How do you know the internet has a deepfake porn problem? Just look at copyright takedown requests. Wired discovered this week that Google has received thousands of Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaints regarding deepfake nude photos, most of which were posted by a handful of websites. Experts say the large number of DMCA takedown requests is proof that Google should remove offending websites from search. Meanwhile, in Texas, a federal court upheld the state’s age verification requirement for porn sites, which could lead to more lawsuits.
In an effort to protect privacy advocates, Airbnb announced Monday that it will ban indoor security cameras from its short-term rental properties around the world. The ban extends to outdoor areas with “a heightened expectation of privacy” such as saunas or outdoor showers. The company has long banned hidden cameras and requires hosts to tell guests where security cameras are installed. Hosts who violate the security camera ban may have their properties removed from Airbnb.
Cryptocurrency company Binance’s troubles have gone from bad to downright scary. Two of the company’s top executives, Tigran Gambaryan, a former IRS financial crimes investigator, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British government affairs expert, were involved in the Nigerian government’s He has been detained for weeks amid a broader crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Neither man has been charged with any crime and their families are asking the US and UK governments to help secure their release.
In case you’re wondering: No, the U.S. government is not hiding evidence of aliens, according to a new Pentagon report.but it does seem to be hiding something, raising more questions about what exactly was there if that thing wasn’t a UFO. Elsewhere in the realm of government secrecy, the chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee recently held a closed-door meeting in which he urged lawmakers to block privacy reforms to a major U.S. surveillance program on the grounds that it could be used for surveillance Protesters in the United States have further raised concerns about civil liberties. Congress continues to work on updating the program (known as Section 702).
Donald Trump this week won enough delegates in the 2024 Republican primaries to officially win the party’s nomination. If Trump does win re-election to the White House, experts worry he could use an array of “emergency powers” to pursue an authoritarian agenda, with little other parts of the government doing to stop him.
Finally, the reporter Mirrorrecorder, this Washington postand WIRED collaborated to investigate a global network of violent predators who use major platforms like Discord, Telegram, and even Roblox to target children and extort them to commit horrific acts of abuse or worse.
That’s not all. Each week, we round up safety news that we don’t cover in depth ourselves. Click on the title to read the full story and stay safe.
Insurers have long offered discounts to drivers who carry GPS devices or download smartphone apps that track driving habits. But when vigilant drivers refuse, insurance companies look for other ways to monitor their driving. Data brokers like LexisNexus buy people’s car data directly from manufacturers like General Motors, which make a fortune selling the data. This data is then used to create a “risk” score for individual drivers, which is used by insurance providers to set premiums. The companies claim the data sharing is consensual, but most drivers have no idea what’s going on. Drivers who share their risk scores with their insurance companies often see their monthly insurance costs skyrocket.
The operator of a darknet cryptocurrency “mixing” service called Bitcoin Fog faces up to 20 years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., this week. Roman Sterlingov, 35, ran Bitcoin Fog between 2011 and 2021, moving about $400 million worth of currency, much of it related to drugs, identity theft and cybercrime, prosecutors said related. In an interview with Wired, Stringoff denied creating the Bitcoin fog; however, the U.S. Department of Justice refuted this claim in court through blockchain analysis and financial paperwork trials.
Two commercial safe manufacturers have been reprimanded for installing backdoors in their safes, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a letter. Reset codes are one of the reasons the Department of Defense bans the use of safes within the U.S. government. Wyden disclosed knowledge of the codes in a letter to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, which Wyden said leaves consumers vulnerable to criminals and spies. In it, he asked the agency to issue an alert warning Americans about the risks posed by safe deposit boxes.