Oracle wins bidding for TikTok US | China's social media warfare database lists key Australians | US company faces backlash for helping Belarus internet block
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Oracle Corp. won the bidding for the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app TikTok, a person familiar with the matter said, beating out Microsoft Corp. in a deal to salvage a social-media service that has been caught in the middle of a geopolitical standoff. The Wall Street Journal
A Chinese military contractor that boasts of spreading disinformation and promoting conflict has compiled profiles on more than 35,000 Australians from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes as part of a giant global database targeting influential figures. Australian Financial Review
Sandvine Inc., the U.S. company whose technology helped Belarus block much of the internet during a disputed presidential election last month, promotes its wares with a stark selling point: it can be used to “blacklist” as many as 150 million websites. Bloomberg
ASPI ICPC
‘Unholy alliance’: Conspiracy theorists are circulating Russian and Chinese disinformation about COVID-19 on social media
SBS
According to Thomas, one story that has achieved widespread circulation was about a US vaccination trial that supposedly killed five people in Ukraine. Except, it never actually happened. ASPI revealed that the story originated from a press release posted onto the websites of the Luhansk People’s Republic, a pro-Russian self-declared state in Eastern Ukraine. The press release hit the web the day after Russia announced it would produce its own vaccine. And it didn’t take long for the story to be shared onto a popular Australian anti-vaccination Facebook group.
Read ASPI ICPC’s report Covid-19 Disinformation & Social Media Manipulation.
China's social media warfare database lists key Australians
The Australian Financial Review
Dr Samantha Hoffman, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the database showed the power of open source intelligence collection and she noted Zhenhua referred to its activities as "information mobilisation".
World
Oracle Wins Bidding for TikTok in U.S., After Microsoft Proposal Rejected
The Wall Street Journal
Oracle Corp. won the bidding for the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app TikTok, a person familiar with the matter said, beating out Microsoft Corp. in a deal to salvage a social-media service that has been caught in the middle of a geopolitical standoff.
Chinese tech firm compiles database on tens of thousands of British figures
The Telegraph
A Chinese technology company has compiled a database on tens of thousands of British figures and their children and families for the use of the country's intelligence agencies, The Telegraph can reveal.
China's 'hybrid war': Beijing's mass surveillance of Australia and the world for secrets and scandal
ABC
A Chinese company with links to Beijing's military and intelligence networks has been amassing a vast database of detailed personal information on thousands of Australians, including prominent and influential figures.
China watching: President, PM, key Opposition leaders, Cabinet, CMs, Chief Justice of India…the list goes on
The Indian Express
Over 10,000 Indians, entities from politics to business, judiciary to media, even crime-accused, tracked by big-data firm linked to Chinese govt.
Read ASPI ICPC’s report Engineering global consent: The Chinese Communist Party's data-driven power expansion.
China
China's expanded export controls pose fresh challenge to global tech industry
Reuters
@horwitzjosh
The latest additions to China’s list of controlled technology exports could upset a broad range of industries and raise the possibility that some global tech giants might have to split off their Chinese operations, legal experts said.
USA
Microsoft statement on TikTok
Microsoft
ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement. We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas.
TikTok’s algorithm not for sale, ByteDance tells US: source
South China Morning Post
ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, will not sell or transfer the algorithm behind the popular video-sharing app in any sale or divestment deal, according to a source briefed on the Chinese company’s boardroom discussions.
Three takeaways from a visit to TikTok’s new transparency center
The Verge
@CaseyNewton
In July, amid increasing scrutiny from the Trump administration, TikTok announced a novel effort to build trust with regulators: a physical office known as the Transparency and Accountability Center. The center would allow visitors to learn about the company’s data storage and content moderation practices, and even to inspect the algorithms that power its core recommendation engine.
China would rather see TikTok U.S. close than a forced sale
Reuters
Beijing opposes a forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations by its Chinese owner ByteDance, and would prefer to see the short video app shut down in the United States, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
This Ex-Israeli Commando Is Betting $16 Million Of His Own Money That People Will Use His App Rather Than Calling The Cops
Forbes
At a time when people are on high alert, yet possibly hesitant to call the police, a new app called Our Bond is aiming to provide a sense of security to those in situations that occur “below the 911 emergency line,” says founder Doron Kempel. Carrasquillo, who reached home safely, is one of about 150,000 people using the software, which launched nationally in November of 2019.
