Irish data privacy watchdog fines WhatsApp €225mn | FTC proposes first stalkerware ban | Apple hit with antitrust case in India over in-app payments issues
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Ireland hit Facebook's WhatsApp with a record 225 million euro ($266 million) fine on Thursday following an inquiry into the messaging app's transparency around sharing personal data with other Facebook companies. Reuters
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking its first ban of a “stalkerware” company, signaling an intent to crack down on surveillance technologies that expose individuals’ real-time activities to snoops, hackers and dangerous people. CyberScoop
Apple Inc is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a source and documents seen by Reuters. Reuters
ASPI ICPC
Warnings against Ivermectin after COVID patient overdoses
ABC Radio
Ivermectin has been caught up in the culture war over vaccines and has been spruiked by outspoken personalities like former Liberal MP Craig Kelly. But there is no concrete evidence that it helps to treat COVID-19. Featured: Ariel Bogel, Australian Strategic Policy Institute's International Cyber Centre.
Australia
Australia lacks coordinated digital strategy, report states
The Mandarin
Australia is unlikely to be a stellar digital economy by 2030 if governments across the country continue to have no strategy, policy or leadership, according to a critical report released this week by the Australian Information Industry Association.
How Australia's tech-savvy COVID-19 response is leaving CALD communities behind
ZDNet
@achanthadavong
Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse communities are what makes the country unique, but have they been let down and left behind during the pandemic?
Australia's new mass surveillance mandate
Digital Rights Watch
The Australian government has new laws on the books to hack your computer, your online accounts, and just about any piece of technology and networks you come into contact with. It can happen without a warrant and without you ever knowing. That’s just the start of it. Outraged? Good.
USA
FTC proposes first stalkerware ban, promises to toughen stance on abusive apps
CyberScoop
@TonyaJoRiley
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking its first ban of a “stalkerware” company, signaling an intent to crack down on surveillance technologies that expose individuals’ real-time activities to snoops, hackers and dangerous people.
Amazon is planning more aggressive moderation of its hosting platform
The Verge
@russellbrandom
Amazon is planning to expand its in-house moderation team for Amazon Web Services, according to a new report from Reuters. Citing two sources, the report says Amazon is planning to develop a proactive threat monitoring capability within AWS, which will seek out prohibited content on AWS servers and remove it before it’s reported by users.
Biden’s covid origin intelligence review has failed. So what’s next?
Washington Post
@joshrogin
According to several officials and lawmakers I talked to, the review was doomed to fail from the start. There was a limited scope and a tight deadline. According to reports, the intelligence community hadn’t even started analyzing huge amounts of its own data on the Wuhan labs when the review began. Then, when they finally began poring over what they had collected, they realized they didn’t have enough analysts trained to understand the highly technical, mostly Chinese-language information.
TikToker Makes Script to Flood Texas Abortion 'Whistleblower' Site With Fake Info
VICE
@josephfcox
An easy to use iOS shortcut lets non-technical users bombard the site, according to Motherboard's tests.
US farm loses $9 million in the aftermath of a ransomware attack
The Record by Recorded Future
@campuscodi
A US farm lost a whopping $9 million due to a temporary shutdown of its farming operations following a ransomware attack earlier this year, the FBI said this week.
FBI says Chinese authorities are hacking US-based Uyghurs
TechCrunch
@carlypage_
The FBI has warned that the Chinese government is using both in-person and digital techniques to intimidate, silence and harass U.S.-based Uyghur Muslims.
China
China cracks down on showbiz for 'polluting' society and youth
Reuters
China ordered broadcasters on Thursday to shun artists with “incorrect political positions” and “effeminate” styles, and said a patriotic atmosphere needed to be cultivated, widening a crackdown on its booming entertainment industry. After years of runaway growth in the world’s second largest economy, regulators have been to trying to strengthen control over Chinese society by tightening oversight over a broad swathe of industries ranging from technology to education and culture.
Didi and JD.com workers get unions in watershed moment for China's tech sector
Reuters
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc has set up a union for its staff while e-commerce powerhouse JD.com has also established one - landmark moves in the country’s tech sector where organised labour is extremely rare. Regulators in China have come down hard on its biggest technology firms this year, criticising them for policies that exploit workers and infringe on consumer rights in addition to unleashing a slew of anti-trust probes and fines.
South & Central Asia
Apple hit with antitrust case in India over in-app payments issues
Reuters
@adityakalra
Apple Inc is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a source and documents seen by Reuters.
UK
The UK thinks it can fix GDPR. It’s wrong
WIRED
@stokel
The UK managed to get a data adequacy agreement with the EU. But its planned changes for GDPR could rip this apart.
Europe
Irish data privacy watchdog fines WhatsApp 225 million euros
Reuters
@conorhumphries
Ireland hit Facebook's WhatsApp with a record 225 million euro ($266 million) fine on Thursday following an inquiry into the messaging app's transparency around sharing personal data with other Facebook companies.
