Google, Facebook help spread bad info after Las Vegas attack

In the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, people turned to Facebook and Google, looking for news about what happened and, in some cases, updates about their friends and loved ones in the area. Perhaps the most egregious strain of misinformation took hold after far-right trolls gathered on 4chan, a forum in which individuals are permitted to post almost anything anonymously, and, through some amateur online sleuthing, misidentified the shooter.

Google, Facebook help spread bad information after Las Vegas attack

In the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, people turned to Facebook and Google, looking for news about what happened and, in some cases, updates about their friends and loved ones in the area. Perhaps the most egregious strain of misinformation took hold after far-right trolls gathered on 4chan, a forum in which individuals are permitted to post almost anything anonymously, and, through some amateur online sleuthing, misidentified the shooter.

Amazon opens bidding to US cities for $US5b ‘HQ2’

Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would build a $US5 billion second headquarters in North America, kicking off a competition between cities and states to offer tax cuts and incentives that could bring 50,000 new jobs. The largest e-commerce company said it intended to create "HQ2", a headquarters that would be a "full equal" to its Seattle office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

Daniel K. Inouye, Southwestern US, Wisconsin Food, More: Wednesday Afternoon Buzz, August 30, 2017

University of Hawaii: Sen. Inouye's congressional papers available to the public . "The congressional archival papers of the late Daniel K. Inouye, who served 53 years in Congress, 50 in the U.S. Senate, are now available to the public via the University of Hawai i at Manoa Library Congressional Papers Collection.

E-Commerce Company Custom Wristbands Admits to Price-Fixing

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division recently announced that California-based Custom Wristbands Inc. and its top executive Christopher Angeles agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to fix prices for wristbands and other customized novelty products sold online. Earlier this month, DOJ secured a guilty plea from Zaappaaz Inc. , a Texas e-commerce company, and its founder, Azim Makanojiya, who admitted to taking part in a price-fixing conspiracy.

South Dakota seeks overturn of high court sales tax decision

South Dakota officials, seeking a path for states to collect billions of dollars each year in sales taxes from internet retailers, will ask the state's highest court Tuesday for a speedy defeat in pursuit of their true goal: an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. South Dakota is the furthest along of several states attempting to overturn a 25-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision that bans states from forcing retailers to collect taxes if the businesses lack a physical presence in their borders.

What drug-dealing ‘darknet’ sites have in common with eBay

This screen grab provided by the U.S. Department of Justice shows a hidden website that has been seized as part of a law enforcement operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and European law enforcement agencies acting through Europol. On Thursday, July 20, 2017, authorities announced that two of the world's most notorious "darknet" marketplaces, AlphaBay and Hansa, have been knocked out in a one-two punch that officials say yielded a trove of new intelligence about drugs and weapons merchants that operate from hidden corners of the internet.

Federal appeals court upholds Google trademark

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that aimed to cancel Google's trademark by arguing that "google" is now synonymous with searching the internet. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday it was not enough to show that people use the verb "google" generically to refer to searching the web.

Cernovich: Google Hired Contractors to De-List InfoWars from Search Index

Google has hired contractors to remove or limit Alex Jones' website Infowars.com from its search engines. According to a search engine evaluator for Google, all contractors have been [instructed] to actively rate InfoWars as a low quality and untrusted site.

You Might Soon Be Able to Buy Luxury Products via WhatsApp

Yoox Net-a-Porter  said it's developing technology to allow well-to-do customers to buy products directly through WhatsApp as the e-commerce market for Prada and Versace goods becomes more competitive. Yoox Net-a-Porter's personal shoppers already communicate with top clients via the text-messaging service, and the Milan-based company plans to expand its use of the mobile app, Chief Executive Officer Federico Marchetti said in an interview in London.

Arkansas bill aimed at forcing Amazon to collect sales taxes

Forcing Amazon and other e-commerce companies to collect Arkansas sales taxes could generate up to $100 million annually in extra revenue, a senator said Wednesday, arguing his plan would put the state in a better position to enact deeper tax cuts in two years. The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Wednesday advanced a proposal that would require out-of-state companies with no physical presence in the state to collect the tax if they sell more than $100,000 worth of products or make at least 200 transactions.

FedEx Pushes for Infrastructure Fix as Trump Weighs Investment

The growth of e-commerce is putting enormous new demands on U.S. highways, airports and other infrastructure, which must be modernized with sustainable funding, FedEx Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Frederick Smith said. Online sales are projected to increase by 26 percent from last year to $2.4 trillion worldwide by 2018, adding to the need for infrastructure upgrades to improve a slowing economy, Smith said Wednesday in prepared testimony before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Alibaba CEO Eyes $4 Trillion Offline Market by Being Middleman

After taking control of China's online shopping market, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. wants to bring the business of instant feedback to a brick-and-mortar sector that's 10 times bigger. The nation's biggest e-commerce company is building a network that would allow physical stores -- and the brands they sell -- to monitor transactions as they happen, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said.

Media rushes to discount claims of Google bias

Mainstream media outlets this week moved to discount Donald Trump's allegation that Google manipulated search results to favor Hillary Clinton, and called it a "conspiracy" contrived by the Russian media, ignoring similar reports that appeared in American media and discounting the fact that the researcher behind the claim supports Clinton. The media effort began on Wednesday evening, when Donald Trump cited an opinion survey from Google that showed him leading the presidential race, and alleged that the result was remarkable because Google had manipulated search results to favor Clinton.

Ohio university to get North American’s first Pizza ATM

Two years after a white policeman fatally shot a 22-year-old black man in an Ohio Wal-Mart who was carrying an air rifle that he had picked up from a store shelf, the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to conclude... Two years after a white policeman fatally shot a 22-year-old black man in an Ohio Wal-Mart who was carrying an air rifle that he had picked up from a store shelf, the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to conclude its... Investigators are trying to determine what caused a house to explode in Connecticut, injuring seven people, including four children, and sending debris flying.