Signal’s Brian Acton talks about exploding growth, monetization and WhatsApp data-sharing outrage

Brian Acton is crossing paths again with Facebook. Over more than a decade of building and operating WhatsApp, the company’s co-founder first competed against and then sold his instant messaging app to the social juggernaut. Only a few years ago he parted ways with the company that made him a billionaire in a bitter split over messaging and privacy. Now Acton says the ongoing outrage over what Facebook has done to the messaging service he helped build is driving people to his latest project — Si...
Tags: Google Play Store, Social, Facebook, Apps, Tech, Whatsapp, Mozilla, App Store, Telegram, Signal, App Annie, Don, Acton, Wikimedia Foundation, US Capitol, Facebook Users

What is Wikipedia? Here's what you should know about the crowd-sourced and openly edited online encyclopedia

Wikipedia is an open-source, openly edited online encyclopedia created in 2001. Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia featuring openly editable content created and sourced by users from around the world.  Wikipedia is a volunteer service, powered and maintained by a full-time staff and thousands of contributors who work for free.   Many facts on Wikipedia are supported by cited sources; however, Wikipedia is not considered reliable for research...
Tags: Google, Wikipedia, Trends, Encyclopedia, Wiki, Flipboard, Jennifer, Wikimedia Foundation, Tech Insider, Online Encyclopedia, BI-freelancer, Tech Reference, Tech How To, Jennifer Still, Ali Balikci Anadolu Agency, Getty Images Wikipedia

Wikimedia Is Moving To GitLab

The Wikimedia Foundation, the American non-profit organization that owns the internet domain names of many movement projects and hosts sites like Wikipedia, has decided to migrate their code repositories from Gerrit to Gitlab. Slashdot reader nfrankel shares the announcement: For the past two years, our developer satisfaction survey has shown that there is some level of dissatisfaction with Gerrit, our code review system. This dissatisfaction is particularly evident for our volunteer communities...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, Ui, Wikimedia, Wikimedia Foundation, WMF, Gerrit, Gitlab Slashdot

WHO and Wikimedia Foundation expand public's access to most reliable information about COVID-19

The World Health Organization and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia, announced today a collaboration to expand the public's access to the latest and most reliable information about COVID-19.
Tags: Health, Wikipedia, World Health Organization, Wikimedia Foundation

WHO To Grant Wikipedia Free Use of Its Published Material To Combat Covid Misinformation

As part of efforts to stop the spread of false information about the coronavirus pandemic, Wikipedia and the World Health Organization announced a collaboration on Thursday: The health agency will grant the online encyclopedia free use of its published information, graphics and videos. The collaboration is the first between Wikipedia and a health agency. From a report: "We all consult just a few apps in our daily life, and this puts W.H.O. content right there in your language, in your town, in a...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, World Health Organization, Wikimedia Foundation, Equitable, Merkley, Pattison, Ryan Merkley, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Andrew Pattison

China Blocks Wikimedia Foundation's Accreditation To World Intellectual Property Organization

China this week blocked the Wikimedia Foundation's application for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations (UN) organization that develops international treaties on copyright, IP, trademarks, patents and related issues. As a result of the block, the Foundation's application for observer status has been suspended and will be reconsidered at a future WIPO meeting in 2021. Wikimedia Foundation: China was the only country to raise objections to the ...
Tags: China, Wikipedia, Tech, United States, United Kingdom, Wikimedia, Wipo, Foundation, United Nations UN, Wikimedia Foundation, World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO, Wikimedia Taiwan, China Blocks Wikimedia Foundation

Adam Schiff says lawmakers are turning to tech companies for intel on election inference because they're worried they can't trust Trump appointees

Rep. Adam Schiff chairs the House intelligence committee. Saul Loeb/Getty Images There's a growing divide between intelligence experts and Democratic lawmakers who say Russia is the biggest election meddling threat, and Republicans who say it's China, Politico reported Thursday. Democrats have accused Trump loyalists of intentionally downplaying Russia's role, bolstered by a recent whistleblower complaint accusing top DHS officials of suppressing, withholding, and manipulating intelligence...
Tags: Politics, Tech Insider, News, Adam Schiff, Donald Trump, Congress, House Intelligence Committee, Election Interference, Elections 2020

For years, an American has been writing articles in a stereotypical Scottish accent on the official Scots Wikipedia, and some people online are not happy

Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images An American has been writing and editing thousands of articles on the official Wikipedia page for the Scots language, according to Motherboard.AmaryllisGardener, an administrator of Scots Wikipedia, has been misspelling English words on the site to imitate a stereotypical Scottish accent since 2013.The incident has angered some people online, who say the mangled English "harms the already derogratory [sic] view of Scots languages."Wikipedia allow...
Tags: News, Internet, Scotland, Wikipedia, Trends, Online, Beijing, Reddit, Scot, Wikimedia Foundation, Scots, Tech Insider, Zhang Yiming, Katie Canales, Scots Wikipedia, Ali Balikci Anadolu Agency

A Teen Threw Scots Wiki Into Chaos and It Highlights a Massive Problem With Wikipedia

Back in 2013, a 12-year-old American with an enthusiasm for the Scots language decided to contribute to the Scots Wikipedia. For seven years, they edited tens of thousands of articles with little oversight. Then, a Reddit post blew everything up. Read more...
Tags: Science, Wikipedia, Reddit, Wikimedia Foundation, Scots Wikipedia

Big tech is gearing up to fight meddling in the upcoming election

This story was delivered to Insider Intelligence eMarketer Briefing subscribers earlier this morning. Insider Intelligence analyzes this industry and several others to provide in-depth analyst reports, proprietary forecasts, customizable charts, and more. Learn more about what we offer. A coalition of tech companies met with government security agencies on Wednesday to prepare for what's expected to be a tumultuous election cycle, per The New York Times. Tech companies and government agencies ...
Tags: Google, Facebook, US, Trends, Unilever, Department Of Justice, Cisa, Wikimedia Foundation, Microsoft Facebook, Facebook Instagram and Twitter, New York Times Tech, Verizon Media LinkedIn Pinterest, Media Advertising Marketing

Bracing for election day, Facebook rolls out voting resources to U.S. users

Eager to avoid a repeat of its disastrous role as a super-spreader of misinformation during the 2016 election cycle, Facebook is getting its ducks in a row. Following an announcement earlier this summer, the company is now launching a voting information hub that will centralize election resources for U.S. users and ideally inoculate at least some of them against the platform’s ongoing misinformation epidemic. The voting information center will appear in the menu on both Facebook and Instagram...
Tags: Social, TC, Facebook, Instagram, Tech, Trump, Wikimedia Foundation, Naomi Gleit, 2020 Election, Gleit, Election Integrity, Facebook Newsroom, Election Interference

Bracing for election day, Facebook rolls out voting resources to US users

Eager to avoid a repeat of its disastrous role as a super-spreader of misinformation during the 2016 election cycle, Facebook is getting its ducks in a row. Following an announcement earlier this summer, the company is now launching a voting information hub that will centralize election resources for U.S. users and ideally inoculate at least some of them against the platform’s ongoing misinformation epidemic. The voting information center will appear in the menu on both Facebook and Instagram...
Tags: Social, TC, Facebook, Instagram, US, Tech, Trump, Wikimedia Foundation, Facebook Facebook, Naomi Gleit, 2020 Election, Gleit, Election Integrity, Facebook Newsroom, Election Interference

Top 10 stories of the week: May 25th to May 31st 2020

In no particular order, here are MediaNama’s top 10 stories of the week ended 31st May 2020 MediaNama would like to thank its sponsors: E2E, for their support. Wikipedia to have new rules to tackle ‘harassment’, ‘toxicity’, faced by editors Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation that operates Wikipedia, will develop and introduce a universal code of […] ...
Tags: Travel, Home, News, Wikipedia, May, Wikimedia Foundation

Wikimedia Is Overhauling Its Communities to Clean Up Harassment

The Wikimedia Foundation has been asked by its board to overhaul its safety and compliance standards to better address “harassment and incivility” on Wikipedia and related Wikimedia communities.Read more...
Tags: Science, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Online Abuse

Wikipedia to have new rules to tackle ‘harassment’, ‘toxicity’, faced by editors

Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation that operates Wikipedia, will develop and introduce a universal code of conduct (UCoC) that will be a binding minimum set of standards across all Wikimedia projects by the end of this year. This code of conduct is a means to battle, what the Foundation called, “harassment, toxicity, and incivility” faced by […] ...
Tags: Travel, News, Wikipedia, Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation

Wikipedia Plans New Rule To Combat 'Toxic Behavior'

