As coronavirus surveillance escalates, personal privacy plummets | Huawei offers to help India contain the pandemic | Hong Kong’s faulty wristbands allow quarantined to wander free
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Tracking entire populations to combat the pandemic now could open the doors to more invasive forms of government snooping later. The New York Times
With a surge in cases, India may be fast running out of options in the war against the pandemic. The Modi government may find a weapon in technology. Clearly, Huawei wants a bigger footprint in India over the next few years. Its efforts to join India’s war against the coronavirus — and yet remain untouched by it — need to be seen in that context. But given its controversial past, it’s unlikely to be a smooth ride. ET Prime
A glitch in Hong Kong’s electronic tracking system, designed to ensure people under compulsory quarantine orders stay at home, could potentially allow many to go outside undetected. Bloomberg
ASPI ICPC
Chinese diplomats and Western fringe media outlets push the same coronavirus conspiracies
Strategist
@elisethoma5
This mutually beneficial ouroboros of conspiracy narratives passing back and forth between state-linked and fringe media already exists in the context of Kremlin-backed outlets. If this example is anything to go by, we may well see Beijing’s state-linked information efforts follow a similar path, as China becomes a more active and aggressive player in the Western information ecosystem.
It’s Time for US Companies to Investigate Forced Labor in China
The Diplomat
The U.S. government should shift the burden of due diligence to companies, which are best positioned to uncover their business partners’ labor practices.
A recent report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) estimates that, between 2017 and 2019, the CCP transported at least 80,000 Uyghurs to forced labor facilities throughout eastern China. According to the report, over 80 multinationals buy components from these facilities, including giants like Amazon, Apple, and Volkswagen.
The World
As Coronavirus Surveillance Escalates, Personal Privacy Plummets
The New York Times
@natashanyt
Tracking entire populations to combat the pandemic now could open the doors to more invasive forms of government snooping later.
How Surveillance Could Save Lives Amid a Public Health Crisis
WIRED
@sidneyfussell
Smartphones could be a powerful weapon against the novel coronavirus. But tracking people's movements would offend many Americans' sense of privacy.
Australia
Government must flood the media with its coronavirus message
The Sydney Morning Herald
Australia’s greatest weapon in defeating the AIDS virus in the 1980s was the advertising campaign called “The Grim Reaper” which warned people about the need to practise safe sex. It was fearless and graphic and it worked. Unfortunately, more than a month into the coronavirus epidemic the government has still not produced anything like it. Of course, this is a crisis and the government is busy, however, launching a public information campaign should have been its first priority.
No, These Racist Hoaxes About Chinese People Stockpiling During The Coronavirus Pandemic Are Not True
Buzzfeed
@cameronwilson
Fake posts about Asian Australians stockpiling and hoarding goods in the coronavirus outbreak are spreading like wildfire.
China
One Doctor’s Place in China’s Battle for the COVID-19 Narrative
Just Security
The CCP sees itself as in a fierce battle over the narrative about COVID-19. The CCP wants to control the narrative inside China, and it is determined to control the global narrative as well—shifting the focus internationally from seeing China as the source of the outbreak to seeing China as a benevolent partner aiding the rest of the world in a time of need.
Hong Kong’s Faulty Wristbands Allow Quarantined to Wander Free
Bloomberg
A glitch in Hong Kong’s electronic tracking system, designed to ensure people under compulsory quarantine orders stay at home, could potentially allow many to go outside undetected.
USA
The Coronavirus Revives Facebook as a News Powerhouse
The New York Times
@Kevin Roose @gabrieldance
Until recently, Facebook could feel at times like the virtual equivalent of a sleepy bingo parlor — an outmoded gathering place populated mainly by retirees looking for conversation and cheap fun. That was before the coronavirus. Now, stuck inside their homes and isolated from their families and friends, millions of Americans are rediscovering the social network’s virtues.
Smartphone data reveal which Americans are social distancing (and not)
The Washington Post
D.C. gets an 'A' while Wyoming earns an 'F' for following coronavirus stay-at-home advice, based on the locations of tens of millions of phones.
The Professors Who Call ‘Bullshit’ on Covid-19 Misinformation
Wired
Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom are policing Twitter feeds, Medium posts, and other sources of bad data and misleading charts.
Coronavirus transforms peak internet usage into the new normal
CNET
Internet usage is spiking. ISPs say they can handle it. Policy wonks aren't convinced.
Southeast Asia
At Alibaba's Lazada, coronavirus measures become the latest culture conflict
Reuters
@QiZHAI @f_potkin
At Lazada, the Southeast Asian arm of Alibaba Group Holding, staff are furious over demands they submit health reports daily and other coronavirus-prevention steps seen as too invasive, highlighting a long-running culture clash with management from China.
Coronavirus spurs Ping An Good Doctor to hire hundreds of doctors in Indonesia
Reuters
China's Ping An Good Doctor said its healthcare venture with ride hailing firm Grab plans to hire hundreds of doctors in Indonesia after the spread of the coronavirus caused demand for online consultations in the country to almost double. GrabHealth, launched in Indonesia in late 2019, now conducts nearly 10,000 consultations daily compared to between 5,000 and 6,000 a day prior to the outbreak, Good Doctor CEO Wang Tao told Reuters in an interview.
South Asia
India needs tech solutions to contain the pandemic. Controversial Chinese giant Huawei offers help
ET Prime
@SandhyaETprime
As India locks down to shake off the menacing Covid-19, it promises to be a mountain to climb, a perilous journey. With a surge in cases, the country may be fast running out of options in the war against the pandemic. Still, the Modi government may find a weapon in technology, learning a thing or two from China.
Clearly, Huawei wants a bigger footprint in India over the next few years. Its efforts to join India’s war against the coronavirus — and yet remain untouched by it — need to be seen in that context. But given its controversial past, it’s unlikely to be a smooth ride.
Middle East
Israeli Spyware Firm Wants to Track Data to Stop Coronavirus Spreading
Bloomberg
@GwenSahar @kbenme
An Israeli technology company, which has gained notoriety for the spyware it sells, has developed a new product it says has the ability to track the spread of the coronavirus. NSO Group Ltd.’s product analyzes huge volumes of data to map people’s movements to identify who they’ve come in contact with, which can then be used to stop the spread of infection, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Misc
There Is a Racial Divide in Speech-Recognition Systems, Researchers Say
The New York Times
@cademetz
Technology from Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM and Microsoft misidentified 35 percent of words from people who were black. White people fared much better.
Hackers Are Taking Over Twitter Accounts to Advertise Face Masks
Vice
Hackers have taken over a wave of Twitter accounts to aggressively advertise a website that claims to be selling face masks and toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nokia asserts 5G patent leadership - Mobile World Live
Mobile World Live
Nokia launched into an emerging battle for 5G patent bragging rights among the world’s big-three vendors, declaring it had registered more than 3,000 patents as essential for next-generation networks and pumped approximately €4.4 billion into broader technology R&D in 2019 alone.
Big Tech Could Emerge From Coronavirus Crisis Stronger Than Ever
The New York Times
@daiwaka @jacknicas @SteveLohr @MikeIsaac
Amazon is hiring aggressively to meet customer demand. Traffic has soared on Facebook and YouTube. And cloud computing has become essential to home workers.
Amateur scientist making kits that test for COVID-19 in just 30 minutes
ABC News
Amateur "biohackers" are making their own experimental COVID-19 test kits, which purport to diagnose the disease in just 30 minutes, and which patients can potentially perform themselves.