Privacy? Never Heard Of It

Updated Sept 4 2023 11:33am Eastern to reflect a small change to details about the third story

Just a Lidl Bit of Porn

Supermarket chain Lidl has issued a recall on a handful of Paw Patrol branded snacks due to the fact that they list a website on their packaging which, when accessed on a mobile device, contains a bunch of hardcore porn.

Specifically on a mobile device only, which is odd. If you open up the site on a desktop browser its just a placeholder page. On mobile however, it's uh. Spicy.

Speaking of Protecting Kids From Porn…

It seems this is one of those hot issues right now. In the previous issue of Stuff Keeps Happening, I talked about how Australia decided against requiring formal proof of age to access porn online due to privacy concerns. Now we've seen a judge strike down a new Texas law which does exactly that.

The Republican lawmakers in Texas are trying to join other Republican-controlled states such as Utah, Louisiana and Virginia in passing laws which require residents to verify their age via government-controlled verification systems in order to access pornography online.

The judge argued that the law is vague and invades privacy, and that it would be easier, more secure and less invasive to encourage the use of blocking and filtering software.

Regarding privacy...

Judge Ezra also said the law, which was to take effect Friday, raises privacy concerns because a permissible age verification is using a traceable government-issued identification and the government has access to and is not required to delete the data.

So yeah. A government database of people and their porn preferences that can be accessed at will and does not require data purging. Just what we've always wanted. Surely can't be used in any malicious way.

Soggy Man

If you've not heard already, Burning Man this year has turned into a literal disaster, as a rainstorm hit the festival on the ancient lake bed, creating a vast field of worse-than-mud which essentially prevents all travel in and out of the festival.

People have already died at the festival, while tens of thousands are now stranded without access to resources. Emergency and service vehicles can't get in or out, so the port-o-potties are overflowing and people with medical needs are just fucked.

Prior to Burning Man being devastated by inclement weather, climate protesters attempted to block the highway to access the festival, where cops then proceeded to use a motor vehicle to ram the barricade with the protestors directly in range of the car. Afterwards, the cop got out of his vehicle, immediately drew a weapon, cursing at the protestors and yanking them around while screaming at them to "get on the ground".

The cop has been accused of using excessive force. I'll keep you updated on what kind of a pay raise he gets as a result of his reckless tantrum.

Speaking of Cops Doing Cop Shit…

Are you in New York? Are you celebrating Labor Day? Cops may just use drones to invade your privacy and spy on your party.

Oh yes, NYPD is back on their shit again. But don't take my word for it! Here's Assistant NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry:

If a caller states there is a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we're going to be utilizing our assets to go up and check on the party

According to a report from Engadget, the shift to use drones to do aerial surveillance of citizens marks a "departure" from what the department has previously said was acceptable use of drones. This should not be surprising, because it was cops who said they'd be responsible with the drones and respect citizens.

Quoting the report:

It's unclear if the department plans to obtain a warrant for noise complaints at private events over Labor Day weekend, or if such a complaint falls under "exigent circumstances." Even so, the NYPD has been increasing drone use in recent years, and has deployed unmanned aerial systems 124 times in 2023.

On This Day…

On this day in 1666, the Great Fire of London hit the peak of its damage to the city. The fire was progressing towards the Tower of London, which housed a bunch of gunpowder. In a desperate effort to stop the fire, men stationed at the Tower used the gunpowder to blow up buildings in the area and create a fire break.

Also, the fire consumed St. Paul's Cathedral, causing the lead roof to melt into the cathedral which is quite literally metal as hell.

Here's the Weather

More Stuff

• Jimmy Buffet has passed away at the age of 76
• To deal with privacy concerns from the EU, Meta is considering ad-free paid plans for Facebook and Instagram
• To deal with… not having legs, Meta has been investing in adding legs to avatars in their VR world that nobody cares about
• Researchers have trained an AI to study chemical compounds and predict how they will smell
• A person has died after self-driving Taxis in SF blocked emergency vehicles
• Literal Nazis did a display in Orlando Florida this past weekend
• The studio behind Baldur's Gate has said the NPCs were too horny due to a bug
• X/Twitter's new Privacy Policy confirms they plan to use your data (including anything you've posted publicly like art and photos) to train AI models
• Steve Harwell, lead singer from Smash Mouth, has entered hospice care due to the final stages of liver failure. He's had a rough go of it.
• Trump's trial in Georgia will be livestreamed on the internet for free