Victoria Fox's Blog, page 108

Kara Swisher: "I hope Elon Musk goes to therapy"

She made Mark Zuckerberg sweat on stage, attended a baby shower for Google founder Sergey Brin and arranged a joint interview with arch rivals Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Kara Swisher is probably the most famous reporter in Silicon Valley. During the conversation with ZEIT ONLINE via Zoom, her cats play in the background.

ZEIT ONLINE: Kara Swisher, you have been reporting on the tech industry for 30 years. How did you gain the trust of the mostly young, mostly male entrepreneurs and managers?

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Child protection: Instagram wants to make nude pictures in direct messages unrecognizable

Instagram wants to automatically blur nude photos in direct messages. The platform announced that it would soon be testing a program that overwrites nude photos with a warning. In addition, safety tips will be automatically sent to everyone who sends such content.

“The recipient has the choice of whether he wants to see the picture or not,” Capucine Tuffier, who is responsible for child protection at the parent company Meta in France, told the AFP news agency. The new measures are intended to protect young people from “unwanted and potentially dangerous contact.”

The aim of the program is to provide better protection against so-called sextortion. In this case, perpetrators often persuade underage victims to create and send nude photos or videos. The perpetrators then threaten to publish the material in order to extort money or more photos.

Test phase in Central and Latin America

The new feature will initially be tested in several countries in Central and Latin America and will be rolled out worldwide in the coming months.

Meta announced increased youth protection on Instagram back in January. In order to change an account from private to public, a young person must obtain the consent of their parents.

US states and EU sued Meta

The Meta Group includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others. However, the program is not intended to be used there. The company is under massive criticism because it does not protect its users, especially children, sufficiently. Critics have accused Meta for years of making it too easy for pedophile users in particular to use its online networks and messenger services to distribute child pornography.

More than 40 US states have already sued Meta because of what they see as inadequate protection, particularly for children. The EU Commission has also opened an investigation into the child protection measures of Meta and other digital companies.

Instagram wants to automatically blur nude photos in direct messages. The platform announced that it would soon be testing a program that overwrites nude photos with a warning. In addition, safety tips will be automatically sent to everyone who sends such content.

“The recipient has the choice of whether he wants to see the picture or not,” Capucine Tuffier, who is responsible for child protection at the parent company Meta in France, told the AFP news agency. The new measures are intended to protect young people from “unwanted and potentially dangerous contact.”

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Data protection: Health authorities work with insecure database

Passwords were poorly secured, encryption was not state-of-the-art and information about the mental illnesses of thousands of citizens was stored in databases that unauthorized persons had access to. After ZEIT ONLINE revealed dangerous security gaps in government software in Rhineland-Palatinate, the state health minister Clemens Hoch (SPD) admitted in the state parliament that there were indeed essential problems with the software ‘s data protection. “We are glad that this was noticed,” Hoch said, according to the Wiesbadener Kurier .

According to current findings, no sensitive health data of citizens has been leaked, Hoch said. However, due to another glitch in the software, it is no longer possible to determine who exactly had access to the data in the past or whether it was manipulated.

The software from Mikroprojekt is used by all health authorities in Rhineland-Palatinate and also by some authorities in other federal states. There was no public tender for this in Rhineland-Palatinate. The application manages, for example, information about notifiable infections or suspected cases of child endangerment. Many uninvolved employees also had access to this data. In addition, it might also have been possible for external attackers to steal this data. ZEIT ONLINE first reported on these vulnerabilities in November 2023.

The security gaps have apparently not yet been completely closed. Health Minister Hoch admitted this in the state parliament, according to the newspaper Trierischer Volksfreund . According to the report, software with data protection problems is still being used in the health authorities.

The data protection officer for Rhineland-Palatinate, Dieter Kugelmann, also made his position clear: He told the newspaper that “the door was open for the misuse of the data.” At the end of last year, he initially told ZEIT ONLINE that his agency had “no reason to raise data protection concerns about the state government’s digitization strategy.” He later accused the state government of keeping him in the dark about crucial details.

ZEIT ONLINE also reported that an employee of the Trier health authority had a questionable double role. In addition to her work in the authority, she also worked for the software company Mikroprojekt. She was also active in a state-wide project group on the topic, which also makes decisions for the state project and thus for 22 other health authorities.

