Social media companies slammed for ‘woefully inadequate’ data collection safeguards: FTC

 Social media companies collect, share and process vast troves of information about their users while offering little transparency or control, including over how it is used by systems incorporating artificial intelligence, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released on Thursday.

The report analyzed how Meta Platforms, ByteDance’s TikTok, Amazon’s gaming platform Twitch, and others manage user data, concluding that data management and retention policies at many of the companies were “woefully inadequate.”

YouTube, social media platform X, Snap, Discord and Reddit were also included in the FTC report, though its findings were anonymized and did not reveal specific companies’ practices.

YouTube is owned by Alphabet’s Google.

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Social media companies gather data through tracking technologies used in online advertising and buying information from data brokers, and other means, the FTC said.

“While lucrative for the companies, these surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan.

Data privacy, particularly for kids and teens, has been a hot-button issue.

The House of Representatives is considering bills passed by the Senate in July aimed at addressing social media’s effects on younger users.

And Meta recently rolled out teen accounts that incorporate enhanced parental controls.

Meanwhile, Big Tech companies have been scrambling to acquire sources of data to train their emerging artificial-intelligence technologies.

“While lucrative for the companies, these surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The data deals are infrequently disclosed and often involve private content locked behind paywalls and login screens, with scant or no notice to the users who posted it.

In addition to collecting data about how users engage with their services, most of the companies the FTC reviewed collected users’ age and gender or guessed it based on other information.

Some also gathered information on users’ income, education and family status, the FTC said.

Companies gathered data on individuals who did not use their services, and some were not able to identify all of the ways they collected and used data, the FTC said.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/19/business/social-media-users-lack-control-over-data-used-by-ai-ftc/

Migrant brothel open 24 hours a day in NYC ‘Market of Sweethearts’ raided by cops

 The NYPD pulled off a late-night raid on a sleazy migrant-run brothel along Queens’ infamous “Market of Sweethearts” on Wednesday, officials said.

Cops from the vice squad and the 110th Precinct converged on the Roosevelt Avenue storefront in a lawless stretch of Jackson Heights first exposed by The Post — hauling away both sex workers and customers, police said.

“This brothel was the worst of the worst,” Democratic district leader Hiram Monserrate said. “It operates 24 hours.”

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A Wednesday night raid shut down a brothel operating in a lawless stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.NYPost

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The NYPD vice squad arrested both sex workers and customers at the infamous “Market of Sweethearts”.NYPost

Monserrate, a former state lawmaker, said the sex workers are forced into prostitution to pay off debts of up to $50,000 to human traffickers.

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“A large part of the credit for this action goes to the New York Post that has been on this issue,” he said. “The migrant crisis has contributed to the crime — the sheer number who came here in a short period of time. Some of them are part of organized crime rings.”

The Post has published several reports on the seedy strip, where migrant hookers ply their trade while drugs and stolen goods are peddled on the sidewalk in broad daylight — in some cases just steps away from the beleaguered retailers who had the merchandise stolen off their shelves.

The NYPD has pulled off several raids on the block, packing up the stolen goods and shutting down the illegal vendors — only to see the migrant crooks return after police leave.

Merchants told The Post earlier this month that the number of hookers walking the block doubled in recent months, while shoplifters had become increasingly brazen — even threatening shop owners.

“It’s getting worse,” supermarket manager Jesus Diaz said. “It used to be when we catch them stealing, they saying, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, please. I’ll never do it again.’

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The Post has published several reports on the migrant sex workers in the “Market of Sweethearts.”

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Democratic district leader Hiram Monserrate called the brothel “the worst of the worst,”NYPost

“Now they’re getting angry. They’re trying to punch you, telling you, ‘You’re going to have a problem.’ Telling you, ‘We’re coming back and you’re going to have some real trouble.'”

More than 200,000 migrants from the US border have flocked to the Big Apple since 2022, with about 65,000 still housed in city funded shelters and tent facilities.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/19/us-news/worst-of-the-worst-migrant-brothel-in-seedy-nyc-market-of-sweethearts-raided-by-cops/

Trump’s momentum, Dems’ struggles paving the way for red wave in NY

 We are less than 50 days from Election Day and with thousands of New Yorkers packing out Nassau Coliseum on Long Island on Wednesday to see Donald Trump speak, all eyes are on New York. 

Why New York? 

Weak, corrupt, incompetent and inept leaders have passed law after law that have made life less safe and affordable.

New York continues to lead the nation in out-migration because pro-criminal, high-tax and sanctuary policies have forced countless New Yorkers to seek refuge in other states.

Many have reached their breaking point but have found hope in the New Yorker running at the top of the ticket. 

President Trump’s roots are in New York.

He grew up in Queens, and as a businessman has helped build this state that is our home.

From the Wollman Rink, to construction that pierces high into the New York City skyline, many feel strongly that this November, New York should be Trump country. 

Siena College polling at this time in 2022 said I was down 17 points in my race for governor, but we ended up getting just under 50% of the vote, flipping control of the House of Representatives in the process. 

President Trump is undoubtedly polling better in New York than I was at this time last cycle.

He cut Joe Biden’s lead to mid-single digits before the Democratic Party enacted their coup to oust the sitting president and leader of their party. 

But make no mistake, New York is a battleground state.

Our race for governor earned the most votes for a statewide Republican candidate in over 52 years, and with that came five suburban House districts and a Republican majority.

The red wave that failed to materialize nationally took over New York, and it resulted in a Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and gavels being passed on from the hands of Jerry Nadler, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi. 

We now have great freshmen incumbents running extremely competitive reelection bids that Democrats have poured millions of dollars into.

President Trump showing up to campaign in New York will have great down-ballot impacts for someone like Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), who represents the district where Nassau Coliseum is located.

President Trump now holds a lead in New York’s 4th Congressional District; a district that previously voted Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden. 

Dems are slumping 

Trump’s support will also help challengers like Mike LiPetri, running on Long Island’s North Shore, and Trump’s message will be heard across the Hudson Valley, where Alison Esposito is running against a freshman Democratic incumbent in a district Alison and I won by 3 points in 2022. 

A lot has changed in New York since then, and it’s been quite damaging politically for the Democrats running for more power. 

Eric Adams’ popularity numbers are worse.

Kathy Hochul’s numbers continue to tank as well, as she continues to compete for the title of worst governor in America.

We have an opportunity to shock the world in 2024, prove that we are a battleground state that will rise again and save the country while we are at it. 

Hochul elevated an alleged agent of the Chinese Communist Party to be her Deputy Chief of Staff, and every New Yorker sees right through her congestion pricing “pause.”

Letitia James and Alvin Bragg, who are leading the charge to imprison Trump and bankrupt his family, aren’t making the political situation any better for the left. 

The migrant crisis, which was not a top 3 issue two years ago is now a number one issue for many New Yorkers.

Law-abiding residents in underserved communities have been voicing outrage as the city and state put thousand-bed migrant housing facilities on soccer fields, provide shelter in some of our finest luxury hotels, and even hand out prepaid debit cards to criminal illegal aliens. 

New Yorkers know which Presidential candidate will secure our border, enact the largest deportation operation in American history, make our streets safe, restore our quality of education, and make life more affordable.

It is Donald J. Trump – the same guy who the Left is trying to assassinate, bankrupt, and imprison for the rest of his life. 

Lee Zeldin represented Suffolk County in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023 and ran for New York governor in 2022. 

https://nypost.com/2024/09/18/opinion/trumps-momentum-and-the-dems-struggles-are-paving-the-way-for-a-red-wave-in-ny/