Australian free speech debate in the wake of the US Capitol attack | BlackBerry sells 90 patents to Huawei, covering key smartphone technology advances | Facebook releases inauthentic behavior report
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Social media platforms do exercise immense control over public discourse – the type of power that requires transparency and unrelenting examination. Yet Australia risks skating past difficult questions of rightwing extremism and radicalisation in favour of embarking solely on a haphazard fight over who can say what on the internet. We must look honestly at all the forces that erode trust and confidence in our system and institutions, and not just who gets to tweet. The Guardian
BlackBerry has sold 90 patents to controversial Chinese technology giant Huawei, part of a broader effort by the smartphone pioneer to unload most of its intellectual property. While the sale is the latest step in BlackBerry chief executive officer John Chen’s multiyear efforts to refocus the company, it raises questions about the Canadian government’s innovation strategy and its commitment to protect key assets from falling into the hands of foreign companies, particularly those whose motives have raised alarms among Canada’s national security allies. The Globe and Mail
At least 12 out of 17 networks Facebook investigated were taken down last month — in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Indonesia and Morocco — targeted domestic audiences in their own countries. At least five networks — from Iran, Ukraine, France, Morocco, and Russia — focused on people outside of their countries. Facebook Newsroom
ASPI ICPC
In the wake of the US Capitol attack, Australian politics is consumed by a reactionary free speech debate
The Guardian
@arielbogle
Social media platforms do exercise immense control over public discourse – the type of power that requires transparency and unrelenting examination. Yet Australia risks skating past difficult questions of rightwing extremism and radicalisation in favour of embarking solely on a haphazard fight over who can say what on the internet. We must look honestly at all the forces that erode trust and confidence in our system and institutions, and not just who gets to tweet.
'What they did was justified': Amazon's local customers back move to boot Parler
The Sydney Morning Herald
@carawaters
Think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute warned Parler may find it difficult to continue to operate. “It will be really difficult for Parler, even if it does find backup servers, to grow, if it does not have a presence on those two app stores obviously, those are the two most significant operating systems globally," Ariel Bogle, analyst at ASPI, said.
New blocks to Xinjiang’s forced cotton labour: Here’s what to know
Vogue Business
@annachiara_b
Global brands with both direct and indirect connections to Xinjiang’s supply chain have been connected to suppliers allegedly using forced labour, as found by an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report in March 2020.
Read more on forced labour in Xinjiang from ASPI ICPC here.
World
December 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report
Facebook Newsroom
@fbnewsroom
At least 12 out of 17 networks we investigated and took down last month — in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Indonesia and Morocco — targeted domestic audiences in their own countries. At least five networks — from Iran, Ukraine, France, Morocco, and Russia — focused on people outside of their countries.
Australia
Australia 'not for turning' in dispute with China, UK envoy George Brandis says
The Guardian
@danielhurstbne
Australia is “not for turning” in its dispute with China and must cut its reliance on supply chains “over which we had little to no sovereign control”, the country’s top envoy to the UK has said.
To build vaccine confidence Morrison should knock down his sceptic MPs
The Sydney Morning Herald
@CroweDM
Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly has become a dangerous source of dubious advice and outright lies on social media at a time when the government wants full support for a mammoth effort to vaccinate almost everyone.
Threat to democracy is real': MPs call for social media code of conduct
The Sydney Morning Herald
@CroweDM @nickbonyhady
Social media companies would have to sign up to an Australian code of conduct on the way they silence free speech and shut down accounts, under a federal push for greater oversight after Twitter and Facebook suspended posts US President Donald Trump.
China
A tale of two Jacks
Axios
@BethanyAllenEbr
The juxtaposition of two almost perfectly inverse situations reveals how differently China and the U.S. have approached the management of tech giants and digital information.
California WeChat Users Sue Tencent Over Fear of Chinese Censors
Bloomberg
@edpettersson
A group of California WeChat users sued Tencent Holdings Ltd., the Chinese owner of the messaging and payment app, for allegedly violating their right to privacy by surveilling and censoring their communications.
