Certainly what it seems like. Internet regulations are like Climate change-- not really tangible in a traditional sense and sometimes difficult to grasp. People are very focused on this immigration/Travel Ban thing right now, because it's real and easy to understand, comparatively. I don't expect there to be a lot of popular pushback on this issue right now there was earlier, mostly because public attention is largely elsewhere
This is a cautionary tale for those who buy solely into one eco-system. I know the convenience makes it tempting, but they control everything and if you do something they don't like, even unknowingly, you'll pay a price. Amazon too, has been known to blacklist folks, without warning and with only one chance to appeal.
Turns out the tools used by previous administration and the expansion of executive power the predecessors created, doesn't disappear but carries over to the next Administration. Gasp. Shock.
Piece in the Daily Beast says it's not just Drug Agents, but that it's also used by local municipalities and to investigate medicare fraud among others.
I have my reservations about google and their omnipresent hunger and capability to consume my personal information(and what that may mean in the future for privacy etc), but they really seem to do a bang-up job when it comes to pushing for reforms to secure and implementing tools that are helpful for securing, the web; browsing and otherwise.
I actually think this is where googles assistant falls flat. "Speaking" with google doens't feel as natural as it does for Alexa, Cortana or even Siri. Part of the humanization i think, is the name. That's been the case for me anyway. Saying "Hey google" feels less natural than saying "Hey Alexa"
I have an open ended question-- mostly born out of ignorance; But why is this a bad thing? Isn't an artificial assistant that not only knows and understands us but anticipates our needs incredibly useful? In the process, sure they'll collect your info for better advertising, but short of Totalitarian Surveillance or Data Breach Concerns (The former is a bit of a reach if you live in the west, and they can survey you anyway if they really want to, the latter also seems somewhat unlikely)-- whats the issue here? Genuinely asking because I'm trying to understand.