Afghans racing to erase their online lives | China seeks to tighten competition rules, sends tech shares lower | Facebook, Twitter, YouTube face high-stakes question of whether to recognize Taliban
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Every photo and every data point is a link to the old way of life in Afghanistan – and a reason for Taliban retribution. WIRED UK
China's market regulator issued draft rules on Tuesday aimed at stopping unfair competition on the internet, as Beijing continues its broad crack down on the country's technology sector. CNBC
Setting policies for Taliban rule would pose a major challenge for the companies, who will play a huge role in deciding how effectively the Afghan government and the Taliban can reach audiences online — and what they can do with that power. The Washington Post
ASPI ICPC
Funding for public research into foreign policy issues – Parliament of Australia
A submission by ASPI ICPC’s Fergus Hanson and Danielle Cave was cited throughout the Final Report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee’s Inquiry into Funding for public research into foreign policy issues.
A Thorough Explanation of China’s Long-Term Strategy
War on the Rocks
@PLMattis
What are the Chinese Communist Party’s intentions? Does it seek to turn China into the hegemon of Asia and a global superpower? Or does it just aim to stay in power by whatever means necessary? Unfortunately, U.S. policymakers and analysts haven’t come to an agreement on how to answer these questions. That’s a problem, because China’s intentions ought to shape how the United States develops its strategy toward the Indo-Pacific.
World
General Assembly Adopts Texts on Role of Rapid Technological Change in Achieving Sustainable Development, High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage
The UN General Assembly then adopted a resolution titled “Impact of Rapid Technological Change on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets” (document A/75/L.123), without a vote. It was introduced by the representative of Mexico, who stressed that 57 per cent of the global population lacks Internet access.
Twitter will let users report misinformation for the first time
The Sydney Morning Herald
@KurtWagner8
Twitter is adding an option for users to report misinformation to the company, but says the expanded ability to flag tweets won’t necessarily lead to more fact-checking or labels on problematic posts.
More on this on The Verge.
World Bank, partners create new global fund for cybersecurity
Punch Newspapers
@sami_tunji
The World Bank has partnered with four countries (Estonia, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands) to establish a new global fund for cybersecurity. This was contained in a statement titled ‘World Bank and partners announce new global fund for cybersecurity published on the bank’s website on Monday.
China
China seeks to tighten rules on unfair internet competition, sending tech shares lower
CNBC
@ArjunKharpal
China's market regulator issued draft rules on Tuesday aimed at stopping unfair competition on the internet, as Beijing continues its broad crack down on the country's technology sector. The rules published by the State Administration for Market Regulation cover a wide range of areas from prohibitions on the way companies can use data to stamping out fake product reviews. Chinese listed technology stocks in Hong Kong fell sharply on that news. Gaming giant Tencent was 3.5% lower in late morning trade, while e-commerce giant Alibaba fell 2.5%. SAMR's latest rules continue Beijing's regulatory assault on China's technology giants.
Read our new report: ‘Reining in China’s Technology Giants’
AI Firm SenseTime Said to Tap HSBC For $2 Billion Hong Kong IPO
Bloomberg
China International Capital Corp. is also arranging the share sale for the SoftBank Group Corp.-backed company, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The company isn’t tapping any U.S. banks for the offering because it is on the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s entity list, strictly limiting its ability to do business with American firms, the people said.
Read more on SenseTime via our Mapping China’s Technology Giants project.
China Unveils New Rules Targeting Anticompetitive Practices by Internet Companies
The Wall Street Journal
Stephanie Yang
China issued new draft guidelines that would prevent its internet companies from engaging in anticompetitive practices such as unfairly blocking rival platforms, extending Beijing’s efforts to rein in the powerful technology sector. The guidelines, released by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on Tuesday, include a detailed list of prohibited behaviors that regulators said could harm internet users and limit market competition, including controlling user traffic, blocking competitors’ products and discriminatory pricing.
China Set to Pass One of the World’s Strictest Data-Privacy Laws
The Wall Street Journal
@wsjeva
The world’s leading practitioner of state surveillance is set to usher in a far-reaching new privacy regime. China’s top legislative body is expected this week to pass a privacy law that resembles the world’s most robust framework for online privacy protections, Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation. But unlike European governments, which themselves face more public pressure over data collection, Beijing is expected to maintain broad access to data under the new Personal Information Protection Law.
USA
Pharmacist Faces Decades in Prison for Allegedly Selling Vaccine Cards on eBay
VICE
@josephfcox
A pharmacist was arrested Tuesday for allegedly selling over 100 authentic CDC COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay, according to an announcement from the Department of Justice.
For the official announcement, see here.
People Now Spend More at Amazon Than at Walmart
The New York TImes
@KYWeise @mcorkery5
Amazon has eclipsed Walmart to become the world’s largest retail seller outside China, according to corporate and industry data, a milestone in the shift from brick-and-mortar to online shopping that has changed how people buy everything from Teddy Grahams to teddy bears.
