drm Unauthorized Charcoal: GE fridges won't dispense ice or water unless your filter authenticates as an official ($55!) component Cory Doctorow
fraud After decades of corporate theft, Spinal Tap is finally getting paid by Universal Cory Doctorow
travel Airbnb's easily gamed reputation system and poor customer service allow scammers to thrive Cory Doctorow
Business AT&T hikes business customers' bills by up to 7%, charging them to recoup its own property taxes Cory Doctorow
cable company fuckery Consumer Reports documents the deceptive cable industry practices used to hike real prices 24% over advertised ones Cory Doctorow
Ripoffs Startup that raised $197 million appears to have plagiarized the words, images, and design of a competitor Mark Frauenfelder
security Report: UK "Ransomware consultants" Red Mosquito promise to unlock your data, but they're just paying off the criminals (and charging you a markup!) Cory Doctorow
finance Chase credit cards quietly reintroduce the binding arbitration clauses they were forced to eliminate a decade ago Cory Doctorow
Business Grifty "information security" companies promised they could decrypt ransomware-locked computers, but they were just quietly paying the ransoms Cory Doctorow
law The TRUE Fees Act: legislative proposal to force cable/ISP companies to advertise the true cost of their services, inclusive of surcharges Cory Doctorow
aviation A service to help airline passengers get compensated for lost bags, delays, cancellations and overbookings Cory Doctorow
trumpism Charter slashes network spending by $2B, but makes up for it by charging its customers more Cory Doctorow