Wikipedia is taking steps to fight what it's calling "toxic behavior" which will be finalized by the end of this year, reports the BBC (in an article shared by Charlotte Web): "We must work together to create a safe, inclusive culture, where everyone feels welcome, that their contributions are valued, and that their perspective matters," said Katherine Maher, the chief executive officer of the Wikimedia Foundation [which runs Wikipedia]... The foundation's binding code of conduct for members wil...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, Bbc, New York Times, University of Washington, Wikimedia Foundation, Katherine Maher, Charlotte Web

'How Wikipedia's Volunteers Became the Web's Best Weapon Against Misinformation'

Fast Company just published a 4,000 appreciation of Wikipedia's volunteer editors: [W]hile places like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter struggle to fend off a barrage of false content, with their scattershot mix of policies, fact-checkers, and algorithms, one of the web's most robust weapons against misinformation is an archaic-looking website written by anyone with an internet connection, and moderated by a largely anonymous crew of volunteers. "I think there's a part of that that is encouraging,...
Tags: Wikipedia, Massachusetts, Tech, Fast Company, Wikimedia Foundation, Facebook YouTube, Ryan Merkley

Mapping Wikipedia

An unprecedented data set shows where the encyclopedia's editors are, where they aren't, and why. From a report: Wikipedia matters. In a time of extreme political polarization, algorithmically enforced filter bubbles, and fact patterns dismissed as fake news, Wikipedia has become one of the few places where we can meet to write a shared reality. We treat it like a utility, and the U.S. and U.K. trust it about as much as the news. But we know very little about who is writing the world's encyclope...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, Wikimedia Foundation, English Wikipedia, Print Wikipedia

Wikipedia ban lifted by Turkey after court rules 2-year block 'violates freedom of expression'

Turkey's ban on Wikipedia has been lifted, after today's official publication of a Constitutional Court ruling that the more than two-year block is a violation of freedom of expression. Excerpt from Reuters: The detailed version of the ruling published in the Official Gazette opened the way for an end to the ban, put in place in April 2017 due to entries that accused Turkey of having links to terrorist organizations. Access to the website is set to be restored once the ruling, passed by a 10-...
Tags: Post, Politics, Technology, News, Wikipedia, Censorship, Global, World news, Turkey, Constitutional Court, Reuters, Wikimedia Foundation, Official Gazette

Internet Pioneers Fight For Control of .Org Registry By Forming a Nonprofit Alternative

Reuters reports that a group of "prominent internet pioneers" now has a plan to block the $1.1 billion sale of the .org internet domain registry to Ethos Capital. The group has created their own nonprofit cooperative to offer an alternative: "There needs to be a place on the internet that represents the public interest, where educational sites, humanitarian sites, and organizations like Wikipedia can provide a broader public benefit," said Katherine Maher, the CEO of Wikipedia parent Wikimedi...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, Icann, United States, Greenpeace, Andrew Mclaughlin, Reuters, Wikimedia Foundation, Maher, YMCA, Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF, U S Commerce Department, Cindy Cohn, Ethos, Katherine Maher, Ethos Capital

Prominent internet leaders form entity to tackle .ORG’s sale to private firm

After the sale of Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit corporation which maintains the .ORG domain to private equity firm Ethos Capital in November 2019, a group of internet and non-profit leaders have filed incorporation papers to form a new entity to stop the sale. Called the Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants, the non-profit will demand the Internet Corporation […] ...
Tags: Travel, News, Icann, Domain Name, Domain, Wikimedia Foundation, ISOC, Public Interest Registry PIR, Org, Internet Corporation, Ethos Capital, Cooperative Corporation

Over two dozen encryption experts call on India to rethink changes to its intermediary liability rules

Security and encryption experts from around the world are joining a number of organizations to call on India to reconsider its proposed amendments to local intermediary liability rules. In an open letter to India’s IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday, 27 security and cryptography experts warned the Indian government that if it goes ahead with its originally proposed changes to the law, it could weaken security and limit the use of strong encryption on the internet. The Indian government ...
Tags: Google, Security, Social, Facebook, Apps, Asia, Wikipedia, India, Tech, Cloudflare, Github, Telegram, Wikimedia Foundation, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Internet Society, India 's Supreme Court

GitHub, Mozilla, and Cloudflare appeal India to be transparent about changes in its intermediary liability rules

