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Weekly Rewind: Women’s Contributions and Rights, Putin’s Power Grab, Anti-Vax, Cop Stalkers, and More

Reading Time: 4 minutes.

Leaf and Core rewind logo with white backgroundTo quote Awolnation, “I say you kill your heroes.” That’s not literal. But it’s where hero worship eventually ends: finding out your heroes have deep flaws. Take, for example, Google and Apple. They speak highly of women’s place in STEM, but both companies have allowed an app with the primary functionality of oppressing women to remain on Google Play and the App Store. Or perhaps the FBI were your heroes? They’re still fighting against the security that keeps you safe from thieves and hackers. The local police? They could be spying on and harassing women. And Apple? They’re still failing journalists with Apple News.

We need better heroes, and we need to be able to hold our heroes accountable when they make mistakes.

But that’s not all that happened in tech this week! Foldable phones made a big entrance. Apple celebrated International Women’s Day. Google accidental paid men less than women for the same role (and corrected it). It’s not all bad!

Leaf and Core Recap

Putin May Get Complete Control of Russian Internet

Vladimir Putin, Russian President. Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin, Russian President. Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Putin wants to have complete control of the internet in Russia. That way he can censor all news, cut Russians off from the rest of the world, and continue to wage cyber warfare against the rest of the free world.

It looks like he’s going to get that ability.

Facebook Will Block Anti-Vax Posts

Mr. Lindenberger testifying to congress. He sits behind a nametag and a microphone.

Ethan Lindenberger testifying to the U.S. Senate. Photo: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Facebook wants to dial back on the fake news you’re reading. They especially want to ensure you’re not reading fake information about vaccines, as this is one of the leading threats on the safety and health of the world population, according to the World Health Organization.

Soon, they’ll implement tools that’ll help protect people from this false information.

A Former Cop Stalked Over 150 Women. He’s Not Alone.

Fromer Officer Leonel Marines in what appears to be an ID photo or official police photo.

Former Bradenton police Sgt. Leonel Marines. Photo: WFTS

Police have access to tools that help keep us safe. But not all of those tools are always used for good. Unfortunately, when we try to stop those who protect us from taking advantage of their power, even those around them fight back. How do we trust them with greater encryption breaking tools than what they already have?

Google Approves of App That Oppresses Women

A man on the left shows something on an iPad to Apple CEO Tim Cook, center with arms crossed, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right.

Tim Cook, center, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Right. Photo: Saudi Embassy USA/Twitter

Weeks ago, an app was discovered on the App Store and Google Play. It allows men in Saudi Arabia to control the travel of women. With it, they can exert their control over women, get notifications when they try to travel, and restrict their travel within the country. Google’s okay with that. Apple seems to be as well.

Speaking of which, International Women’s Day was this week.

The FBI Still Hates Encryption

Christopher Wray speaking from behind a podium with the Department of Justice/FBI insignia on the podium.

FBI Director Christopher Wray. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Apple ran afoul of the FBI when they refused to create a backdoor through their encryption. Such a backdoor would have put people all over the world in danger of thieves, hackers, and disreputable governments (like the kind that would force a company to write a backdoor into their software).

Turns out they’re still against encryption, despite what experts say. But they could be softening their stance.

Around the Web

Corning is working on truly foldable Gorilla Glass: Christine Fisher, Engadget

Man holding Huawei phone

You could even use this design to prop up your phone. Photo: Vlad Savov/The Verge

Foldable phones are here. However, the best design has a flaw: it puts plastic on the outside of your phone. This means it’s highly susceptible to scratches. However, Gorilla Glass, the manufacturer of the glass that’s likely on your smartphone, wants to do something about that. They’re working to make flexible glass. This will allow you to have a foldable glass phone, something that won’t scratch so easily.

Facebook Messenger on iOS testing hidden Dark Mode interface, here’s how to enable it: Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Facebook Messenger dark modeIf you’re like me, you prefer dark mode. I have dark mode for my IDEs, dark mode for my macOS interface, even dark mode on all of my browser windows right now. Dark mode is, generally speaking, easier on the eyes. Soon, Facebook will have a dark interface for their messenger. You can test it out by sending yourself the moon emoji and tapping it. 🌙

Feminist Frequency returns with Queer Tropes, a gaming miniseries: Allegra Frank, Polygon


Feminist Frequency released, with the help of a Kickstarter campaign, Women vs Tropes, a miniseries that examined women’s role in media and video games. Now Carolyn Petit of the Feminist Frequency podcast is here to walk us through Queer Tropes. She guides us through the history of LGBTQ people in video games, discussing queer coding, stereotypes, and more. Definitely add it to your list if you want to learn more about how media codes queer people as villains and other ways media can perpetuate biases. It’s directed by Anita Sarkeesian, whose Tropes vs Women was wildly popular and interesting. Check it out!

Democrats push new bill to write net neutrality into law, but can it pass? Makena Kelly, The Verge

Nancy Pelosi walking down hallway with staff

Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Net neutrality is vitally necessary. It protects small businesses and individuals from criminally manipulative internet service providers. They charge businesses and individuals more for “fast lanes,” pushing small businesses away. It drives competition and innovation.

Naturally, Republicans got rid of it the moment they seized power in 2016. Now, Democrats have control of the house, and they’re pushing to bring net neutrality back. The only problem? Republicans still hold control of the senate. Despite most people supporting net neutrality, they likely won’t budge. We’ll just have to wait until 2020 to restore internet freedom.

Homeland Security hasn’t done enough to protect election infrastructure, says watchdog: Zack Whittaker, Techcrunch

Person feeds vote into vote counting machine.

Photo: Getty Images

A report claims that Homeland Security isn’t adequately staffed to protect American democracy. Our voting infrastructure is vulnerable, and our security measures aren’t enough to keep us safe. No one’s dedicated to protecting our elections, and those who are responsible have other responsibilities. It’s a mess, and they’re not catching up. However, homeland security is willing to make changes.