Facebook Deliberately Allowed 'Friendly Fraud' To Avoid Harming Revenue Slashdotby BeauHD on facebook at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at January 25, 2019, 11:34 pm)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Newly unsealed court documents show that Facebook was aware that underage children routinely used their parents' payment information to spend large sums of money on in-game purchases, and the company chose not to fix the problem. For years, it allowed for what it called "friendly fraud" because it feared implementing protections would harm revenue, according to the documents. In 2016, Facebook settled a class-action lawsuit brought by parents of children who were tricked into unwittingly making purchases with real money while playing free video games hosted on the social media platform. Despite its recognition of the problem, internal discussions show that Facebook decided it would be best to fight refund requests and allow the problem to persist. Documents related to the case were placed under seal because Facebook successfully argued that releasing them to the public could harm its business. Reveal, a publication run by the Center for Investigative Reporting, argued that these documents were in the public interest; last week, a judge granted Reveal's request to release the documents. On Thursday night, 135 pages from the court proceedings were unsealed, though Facebook was allowed to maintain some redactions.

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[no title] Scripting News(cached at January 25, 2019, 11:33 pm)

When they lay off all the reporters we’ll figure out that we should do it for ourselves.
[no title] Scripting News(cached at January 25, 2019, 11:33 pm)

Dan Rather: "Who knew you actually needed a government?"
US militia members plead guilty to pipe bomb attack on mosque AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 11:30 pm)

In August 2017, the pair say they threw a pipe bomb into the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Illinois.
Migrant shelters overflowing as Tijuana braces for returnees AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 11:30 pm)

Trump administration will return asylum seekers to Mexico for the duration of their application process.
EU adds Saudi Arabia to draft terrorism financing list: report AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 11:00 pm)

Kingdom was determined to have fallen short in combating money laundering and terror financing, Reuters reports.
Google Voice VoIP Calls Will Be Live For Everyone by Next Week Slashdotby msmash on communications at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at January 25, 2019, 10:34 pm)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Google took a long, long break from Google Voice a while back. After letting the app fall into disrepair, Google expressed a renewed commitment to Voice in 2017. It has since announced a handful of feature updates, including VoIP calling in 2018. However, that feature never actually rolled out to everyone. Google's Scott Johnston says it's almost time, though. We know that some Voice users got VoIP calling as far back as September. Like far too many Google features lately, this is a server-side change and not controlled by an app update. For some unknown reason, Google has dragged its feet rolling it out to everyone. According to Johnston, things are back on track and the VoIP calling feature will be live for all users by next week.

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Brazil dam collapse: 200 missing, multiple deaths feared AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 10:30 pm)

Scores of people trapped, homes destroyed as tailings dam bursts at iron ore mine in southeastern Minas Gerais state.
The Messy Truth About Infiltrating Computer Supply Chains Slashdotby msmash on china at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at January 25, 2019, 10:05 pm)

In October last year, Bloomberg Businessweek published an alarming story: Operatives working for China's People's Liberation Army had secretly implanted microchips into motherboards made in China and sold by U.S.-based Supermicro. While Bloomberg's story -- which has been challenged by numerous players -- may well be completely (or partly) wrong, the danger of China compromising hardware supply chains is very real, judging from classified intelligence documents, reports The Intercept. From the report: U.S. spy agencies were warned about the threat in stark terms nearly a decade ago and even assessed that China was adept at corrupting the software bundled closest to a computer's hardware at the factory, threatening some of the U.S. government's most sensitive machines, according to documents provided by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The documents also detail how the U.S. and its allies have themselves systematically targeted and subverted tech supply chains, with the NSA conducting its own such operations, including in China, in partnership with the CIA and other intelligence agencies. The documents also disclose supply chain operations by German and French intelligence. What's clear is that supply chain attacks are a well-established, if underappreciated, method of surveillance -- and much work remains to be done to secure computing devices from this type of compromise. "An increasing number of actors are seeking the capability to target ... supply chains and other components of the U.S. information infrastructure," the intelligence community stated in a secret 2009 report. "Intelligence reporting provides only limited information on efforts to compromise supply chains, in large part because we do not have the access or technology in place necessary for reliable detection of such operations."

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Qatar 2022: Blockade 'not hindering' World Cup preparation AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 10:00 pm)

Qatar is hoping the Middle East region benefits from the 2022 football World Cup, organising committee head says.
Pay up or Sell up, ICANN Tells Failing New gTLD Slashdotby msmash on internet at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at January 25, 2019, 9:35 pm)

ICANN has responded to a request for it to reduce the $25,000 annual fee it charges gTLD registries. The answer is no. From a report: That wholly unsurprising reply came in a letter from registry services director Russ Weinstein to John McCabe, CEO of failing new gTLD operator Who's Who Registry. McCabe, in November, had asked ICANN to reduce its fees for TLDs, such as its own .whoswho, that have zero levels of abuse. ICANN fees are the "single biggest item" in the company's budget, he said. His request coincided with ICANN commencing compliance proceedings against the company for failure to pay these fees. Weinstein wrote, in a letter [PDF] published today: "We sympathize with the financial challenges that some new gTLD registry operators may be facing in the early periods of these new businesses. New gTLD operators face a challenging task of building consumer awareness and this can and may take significant time and effort." But he goes on to point out that the $25,000-a-year fee was known to all applicants before they applied, and had been subject to numerous rounds of public comment before the Applicant Guidebook was finalized.

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Nigeria's Buhari suspends chief judge; opposition cries foul AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 9:30 pm)

Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari just weeks ahead of election.
Zimbabwe's violent crackdown continues with reports of rape AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 9:00 pm)

Fearful residents locking themselves in at night with at least 12 killed in unrest as sexual assault reports emerge.
Congressional leaders, Trump reach tentative deal to end shutdown AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 9:00 pm)

Plan would reopen the gov't for three weeks while politicians and the president continue to debate border wall funding.
Washington DC think-tank will no longer accept funds from UAE AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at January 25, 2019, 9:00 pm)

Center for American Progress says funding 'never impacted any CAP position', adding it's 'just the right thing to do'.