A simple bug makes it easy to spoof Google search results into spreading misinformation

A bug that anyone can easily exploit in Google makes it easy to kick out manipulated search results that look entirely real. The search manipulation bug was documented by Wietze Beukema, a London-based security specialist, who warned that a malicious user could use this bug to generate misinformation. This is done by splicing together values […]

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Facebook and PayPal pull pages of far right British activist filmed intimidating public figures

Facebook has confirmed it has removed the pages and profiles of a far right political activist in the UK after concerns were raised in parliament about aggressive intimidation of politicians and journalists trying to go about their business in and around Westminster. PayPal has also closed an account that was being used to solicit donations […]

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Test your tech knowledge in TechCrunch’s 2018 Year In Tech Quiz

Think you know tech? Square off against TechCrunch editors with 2018’s year in tech quiz. TechCrunch’s 2018 Year In Tech Quiz Square off against TechCrunch’s reporters and editors in this year’s annual quiz, covering the major stories of the past twelve months. Have you got what it takes? Which big tech company didn’t get called […]

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Google’s Android TV now has tens of millions of users and could soon have even more

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Google’s ongoing battle with Apple, Roku, and Amazon for your TV set is heating up.

Android TV, which is the search giant’s set-top box and smart TV platform, is currently used by more than tens of millions of consumers, according to the company. This is different from Google’s Chromecast streaming device, which simply allows users to cast media from their smartphone to their TV set. Android TV is a full-fledged operating system that allows users to download apps and use other Google-powered services on their televisions.

The made-for-TV operating system is being utilized by more than 100 global pay TV operators, according to Google’s senior director of project management for Android TV, Shalini Govil-Pai. Speaking to Multichannel News, he said that half of Android TV users are streaming on devices made by companies that partner with Google.  Read more…

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The most common forms of censorship the public doesn’t know about

Amid all the discussion today about online threats, from censorship to surveillance to cyberwar, we often spend more time on the symptoms than on the underlying chronic conditions.

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Netflix rival Iflix launches $5M search for up-and-coming filmmakers in Asia

Netflix is increasing its efforts in Asia after it commissioned more local content and began testing more aggressive price points, but one local rival is hitting back with a program to spotlight promising creators in the region. Malaysia-headquartered Iflix, which operates in 26 countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, today announced a $5 million program […]

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JioSaavn becomes India’s answer to Spotify and Apple Music

India finally has its answer to Spotify after Reliance Jio merged its music service with Saavn, the startup it acquired earlier this year. The deal itself isn’t new — it was announced back in March — but it has reached its logical conclusion after two apps were merged to create a single entity, JioSaavn, which is […]

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Alibaba replaces video streaming boss amid anti-corruption probe

A top-level reshuffle is sending shockwaves across one of China’s biggest online video businesses. Yang Weidong has stepped down as the president of Alibaba’s video streaming unit Youku, the ecommerce operator confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday. Yang is understood to be assisting the police with an investigation into “an alleged case of seeking economic benefits,” […]

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Let’s meet in Poland this month

I’ll be heading back to Europe on December 18th to run a pitch-off in Wroclaw, Poland. It’s a bit out of the way but well worth a visit if only for the sausages. The event called In-Ference is happening on December 17 and you can submit to pitch here. The team will notify you if […]

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MWM Immersive is finally combining virtual reality and location-based immersive theater

Using the timeworn and trusty narrative of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as its platform, MWM Immersive, a division of Madison Wells Media, is finally taking location-based virtual reality to its logical conclusion and merging it with an immersive theater experience. Called Chained: A Victorian Nightmare, the new production combines live actors and an immersive setting with […]

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ACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap Messenger

Earlier this year, the U.S. government tried to force Facebook to secretly recode its Messenger app to allow the feds to listen into an encrypted, real-time voice call on suspected members associated with the notorious MS-13 gang. It was only when reporters revealed that when Facebook declined, the feds pushed the court to hold the […]

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“The problem is Facebook,” lawmakers from nine countries tell Zuckerberg’s accountability stand-in

A grand committee of international parliamentarians empty-chaired Mark Zuckerberg at a hearing earlier today, after the Facebook founder snubbed repeat invitations to face questions about malicious, abusive and improper uses of his social media platform — including the democracy-denting impacts of so-called ‘fake news’. The UK’s DCMS committee has been leading the charge to hold Facebook […]

View More “The problem is Facebook,” lawmakers from nine countries tell Zuckerberg’s accountability stand-in