While his ministry described this fact as “unproblematic” in February, the minister himself now apparently sees it differently. “I have to admit, I would have liked this problem to have been recognized early on and treated with the necessary sensitivity,” Hoch said in the state parliament. After consultation with the Trier health authority, the employee was removed from the project group.

Passwords were poorly secured, encryption was not state-of-the-art and information about the mental illnesses of thousands of citizens was stored in databases that unauthorized persons had access to. After ZEIT ONLINE revealed dangerous security gaps in government software in Rhineland-Palatinate, the state health minister Clemens Hoch (SPD) admitted in the state parliament that there were indeed essential problems with the software ‘s data protection. “We are glad that this was noticed,” Hoch said, according to the Wiesbadener Kurier .

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Sketchy Botox shots spark multistate outbreak of botulism-like condition

Enlarge / A woman in New Jersey receiving a Botox treatment at a Botox party in a New Jersey salon hosted by a radio station.Getty | mark peterson

Sketchy cosmetic injections of what seem to be counterfeit Botox are behind a multistate outbreak of botulism-like illnesses, state health officials report.

So far, at least six people have fallen ill in two states: four in Tennessee and two in Illinois. Four of the six people required hospitalization for their condition (two in Tennessee and both cases in Illinois).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly planning to nationwide alert to notify clinicians of the potentially counterfeit Botox and advise them to be on the lookout for botulism-like illnesses. The agency did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for information.

Botox is a regulated drug product that contains purified, controlled quantities of the botulinum neurotoxin, which is made by certain Clostridium bacterial species, especially Clostridium botulinum. The toxin causes muscle paralysis by blocking the release of a neurotransmitter. When people are exposed to the toxin from wound infections or by accidentally eating contaminated foods, it can lead to full paralysis, including in muscles used for breathing. But, the toxin can also be used safely for cosmetic procedures to smooth facial wrinkles—when well-regulated and approved doses administered by licensed medical professionals are used.

All of those important conditions for use did not seem to be met in the cases identified so far. Tennessee reported that its four cases were linked to injections given in “non-medical settings such as homes or cosmetic spas.” Investigators found that the injections were of “products with unclear origin” and that information collected so far suggests the products were counterfeit.

The two people sickened in Illinois, meanwhile, both received injections from a nurse in LaSalle County who was “performing work outside her authority.” State officials said the injections were of Botox or a similar, possibly counterfeit product.

The early symptoms of botulism can include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and difficulty breathing, Tennessee health officials noted. After that, people may suffer descending, symmetric muscle weakness that progresses over hours to days, requiring hospitalization and treatment with an anti-toxin.

Illinois officials reported that the cases reported similar symptoms, such as blurred or double vision, droopy face, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and a hoarse voice, after getting their injections.

“Illinois residents should exercise caution when considering cosmetic treatment,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “Receiving these treatments in unlicensed, unapproved settings can put you or your loved ones at serious risk for health problems. Please only seek cosmetic services under the care of licensed professionals trained to do these procedures and who use FDA approved products. If you are experiencing any health problems after a recent cosmetic treatment, please contact your healthcare provider immediately for help and assistance.”

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Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other “Triple-i” games

Enlarge / Norland is a game that communicates its intent well through screenshots.Hooded Horse

The Triple-i initiative is a gaming showcase that gets it, and is also in on the joke.

The thing Triple-i gets is that most gaming “showcases” are full of corporate fluff, go on way too long, and are often anchored around a couple huge titles. Triple-i’s first event on Wednesday delivered 30-plus game trailers and teases within 45 minutes, and there was a consistent intrigue to all of them. There were some big names with some bigger studios loosely attached, and the definition of what is “triple-i” is quite vague, maybe intentionally. But there were a lot of games worth noting, especially on PC.

What kind of games? Triple-i’s website notes the announcement “may contain traces of rogue-lites.” At a breakpoint in the showcase, the omniscient text narrator notes there are “Only a few more rogue-lites (promise).” Triple-i was stuffed full of rogue-lites, roguelikes, survival, city-builders, deckbuilders, Hades-likes, 16-bit-esque platformers, Vampire Survivors and its progeny, turn-based tacticals, and then a car that sometimes has legs. There are strong trends in indie and indie-adjacent gaming, but also some real surprises.

