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Category Archives: E-Commerce

These Are All the Businesses You Never Knew Were Owned by Amazon

BuzzFeedNews – This is everything (we know of) owned by “The Everything Store.” – “Everything about Amazon in 2019 is inconceivably big: Amazon will make up an estimated 38% of the US e-commerce market this year, according to the online commerce research firm eMarketer, and already dominates 67% of the online books, music, and video market;… Continue Reading

USPTO denies Cardi B’s application to trademark a popular term

USPTO, May 7, 2019 – The assigned trademark examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and has determined the following: “…Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is a slogan or term that does not function as a trademark or service mark to indicate the source of applicant’s goods and/or services and to identify and… Continue Reading

Everything You Need To Know About The Invisible E-Mail Tool That Tracks You

The Verge – What is a tracking pixel and what was Superhuman up to? Is it true that an app called Superhuman lets me spy on people using email? That’s what we heard, too: When you sent an email using this $30-a-month invite-only app, it automatically tracked every time a recipient looks at that email,… Continue Reading

Will California’s New Bot Law Strengthen Democracy?

The New Yorker – “When you ask experts how bots influence politics—that is, what specifically these bits of computer code that purport to be human can accomplish during an election—they will give you a list: bots can smear the opposition through personal attacks; they can exaggerate voters’ fears and anger by repeating short simple slogans;… Continue Reading

Firefox Will Give You a Fake Browsing History to Fool Advertisers

Vice: “Security through obscurity is out, security through tomfoolery is in. That’s the basic philosophy sold by Track THIS, “a new kind of incognito” browsing project, which opens up 100 tabs crafted to fit a specific character—a hypebeast, a filthy rich person, a doomsday prepper, or an influencer. The idea is that your browsing history… Continue Reading

Sens. Warner, Hawley Team on Social Media Data Monetization Dashboard

“Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) will introduce the Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight And Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act, bipartisan legislation that will require data harvesting companies such as social media platforms to tell consumers and financial regulators exactly what data they are collecting from consumers, and how… Continue Reading

How Amazon benefits from counterfeit books

Vox – “Amazon has a counterfeit book problem. But it isn’t really a problem for Amazon itself, reporter David Streitfeld argued in an investigation published in the New York Times on Sunday. In fact, publishers and authors whose books are photocopied or otherwise plagiarized just come to rely on Amazon even more. Streitfeld starts by… Continue Reading

This is how Google’s Chrome lets the cookies track you, imagined in real life

A Washington Post video story – This is how Google’s Chrome lets the cookies track you, imagined in real life  – “Chrome has become like spyware for the company, allowing more tracker cookies than any other browser. The Post’s Geoffrey A. Fowler imagines how that might feel in real life, and gives advice for more… Continue Reading

Google is the biggest snoop of all on your computer or cell phone

The Philadelphia Inquirer – “You open your browser to look at the Web. Do you know who is looking back at you? Over a recent week of Web surfing, I peered under the hood of Google Chrome and found it brought along a few thousand friends. Shopping, news and even government sites quietly tagged my browser… Continue Reading

Google testing waters for CBD ads with trial program

Morning Consult – “Alphabet Inc.’s Google is taking steps toward ending its prohibition on advertising for cannabidiol products through a trial program that allows select companies in the budding hemp sub-industry to purchase ads on its platform, according to one CBD retailer that was asked to participate. Shedrack Anderson, co-founder of the CBD-infused skincare line… Continue Reading

It’s Time to Switch to a Privacy Browser

Wired – “There’s a new battleground in the browser wars: user privacy. Firefox just made its Enhanced Tracking Protection a default feature, Apple continues to pile privacy-focused features into its Safari browser, and people are more aware than ever before of the sort of information they can reveal every time they set a digital footprint… Continue Reading

DNA in Retrograde

Slate – At-home medical tests are an awful lot like astrology: “…Take, for instance, the claim that a genetic analysis can help suggest diets and exercises tailored for your body. On its face, this seems plausible, but there isn’t yet strong evidence linking genetics and any kind of personalized health plan. Certainly, it can’t hurt… Continue Reading