Italy Tells Meta To Suspend Its Policy That Bans Rival AI Chatbots From WhatsApp
Italy’s antitrust regulator Italian Competition Authority ordered Meta to suspend a policy that blocks rival AI chatbots from using WhatsApp’s business APIs, citing potential abuse of market dominance. “Meta’s conduct appears to constitute an abuse, since it may limit production, market access, or technical developm … ⌘ Read more

Spotify Says ‘Anti-Copyright Extremists’ Scraped Its Library
A group of activists has scraped Spotify’s entire library, accessing 256 million rows of track metadata and 86 million audio files totaling roughly 300TB of data. The metadata has been released via Anna’s Archive, a search engine for “shadow libraries” that previously focused on books.

Spotify described the activists as “anti-copyright extremists … ⌘ Read more

ACM To Make Its Entire Digital Library Open Access Starting January 2026
The Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest society of computing professionals, announced that all publications and related artifacts in the ACM Digital Library will become freely available to everyone starting January 2026. Authors will retain full copyright to their published work under the new arrangement, and A … ⌘ Read more

Google Releases Gemini 3 Flash, Promising Improved Intelligence and Efficiency
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google began its transition to Gemini 3 a few weeks ago with the launch of the Pro model, and the arrival of Gemini 3 Flash kicks it into high gear. The new, faster Gemini 3 model is coming to the Gemini app and search, and developers will be able to access it immed … ⌘ Read more

Breach At South Korea’s Equivalent of Amazon Exposed Data of Almost Every Adult
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: The alleged perpetrator had improper access to virtually every South Korean adult’s personal information: names, phone numbers and even the keycode to enter residential buildings. It was one of the biggest data breaches of recent years and it has sent the … ⌘ Read more

SoundCloud Confirms Breach After Member Data Stolen, VPN Access Disrupted
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Audio streaming platform SoundCloud has confirmed that outages and VPN connection issues over the past few days were caused by a security breach in which threat actors stole a database containing user information. The disclosure follows widespread reports over the past four … ⌘ Read more

Like Australia, Denmark Plans to Severely Restrict Social Media Use for Teenagers
“As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead,” reports the Associated Press, “and severely restrict social media access for young people.”

The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement b … ⌘ Read more

The Data Breach That Hit Two-Thirds of a Country
Online retailer Coupang, often called South Korea’s Amazon, is dealing with the fallout from a breach that exposed the personal information of more than 33 million accounts – roughly two-thirds of the country’s population – after a former contractor allegedly used credentials that remained active months after his departure to access customer data through the company’s overseas … ⌘ Read more

97% of Buildings On Earth 3D-Mapped
Longtime Slashdot reader Gilmoure shares a report from Nature: Scientists have produced the most detailed 3D map of almost all buildings in the world. The map, called GlobalBuildingAtlas, combines satellite imagery and machine learning to generate 3D models for 97% of buildings on Earth. The dataset, published in the open-access journal Earth System Science Data on December 1, covers 2.75 billion buildin … ⌘ Read more

Opera Wants You To Pay $20 a Month For Its AI Browser
Opera has opened its AI-powered browser Neon to the public after a couple of months of testing, and anyone interested in trying it will need to pay $19.90 per month. The Norway-based company first unveiled Neon in May and launched it in early access to select users in October. Like Perplexity’s Comet, OpenAI’s Atlas, and The Browser Company’s Dia, Neon bakes an AI chat … ⌘ Read more

India Proposes Charging OpenAI, Google For Training AI On Copyrighted Content
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: On Tuesday, India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released a proposed framework that would give AI companies access to all copyrighted works for training in exchange for paying royalties to a new collecting body composed of rights-holding organ … ⌘ Read more

Australia’s social media ban faces challenges and criticism on day one
As Australian teenagers lose access to social media, observers say there are still many unknown questions about the ban, which came into force on 10 December ⌘ Read more

Climate crisis threatens disabled Australians’ access to nature
From bushfires and decreasing air quality to flooding and erosion, climate change is threatening our relationship with nature, and people with disability are being disproportionately impacted. ⌘ Read more

Day one of the social media ban sees some under-16s retain access
It’s day one of the social media ban, but dozens of parents have told the ABC their children have already been able to get around the restrictions. ⌘ Read more

Millions of Australian Teens Lose Access To Social Media As Ban Takes Effect
Australia’s world-first ban blocking under-16s from major social platforms has come into effect. The BBC is live reporting the reactions “both from within Australia and outside it.” From the report: I’ve been speaking to 12-year-old Paloma, who lives in Sydney and says she is “sad” about the ban. She spends between 30 minu … ⌘ Read more

Residents wait for only access road to bushfire-ravaged town to reopen
Residents and shack owners are waiting to assess the damage to properties at Dolphin Sands on Tasmania’s east coast, were police say 19 homes have been destroyed. ⌘ Read more

