Back in 2016, printing giant HP sent a deceitful, malicious update to millions of OfficeJet and OfficeJet Pro printers that disguised itself as a “security update.” Users who trusted HP and applied the update discovered to their chagrin that the update didn’t improve their printers’ security: rather, the updated printers had acquired the ability to reject cheaper ink, forcing the printer owners to throw away their third-party and refilled ink cartridges and buy new ones.Now, Epson has followed suit: in late 2016 or early 2017, Epson started sending deceptive updates to many of its printers. Just like HP, Epson disguised these updates as routine software improvements, when really they were poison pills, designed to downgrade printers so they could only work with Epson’s expensive ink systems.
Category: Human stupidity
Texas Cops Seize Anti-GOP Sign From Homeowner’s Lawn | Techdirt
As one does in this age of social media telegraphy, outraged parties brought this to the attention of a local politician with a sizable following — Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller — who dumped his own petrol on the partisan bonfire by posting it to Facebook and calling it an example of “Democrat sleaze.” He also claimed the picture was supposed to be “Judge Kavanaugh’s young daughter” — a claim made without supporting evidence but with the amplification of 738,000 Facebook followers.Shortly thereafter, Marion Stanford began receiving threats. Unfortunately, this is the predictable part of the backlash. Stanford also received a visit from local law enforcement, which was a bit less predictable. But they weren’t there about the threats. They were there about the sign, as the Dallas Morning News reports.
Source: Texas Cops Seize Anti-GOP Sign From Homeowner’s Lawn | Techdirt
Thomas Goolnik Gets Google To Forget Our Story About Him Getting Google To Forget Stories About Thomas Goolnik | Techdirt
We at ignorantandunreasonable also got hit with one last week.
You’ll recall, of course, that prior to the GDPR, there was a big case against Google in the EU that created, out of thin air, a “right to be forgotten” (perhaps, more accurately, “a right to be delinked”) saying that for certain classes of information that showed up in Google’s search index, it should be treated as personal data that had to be delinked from that user’s name as no longer relevant. This never made any sense at all. A search result is not like out-of-date customer database info, yet that’s how the Court of Justice in the EU treated it. Unfortunately, with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) going into effect earlier this year, the “right to be forgotten” was even more officially coded into law. We’ve noted recently, there have been a few attempts to use the GDPR to delete public information on American sites, and now we at Techdirt have been hit with what appears to be just such an attempt.
Amazon’s Aggressive Anti-Union Tactics Revealed in Leaked 45-Minute Video
Amazon, the country’s second-largest employer, has so far remained immune to any attempts by U.S. workers to form a union. With rumblings of employee organization at Whole Foods—which Amazon bought for $13.7 billion last year—a 45-minute union-busting training video produced by the company was sent to Team Leaders of the grocery chain last week, according to sources with knowledge of the store’s activities. Recordings of that video, obtained by Gizmodo, provide valuable insight into the company’s thinking and tactics.Each of the video’s six sections, which the narrator states are “specifically designed to give you the tools that you need for success when it comes to labor organizing,” takes place in an animated simulacrum of a Fulfillment Center. The video’s narrators are clad in the reflective vests typical of the real-world setting. “We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either,” the video states, drawing a distinction that would likely be largely academic to potential organizers.
Source: Amazon’s Aggressive Anti-Union Tactics Revealed in Leaked 45-Minute Video
State Legislator Says 11-Year-Old Tased By Cop Deserved It And Her Parents Probably Suck | Techdirt
This is even worse than the police union’s take on the incident, which referred to the completely expected backlash as “kneejerk.” But, hey, I guess deciding to tase an 11-year-old in the back — one who reportedly was all of 4’11” and 90 pounds — couldn’t possibly be portrayed as a kneejerk reaction by a law enforcement officer. When force isn’t truly needed, we can be sure some cops will deploy it anyway.
But Rep. John Becker’s take is the hottest take of all. Anyone tased by a cop — even an 11-year-old — is a person who brought that crackling, barbed punishment down on themselves. There’s no reason to question the wisdom or necessity of the Taser deployment. Rather, we should question ourselves. And perhaps society. But mostly ourselves.
Source: State Legislator Says 11-Year-Old Tased By Cop Deserved It And Her Parents Probably Suck | Techdirt
Guy In Charge Of EU Copyright Directive Claims He Didn’t Know What He Voted On, Needs To Fix Things | Techdirt
Incredibly, after the vote approving the directive, reporter Emanuel Karisten of the Swedish publication Breakit, asked Voss about this and Voss gave a fairly astounding answer, stating that “this was kind of a mistake” and that “no one had been aware of this.”
Mega-rich family behind opioid crisis has second, secret opioid company | Ars Technica
Family that runs Purdue also runs Rhodes Pharma—and patented an addiction drug.
Source: Mega-rich family behind opioid crisis has second, secret opioid company | Ars Technica
Nursing Mother Describes Forced Separation From Infant at the Border: “They Said It Wasn’t Their Problem the Baby Wasn’t Eating”
Amid a lawsuit over the asylum process, a Salvadoran mother gives details for the first time of how she was separated from her baby.
Bonkers Attorney’s Fees Ruling Results In SDCC Getting $4 Million Out Of SLCC AFter $20k Jury Award | Techdirt
The money is one thing, but the injunction is what will really have an impact for other conventions throughout the country. Suddenly, SDCC has a legal win that includes forcing another comic convention in another state to not be able to accurately call itself anything other than a “comic convention” specifically, with all other variations on that term being verboten. That sound you hear right now is hundreds of organizers of comics festivals falling out of their chairs.
Amazon Pays Employees To Chirp Happily On Twitter About Wonderful Working Conditions | Techdirt
Hoping to correct the “public perception” of poor working conditions at the company’s warehouses, Amazon executives have crafted a new “solution” to the problem. They’ve started paying some warehouse employees to create Twitter accounts and speak positively of not only their working experiences, but CEO Jeff Bezos. Under the tags of “Amazon FC Ambassadors,” these employees are broadly encouraged to respond to any criticism of Amazon with positivity and, apparently, copious use of emojis as they proudly insist they can pee any time they’d like
Source: Amazon Pays Employees To Chirp Happily On Twitter About Wonderful Working Conditions | Techdirt