Scott Morrison’s WeChat account taken over as pro-China propaganda page | China hires western TikTokers to polish image during 2022 Winter Olympics | U.S. bill targeting Big Tech approved by Senate
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In a “blatant” act of political censorship, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s account on the Chinese-owned social media site WeChat has been taken over and rebranded as a pro-Beijing propaganda outfit. The Daily Telegraph
An army of western social media influencers, each with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, Instagram or Twitch, is set to spread positive stories about China throughout next month’s Winter Olympics. The Guardian
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar tech giants like Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, despite hefty lobbying from top executives like Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook. Reuters
ASPI ICPC
Commercial surveillance the more immediate problem for citizens: Home Affairs chief
ZDNet
Stilgherrian
Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo has made clear his intended approach to the reform of Australia's electronic surveillance laws: Bulldoze everything and start again. We also need "a broader societal discussion about privacy", he said. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) on Thursday, Pezzullo described the surveillance law reforms now under way as more of a rebuild, not just a renovation. That said, according to Pezzullo, we should be more concerned about what's being done by commercial operators in the name of so-called surveillance capitalism.
You can watch the event on the electronic surveillance reforms hosted by ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre here
ICPC Analyst / Project Lead - Cyber Capacity Building
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for a talented Analyst / Project Lead to support a new project that looks at supporting states in the Indo-Pacific in defending against cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property. The successful candidate will work in a small, high-performing team to produce original research and analysis that directly informs broader diplomatic and cyber capacity building activities on the topic of equipping countries globally with tools to defend against the use of cyber tools to steal IP for commercial purposes. Together with a project lead on Learning and Development and the Project Director, the analyst will also participate in international workshops, provide training to foreign governments and present to other external stakeholders.
Australia
Scott Morrison’s WeChat account taken over as pro-China propaganda page
The Daily Telegraph
Clare Armstrong
In a “blatant” act of political censorship, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s account on the Chinese-owned social media site WeChat has been taken over and rebranded as a pro-Beijing propaganda outfit. The “foreign interference” has prompted Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security chair Senator James Paterson to call on all Australian politicians to “voluntarily boycott” the hugely popular platform.
How will new laws help stop Australians being bullied online?
The Guardian
Josh Taylor
Australian adults who are being bullied online will be able to report incidents to the eSafety commissioner from Sunday. New powers were given to the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, as part of the wide-ranging Online Safety Act, which passed in 2021. Under the new laws, social media companies and other websites will be compelled to remove content deemed to be bullying within 24 hours or face fines of up to 500 penalty units (up to $111,000 for individuals and up to $555,000 for companies).
China
China hires western TikTokers to polish its image during 2022 Winter Olympics
The Guardian
Vincent Ni
An army of western social media influencers, each with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, Instagram or Twitch, is set to spread positive stories about China throughout next month’s Winter Olympics. Concerned about the international backlash against the Beijing Games amid a wave of diplomatic boycotts, the government has hired western PR professionals to spread an alternative narrative through social media.
Our recently released report, ‘Borrowing mouths to speak on Xinjiang ‘ explores how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses foreign social media influencers to shape and push messages domestically and internationally about Xinjiang that are aligned with its own preferred narratives. You can read it here.
Jack Ma’s Ant Group implicated in corruption scandal by Chinese state media
Financial Times
Sun Yu
China’s state broadcaster has implicated Jack Ma’s Ant Group in a corruption scandal, ratcheting up pressure on the billionaire following a crackdown that has wiped billions of dollars from his internet empire.
Can China create a world-beating AI industry?
The Economist
China’s five-year-old ai master plan set out a number of goals. For example, by 2025 the country is to create an industry with global revenues of 400bn yuan, achieve “major breakthroughs” in technology and lead the world in some applications. Five years later it is to dominate the industry (by then worth $1trn in sales), having written its ethical code and set its technical standards, just as Europe and America defined the contours of the Industrial Revolution.
Beijing-based journalist ‘disappears’ after WeChat post on illegally built villas in Chengdu
The Print
A China-based independent journalist Song Yangbiao went missing after he posted about illegally built villas in the Sansheng Huaxiang scenic spot in Jinjiang District, Chengdu.
USA
U.S. bill targeting Big Tech approved by Senate panel despite hefty lobbying
Reuters
Diane Bartz
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar tech giants like Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, despite hefty lobbying from top executives like Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.
