This week is the last hurrah of summer, so something different this time: a look at what’s been happening in Big Tech at large, primarily with  a number of the FAANG companies – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, for those playing the home version – or more appropriately now MAANG, since Facebook is now Meta – and for our purposes here, MAANGO, as we’re including Oracle and some information that recently came to light. Plus, mangos are very much a summer fruit, after all.

Oracle

Speaking of just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water (not!):  Class-Action Lawsuit Accuses Oracle of Tracking 5 Billion People. “Oracle stands accused of collecting detailed dossiers on 5 billion people, with the information gathered including names, home addresses, emails, purchases online and in the real world, physical movements in the real world, income, interests and political views, and a detailed account of online activity,” PC Mag reported.

“This claim is backed up by a video on the ICCL website(Opens in a new window) of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison describing how the company’s real-time machine learning system collects this information and confirms the 5 billion profiles stored in the “Oracle Data Cloud.” The profiles are referred to as a “Consumers Identity Graph.””

And generates $42.4 billion in annual revenue, noted the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. The lawsuit is an international one and how thorough is Oracle? “One Oracle database included a record of a German man who used a prepaid debit card to place a €10 bet on an esports betting site,” said ICCL.

Interesting that this was not widely reported in either the mainstream or tech press.

 

Alphabet/Google

Next, taking a page from Minority Report,  Google is trying out ‘pre-bunking’(pre-emptively debunking misinformation or conspiracy theories by telling people what to watch out for) in an effort to counter misinformation, said NBC.

This is worrisome, especially given, for example, that after years of promulgating certain guidelines, “The CDC is giving up on discrimination based on COVID jab status, stating, its “COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur. They also admit natural immunity exists and works.”

This was just another item that was not widely reported, despite the fact that many people lost their jobs over this issue, and many medical practitioners even lost their licenses. NBC also reported that “researchers say there’s evidence that the tactic can work — with some help from Homer Simpson and other well-known fictional characters from pop culture.” The phrase ‘clown show’ comes to mind, but not going there.

 

Meta

Does a week go by that Mark Zuckerberg escapes the spotlight? But Zuck has feelings, too. Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan That Running Facebook Sucks, Metaverse Is Better “It’s almost like every day you wake up and you’re punched in the stomach,” the billionaire CEO told Rogan. Well, how does he think users feel when they discover there was a Facebook breach, over 500k accounts were compromised, and users were not informed? Ever. Or that Meta is reportedly ‘rewriting’ websites visited by its users and tracking them across the web to find out what they look at? Talk about a sucker punch. Although considering that it’s Facebook, at this point, it shouldn’t be unexpected…

 

Amazon: Was ‘America’s Got Surveillance’ already taken?

We know ‘I Spy’ was.

Finally, there’s this: “Amazon ‘cutewashes’ surveillance with its new Ring doorbell TV show “With ‘Ring Nation,’ Fast Company reported.

“Amazon is using pop culture to transform its notorious surveillance doorbells into a source of lighthearted entertainment.”  And why not? Amazon is there to remind us that surveillance can be fun for the whole family! After all, it wasn’t too long ago that we discovered Facebook gave police their private data. Now, this (mother/daughter) duo face abortion charges. Fun with surveillance!

“Ring Nation…is remarkable for a couple of reasons…,” Fast Company continued.  “Not only does Amazon own Ring, it also owns the studio behind the show (MGM Television), as well as the producer (Big Fish Entertainment).”

And we do wonder if the Amazon-owned Washington Post is likely to give the series a positive review…

“That’s a stark reminder of how sprawling and far-reaching Amazon’s properties have become,” Fast Company noted. “But it’s also the latest proof that the company simply does not behave as if it’s worried about evil-empire critiques (or government regulators).

“Second, this particular manifestation of corporate synergy doubles as a strikingly bold maneuver to shape the brand conversation around Ring.,” which has come under quite a bit of scrutiny and criticism from privacy advocacy groups.

As the piece warned, “The more we focus on—and consume, and share—the cute and funny episodes Ring captures, the less we’re paying attention to the more serious implications of the mainstreaming of surveillance.”

Privacy a worry? Again, how many times have we heard that they already know all there is to know about us, so what’s the difference? Everything? As @mrmedina tweeted, “Amazon allows you to pay with your palm! Awesome and no thanks.”

 

So, is it that next up for tech will be the lighter side of surveillance? And why not? Given that nothing seems to ever come of those Congressional and state Attorney General-led investigations/inquiries into their monopolistic/anti-trust practices, it’s high time that tech just came right out and shows us all how truly laughable it all is. Onward and forward.