NEW RESOURCES

University of North Carolina: Bird food bytes. “It all started with caterpillars. UNC biologist Allen Hurlbert has long been fascinated with small forest songbirds, many of which peck and gobble caterpillars seasonally. And it was these small packets of protein and fat — perfect for certain birds — that spurred him to create the first comprehensive database of North American bird diets….The project includes 759 species, 993 studies and 73,075 records. And it’s growing.”

The Daily Targum: Rutgers alumni launch new social media platform focusing on personal experiences. “A new social media platform made by Rutgers alumni is available: Storib, a means of sharing and exploring stories about real experiences. Targeted primarily toward young adults, Storib displays people’s stories on its homepage in place of image posts characteristic of Instagram and Facebook to encourage authenticity, rather than concerns about maintaining a certain image, said founder Jay Mendapara.”

European Commission: World Teachers Day: Commission launches tool to support primary and secondary teachers in using digital technologies. “To mark World Teachers Day, the Commission is launching a new online tool for teachers to reflect on how they use digital technologies in their teaching activities. Based on a series of questions, the tool, ‘SELFIEforTEACHERS’ can help them assess their digital competences and identify where they need further training and support.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

New York Times: Live Updates: Whistle-Blower Tells Senators That Facebook’s Products ‘Harm Children’. “Frances Haugen, a whistle-blower, is testifying on how Facebook puts ‘profits before people.’”

The Verge: Google is about to turn on two-factor authentication by default for millions of users. “In May, Google announced plans to enable two-factor authentication (or two-step verification as it’s referring to the setup) by default to enable more security for many accounts. Now it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Google is once again reminding us of that plan, saying in a blog post that it will enable two-factor for 150 million more accounts by the end of this year.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

New York University: NYU, University of Waikato Receive Mellon Foundation Grant to Protect Indigenous Knowledge and Data. “Equity for Indigenous Research and Innovation Coordinating Hub (ENRICH), launched in 2019, aims to establish and solidify Indigenous cultural authority within digital infrastructures and to increase Indigenous rights within historical records and future research…. Under the Mellon grant, ENRICH will expand its training and resources developed by and for Indigenous communities in order to bolster efforts in the United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia to properly connect Indigenous cultural material and data to present-day communities and to establish cultural authority as well as intellectual property legal protections over them.”

Washington Post: Global Hunt For Looted Treasures Leads To Offshore Trusts. “When the United States indicted [alleged artifact trafficker Douglas] Latchford in 2019, it seemed at last that hundreds of stolen items he had traded might be identified and returned: Prosecutors demanded the forfeiture of ‘any and all property’ derived from his illicit trade over four decades. But then the 88-year-old Latchford died before trial, leaving unresolved a tantalizing question: What happened to all the money and looted treasures? The answer lies, at least in part, in previously undisclosed records describing secret offshore companies and trusts that Latchford and his family controlled.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CBS News: Whistleblower’s SEC complaint: Facebook knew platform was used to “promote human trafficking and domestic servitude”. “For the first time, 60 Minutes is publishing whistleblower complaints filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Facebook by former employee Frances Haugen. The filings, submitted by Haugen’s lawyers, state, ‘Our anonymous client is disclosing original evidence showing that Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has, for years past and ongoing, violated U.S. securities laws by making material misrepresentations and omissions in statements to investors and prospective investors, including, inter alia, through filings with the SEC, testimony to Congress, online statements and media stories.'”

CNN: Facebook asks court to dismiss FTC antitrust complaint. “Facebook is continuing to battle US regulators that are calling for the company to be broken up, this time asking a court to dismiss an amended antitrust complaint against it filed by the Federal Trade Commission.”

Bleeping Computer: The Telegraph exposes 10 TB database with subscriber info. “‘The Telegraph’, one of the UK’s largest newspapers and online media outlets, has leaked 10 TB of data after failing to properly secure one of its databases. The exposed information includes internal logs, full subscriber names, email addresses, device info, URL requests, IP addresses, authentication tokens, and unique reader identifiers.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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