, 2020
I spotted “NASA’s New Rocket Would Be the Most Powerful Ever. But It’s the Software That Has Some Officials Worried.” The issue is successful integration. Here are the companies building the principal propulsion systems:
- Aerojet Rocketdyne (the Super Strypi launch vehicle)
- Boeing (yep, the 737 Max outfit)
- Lockheed Martin (the F-35 outfit)
- Northrop Grumman (the Zuma payload detacher issue)
- United Launch Alliance (a joint venture of The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation).
The write up raises the question, “Will the software developed by the companies work in a smoothly, integrated, coordinated way?”
The answer should be, “Yes. Absolutely.”
The answer is, “Each subsystem works within its test environment.”
The article contains these statements:
All of those components need to work together for a mission to be successful. But NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) recently said it was concerned about the disjointed way the complicated system was being developed and tested. At an ASAP meeting last month, Paul Hill, a member of the panel and a former flight and mission operations director at the agency, said the “panel has great concern about the end-to-end integrated test capability and plans, especially for flight software.” Instead of one comprehensive avionics and software test to mimic flight, he said, there is “instead multiple and separate labs; emulators and simulations are being used to test subsets of the software.”
The proof of successful integration and coordinate will arrive at lift off it seems.
A Boeing vice president John Shannon is quoted in the article:
Shannon said the systems have been “completed, tested in integration facilities at [NASA’s] Marshall Space Flight Center. We’ve had independent verification and validation on it to show that it works well with the flight software and the stand controller software. And it’s all all ready to go.”
Okay.
Stephen E Arnold, November 6, 2020
Voyager Search Tapped for USDA Search and Discovery Project
November 4, 2020
Low-profile enterprise search company Voyager Search just made an important deal with a high-profile government agency. AIThority announces, “New Light Technologies and Voyager Search Team Win New Contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Implement Data Search and Discovery Solutions.” Voyager’s partner in the project, New Light Technologies (NLT), is a consulting firm working in the areas of cloud tech, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, geospatial tech, and scientific R&D. The write-up reports:
“Access to accurate information is crucial to the department’s mission to support sustainable agriculture production and protection of natural resources. Both NLT and Voyager Search bring many years of experience developing award-winning federal data integration and dissemination platforms and will build federated data search solutions to index and link disparate cloud-based and on-prem data sources, including large repositories of imagery and geospatial data files that are used for a variety of analytical reporting and data dissemination systems, such as the Global Agricultural Information Network, Global Agricultural & Disaster Assessment System, Crop Explorer, and the Geospatial Data Gateway. Leveraging NLT and Voyager Search’s Professional Services Department and Vose technology which provides robust spatial search capabilities, the team’s solution will enable users to search for data, content, and documents by who, what, when, and where. Together, the team is providing the technology and services to advance a modern data architecture for the department that will support improved information flow, security, and analysis as well as power the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) of the future.”
“Voyager” is a popular name for a business, so do not confuse Voyager Search with other enterprises like digital innovation firm Voyager, manufacturer Voyager Industries, or even the Voyager Company that pioneered DC-ROM production back in the day. Vose is the name of Voyager Search’s platform that will be used for the USDA project, but the company also offers Server, essentially Vose for larger implementations, and ODN (Open Data Network), a searchable global-content catalog. Both products build on Vose’s “smart spatial search” technology. Based in Redlands, California, Voyager Search was founded in 2008.
Cynthia Murrell, November 4, 2020
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