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Weekly Axis Of Easy #216

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Last Week’s Quote was “It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean.” is by Tony Robbins…no one got it.

This Week’s Quote:  “America has been discovered before, but it has always been hushed up.”  …by???

THE RULES: No searching up the answer, must be posted to the blog – the place to post the answer is at the bottom of the post, in the comments section.

The Prize: First person to post the correct answer gets their next domain or hosting renewal is on us.

In this issue:

• ‘GoFundMe’ takes down $180,000 fundraiser for an anti-mandate lawsuit for violating their anti-misinformation policy
• Microsoft shutting down LinkedIn in China as the government increases internet censorship
• AirPods could be used as health devices by AppleElsewhere online
• Facebook plagiarizing Black Mirror episodes for new product ideas

Elsewhere online: 

• Kape Technologies now owns several VPN “Review” sites
• Need to charge your electric vehicle ASAP? You’re in for a challenge
• Peter Menzies: Stop messing with free speech
• Verizon’s Visible Wireless Carrier Confirms Credential-Stuffing Attack
• Governor Wants to Prosecute Journalist Who Clicked ‘View Source’ 
• Facebook to Shield Public Figures

‘GoFundMe’ takes down $180,000 fundraiser for an anti-mandate lawsuit for violating their anti-misinformation policy

GoFundMe, the world’s leading online fundraising platform, removed a campaign by a nurse in Texas who sought to overturn a COVID-19 vaccine mandate because the campaign violated its misinformation policy.

Founded in April after Jennifer Bridges was fired from the Houston Methodist hospital for refusing to get vaccinated, the campaign raised more than $180,000 in donations. According to Bridges’ attorney’s legal filing, vaccine mandates are similar to “forced medical experimentation during the Holocaust.”

A recent review of the fundraising campaign was initiated after Insider exposed statements on the campaign page questioning not only mandates but the safety of vaccines themselves. On the campaign’s website, Bridges mocked the evidence that vaccines are safe, claiming that she saw the vaccines cause miscarriages and even deaths.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe said in a statement to Insider that when their team initially reviewed the fundraiser it was within their terms of service since the funds were for legal fees to fight vaccine mandates. Nevertheless, “the fundraiser has since been updated to include misinformation which violates our terms of service.” 

Bridges will be able to keep the money because the campaign was “within our terms at the time of withdrawal,” said the spokesperson.

Read: https://www.businessinsider.com/gofundme-takes-down-fundraiser-for-anti-vaccine-mandate-lawsuit-2021-10


Microsoft shutting down LinkedIn in China as the government increases internet censorship 

As China’s government continues to expand its internet censorship rules, Microsoft has announced it will shut down LinkedIn.

The professional platform was the last major U.S. social network still operating in China, an outstanding fact that popular media and websites like Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for more than a decade there.

After shutting down the social network, Microsoft will launch a new job search site for this market, ‘InJobs,’ that will not include LinkedIn’s social media features, like allowing users to share posts or articles or have a social feed. According to the company, the change is due to a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.”

In March, China’s internet regulator told LinkedIn to moderate its content better and gave it a deadline of 30 days. Some U.S. journalists were blocked last month by LinkedIn in China for posting “prohibited content.” Similarly, some academic profiles and researchers have been blocked by the platform in recent months.

According to global research firm Statista, China is LinkedIn’s third-largest market.

Read: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/14/microsoft-to-shut-down-linkedin-in-china.html 


AirPods could be used as health devices by Apple

As described in a recent Wall Street Journal article, Apple is willing to add some health and wellness features to AirPods, such as enhancing hearing, reading wearers’ body temperature, and monitoring posture.

AirPods will be equipped with motion sensors and alert wearers if they slouch. The proposed features aren’t expected to be released until next year, and the timing may change.

Apple’s Bluetooth headset dominates the market, generating $12.8 billion in revenue in 2020, and the launch of the device as hearing aids could expand its reach even further. Just a few companies dominate the hearing aids market, and hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars. It is possible to buy cheap “personal sound amplification products” in stores, but their quality is inconsistent.

Audiologist Nicholas Reid of Johns Hopkins University said Apple’s eventual introduction of AirPods as a hearing aid is a potentially game-changing innovation. He said that Apple’s ubiquitous earbuds could break the stigma attached to hearing aids, which often prevents people from using them and costs far less than conventional hearing aids.

Due to federal regulations that date back decades, AirPods could not be marketed as hearing aids. Hearing aids must be sold through licensed hearing specialists who tune the equipment to the wearer.

Read: https://businesshala.com/businesshala-news-exclusive-apple-studying-potential-of-airpods-as-health-device-3/

Facebook plagiarizing Black Mirror episodes for new product ideas

Following in the footsteps of Google Glass with it’s myriad privacy and safety concerns, Facebook seems to be using that as a departure point for an even more futuristic vision:

The company is teaming up with Ray Ban to create Augmented Reality glasses that will record everything you do in real time from a first person perspective. And then “using AI[tm]” it will help its users remember certain everyday tasks (like where they left their keys) and replay events (who said what).

This is basically the plot of Black Mirror’s “The Entire History of You” and will probably catch on like wildfire… once it’s made mandatory.

Read: https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/14/22725894/facebook-augmented-reality-ar-glasses-ai-systems-ego4d-research


Elsewhere online

Former malware distributor Kape Technologies now owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, Zenmate, and several VPN “Review” sites
Read: https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-owns-expressvpn-cyberghost-pia-zenmate-vpn-review-sites/

Need to charge your electric vehicle ASAP? You’re in for a challenge
Read: https://www.reuters.com/technology/rocking-down-electric-avenue-good-luck-charging-your-car-2021-10-13/

Peter Menzies: Stop messing with free speech on the internet
Read: https://financialpost.com/opinion/peter-menzies-stop-messing-with-free-speech-on-the-internet/wcm/08b012a9-70ec-4f1d-8188-fa7d5f9699e9/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Verizon’s Visible Wireless Carrier Confirms Credential-Stuffing Attack
Read: https://threatpost.com/verizon-visible-wireless-credential-stuffing/175483/

Governor Wants to Prosecute Journalist Who Clicked ‘View Source’ on Government Site
Read: https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg8ynp/governor-wants-to-prosecute-journalist-who-clicked-view-source-on-government-site

Facebook to Shield Public Figures from Cyber-harassment
Read: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/facebook-shield-public-figures/