USA
Deplatforming Our Way to the Alt-Tech Ecosystem
Knight First Amendment Institute
@EthanZ @chandrn_
What happens if other mainstream platforms follow in Twitter’s footsteps and permanently deplatform Donald Trump? It seems likely that Trump would establish a presence on an alt-tech platform, just as Alex Jones did when Infowars was deplatformed.
Leaked Location Data Shows Another Muslim Prayer App Tracking Users
VICE News
@josephfcox
Salaat First has more than ten million downloads and sold location data to Predicio, which is linked to a U.S. contractor which works with ICE.
Parler Is Gone, But Hackers Say They Downloaded Everything First
VICE News
Right-wing social network Parler was taken offline in the early hours of Monday morning, but not before a hacker found a way to download all data posted by users — including messages, images, videos, and users’ location data — shared during last week’s attack on the Capitol.
An update following the riots in Washington, DC
Twitter
@twitter
Following the horrific events in Washington, DC, last week, here are some of the steps we’ve taken to protect the conversation on our service from attempts to incite violence, organize attacks, and share deliberately misleading information about the election outcome. It’s important to be transparent about all of this work as the US Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2021, approaches.
Facial Recognition Technology Isn’t Good Just Because It’s Used to Arrest Neo-Nazis
Slate
@BostonJoan
Even as they stormed the Capitol, many rioters stopped to pose for photos and give excited interviews on livestream. Each photo uploaded, message posted, and stream shared created a torrent of data for police, researchers, activists, and journalists to archive and analyze.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Should Australia Buy Papua New Guinea’s Largest Telecom Firm?
The Diplomat
@rpotter_9
Within Australia, the national security community is abuzz with the prospect of the sale of Papua New Guinea’s largest telecommunications company, Digicel. The Australian government is currently under significant lobbying pressure to provide support to private bidders for the sale of the company. Digicel, led by Denis O’Brien, has reportedly been courted by bidders from mainland China.
Regulator will not allow us to buy Digicel’s operations in Fiji
Pacific Online
The Regional Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Fiji, Pradeep Lal says they will consider buying Digicel’s operations in Nauru and Tonga if it brings value for their shareholders however the regulators will not allow them to buy operations in other countries like Fiji to prevent a monopoly.
UK
U.K. Regulator Warns Crypto Investors Risk Losing ‘All Their Money’
Bloomberg
@tommetcalf123
The U.K.’s financial watchdog has a stark warning for consumers looking to profit from the latest crypto boom: be ready to lose everything.
Defence chief warns attacks online could lead to real war
The Times
Covert warfare by Russia and China, including cyberhacking and disinformation, risks an “uncontrollable state of all-out war”, the head of the armed forces has warned.
Europe
German authorities accuse Australian man of running DarkMarket, the world's largest illegal online marketplace
ABC News
An Australian man accused of operating what prosecutors believe was the biggest illegal marketplace on the darknet has been arrested in Germany.
Americas
BlackBerry sells 90 patents to Huawei, covering key smartphone technology advances
The Globe and Mail
@SeanSilcoff
BlackBerry Ltd. has sold 90 patents to controversial Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd., part of a broader effort by the Waterloo, Ont., smartphone pioneer to unload most of its intellectual property. While the sale is the latest step in BlackBerry chief executive officer John Chen’s multiyear efforts to refocus the company, it raises questions about the Canadian government’s innovation strategy and its commitment to protect key assets from falling into the hands of foreign companies, particularly those whose motives have raised alarms among Canada’s national security allies.
Misc
Trolls Planted Dozens of Bogus Stories on Legit News Sites
The Daily Beast
@arawnsley
Three personas posing as journalists planted pro-Iran stories based on forgeries, spoofs, and hacks at a host of legit news sites.
Research
AI and International Stability: Risks and Confidence-Building Measures
Center for a New American Security
@CNASdc
To reduce these risks and promote international stability, we explore the potential use of confidence-building measures (CBMs), constructed around the shared interests that all countries have in preventing inadvertent war. Though not a panacea, CBMs could create standards for information-sharing and notifications about AI-enabled systems that make inadvertent conflict less likely.