Firefox 146 Now Available With Native Fractional Scaling On Wayland
Firefox 146 has been released with native fractional scaling support on Wayland – finally giving Linux users crisp UI rendering. Other new additions include GPU process improvements on macOS, developer-focused CSS features, and broader access to Firefox Labs. Phoronix reports: Firefox 146 also now makes Firefox Labs available to all users, … ⌘ Read more

Gearing up for the school holidays? Here’s how to survive them without social media
These school holidays, children under 16 will find themselves with less social media access as a ban comes into place. We asked the experts how parents can best support their kids with the transition. ⌘ Read more

Chinese-Linked Hackers Use Backdoor For Potential ‘Sabotage,’ US and Canada Say
U.S. and Canadian cybersecurity agencies say Chinese-linked actors deployed “Brickstorm” malware to infiltrate critical infrastructure and maintain long-term access for potential sabotage. Reuters reports: The Chinese-linked hacking operations are the latest example of Chinese hackers targeting critical infrastructure, in … ⌘ Read more

Government pledges to end children living in B&Bs
The strategy also includes making childcare more accessible for families on Universal Credit. ⌘ Read more

Government pledges to end children living in B&Bs
The strategy also includes making childcare more accessible for families on Universal Credit. ⌘ Read more

EU Hits Meta With Antitrust Probe Over Plans To Block AI Rivals From WhatsApp
The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta over a new WhatsApp policy that could block rival AI assistants from accessing the platform. Complaints from smaller AI developers triggered the probe, which could lead to fines of up to 10% of Meta’s global revenue if the company is found to have abused its dominance. … ⌘ Read more

From 99 to 15 cases: How outback region reduced preventable disease
A lack of access to clean clothes and sheets led to high rates of heart disease in this outback Queensland town. But an Indigenous-led washing initiative is changing health outcomes in the region. ⌘ Read more

I’m contemplating the idea of switching my activity pub instance from Gootosocial to a Pleroma one. While GTS is kinda cute (lightweight and easy to manage) of a software, the inability to fetch/scroll through people’s past toots when visiting a profile or having access to a federated timeline and a proper search functionality …etc felt like handicap for the past N months.

New York Times sues the Pentagon over press access restrictions
The US publication has filed a lawsuit over a new policy requiring journalists to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information not authorised for release by the Pentagon. ⌘ Read more

WA’s surrogacy, IVF laws overhauled as legislation passes parliament
Same-sex couples, single people, transgender and intersex West Australians will be able to access assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy, almost a decade after reforms were first promised. ⌘ Read more

Scoped User Access In Linux 6.19 To Reduce Speculation Barriers & Its Performance Hit
Merged yesterday to the Linux 6.19 Git codebase was the “core/uaccess” pull that introduces new scoped user-mode access with auto-cleanup functionality. This can reduce the number of speculation barriers encountered when needing to access user-mode memory and thereby avoiding some of the performance penalties incurred by speculation barriers… ⌘ Read more

How to prepare yourself and your child for the social media ban on December 10
From December 10, young people will lose access to part of their online world. Here’s how to support them. ⌘ Read more

SmartTube YouTube App For Android TV Breached To Push Malicious Update
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: The popular open-source SmartTube YouTube client for Android TV was compromised after an attacker gained access to the developer’s signing keys, leading to a malicious update being pushed to users. The compromise became known when multiple users reported that Play Protect, And … ⌘ Read more

Russia Still Using Black Market Starlink Terminals On Its Drones
schwit1 shares a report from Behind The Black: In its war with the Ukraine, it appears Russia is still managing to obtain black market Starlink mini-terminals for use on its drones, despite an effort since 2024 to block access. [Imagery from eastern Ukraine shows a Russian Molniya-type drone outfitted with a mini-Starlink terminal, reinforcin … ⌘ Read more

How music venues and stages are becoming more accessible for people with disability
Going to a concert can be hard for people with disability. But sensory concerts and bringing lived experience on stage can open up this world for everyone. ⌘ Read more

Russia Left Without Access to ISS Following Structure Collapse During Thursday’s Launch
After a successful November 27th launch to the International Space Station, Russia discovered an accident had occurred on their launch site’s mobile maintenance cabin — when a drone spotted it lying upside down in a flame trench.

“The main issue with the structure collapse is that it puts Site 31/6 … ⌘ Read more

‘Crime Rings Enlist Hackers To Hijack Trucks’
It’s “a complex mix of internet access and physical execution,” says the chief informance security officer at Cequence Security.

Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 summarizes this article from The Wall Street Journal:

By breaking into carriers’ online systems, cyber-powered criminals are making off with truckloads of electronics, beverages and other goods In the most recent tactics id … ⌘ Read more

@movq@www.uninformativ.de Lots of things stop me 🤣 crappy wifi, no international roaming, no remote access (by design) just to name a few 😆

Surfers set to pay to ride Fiji’s world-class breaks
Surfers wanting to catch a wave at Fiji’s world class reef breaks could soon have to pay for the privilege after the repeal of a beach access law. ⌘ Read more

Education department and bus company charged over child’s access to engine coolant
Tasmania’s education department and a bus company have both appeared in court after a child with a disability was allegedly left unattended on a bus with access to a bottle of engine coolant in a plastic water bottle. ⌘ Read more

@prologic@twtxt.net yeah, I’ve had even requested access to it in order to give it a try and report whatever I can but, Sorry I never got to do any of it. 2025 slam dunked a massive pile of 💩 over my life (hence the disappearance, trying to avoid talking about any of it) and I’m just starting to recover (or at least trying to).

Defense Contractors Lobby To Kill Military Right-to-Repair, Push Pay-Per-Use Data Model
A bipartisan right-to-repair provision that would let the U.S. military fix its own equipment faces a serious threat from defense industry lobbyists who want to replace it with a pay-per-use model for accessing repair information. A source familiar with negotiations told The Verge that there are signifi … ⌘ Read more

@prologic@twtxt.net I’ll create one manually and send you the creds so you can change them as soon as you log in (my instance isn’t set up to send emails). Not sure how you could get access to logs, not even my admin account has that on the admin panel. I just snoop trough the /var/log/* when needed.

Daisy needed legal help to see her kids again. She’s one of the lucky ones
When Daisy returned home to find her children gone, she turned to a community legal service to help her see them again — but many women aren’t lucky enough to have access to such help. ⌘ Read more

Second company confirms asbestos in imported wind turbine lift brake pads
A second renewable energy provider says it is taking “immediate action” after the discovery of asbestos in imported brake pads used on access lifts at its wind farms around the country. ⌘ Read more

@aelaraji@aelaraji.com Ahh that would be awesome!!! I’d also somehow need read access to logs so i can figure shit out on my own 🧐

European Lawmakers Seek EU-Wide Minimum Age To Access AI Chatbots, Social Media
The European Parliament has passed a non-binding resolution urging an EU-wide minimum age of 16 to access social media, video-sharing platforms, and AI chatbots, with parental consent allowed for ages 13-16 and a hard ban for anyone under 13. “It also proposes additional measures, including a ban on addictive design f … ⌘ Read more

China’s Dual Squeeze on European Industry Intensifies
European manufacturers are facing a two-front assault from China that has German industry associations warning of deindustrialisation: on one side, artificially cheap Chinese goods are flooding into Europe, and on the other, Beijing has demonstrated its willingness to abruptly cut off access to critical inputs like rare earths and semiconductors.

The alarm intensified in O … ⌘ Read more

‘Being famous isn’t cool anymore’: Lurker explores fandom and obsession
In a world where celebrities are accessible on social media in a way they never were before, has fame lost its shine? A new film explores the parasitic relationship between stars and their fans. ⌘ Read more

Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru
The abstract of a paper on NBER: This paper examines a large-scale randomized evaluation of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program in 531 Peruvian rural primary schools. We use administrative data on academic performance and grade progression over 10 years to estimate the long-run effects of increased computer access on (i) school performance over time … ⌘ Read more

Signal Private Messenger Rolls Out Secure Backups for iPhone
Encrypted messaging platform Signal now offers secure backups on iPhone, letting users save and restore messages if they lose access to their device.

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There are free and paid versions of Signal’s secure backups. The free version lets users store up to 100MB of text messages, including photos, videos, and files from … ⌘ Read more

Amazon Pledges Up To $50 Billion To Expand AI, Supercomputing For US Government
Amazon is committing up to $50 billion to massively expand AI and supercomputing capacity for U.S. government cloud regions, adding 1.3 gigawatts of high-performance compute and giving federal agencies access to its full suite of AI tools. Reuters reports: The project, expected to break ground in 2026, will add nearly 1 … ⌘ Read more

How Google Finally Leapfrogged Rivals With New Gemini Rollout
An anonymous reader shares a report: With the release of its third version last week, Google’s Gemini large language model surged past ChatGPT and other competitors to become the most capable AI chatbot, as determined by consensus industry-benchmark tests. […] Aaron Levie, chief executive of the cloud content management company Box, got early access … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Warns Its Windows AI Feature Brings Data Theft and Malware Risks, and ‘Occasionally May Hallucinate’
“Copilot Actions on Windows 11” is currently available in Insider builds (version 26220.7262) as part of Copilot Labs, according to a recent report, “and is off by default, requiring admin access to set it up.”

But maybe it’s off for a good reason…besides t … ⌘ Read more