1. Event: Bruin Learn Day for Canvas!
Bruin Learn Days will again be held on Wednesday, December 1 and Thursday, December 2 and are an opportunity for the UCLA community to learn more about the new LMS. Additional information, including times and locations, coming soon! Check the Friday Five next week.
2. Facebook demands LAPD end social media surveillance and use of fake accounts
Facebook is demanding that the Los Angeles police department cease all use of “dummy” accounts on its platforms and stop collecting data on users for surveillance.
The letter, addressed to the LAPD chief, Michel Moore, on Thursday, comes after the Guardian contacted Facebook about two stories that revealed the department partnered in 2019 with Voyager Labs, a tech company that claims it can predict “emerging threats” and solve crime by analyzing social media information such as a person’s friends, posts and usernames. Continue reading.
3. UCI invention lets people pay for purchases with a high-five
“With our fabric, electronics establish signaling as soon as you hover your clothes over a wireless reader, so you can share information with a simple high-five or handshake,” he said. “You would no longer need to manually unlock your car with a key or separate wireless device, and your body would become the badge to open facility gates.”
Tseng likens the technology to a railway that transmits power and signals as it crisscrosses a garment. The system allows new segments to be added readily, and separate pieces of clothing can be paired to “talk” with one another. Continue reading.
4. Amazon wages secret war on Americans' privacy, documents show
Amazon’s lobbying against privacy protections aims to preserve the company’s access to detailed consumer data that has fueled its explosive online-retailing growth and provided an advantage in emerging technologies, according to the Amazon documents and former employees. The data Amazon amasses includes Alexa voice recordings; videos from home-camera systems; personal health data from fitness trackers; and data on consumers’ web-searching and buying habits from its e-commerce business. Continue reading.
5. LA Lakers’ home to be renamed Crypto.com Arena in reported $700m deal
A source told the Associated Press that Crypto.com is paying $700m over 20 years to rename the building. It is believed to be the richest naming rights deal in sports history. Continue reading.
