{"id":15666,"date":"2017-08-30T12:15:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T05:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/?p=15666\/"},"modified":"2020-05-22T12:31:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T05:31:45","slug":"caught-mickeys-mousetrap-motherboard-scared-write-disney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/caught-mickeys-mousetrap-motherboard-scared-write-disney\/","title":{"rendered":"Caught in Mickey\u2019s Mousetrap \u2013 Why Motherboard Is Too Scared to Write About Disney"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After publishing our post last week<\/a> regarding the Disney class-action lawsuit \u2014 you know, the one where Disney is being sued for spying on children under 13 who use their apps and then selling the data to third-party advertisers \u2014 it got us thinking about fairness in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know 90% of American media is controlled by six major conglomerates<\/a>?
N-i-n-e-t-y percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, think about Motherboard, who are partially owned by Disney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, think about Motherboard’s recent retraction of two Disney-focused stories, as well as the lack of reporting of Disney’s current spying escapade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, think about Motherboard’s handling of FlexiSPY earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the false pretense that FlexiSPY knowingly enables illicit spying, they ran a series of defamatory stories<\/a> based on illegally obtained information, designed to support the personal opinions and ego-driven agendas of certain bloggers (We\u2019re looking at you Joseph Cox & Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This clearly begs the question, where is Motherboard\u2019s coverage of Disney \u2014 who are now being sued for violating COPPA<\/a> not once, but 42 times? Sprinkle in the lawsuits also being brought against the developers of the Disney apps and Viacom (parent company of Nickelodeon) and it sounds like a recipe for some good old-fashioned \u2018stick-it-to-the-man\u2019 reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, where are the chiding accusations of malicious spyware being illegally installed on someone\u2019s phone? Or the exclusive coverage exposing the secret targeting of youth through technology \u2014 for profit nonetheless?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when we said 90% of the media is owned by six conglomerates? One of those media giants is Disney \u2014 and they just so happen to have a $400 million stake in VICE<\/a> and its brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Really Is Biased<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We hate to perpetuate the \u2018fake news\u2019 sentiment, but it\u2019s difficult to take the media at face value after delving into the depths of The Big 6 and their corporate structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disney owns ABC. Comcast owns NBC. News Corp owns Fox. Viacom owns MTV. CBS owns CBS. Time Warner owns CNN \u2014 and you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find negative content about any of these outlets on their own networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick Google search of \u2018Motherboard Disney\u2019 or \u2018VICE Disney\u2019 brings up no stories or expos\u00e9s. Well, except for reports from other news outlets that VICE recently retracted two stories<\/a> about Disney \u2014 oh, and this message from Motherboard:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"note<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While this editorial issues two retractions \u2014 which are always admirable \u2014 is it credible that these two stories were pulled because of sources rather than subject?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two stories that were pulled because of the \u2018source.\u2019 Two stories with a negative spin on Disney. It\u2019s probably just a coincidence, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We like to believe Vice and its affiliates are different \u2014 they\u2019re known for controversial reporting that isn\u2019t afraid to take on the bigwigs and take readers (or viewers) to the deepest corners of society. VICE is edgy, fearless, counter-culture journalism, touching subjects that others don’t dare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless the subject involves the Disney mega-ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s a shame, because it supports the belief of an ever-growing number of people that corporate ownership controls content \u2014 AKA fake news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"VICE
VICE Media falls under A&E Networks on the bottom left<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And to those people, it would make perfect sense why VICE retracted two stories about their media-giant parent. With that many hands in the proverbial pot, it’s hard to argue that the complex corporate structure really had nothing to do with the actions of Motherboard as described in this piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Publish or Not to Publish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are not comparing ourselves to Disney, but merely comparing the recent coverage of FlexiSPY and Mickey \u2014 or should we say lack of coverage. FlexiSPY earned a six-week campaign without breaking any laws. Disney more-than-likely violates COPPA and gets nothing. Makes us wonder if FlexiSPY had a shareholding in VICE, would we have gotten the same preferential treatment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we hate to \u2018pull a VICE\u2019 and speculate, so let\u2019s look at the facts. We\u2019ll let you connect your own dots.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When used in accordance with our company guidelines and legal disclaimer<\/a>, FlexiSPY is completely legal. We do not condone the illegal use of our software and our Privacy Policy<\/a> clearly explains that FlexiSPY operates within the rules of COPPA and that we never sell the personal data of children. Sure, our products weren\u2019t always marketed only to parents and employers, but then again who doesn\u2019t have a past? Motherboard coverage: six-week exclusive expos\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disney \u2014 and Viacom and apps in Google Play \u2014 uses third-party code and identifiers to target and share the personal data of children under 13 without parental consent. Whether or not Disney and their developers \u2014 Upsight, Unity and Kochava \u2014 set out to spy on children through their apps, the fact of the matter is this: they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since at least 2013, the release year of Disney\u2019s Princess Palace Pets app \u2014 one of the most popular apps under investigation in the recent lawsuit \u2014 Disney has been collecting data. That\u2019s four years of information sharing. Four years of behavior monitoring. Four years of developing a profile of your child. All without express parental consent. These games are not only not<\/em> protecting our kids\u2019 personal data, but are exploiting it for profit \u2014 illegally. Motherboard coverage: None.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these are just \u2018alleged\u2019 claims according to media outlets, so they must not be worth publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Afraid of the Big Bad Mouse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the media publishes (or retracts) content based on who\u2019s controlling the checkbook \u2014 and apparently, it\u2019s easier to go after one software company than the entire media conglomerate that controls 18% of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve come to expect this from CNN or FOX, but not from Motherboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout their history, VICE and Motherboard have been the antitheses of the easy way out \u2014 embracing a new style of storytelling journalism dubbed ‘Immersionism<\/a>‘ by founder Shane Smith. A style that puts reporters and viewers inside the action.  VICE, Motherboard and their affiliated channels uncover stories that people didn’t even know they wanted to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope their ownership structure lets them continue speaking truth to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because if you can stick-it-to-the-man, surely you can stick-it-to-the-Mouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After publishing our post last week regarding the Disney class-action lawsuit \u2014 you know, the one where Disney is being sued for spying on children under 13 who use their apps and then selling the data to third-party advertisers \u2014 it got us thinking about fairness in the media. Did you know 90% of American media is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":15668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[358,357,355,356],"class_list":["post-15666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-disney","tag-motherboard","tag-vice","tag-vice-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44282,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15666\/revisions\/44282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.flexispy.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}