North-East Asia
Japan's Tokio Marine is the latest insurer to be victimized by ransomware
Cyber Scoop
@timstarks
Ransomware struck Japan’s largest property and casualty insurer, Tokio Marine Holdings, at its Singapore branch, the company disclosed on Monday. Tokio Marine, which has a U.S. division and offers a cyber insurance product, said it did not have any immediate indication that any customer information was breached. Such data could be a smorgasbord for hackers who would use the data to extort victims based on their coverage amounts.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Roblox is struggling to moderate re-creations of mass shootings
The Verge
@russellbrandom
“We promptly removed this experience from Roblox after it was brought to our attention and suspended the user responsible for violating our Community Rules,” a company representative said in a statement. “We do not tolerate racism, discriminatory speech, or content related to tragic events. We have a stringent safety and monitoring system that is continuously active and that we rigorously and proactively enforce.”
Russia
Suspected Russian operatives tried to stir far-right outrage about COVID-19 on 4chan
Cyber Scoop
@TonyaJoRiley
Operators of an apparent Russian propaganda campaign shared coronavirus disinformation in an effort to influence the American far-right, according to a report out Tuesday by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. The findings are included in a new report shedding light on a long-running Russian propaganda campaign known as Operation Secondary Infektion. The years-long campaign has used regional European websites, forged documents and throwaway accounts to further Russia’s political agenda in Europe.
Central Asia
Afghans are racing to erase their online lives
WIRED UK
@stokel
Every photo and every data point is a link to the old way of life in Afghanistan – and a reason for Taliban retribution.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube face high-stakes question of whether to recognize Taliban
The Washington Post
@viaCristiano @aaronjschaffer
Setting policies for Taliban rule would pose a major challenge for the companies, who will play a huge role in deciding how effectively the Afghan government and the Taliban can reach audiences online — and what they can do with that power.
Facebook, TikTok won't lift ban on posts that promote Taliban after the fall of Afghanistan
CNBC
@Sam_L_Shead
Facebook and TikTok said Tuesday they won’t lift bans on content that promotes the Taliban after the group took control of Afghanistan. The social media giants told CNBC they consider the Afghan group, which has used social media platforms to project its messages for years, to be a terrorist organization.
Afghanistan: Facebook continues ban of Taliban-related content
BBC
Facebook has confirmed it will continue to ban Taliban content from its platforms as it considers the group to be a terrorist organisation. The company says it has a dedicated team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the group. For years, the Taliban has used social media to spread its messages. Its rapid takeover of Afghanistan raises fresh challenges for technology firms on how to deal with content related to the group.
WhatsApp shuts down Taliban helpline in Kabul
Financial Times
@madhumita29
WhatsApp has shut down a complaints helpline set up by the Taliban when it took control of Kabul, after the messaging app came under pressure to block the group from using its services. The complaints number was supposed to act as an emergency hotline for civilians to report violence, looting or other problems. The Taliban advertised the helpline on Sunday when it captured the city, and has used similar WhatsApp hotlines in the past, for example when it took over the city of Kunduz in 2016.
Afghans scramble to delete digital history, evade biometrics
Reuters
@rinachandran
Thousands of Afghans struggling to ensure the physical safety of their families after the Taliban took control of the country have an additional worry: that biometric databases and their own digital history can be used to track and target them.
The Taliban have seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices
The Intercept
@kenklippenstein @SaraLSirota
The devices, known as HIIDE, for Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment, were seized last week during the Taliban’s offensive, according to a Joint Special Operations Command official and three former U.S. military personnel, all of whom worried that sensitive data they contain could be used by the Taliban.
Govt hackers impersonate HR employees to hit Israeli targets
Bleeping Computer
@Ionut_Ilascu
Hackers associated with the Iranian government have focused attack efforts on IT and communication companies in Israel, likely in an attempt to pivot to their real targets.
Gender and Women in Cyber
All-Girls Robotics Team From Afghanistan Begging to Come to Canada: Report
VICE
@anyazoledz
Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team is trying to escape the country and make it to Canada while the Taliban, known for its cruelty against women, continues to regain control over the nation.
Misc
Bug in Millions of Flawed IoT Devices Lets Attackers Eavesdrop
Threat Post
@LisaVaas
Security researchers have discovered a critical flaw that affects tens of millions of internet-of-things (IoT) devices – one that exposes live video and audio streams to eavesdropping threat actors and which could enable attackers to take over control of devices, including security webcams and connected baby monitors.
Bad News, By Joseph Bernstein
Harper's Magazine
@Bernstein
Today, we are lapsed. We understand the media through a metaphor—“the information ecosystem”—which suggests to the American subject that she occupies a hopelessly denatured habitat. Every time she logs on to Facebook or YouTube or Twitter, she encounters the toxic byproducts of modernity as fast as her fingers can scroll. Here is hate speech, foreign interference, and trolling; there are lies about the sizes of inauguration crowds, the origins of pandemics, and the outcomes of elections.
Research
Facebook Is Helping Violent Militias Spread COVID Vaccine Conspiracies
VICE
David Gilbert
Violent militia groups have become “key” spreaders of vaccine misinformation on Facebook, and now those groups are using the platform to boost their online followings and urge new followers to engage in violent, real-world protests.
Jobs
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - China
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre has a unique opportunity for exceptional and experienced China-focused senior analysts and analysts to join its centre. These are senior roles and applicants shortlisted will have a track record of high-quality China-focused research and policy analysis.
Deputy Editor / Technology & Business
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed News is hiring a Deputy Editor for its award-winning Tech and Business Desk. This editor will play a leadership role on a crucial desk at one of the most dynamic and influential newsrooms in the world, where tech reporters have won the Mirror, Livingston, Polk, and Pulitzer prizes.