Microsoft’s GitHub, Mozilla, and Cloudflare have urged India to be transparent about the amendments it is making to an upcoming law that could affect swathes of companies and the way more than half a billion people access information online. In December 2018, the Indian government proposed changes to its intermediary rules (PDF) that would require any service that facilitates communication between two or more users and had more than 5 million users in India to set up a local office and hav...
Tags: Google, Startups, Asia, Supreme Court, Microsoft, Government, India, Mozilla, Cloudflare, Github, Wikimedia Foundation, Facebook Google, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Supreme Court of India, GitHub Mozilla

Proposed intermediary liability rules are a threat to Wikipedia’s collaborative model: Wikimedia Foundation to IT Ministry

The proposed changes to India’s intermediary liability changes might “have serious impact on Wikipedia’s open editing model, create a significant financial burden for nonprofit technology organisations and have the potential to limit free expression rights for internet users across the country,” the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit group that operates Wikipedia and a number of other […] ...
Tags: Travel, News, Wikipedia, India, Intermediary Liability, Wikimedia Foundation, Intermediary Guidelines Amendment 2018

Daily Crunch: The startups we lost in 2019

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Remembering the startups we lost in 2019 This year’s batch doesn’t include any story quite as spectacular as last year’s big Theranos flameout, which gave us a best-selling book, documentary, podcast series and upcoming Adam McKay/Jennifer Lawrence film. Some, like MoviePass, however, may have come close....
Tags: Startups, Wikipedia, Russia, India, Tech, Huawei, Faa, Wall Street Journal, Fintech, Wikimedia Foundation, Daily Crunch, Nik Milanovic, Adam McKay Jennifer Lawrence, Indian Ministry of Electronics

Wikimedia Says It is Deeply Concerned About India's Proposed Intermediary Liability Rules

An anonymous reader shares a report: Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit group that operates Wikipedia and a number of other projects, has urged the Indian government to rethink the proposed changes to the nation's intermediary liability rules that would affect swathes of companies and the way more than half a billion people access information online. The organization has also urged the Indian government to make public the latest proposed changes to the intermediary rules so that all stakeholder...
Tags: Wikipedia, India, Tech, India India, Wikimedia Foundation, Indian Ministry of Electronics, Amanda Keton

Wikimedia Foundation expresses deep concerns about India’s proposed intermediary liability rules

Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit group that operates Wikipedia and a number of other projects, has urged the Indian government to rethink the proposed changes to the nation’s intermediary liability rules that would affect swathes of companies and the way more than half a billion people access information online. The organization has also urged the Indian government to make public the latest proposed changes to the intermediary rules so that all stakeholders have a chance to participate in ...
Tags: Google, TC, Facebook, Asia, Government, Wikipedia, India, Tech, Wikimedia, Github, Wikimedia Foundation, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mozilla Microsoft, Indian Ministry of Electronics, Amanda Keton, Keton

Turkey’s Ban on Wikipedia Is Unconstitutional, Court Says

The country blocked the site in 2017 after Wikipedia refused to remove pages that the government found offensive, including references to its relationship with terrorists and Syrian militants.
Tags: News, Wikipedia, Censorship, Turkey, Erdogan, Wikimedia Foundation, Recep Tayyip, Freedom of Speech and Expression

Wikipedia ban ruled unconstitutional by Turkish court

Two and a half after being blocked by the Turkish government, Wikipedia appears to have received a reprieve. The country’s constitutional court this week ruled that the April 2017 ban violated freedom of expression laws. The Wikimedia Foundation has been arguing the ban since May, when the parent organization took the country to European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The foundation won in 10-6 court decision that is expected to reinstate the user-edited online encyclopedia in Turkey. In 2...
Tags: TC, Apps, Isis, Wikipedia, Tech, Turkey, Jimmy Wales, Constitutional Court, European Court of Human Rights ECHR, Wikimedia Foundation

Turkey's Wikipedia Ban Violates Rights, Top Court Rules

The Constitutional Court in Ankara ruled that the nationwide access ban on Wikipedia constitutes a violation of free speech, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday. From a report: The 10-to-6 majority ruling follows Wikimedia Foundation's application to the top court. Authorities are expected to lift the ban, Haberturk website said. Turkey's information technologies watchdog BTK blocked access to the ubiquitous online encyclopedia that lets users edit its content in April 2017. The reason...
Tags: Wikipedia, Tech, Turkey, Constitutional Court, Ankara, Anadolu Agency, Wikimedia Foundation