Didi Rankovic
Didi Rankovic is an experienced online journalist, editor, and translator, with a career spanning over ten years writing for major a English-language website in Serbia, and previously working as translator for international organizations and peacekeepers in the Balkans. Rankovic is passionate about free and open source tech and is a head contributor for Reclaim The Net, focusing on lead stories. [email protected]
YouTube to hide exact channel subscriber numbers in September
Subscriber counts on YouTube channels are an important part of the way creators present and promote their content – and an important way users interact with them.
Senator Josh Hawley calls out big tech for “sophisticated exploitation” of Americans
According to Hawley, the industry is now stagnant useful ideas-wise and is instead making money off previous, true innovations, by locking users more and more deeply into their “addiction”.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam hints at introducing surveillance firewall to crush protests
It’s been suggested that an Emergency Regulations Ordinance could be brought in if protests continue.
Google bans another developer and won’t tell them why
The final message from “Google Play team” reads: “I’m not able to provide any more information or a better answer to your question. In our previous email, I made sure to include all the information available to me.”
Facebook says Messenger Kids app introducing kids to adult strangers was a technical error
The FTC is yet to make any comment on this particular case.
Japan outlines rules to rein in big tech monopolies
The push for more regulation comes down to preventing Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon from abusing user data they collect, and the market position this data gives them.
Upcoming end of cheap China epacket shipping will boost US ecommerce sales, hurt AliExpress and dropshippers
Many US-based sellers will recognize that this will be great news for US sellers – and at the same time, bad news for Chinese online retailers like AliExpress.
PragerU says the First Amendement should apply to YouTube
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss out of hand the possibility that giants like Google and Facebook with their billions of users and massive financial clout, have become a new, digital age incarnation of the public square.
2020 Democrats spend over $100 in Facebook ads to get each $1 donation, driving ad prices through the roof
Even the candidates that have positioned themselves as being anti-Facebook are spending big on the platform.
Boostnote is an easy to use open-source, cross-platform note-taking app in active development
Other features include Markdown auto-formatting and drag-and-drop embedding of images.
Government of Tonga threatens to block all access to Facebook
The country wants to kill rumors about its monarchy.
YouTube takes down 200-year-old Schubert public domain music piece on false “copyright” grounds
YouTube automatically flagged and demonetized the video saying that it’s a copyright violation – despite it being in the public domain.