Google appeals $591M French fine in copyright payment spat
Associated Press
Google is appealing a 500 million euro ($591 million) fine issued by French regulators over its handling of negotiations with publishers in a dispute over copyright. The dispute is part of a larger battle by authorities in Europe and elsewhere to force Google and other tech companies to compensate publishers for content.
European lawmakers welcome South Korean action on Apple, Google app stores, promise more regulatory efforts
Washington Post
@reisthebault
E.U. leaders have advocated a more comprehensive approach, such as provisions included in the Digital Markets Act, one half of a sweeping package of legislation the bloc introduced in December.
The Fight to Define When AI Is ‘High Risk’
WIRED
@kharijohnson
Everyone from tech companies to churches wants a say in how the EU regulates AI that could harm people.
Joint Statement on the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership
The White House
Collaborating on Cybersecurity: The United States and Ukraine prioritize cybersecurity issues at the leadership level. In October, the U.S. and Ukrainian governments plan to hold the 4th U.S.-Ukraine Bilateral Cyber Dialogue in Kyiv to bolster bilateral cybersecurity cooperation, information sharing, and U.S. support for Ukraine’s cybersecurity capacity building, including in Ukraine’s financial sector.
Russia
Russia’s efforts to promote cyber norms that serve its interests gain traction in Africa
SAIIA
A proposal by Russia that the United Nations should consider a global cybercrime treaty has been adopted with the support of 30 African countries, raising concerns that Moscow’s known preference for state cyber sovereignty will prevail in ways that give countries regulatory freedom to stifle political opposition or citizen dissent.
Misc
The draconian rise of internet shutdowns
WIRED UK
@Gmvolpi
Ten years on from the Arab Spring, internet shutdowns are increasingly used to stifle democracy. But what comes next could be worse.
This Seemingly Normal Lightning Cable Will Leak Everything You Type
VICE
@josephfcox
A new version of the OMG Cable is a USB-C to Lightning Cable that hackers can use to steal your passwords or other data.
What Does It Actually Mean When a Company Says, “We Do Not Sell Your Data”? The Markup
@alfredwkng
Experts say the privacy promise—ubiquitous in online services and apps—obscures the truth about how companies use personal data.
Gen Z Is Developing Unexplained Tics After Going Online, And Doctors Are Concerned
VICE
@MaddieOBender
Internationally, pandemic-related stressors and social media are converging in an 'epidemic within a pandemic' of Tourettes-like tics in young people.
The Lawfare Podcast: The Disinformation Industrial Complex
Lawfare
@jenpatja
This week on our Arbiters of Truth series on our online information ecosystem, we’re going to be talking about … disinformation! What else? It’s everywhere. It’s ruining society. It’s the subject of endless academic articles, news reports, opinion columns, and, well, podcasts.
Events
Bridging the divide: Technology and inclusion in the Asia-Pacific
Chatham House
As Asia-Pacific emerges from COVID-19, experts consider how policymakers can harness technology for inclusive economic growth.
WEBINAR 9 SEPTEMBER 2021 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM ONLINE
Inclusive cybercrime policymaking: an online training programme for civil society
Chatham House
Join Chatham House for this online training programme for civil society around the world to equip civil society organizations with substantive knowledge on cybercrime and help create a common understanding on key issues.
18 OCTOBER 2021 TO 28 OCTOBER 2021 — 12:00PM TO 1:30PM ONLINE
Research
Jobs
New ICPC Program on Critical Technologies - 3 positions
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for three exceptional and experienced senior analysts and analysts to join its large team from October 2021. These new roles will focus on original research, analysis and stakeholder engagement centred around international critical technology development, including analysis of which countries are leading on what technologies.
ICPC Pacific Islands Analyst - Information operations & disinformation
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for a talented and proactive Pacific Islands analyst who will work with the Centre’s information operations and disinformation program. The successful candidate will work with a small, high-performing team to produce original research and analysis centred around policy responses to information operations and disinformation by actors in the Pacific Islands region. They will also work with senior staff in the centre to engage globally with governments, social media and Internet companies. Candidates must have a demonstrated background in, and strong knowledge of, the Pacific Islands region, including the region’s digital, media and social media landscape.
ICPC Analyst & Project Manager - Coercive diplomacy
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for an Analyst and Project Manager to manage, and help lead, a project on coercive diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region. This new role will focus on analysis, workshops and stakeholder engagement centred around coercive diplomacy, including how countries in the Indo-Pacific can work together to tackle this complicated policy challenge. Candidates must have excellent coordination, project management and stakeholder engagement skills.
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - China
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for exceptional and experienced China-focused senior analysts or analysts to join its centre. This role will focus on original research and analysis centred around the (growing) range of topics which our ICPC China team work on. Our China team produces some of the most impactful and well-read policy-relevant research in the world, with our experts often being called upon by politicians, governments, corporates and civil society actors to provide briefings and advice. Analysts usually have at least 5 years, often 7-10 years’ of work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and, in addition to research, they take on a leadership role in the centre and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.