News
WirelessEd brings you regular updates with headline news, press releases and Facebook/Twitter feeds. Check back often to read the latest news.
- Headlines | Facebook leak exposes personal data on half a billion users. Telephone numbers were just the top layer of what was stolen. Security researcher Alon Gal detailed that a person’s Facebook ID, full name, location, past location, birthdate, email address, account creation date, relationship status, and…
- Headlines | CFPB’s new team has a message for banks it regulates: We’re back. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already sending a message that it’s getting tougher. On-site examinations are up, banking executives tell consultants. Big banks aren’t the only businesses likely to get more attention. Groshans sees…
- Headlines | AT&T’s new arbitration clause isn’t doing you any favors. Go ahead and agree to AT&T’s new arbitration clause if you want (or if you have no choice). But don’t think the company is doing you any favors. Arbitration is a private, nonjudicial system that…
- Headlines | Social Security imposters use fake badges to fool victims. The Social Security Administration warns that phone scammers are creating “fake versions” of identification badges. “The scammers will text or email photos of the fake badges to convince potential victims of their legitimacy.” The Social…
- Headlines | Coronavirus relief could net you $50 toward your broadband bill. A new bill, The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, set to be introduced Thursday in the U.S. House and Senate, devotes more than $94 billion to connect currently unserved and underserved communities with affordable high-speed…
- Headlines | Amazon’s new rotating, follow-you camera is useful—and invasive. The covid-19 Zoom boom has turned us into camera operators. Making sure everyone’s face can be seen in the videoconference is a daily struggle. Along comes Amazon’s new Echo Show 10, a countertop camera and computer…
- Headlines | Government agencies increasingly are accessing private information. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have tapped a private database containing hundreds of millions of phone, water, electricity and other utility records while pursuing immigration violations, according to public documents uncovered by Georgetown…
- Headlines | California can enforce its internet equal access law. A federal judge ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites…
- Headlines | Civil rights groups ask Biden to oppose facial recognition. The American Civil Liberties Union and more than 40 other groups urged President Biden in a letter to freeze federal use of facial recognition and block federal funds from being used by state and local…
- Headlines | How the GameStop frenzy sabotaged a bid to ‘democratize’ finance. The episode with Robinhood Financial has unearthed a growing sentiment on the left: “Fintech” is just a fancy word for everything they already hate about finance.
- Headlines | Lacking a Lifeline: How help to pay low-income Americans’ phone bills failed. The coronavirus has reinforced the Internet as the fabric of modern American life, a luxury-turned-necessity for a generation now forced to work, learn and communicate primarily through the Web. But it also has laid bare…
- Headlines | Tips on how to master the vaccine-appointment website. Starting this week, there will be even more places you need to look for appointments online. Pharmacy chains including CVS and Walgreens are beginning to distribute vaccine supply they’re getting directly from the federal government.…
- Headlines | Consumer protection agency investigating Venmo. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is investigating money transfer app Venmo over the way it handles collections, a new regulatory filing shows. First reported by The Wall Street Journal, the filing shows Venmo owner PayPal…
- Headlines | Apple’s new privacy ‘nutrition labels.’ Many were false.. You go to your iPhone’s App Store to download a game. Under a new “App Privacy” label added last month, there’s a blue check mark, signaling that the app won’t share a lick of your…
- Headlines | Pressure builds to revive net neutrality rules. For more than two decades, Democrats and Republicans have warred over net neutrality, the idea that Internet providers should treat all Web traffic equally. At a time when the pandemic has forced Americans to learn…
- Press Releases | New debt collection rule is a mixed bag for consumer rights. Bad news: New debt collection rule permits unlimited electronic access to consumers. Good news: It may eliminate "debt parking" by forcing debt collectors to reach consumers before posting debts on their credit reports. Due to…
- Headlines | Black Americans suffered the most under Trump-era CFPB, study finds. The paper, from two Boston College researchers, tracked consumer complaints, and the follow-ups recorded by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Their findings show that in January 2017 — even before President Trump made any changes…
- Headlines | Consumer bureau director resigns at Biden’s request. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger resigned at the request of the newly sworn-in President Biden, clearing the way for his nominee to lead the powerful regulatory agency. Kraninger’s resignation gives Biden the…
- Headlines | Biden choices for CFPB, SEC pivot to robust enforcement. President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Rohit Chopra, the former student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to lead the consumer finance agency. Biden will tap Gary Gensler, the former chairman of…
- Headlines | Millions flock to Telegram and Signal apps. Over the past week, tens of millions of people have downloaded Signal and Telegram, making them the two hottest apps in the world. Signal allows messages to be sent with “end-to-end encryption,” meaning no one…
- Headlines | Ford is researching tech for bikes, e-scooters to ‘talk’ to cars. If bicycles and e-scooters could “talk” to cars on the road, riders would be safer — at least in theory. That’s the idea behind a consortium of bike and scooter manufacturers coming together to develop…
- Headlines | Supreme Court limits abortion pill access (during a pandemic). The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a Trump administration request to reinstate restrictions for patients seeking to obtain a drug used to terminate early pregnancies. The decision, issued over a dissent from the court's…
- Headlines | Citing ‘censorship,’ internet provider blocks Facebook, Twitter. A North Idaho internet provider, Your T1 WIFI, confirmed it is blocking Facebook and Twitter from its WIFI service for some customers due to censorship claims.
- Headlines | Millions to get Internet access rebates under new stimulus plan. A massive coronavirus aid package approved by Congress late Monday sets aside $7 billion to help Americans connect to high-speed Internet and pay their monthly bills, marking one of the most substantial one-time broadband investments in U.S.…
- Headlines | How will the Biden administration treat FinTech companies?. Regulation and governance have not kept up with the FinTech explosion domestically or globally. The challenges for US regulators are well chronicled. How will the Biden administration establish a "new normal" for FinTechs, that both…
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In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, TracFone Wireless is extending the service renewal deadlines for more than… http://t.co/aBJbEr9a
Ken McEldowney of Consumer Action speaks about the organization’s Digital Dollars campaign to train and educate… http://t.co/t0v5u4Ra
Finally found someone in #education finding meaningful ways to use @reflectionapp Any others? http://t.co/gQwPyaow#edtech#wirelessed#ipad
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RT @pewresearch: RT @pewresearch: A quarter of all Americans say they have ever downloaded a news app to their cell phone, tablet, or other mobile device …
New blog post! http://t.co/95KlFdAL
Hey PLN! looking for expert level #iPad tips & tricks for a #PD pres! Pls RT & share! #edchat#edtech#education#1to1techat#wirelessed
New Blog Post: http://t.co/FLLBpePk
RT @pewinternet: In case you missed it - a demographic portrait of users of various social networking sites: http://t.co/qFeRpv6u
Watch documentary about effects of texting behind wheel http://t.co/YwgE6IDz#itcanwait Sign the pledge http://t.co/jJoNSjUF
New blog post. http://t.co/omu2gjo6
RT @PracticalMoney: Visa & @consumeraction are teaming up to train community organizers in Chicago & Philly on the ins and outs …
New fact sheet on how you can control your wireless data use! http://t.co/2cm4pq9y
New blog post: Pew phone poll finds that many users are concerned enough about how mobile apps use their personal… http://t.co/TYcoBh1o