Kinasuhan sa dating data practices... Grindr, magbabayad ng P2.2B

ni Justine Berganio @Overseas News | September 9, 2026

Photo: Circulated / Grndr

Magbabayad ang LGBTQ+ dating app na Grindr ng £26 milyon (P2.2B) para maayos ang kaso kaugnay ng alegasyong ibinabahagi nito sa third parties ang sensitibong impormasyon ng users, kabilang ang HIV status.

Dalawang hulog na tig-£13 milyon (P1.1B) ang settlement, na unang babayaran bago matapos ang Disyembre at ang ikalawa bago Marso 31, 2027. Iginiit ng kumpanya na hindi ito pag-amin ng pananagutan.

Mahigit 11,000 claimants ang sumali sa class action suit na unang isinampa sa UK High Court noong 2024 bago itinuloy sa US. Kabilang umano sa mga sensitibong datos na sangkot ang sexual orientation, ethnicity at impormasyon tungkol sa HIV status at testing.

Dalawang data analytics firm, ang Apptimize at Localytics, ang tinukoy na nagkaroon ng access sa impormasyon na maaari umanong gamitin sa pag-target ng advertisements.

Ayon sa Grindr, nakatuon ang mga reklamo sa data practices bago ang 2020, noong pagmamay-ari pa ito ng Chinese company na Kunlun. Sinabi rin nito na binago na ang privacy practices mula noong 2020 upang higit na maprotektahan ang mga user.

Nauna nang pinagmulta ang Grindr ng £5.5 milyon (P456M) ng Norwegian data protection watchdog at sinita rin noong 2022 ng UK Information Commissioner’s Office dahil sa data practices nito.

Bigger Project NOAH funding to strengthen flood, disaster, and climate change response

by Info @Brand Zone | September 6, 2026

Photo: UP NOAH

UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) Executive Director Mahar Lagmay said the recently released P1 billion will further expand Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), focusing on strengthening flood management, hazard monitoring, and disaster risk reduction systems as the country confronts the effects of climate change.

In various interviews with PCO-Integrated State Media and private media outlets, Lagmay, a UP geology professor, said he hopes that the government’s funding for UPRI “will continue to transform scientific knowledge into practical action that protects lives and helps build safer, more resilient, and sustainable communities.”

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s order to infuse a fresh P1 billion into Project NOAH, which UPRI manages, will boost impact-based forecasting developed by Project NOAH researchers using years of historical information, satellite images, rainfall data, and other datasets.

This directive from President Marcos to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is another critical move in his data-driven governance, which recognizes the vital role of hard science in statecraft, notably the national infrastructure spending of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) being guided by scientific data from UPRI’s NOAH.

Founded in 2012, NOAH seeks to assist the country in disaster risk reduction and management, climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, and related activities through research, development, and extension services. Science-backed infrastructure projects.

For its part, the Department of Public Works and Highways has begun laying the technical foundation for future, science-backed flood management infrastructure to strengthen long-term disaster preparedness and climate change risk response nationwide.

At President Marcos's directive to enhance nationwide flood resiliency, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the updating of all flood management master plans to protect Filipinos from massive flooding year after year. To ensure these master plans reflect current climate realities, the agency is collaborating with UPRI’s Project NOAH, local government units, and key partner agencies to integrate detailed hazard mapping and scientific data before their implementation.

On September 2, the President said the government is now implementing a flood control master plan that has been in place for decades. “We already have a masterplan. It's just never been executed. We are only executing it now,” President Marcos told reporters after inspecting repair works at a collapsed bridge in Tarlac. “We have had a master plan for decades pero walang ginawa.

Ngayon lang natin sinisimulan (but nothing was done. We are only starting it now),” the President said. The Presidential remarks come as Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and other parts of Luzon grapple with widespread flooding brought by heavy monsoon rains.

The administration has repeatedly called on national government agencies to implement long-term flood control measures, including de-clogging and dredging waterways, improving drainage systems, and proper land-use planning, as the government responds to increasingly intense rainfall linked to climate change. NOAH aims for faster, more accurate forecasting.

Lagmay said NOAH’s impact-based forecasting system is projected to forecast, one day in advance, where flooding may occur and its impact on roads, homes, buildings, and vehicular flow.

“The P1 billion allocation for UPRI will be measured by better information, transparency, evidence-based governance and decision-making, effective flood management, and reduced disaster risks and losses,”

Lagmay said. Of the total allocation, P935 million will support research services, while P65 million will fund general management and supervision of NOAH’s implementation. The allocation is part of the UP System’s built-in appropriation under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.

Lagmay said UPRI’s budget will fund high-resolution mapping of major river basins, hazard assessments, land-use planning, and Oplan Kontra Baha initiatives, in coordination with the DPWH, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local government units, and private-sector partners.

The allocation will also support Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) drone topographic surveys, capacity-building programs with state universities and colleges, native tree mapping, sediment erosion assessments, mapping of hidden waterways, nature-based solutions, and the use of artificial intelligence and analytics for disaster risk management.

UP President Angelo Jimenez said the Marcos administration’s funding for UPRI is “an investment in the power of research and innovation to serve the nation.” “We do research because knowledge matters, and knowledge matters most when it can help us make better decisions, solve real problems, and improve the lives of our people,” Jimenez emphasized.

P6 bilyon sa tao vs. AI

ni Justine Berganio @Overseas News | September 2, 2026

Photo: Ernst & Young (EY) Global Limited Headquarters sa London. Reuters-Maja Smiejkowska

Habang patuloy na pumapasok ang artificial intelligence (AI) sa iba’t ibang trabaho, magbibigay naman ang Ernst & Young (EY) ng aabot sa $100 milyon (P6B) na bonuses sa mga empleyadong magpapakita ng mga kasanayang hindi madaling mapalitan ng teknolohiya.

Kabilang sa mga bibigyang-halaga ng kompanya ang leadership, mahusay na paghusga, business acumen, pakikipagtulungan at kakayahang makibagay sa pagbabago. Kasama rin sa reward system ang paggamit at pagtanggap sa mga bagong teknolohiya.

Ayon kay Dante D’Egidio, EY Americas CEO at U.S. managing partner, kailangan ang matatag na pamumuno dahil sa bilis at pagiging komplikado ng mga pagbabagong nararanasan ng industriya.

Bahagi ng malaking investment ang bonus program sa plano ng EY na bumuo ng workforce na kayang pagsabayin ang teknolohiya at kakayahan ng tao. Layunin din nitong makakuha at mapanatili ang mga talentong makatutulong sa tinatawag nitong “tech-led, human-powered world.”

Samantala, nagbabala ang mga ekonomista na maaaring mawala ang ilang trabaho dahil sa AI, partikular ang mga paulit-ulit at entry-level na gawain. Kasabay nito, maaari ring lumikha ang teknolohiya ng mga bagong oportunidad sa trabaho.

Giit ng mga eksperto, mas nanganganib maiwan ang mga manggagawang hindi matututong gamitin ang AI bilang katuwang para mapabilis at mapahusay ang kanilang trabaho.

Sa hakbang ng EY, habang lumalakas ang AI, hindi lang bilis at teknolohiya ang puhunan—mahalaga pa rin ang kakayahan ng tao.