Cyber Security

TikTok is insanely popular. If you haven't downloaded the app yet, here's a warning: Be prepared! TikTok is wildly addictive. No matter your age, your stage, how jaded you are, resistance is futile. You will become addicted to TikTok within minutes. But then... the app will begin its symbiotic relationship with your brain, and then... it's over. You will become a full-fledged TikTok addict and, as far as I know, there is no cure. Continue Reading →

You probably don’t have a Yahoo Group or know anyone who does. So you probably won’t care that Yahoo is shutting down Yahoo Groups. That said, while Yahoo is all but irrelevant today, there was a time when it was at the center of the online universe. The death notice says, “Beginning October 28, you Continue Reading →

Our new podcast, “Think About This with Shelly Palmer & Ross Martin” premieres today on the Westwood One Podcast Network. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts or literally anywhere podcasts can be found. The official press release says, “Hosted by visionary business adviser Shelly Palmer and Blackbird CEO Ross Martin, this podcast will challenge you to think Continue Reading →

Did you know October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month? The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invented it to highlight its collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. In case Continue Reading →

We have entered the age of personalized politics, and it is very important for us to understand what that means. In practice, there are as many candidates in the 2020 presidential race as there are voters with online access in the United States. Every candidate is a customized persona created specifically for us by a complex set of algorithms that very few people fully understand. This means we are all test subjects in an unprecedented sociopolitical experiment that, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me. Continue Reading →

Mr. Zuckerberg went to Washington yesterday for private meetings with the President and several lawmakers. The meetings were private and Mr. Zuckerberg did not answer questions about specifics. However, according to the WSJ, Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) challenged Facebook’s CEO saying, “Prove that you’re serious… sell WhatsApp, and sell Instagram.” There is only hearsay Continue Reading →

Facebook is getting into the dating game. Deepfakes are getting better and better. Put them both together and they present a potential reality as sinister as it is deceitful. Imagine online dating in a world replete with deepfakes. Continue Reading →

In case you missed it, Apple announced its new iPhone 11 line of smartphones yesterday. Here’s everything we know about the new devices and services featured in the press conference. I have been in an abusive relationship with Apple since the mid 80s. They keep torturing me and I keep buying their products. From the Continue Reading →

An invitation to walk in the Labor Day Parade got me thinking about labor law as an alternative path to meaningful data privacy regulation. Think about this… Continue Reading →

The FTC and New York State reported that Google has agreed to pay a record $170 million penalty to settle accusations that YouTube broke the law when it knowingly tracked and sold ads targeted to children.  In agreeing to pay this fine, Google is essentially admitting that YouTube collected user info from kids in violation Continue Reading →