How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election
Time
@charlottealter
In more than seven dozen interviews conducted in Wisconsin in early September, from the suburbs around Milwaukee to the scarred streets of Kenosha in the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting, about 1 in 5 voters volunteered ideas that veered into the realm of conspiracy theory, ranging from QAnon to the notion that COVID-19 is a hoax. Two women in Ozaukee County calmly informed me that an evil cabal operates tunnels under the U.S. in order to rape and torture children and drink their blood.
Deepfakes are coming for American democracy. Here's how we can prepare
Washington Post
Manipulated videos are rapidly becoming a fixture of the 2020 election. On Aug. 30, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) used Twitter to share a video that was misleadingly edited to distort Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s views on defunding the police. That same day, Dan Scavino, the White House social media director, tweeted a manipulated video to make it appear as though Biden had fallen asleep during a televised interview.
Read ASPI ICPC’s report Weaponised deep fakes
Pasco’s sheriff created a futuristic program to stop crime before it happens
Tampa Bay Times
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco took office in 2011 with a bold plan: to create a cutting-edge intelligence program that could stop crime before it happened. What he actually built was a system to continuously monitor and harass Pasco County residents, a Tampa Bay Times investigation has found.
Tech's election-season survival plan: transparency
Axios
@sarafischer @ashleyrgold
Leading U.S. tech platforms are going out of their way to reveal how their businesses, policies and algorithms work ahead of November in a bid to avoid blame for election-related trouble.
Peter Thiel Met With The Racist Fringe As He Went All In On Trump
Buzzfeed News
Four years ago, billionaire venture capitalist and Facebook board member Peter Thiel made one of his biggest bets: He went all in on Donald Trump. The normally tight-lipped and enigmatic Thiel gave a very public imprimatur as a prominent speaker at the Republican convention, tying his reputation as one of the most successful figures in modern tech to a presidential candidate despised throughout Silicon Valley.
QAnon Website Shuts Down After N.J. Man Identified as Operator
Bloomberg
@WilliamTurton
A popular website for posts about the conspiracy group QAnon abruptly shut down after a fact-checking group identified the developer as a New Jersey man.
QAnon fans spread fake claims about real fires in Oregon
CNN
Authorities in Oregon are pleading with the public to only trust and share information verified by official sources about the unprecedented wildfires sweeping the state. The pleas come as law enforcement agencies described 911 dispatchers being overrun with calls about a false online rumor that "Antifa" members had been arrested for setting the fires — a claim promoted by the anonymous account behind the QAnon conspiracy theories. The incident highlights how online conspiracy theories, a sustained right-wing campaign to create increased fear of anti-fascist groups, and amplification of false claims by QAnon followers, have real consequences.
Leaked Documents Show Russian Trolls Tried to Infiltrate Left-Wing Media
The Daily Beast
It’s no secret that Russia’s trolls, hackers, and spies are pulling for Donald Trump in 2020—just like they famously did at the last election. But Moscow’s propaganda-peddlers aren’t just pushing MAGA memes and Biden disinfo—they’re also attempting to infiltrate left-wing sites.
North Asia
North Korean Propaganda Gets a YouTube Makeover: Fewer Parades, More Pizza
The New York Times
YouTube and other social media platforms give the country an easy way to spread propaganda and push a more modern, upbeat message: We’re just like you.
Cabinet mulls cybersecurity center
Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan is considering establishing a national cybersecurity center to bolster the nation’s information security capabilities, and foster cybersecurity talent dedicated to research and development in the police force and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, as well as private entities, sources said yesterday. The center would also promote international collaboration and joint research projects, the sources said.
UK
Digital identity: new UK scheme risks running a repeat of ID card controversy
The Conversation
Is the UK government planning to revive identity cards for the internet age? The decision to scrap its national ID cards and database in 2010 means the UK is one of the few developed countries not to have such an identity scheme. While this was seen as a victory for civil liberties campaigners, some now argue that the lack of a simple way to prove who you are, especially online, is holding back the digital economy and improvements to public services.
Europe
U.S. Company Faces Backlash After Belarus Uses Its Tech to Block Internet
Bloomberg
Sandvine Inc., the U.S. company whose technology helped Belarus block much of the internet during a disputed presidential election last month, promotes its wares with a stark selling point: it can be used to “blacklist” as many as 150 million websites.
Europe Feels the Squeeze as Tech Competition Heats Up Between U.S. and China
The New York Times
As the rapid pace of change mixes with national security issues, Europe’s role as a global regulator is increasingly tested — and may not be enough.