NRKbeta

"Norwegian internet users were tracked by Disqus because the company did not know that Norway introduced the common European privacy regulation GDPR in 2018. It thus took 511 days before Norwegians were incorporated into the company's "privacy mode" for GDPR countries and previously collected information was deleted."[0]

It seems that there was some setting that is enabled by default in all other countries than countries with the GDPR law.

Also, from an earlier article:
"The company also claims that they have not shared Norwegians' online visits with anyone other than the parent company Zeta Global. Zeta Global describes itself as a 'data-driven marketing company"' that has information on over two billion identities."[1]

As a Norwegian, it will be interesting following this case.

[0]: https://nrkbeta.no/2021/05/05/datatilsynet-varsler-bot-pa-25-millioner-mot-amerikansk-selskap/

[1]: https://nrkbeta.no/2020/09/04/datatilsynet-mener-det-er-sannsynlig-at-disqus-har-brutt-personvernloven/

A bit context on NRKbeta from their website.

"NRKbeta is NRKs sandbox for technology and media. We write about media, the internet and new technology with a focus on you as the user, and what we at NRK do in this field. We call it a sandbox because we want to test things out, be curious and find out how things change. And bring you, the users, with us on this journey."

https://nrkbeta.no/

EDIT:

I also think it's important to contextualize this journalism with the current debate around the Norwegian contact tracing application.

The application has been heavily criticized for the collection of GPS data for research usage and track behaviour when new guidelines are announced. They claim this data is going to be "anonymized", but alter clarified it would only be "pseudonomized".

It is also unclear if the data collected is going to be deleted in December, when the app is set for deletion by the current regulation from Stortinget.

Yes, it will.

Here's a good news-article [0] giving context to the report. Quote:

> Director of Digital Services in the Consumer Council, Finn Myrstad, says they will now ask the Norwegian Data Inspectorate [i.e. Datatilsynet] to assess whether Google and Facebook violate the new Privacy Policy (GDPR) that has entered into force in the EU.

Furthermore:

> The operation is coordinated with 23 European sister organizations in 16 countries. Of these, the Consumer Council states that 12 organizations will deliver letters to their respective data surveillance. At least six American consumer organizations are also behind the report.

[0] https://nrkbeta.no/2018/06/27/facebook-og-google-manipulerer-og-villeder-deg-til-a-dele-privatlivet-ditt-mener-forbrukerradet/

Not GoPro, but Norwegian broadcaster NRK have filmed several train journeys as part of their "slow tv" offering. Original HD video files (200++ GB) are available [0], and there are multiple versions on Youtube, like a 10 hour trip with Nordlandsbanen from Trondheim to Bodø [1] and a 7 hour trip from Bergen to Oslo [2], including a 10 minute stretch from Finse where the scenes from Hoth in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back were filmed [3].

[0] https://nrkbeta.no/2009/12/18/bergensbanen-eng/

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=831Drz4YQdQ

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR15x_ujuPA

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql2qXpNVTjw

I'm actually also scouting for a reddit and HN alternative. It seems like Reddit users are just spilling over to HN and that shows in the quality of many "discussions".

I think NRKbeta's method of requiring a quiz before one can comment [0] should be tested on bigger platforms. NRKbeta seems to have a good experience with it. Furthermore, it'd be nice to be able to subscribe to moderators or groups thereof. I think Aether[1] uses that method of moderation.

[0]: https://nrkbeta.no/2017/08/10/with-a-quiz-to-comment-readers-test-their-article-comprehension/

[1]: https://getaether.net/docs/how_is_it_different_from/

The Norwegian national broadcaster, NRK, that created the Bergensbanen minute for minute video also hosts two torrents for that video btw. Yes, that’s right officially hosted torrent files from a national broadcaster :D

https://nrkbeta.no/bittorrent/

Their first torrent is for a 720p version, 50 fps, h.264 encoded mp4. https://nrkbeta.no/torrent/Bergensbanen-minutt.for.minutt.1280x720p50.h264.NRK.mp4.torrent

Their second torrent is 1080i and uses ProRes 422 codec. It comes to a whopping 246 GB total! :O https://nrkbeta.no/torrent/Bergensbanen.1080i50.ProRes422.Nrk.mov.torrent