Tools of abuse, more big breaches & can you spot ‘fake news’?
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Digital tools of domestic abuse — Nellie Bowles writes about how internet-connected devices, meant to be tools of convenience, are being used as tools of harassment, monitoring and control (New York Times).
Deceived by design — Google and Facebook are criticised for designing privacy settings in a way that steers customers towards ‘privacy unfriendly’ choices (Fortune).
Names in the giant breach — CNET reports a leak of 340 million records — bigger than Equifax. The data, from a company called Exactis, is thought to include information on almost all US citizens. Meanwhile in the UK, Ticketmaster has seen a major data breach. Customers are being warned they’re at risk of fraud (Guardian).
Patents & privacy — The New York Times looks at 7 of Facebook’s many patent applications, giving a snapshot of how the platform thinks about using our personal data.
Africa’s scant privacy laws — Writing in Devex, Andrew Green looks at the lack of privacy and data protection laws across Africa and argues they leave NGOs working in the continent exposed.
Gone but not forbidden — Videos of chemical attacks and other abuses in Syria are being deleted by YouTube’s algorithms designed to flag extremist content. These videos are often the only record of such atrocities. The Syrian Archive, an open source initiative, is working to verify and preserve this footage before it’s lost (Wired UK).
Screened by algorithms — Many firms use algorithms to screen job candidates. While these automated methods can strip some of the bias from traditional recruitment, other discrimination can sneak in, in unexpected ways(The Economist).
AI’s race problem — When AI training data isn’t diverse, AI doesn’t work for underrepresented people. While companies working on facial recognition say they’re getting better at identifying non-white faces, many argue that as long as there are errors, facial recognition shouldn’t be used in areas like law enforcement. Others argue it should never be used by police, no matter how accurate (Businessweek).
Access drones dropped — Facebook has scrapped plans to build high-altitude solar-powered drones that would have delivered internet access to underserved communities (Guardian).
Tracking government censorship — As Turkey voted in a presidential election, Matt Reynolds wrote about efforts from organisations like NetBlocks to track online censorship by governments in real-time (Wired UK).
News sites unblocked — The Ethiopian government said it has unblocked 246 websites and TV channels as part of a series of reforms from new prime minister Abiy Ahmed (Associated Press).
Avoiding global censorship — As social platforms face pressure to remove problematic content, they risk overstepping and limiting free speech, particularly in countries where they have little physical presence. David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, offers steps firms should take to prepare for this challenge (Reuters).
Political platforms — Ahead of the Mexican general election, Elizabeth Dwoskin looks at the evolving political threat of online misinformation across the world and the tremendously difficult job platforms face in keeping up with producers of ‘fake news’ (Washington Post).
Twitter taking control — In an effort to curb abuse, misinformation and spam, Twitter has tightened rules for access, including requiring confirmation of an email address or phone number to create an account, and preventing automated signups (Bloomberg).
Swipe right or wrong? — Factitious, a new Tinder-like game designed by professors at American University, tests whether players can spot ‘fake news’ from the real thing. Give it a try.
46 votes short in the House — While the US Senate voted last month to reverse the repeal of net neutrality rules, a bill is 46 votes short of approval in the House (Ars Technica). You can see where each representative stands and ask them to support net neutrality.
A Special Report in The Economist looks at how the web, invented by our founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee almost 30 years ago, has become increasingly centralised and explores the emerging debate about what to do about it.
The Web Foundation joined 50+ organisations to sign a statement criticising the Russian government for legislation that undermines free expression, the right to privacy and other online freedoms and calls on the government to repeal the problematic ‘Yarovaya law’ (Article 19). The story was published in a number of Russian outlets, including Kommersant, Novaya Gazeta, RBC and others.
A4AI research on mobile data pricing was cited in a story about a decision from Zimbabwean mobile provider ZOL to increase tariffs by an average of 5%(Telecompaper).
A4AI pricing data was also cited in a piece about Zimbabwe partnering with China as it seeks to become a tech hub focused on big data and AI (Opiniao & Noticia — Portuguese). The article was originally published in Quartz in English.
The Open Data Barometer was cited in a piece on why citizen-centric innovation supports better smart-cities (TechWire).
A4AI was mentioned in a blog post from development organisation Practical Action explaining why universal access must be a priority.
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