The inaugural Triple-I Initiative showcase.

If you want a whole bunch of Steam wishlist ideas, go ahead and watch the whole thing. But here is a cheat sheet of the newest titles and notable updates I found most intriguing.

[image error]Slay the Spire 2 has the same looks and card-based play of the original, but new mechanics are in store.MegaCrit

Slay the Spire 2, the sequel to the 2019 game that launched hundreds of roguelike deckbuilders, announced its existence with a trailer that featured no cards. But look at the Steam page and you’ll see that the Ironclad and Silent characters from the original will return, along with The Necrobinder, a skeleton wielding a scythe and glowing with undead flame. The game is rewritten entirely from the original, with all-new visuals and “modern features,” according to the devs. The only bad news is the timing: It’s launching in early access in 2025.

[image error]Dinolords.Ghost Ship Publishing

Dinolords (trailer) has you building up a village in medieval England, fortifying it and training your troops to resist Viking invaders. Which is a game that’s been made before, except these marauding Danes have dinosaurs. They will ram right through the walls and eat your stupid villagers. A Stegosaurus will spin its spiky tail in a circle and knock a dozen of them over.

Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC trailer.

Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC feat. Contra tells you most of what you need to know if you’re familiar with the original. The “bullet heaven” auto-shooter will get 11 new characters, 22 new weapons, new stages (some of them with very side-scrolling perspectives), and lots of music remixes inspired by the “bullet hell” classic, Contra. It’s downloadable content that arrives on May 9.

The Rogue Prince of Persia trailer.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is from publisher Ubisoft, which doesn’t typically evoke “indie,” even at the “iii” level. But developer Evil Empire, one of the two teams behind rogue-lite action classic Dead Cells, is the one taking the Prince of Persia license into rogue-y directions. As you might expect, you will jump, you will fight with impossible elegance, and you will die a whole bunch. The art style is eye-catching, and the run-by-run changes should open up more approaches. The expected release date is May 24.

Norland release date trailer.

Norland, due out May 16, calls out its inspirations of Rimworld and Crusader Kings right upfront on its Steam page, and I believe it. The game looks like a fun mix of goofy, grim, tactical, and oh-God-it’s-all-falling-apart chaos, with some ruling-class concerns, too. Nasty, brutish, short, but also pretty fun?

In no particular order, a few other highlights of Triple-i:

Risk of Rain 2 is getting some free content, a “Devotion Update,” which includes some Dead Cells skins.Kill Knight is a brutal, dark, grim isometric game, but your demonic knight has guns.Laysara: Summit Kingdom takes city builders and civ games to new heights, literally, on mountains, where you deal with avalanches and sky bridges.Cataclismo, from the Moonlighter folks, is a brick-by-brick castle builder and defense game.Darkest Dungeon 2 is getting a new play mode, “Kingdoms.”What the Car? has you play a car with legs. Sometimes you race, sometimes you cook. It’s silly time on Sept. 5.Palworld is getting an arena mode, sometime in 2024.Mouse, the “some kinds of Mickey Mouse are public domain now” first-person shooter, actually looks a lot more interesting than my snarky intro clause suggests.V Rising, the open-world vampire game, will launch out of early access on May 8, along with a Legacy of Castlevania crossover. Finally, you can bring down the (literally) holier-than-thou Simon Belmont.

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Why fines on big technology companies are of no use

Critics argue that Big Tech views sanctions as part of the cost of doing business.

Multibillion-dollar fines have been imposed on big tech over the past decade for alleged non-compliance with EU law, but critics say this has done little to open up markets and allow competition. It

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Indra prepares the sale of Minsait's payments subsidiary for 600 million

It is studying the sale of Minsait Payments separately from its parent company after detecting high interest in this market niche. The area has 40 million ebtida.

Indra is exploring the sale of Minsait Payments separately from that of its parent company Minsait, the technological division of the Spanish group, having detected a high interest in the market for the payment methods business, according to several sources.

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Zeleros 'pivots' from hyperloop to electric mobility and incorporates new shareholders

The Impulse Tech fund enters the Valencian startup, which begins a new phase by adapting its technologies and has an investment round underway.

