Spying on babysitters gets harder

Facebook and Twitter are cracking down on an automated child-care rating system that analyzes potential babysitters’ social media feeds, said Drew Harwell in The Washington Post. The California startup Predictim offered ratings of whether babysitters are at risk of drug abuse, bullying, or having a “bad attitude”— using artificial intelligence to scour the candidates’ online histories. But systems such as Predictim’s “present their own dangers by making automated and possibly life-altering decisions virtually unchecked.” Facebook is conducting an investigation, while Twitter said it’s revoked the startup’s access to tools that help it search users’ accounts. Predictim chief Sal Parsa said the service is a vital tool for any parent who wants to detect abusive babysitters who “have mental illness or are just born evil.” the hackers collected $6 million in ransom and caused $30 million worth of damage. Using sophisticated technology, the men essentially shut down entire municipal, hospital, or business systems, then forced victims to pay in Bitcoin to get their data back. They don’t seem to have been working on behalf of Iran’s government. The U.S. has no extradition deal with Iran, so the hackers are unlikely to be jailed.