NEW RESOURCES

Youthtopia: New initiative launched to promote coexistence with wildlife in Singapore, website set up to provide information on species. “A new islandwide initiative was launched last Friday (Apr 22) to raise awareness and understanding of Singapore’s wildlife…. To kickstart the initiative, a new website has been set up as a one-stop platform for the public to learn about the natural habitats and behaviour of the wildlife species. Members of the public can also pick up tips on what to do and avoid when encountering wildlife in various situations.”

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA): Easy access to environmental research data. “New Zealand’s seven Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) have created the National Environmental Data Centre (NEDC) website to make the environmental information held by CRIs more accessible to all New Zealanders. The datasets include a huge range of information from climate and atmosphere, freshwater, land and oceans, including biodiversity and geological data.”

Roswell Daily Record: The Education Plan announces launch of new website. “The Education Plan, New Mexico’s 529 education savings program, has launched a new website with enhanced tools and resources to help parents, grandparents and individuals plan and save for future education…. The site features analysis of education costs, a glossary that defines common terms related to savings plans, a breakdown of tax benefits, an overview of qualified expenses and an interactive map to determine the 529 savings opportunities in each state, among other content and tools.”

Lifehacker: Let This Free App Explain How to Play a New Board Game (So You Don’t Have To). “Dized is a free app designed to walk players through new board games with engaging tutorials uniquely created for each title….When you first choose a tutorial, you see an initial summary screen, which includes the estimated duration one game will take, the number of players that can play at once, and the appropriate age rating. You’ll also see a summary of what the game’s all about, and have the option to check out either a tutorial or the rules.” The app currently has full tutorials for 39 games, but rule lists for many more.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Google Play launches its own privacy ‘nutrition labels,’ following similar effort by Apple. “The company says it will begin to roll out the new Google Play Data safety section to users on a gradual basis, ahead of the July 20th deadline that requires developers to properly disclose the data their app collects, if and how it’s shared with third parties, the app’s security practices and more.”

CNET: Google Misses Earnings Expectations Amid Light Revenue. “Google parent Alphabet posted first-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations as the search giant’s revenue came in softer than anticipated. For the quarter ended March 31, Alphabet reported $68 billion in sales, slightly below the $68.1 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance. Earnings per share totaled $24.62, below the $25.94 forecast.”

BusinessToday: Twitter’s India rival Koo undergoes a makeover aimed to grow user engagement. “As microblogging site Twitter takes centrestage with its $44 billion acquisition by tech billionaire Elon Musk, Indian homegrown rival Koo is planning a design revamp for an immersive browsing experience. Koo said that the new design features will be accessible to users across iOS and Android operating systems. The move, as per the social media company, is aimed to enhance user engagement on the platform.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

RadioToday: Dedicated social media network for radio people launched. “Tracey Lee from OnAirCoach and her partner Nails Mahoney have launched a new social media network just for radio people. The Radio Space will cater for presenters, programmers, producers, consultants and more.”

Marketplace: What social media advertising tells us about inflation. “Social media companies’ earnings reports are coming out this week, including those from Twitter and Facebook, and advertising accounts for a big piece of their business. But when Snap Inc. reported earnings last week, the company flagged problems that could hurt demand for ads. The issues are familiar — supply chain snags and inflation.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Nationwide News Australia: Major deadline looms for Facebook and Google as Labor unveils multinational tax plan. “Multinationals will have more to answer for after the next election with the two major parties eyeing reform for tax-dodging giants. Announcing Labor’s economic plan on Wednesday, shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said his party would ‘level the playing field for Australian businesses’ by forcing multinationals to pay their share of tax.”

Bloomberg Law: Postal Service Social Media Tracking Tests Crime Unit’s Power. “Tracking by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s online investigative program has coincided with Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, according to government reports. In certain cases, it has exceeded the agency’s legal powers over postal crimes, according to a recent watchdog report by the USPS Office of Inspector General. The report calls for a review of the program by September.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

EFF: EFF to European Court: No Intermediary Liability for Social Media Users. “Courts and legislatures around the globe are hotly debating to what degree online intermediaries—the chain of entities that facilitate or support speech on the internet—are liable for the content they help publish. One thing they should not be doing is holding social media users legally responsible for comments posted by others to their social media feeds, EFF and Media Defence told the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).”

Washington Post: Why is the U.S. still probing foreign visitors’ social media accounts?. “The government has never adequately explained, let alone provided evidence of, the need for this policy. Obama-era pilot programs failed to show that social media screening is a useful visa vetting tool. And during the early days of the Biden administration, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which analyzes the cost and benefits of regulations, rejected a previous DHS proposal to expand the State Department policy; it concluded that DHS had failed to demonstrate the policy’s ‘practical utility’ and to justify its ‘monetary and social’ costs. And yet the Biden administration is now doubling down on the Trump-era policy by expanding it.” Good morning, Internet…

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