Zeleros, which was born seven years ago for the development of hyperloop transport technologies, transport that, through an electric levitation system inside tubes, hopes to move goods and passengers at speeds exceeding a thousand kilo

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"Fallout": In the apocalypse there is little water, but a lot of fake blood

OK, let’s go, says Lucy MacLean, proud resident of Vault 33, and marches off with a smile. It doesn’t matter whether she’s kissing her husband, who she’s only known for a few hours, on her wedding night, setting off on a rescue mission through a radioactive desert, or having to force herself to cut off a bespectacled man’s head with a mini chainsaw. Lucy remains optimistic. OK, let’s go.

Lucy is one of the three main characters in Fallout , a series that will be broadcast on Amazon Prime from Thursday. It is a film adaptation of the game series of the same name – and that may make you skeptical. Video game adaptations have rarely been cinematic masterpieces, often more like fireworks of embarrassment. However, last year’s Super Mario Bros. film and even more so the series of The Last of Us showed how well games can be adapted.

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Politicians on TikTok: Olaf doesn't have to dance

White sneakers sneak over slightly stained carpets, accompanied by a classic detective melody with a bassoon. Pan up to a sofa on which a briefcase is standing. In the background, outside the window, you can see the Paul Löbe House and the Berlin TV tower. Pan to the left, there he is sitting at his desk, grinning: Olaf Scholz , Federal Chancellor.

Premiere, long announced, started on Monday: Scholz aka @teambundeskanzler is now also on TikTok .

“In principle, I can only welcome the fact that the head of government has now also recognized the relevance of TikTok for political communication and information and that the platform is no longer ignored,” says political consultant Martin Fuchs. “Unfortunately, much too late.”

For a long time, many politicians from established parties held back on TikTok. There were many reasons for this – for example, the misjudgment that nothing more happens there than dancing, hauls and singing. The fear of boomer cringe. Or concerns about the platform owner’s China connections. Then Correctiv’s research appeared on a secret meeting of right-wing extremists and the public became aware of how widespread the Alternative for Germany (AfD) had long been on the platform. Studies have calculated that their videos get much more attention there than those of all other parties combined. AfD politicians have big accounts on the platform with large followings and have extensive networks.

It almost seemed as if the AfD had been given control of perhaps the most important medium among young people. And this in a year of important elections in Europe and several state parliaments. A campaign called #ReclaimTikTok has been formed in response, with activists trying to use the platform to counter the AfD’s narratives. And now many prominent politicians are flocking to the platform. First it was Karl Lauterbach, now it is Olaf Scholz. Or at least his team.

“Shocked by the reporting, many new politicians have come to the platform,” says Marcus Bösch, who researches TikTok at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW). “But that doesn’t change the fact that the AfD still has a strategic advantage there – because it has been there for a long time and is supported by an army of fans. In my opinion, the others don’t have that.”

The AfD has so much power on TikTok because the platform’s algorithms respond well to their blunt anti-populism and reward them with a lot of reach. Many AfD politicians are good at addressing their audience directly, exaggerating issues beyond recognition and playing hard on the emotional spectrum from anger to envy to fear. This is how you can increase the sharability of your content. Nowhere is this more important than on TikTok, where the platform and algorithms decide what is pushed onto the For You page of 21 million German users.

The question is: Can politics be done on TikTok without populist opinion-making? Can other parties compete there against the AfD? Politicians who differentiate more and want to convey content instead of spreading twisted half-truths?

If you looked at TikTok and saw how some experienced political professionals were struggling there, you could have doubts. Katarina Barley, for example, the SPD’s top candidate in the European election campaign, struts through her TikTok videos in a somewhat wooden manner – and rarely gets through to many people. Lauterbach also made a bold announcement about a revolution and has so far only delivered two videos from the sidelines of a talk show.

But it can also be done quite differently.

White sneakers sneak over slightly stained carpets, accompanied by a classic detective melody with a bassoon. Pan up to a sofa on which a briefcase is standing. In the background, outside the window, you can see the Paul Löbe House and the Berlin TV tower. Pan to the left, there he is sitting at his desk, grinning: Olaf Scholz , Federal Chancellor.

Premiere, long announced, started on Monday: Scholz aka @teambundeskanzler is now also on TikTok .

“In principle, I can only welcome the fact that the head of government has now also recognized the relevance of TikTok for political communication and information and that the platform is no longer ignored,” says political consultant Martin Fuchs. “Unfortunately, much too late.”

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