A report by seven US lawmakers reveals that US tax preparation firms, including TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block, have been sharing sensitive taxpayer data with tech giants Google and Meta. The companies allegedly used Meta Pixel and Google’s ad tools to share personal and financial information. Google and Meta blamed misconfigurations in their data-gathering tools for this breach. The lawmakers are calling for further investigation into the matter and potential prosecution of involved parties. This is utterly a disgrace, and these companies should be penalized as much as the law provides.

I also delve into a variety of tech-related topics discussing the recent allegations of China-based hackers infiltrating US government emails, highlighting the persistent cybersecurity threats from foreign entities, then turn to the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, over potential violations of consumer protection laws. This investigation was sparked by a bug that leaked sensitive user data. I also talk about Telly’s new business model of shipping free 4K TVs supported by ads. I raise questions about user comfort with this model, given the requirement to provide detailed personal information and keep the TV connected to the internet round the clock. I also cover a lawsuit claiming that Twitter owes $500 million in severance pay to thousands of laid-off employees, marking a significant reduction in Twitter’s workforce. Additionally, I touch on other topics such as Virgin Galactic’s upcoming space flight, the potential sale of Disney’s TV and cable business, and a new 3D fly-through of the universe released by NASA.

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Show Notes:

* –7 tips for protecting your data in a coworking space

* –Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight will launch as soon as August 10th

* –New Play Store policy

* –Celsius founder arrested

* –Congress is trying to stop discriminatory algorithms again

* –Disney’s TV and cable business “may not be core.”

* –X Corp. sues data scrapers