NEW RESOURCES

KITV: Interim MEMA head launches new ‘Maui Recovers’ website, an online hub for wildfire survivors. “The Interim administrator for the Maui Emergency Management Agency has launched a new website aimed at providing information on re-entry to Lahaina. Darryl Oiverira, who took his post on August 28, launched Maui Recovers for residents and businesses seeking information and resources on how to safely return to Lahaina.”

Buenos Aries Herald: How AI is helping keep the Abuelas’ legacy intact. “Every day for 40 years, a grandmother bent over a desk, patiently cutting out news articles with a pair of scissors. Raquel Radío de Mazcurra was scouring the newspapers for hints about her grandchildren. She carefully pasted and stored the clippings in folders. Raquel was one of the twelve women who, in 1977, founded the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Snapchat adds new teen safety features, cracks down on age-inappropriate content. “Snapchat today is announcing a series of new safeguards for its app, aimed at better protecting teen users, similar to other efforts introduced earlier by other social apps, like Facebook and Instagram. The company says the new features will make it harder for strangers to contact teens, provide a more age-appropriate experience, crack down on accounts marketing inappropriate content and improve education for teens using its app.”

Politico: Google to require disclosure of AI use in political ads. “Starting in November, Google will mandate all political advertisements label the use of artificial intelligence tools and synthetic content in their videos, images and audio.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Gizmodo: These 24 Members of Congress Paid for Twitter. “The United States House of Representatives recently published its Statement of Disbursements, which is a summary of how the members of Congress have spent money from April to June of this year. The 3,400-page report specifically highlights some representatives that spent money on ‘Twitter paid features.’ According to the report at least 24 members of Congress spent money on Twitter Blue/X Premium—5 of those were Democrats while 19 were Republicans.”

Spotlight PA: Pennsylvania removes email database of public employees. “Pennsylvania officials have removed a searchable, online database of state employee emails, narrowing the ways the public can reach the people who work for commonwealth agencies. The state Office of Administration, which oversees cybersecurity for state government agencies, took down the directory in May because it posed a security risk, said communications director Dan Egan.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

WIRED: The International Criminal Court Will Now Prosecute Cyberwar Crimes. “In a little-noticed article released last month in the quarterly publication Foreign Policy Analytics, the International Criminal Court’s lead prosecutor, Karim Khan, spelled out that new commitment: His office will investigate cybercrimes that potentially violate the Rome Statute, the treaty that defines the court’s authority to prosecute illegal acts, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”

CoinDesk: Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame Will Plead Guilty to Charges: Bloomberg. “Ryan Salame, who was one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s top deputies at FTX, plans to plead guilty to criminal charges on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Salame was co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets and allegedly handled crypto exchange FTX’s political donations. He made substantial donations to Republican candidates.”

UPI: Microsoft report highlights Chinese social media campaign against U.S.. “Microsoft accused China on Thursday of operating a disinformation campaign targeting political candidates by impersonating U.S. voters on numerous social media platforms. In a threat analysis report, Microsoft said that the Chinese Communist Party has improved its sophistication in engaging targeted audiences and their spread is much wider than observed in the past.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Conversation: Chimpanzees are not pets, no matter what social media tells you. “Even Hollywood – which has a long history of using trained monkey or ape ‘actors’ – is shifting to the use of computer-generated imagery to depict primates on screen. Social media must catch up, and recognise that holding exotic animals in human contexts represents a grizzly and exploitative industry – and thus reflects animal abuse.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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