Britain tamed Big Tech and nobody noticed
In today's WIRED Daily, we investigate the draconian rise of internet shutdowns and explain how Britain tamed Big Tech and nobody noticed. When Lu woke up early on February 1, 2021, he noticed that his Wi-Fi had stopped working. He turned his router off and on again. Nothing changed: there was no internet. Worse, it now looked like his smartphone couldn't get online either: Facebook's app loaded endlessly, WhatsApp texts stayed stuck in pre-delivery limbo. Lu stepped out onto the balcony of his flat and spied the glimmer of a TV screen through his neighbour's window. Lu shouted, asking whether he knew what was going on. "It's strange," the neighbour shouted back. "On the news, they officially announced that the military took over the country." Twitch streamers stage walk out - What happened: The move is a protest against "hate raids", invading a stream or server and bombarding it with unpleasant messages and images. Streamers are mobilising under the hashtag #ADayOffTwitch.
- Why it matters: Raiding is not new – Discord, DLive, Steam and Twitch have recently been found to harbour far right extremists. But The Verge reports that this practice has skyrocketed in recent weeks, with bots overwhelming chats with messages.
Google appeals huge French fine -
What happened: Google had been fined €500m (£430m) by France's antitrust watchdog, for failing to hold talks with news publishers about paying for the news the company features. Sebastien Missoffe, the head of Google France, said Google believes that the fine is "disproportionate" to the company's efforts to comply with the new law.
Why it matters: There's an increasing pressure on major technology firms, namely Facebook and Google, to pay for the news they display on their platforms. Publishers argue that tech giants profit off of their hard labour and devalue the news.
Reddit communities go dark -
What happened: In another protest by a major social media platform, 135 subreddits have switched to private. The subreddits are protesting Reddit's refusal to take action against Covid misinformation.
Why it matters: According to Business Insider, the protest includes major subreddits like r/Futorology and r/pokemongo. Some of these have targeted r/NoNewNormal specifically, arguing that it plays host to dangerous vaccine misinformation, and should be shut down.
The Age Appropriate Design Code – now the Children's Code – has caused huge global changes. Not that tech platforms want to admit it Technology Recruiter
MSCI Technology procurement analyst Checkout Get the latest issue of WIRED WIRED's guide to the 100 hottest startups in Europe covers the best of the best from ten of Europe's most vibrant ecosystems. Also in this issue...
- The rise of internet shutdowns
- Azeem Azhar on the Exponential Age
- The hunt for dark energy
- Making coding less of a drag
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