Big Tech rattled as US antitrust push finds rare bipartisan backing
Financial Times
Kiran Stacey
Dave Lee
The day before the Senate judiciary committee began to debate legislation to toughen US competition law for large technology companies, Republican senator Ted Cruz spent 40 minutes on the phone with Apple chief executive Tim Cook. Cruz said Cook warned him the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which is aimed at stopping large technology companies giving preferential treatment to their own products, might make it impossible for Apple to allow customers to opt out of being tracked by their apps.The next day Cruz, a conservative Republican known for championing the free market, voted for the bill, which easily passed by a vote of 16 to 6. He even suggested toughening it by allowing private citizens to sue companies that did not comply.
Biden-Harris administration actions to attract STEM talent and strengthen our economy and competitiveness
The White House
The Departments of State and Homeland Security are announcing new actions to advance predictability and clarity for pathways for international STEM scholars, students, researchers, and experts to contribute to innovation and job creation efforts across America. These actions will allow international STEM talent to continue to make meaningful contributions to America’s scholarly, research and development, and innovation communities.
Tony Podesta made $1M lobbying Biden White House for China’s Huawei
New York Post
Steven Nelson
Well-connected Democrat Tony Podesta raked in $1 million last year lobbying the Biden White House on behalf of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Podesta started work for Huawei in August as the company attempts to free itself of Trump administration-rallied restrictions on the brand.
The FAA’s 5G freakout raises a big red flag — about its competence
The Washington Post
David Von Drehle
The FAA and its aviation constituents said it remained worried that some altimeters might yet be vulnerable to interference. Instead of acting during the long 5G rollout, the agency chose a flurry of late-stage hand-wringing.
UK
MPs criticise cyber agency for not aiding China rights group after it was hacked
The Guardian
Dan Sabbagh
Members of a cross-party China human rights group have accused Britain’s cybersecurity agency of “failing to respond” with help after their website was taken offline this week in an attack they fear came from Beijing. MPs from the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) said the incident took place on Tuesday, days after the group had said publicly it was “deeply disturbed” by reports that an Anglo-Chinese lawyer had been trying to improperly influence parliamentarians in the UK.
Can they fix it? UK project to explore ability and desire to repair tech
The Guardian
Nicola Davis
From fancy toys to smartphones, when technology breaks, it often seems simplest to ditch it for a new model. But now experts are hoping to challenge the status quo, launching a citizen science project to explore attitudes to repair, and pinpoint parts of the UK where the mending mindset is thriving. The Big Repair Project comes in the wake of campaigns to reduce the vast quantities of electrical and electronic waste produced each year, as well as the environmental impact of new products, by ensuring that consumers can fix broken or damaged products – a rarity in the consumer world.
Europe
Anticipating cyber threats as the Ukraine crisis escalates
Mandiant
John Hultouist
Russia and its allies will conduct cyber espionage, information operations, and disruptive cyber attacks during this crisis. Though cyber espionage is already a regular facet of global activity, as the situation deteriorates, we are likely to see more aggressive information operations and disruptive cyber attacks within and outside of Ukraine.
U.N. defines Holocaust denial, urges social media firms to fight it
Reuters
Michelle Nichols
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday agreed on a definition of denial of the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War Two, and urged social media companies "to take active measures" to combat antisemitism.
Serbian government blasts green groups for scuttling Rio's lithium project
Reuters
Aleksandar Vasovic
Serbian politicians on Friday blasted environmentalists for forcing them to scuttle Rio Tinto Plc's (RIO.AX), (RIO.L) proposed $2.4 billion lithium project, warning the move could hurt efforts to grow and diversify the Balkan country's economy. The decision is a major setback for Rio, which was hoping the project would help make it one of the world's 10 biggest producers of lithium. China is the world's largest consumer and processor of the metal, and various European countries have been working to boost their own output.
After ransomware arrests, some dark web criminals are getting worried
ZDNet
Danny Palmer
Cyber criminals are becoming anxious about being tracked down by law enforcement agencies following the high-profile arrests of suspected members of one of the most notorious ransomware groups. On January 14, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it had detained members of the REvil ransomware gang operating from several regions of the country and dismantled the group's operations. Previous action by Europol resulted in the arrest of a suspected REvil affiliate near the Polish and Ukranian border. According to analysis of chatter on Dark Web forums by cybersecurity researchers at Trustwave SpiderLabs, the recent arrests, particularly those by Russia, appear to have scared cyber criminals, some of whom appear to be worried that they might be next.
Americas
Bitcoin pyramid schemes wreak havoc on Brazil’s ‘New Egypt’
Associated Press
Diane Jeantet
Brazil’s lenient laws regulating cryptocurrency helped fuel dos Santos’ rise, experts say. At the same time, Brazil’s securities regulator was making digital currencies more attractive: It authorized the country’s investment funds to invest in cryptocurrencies in 2018, giving them greater credibility. Last year, Brazil approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, only the second country in the world to do so. And Rio de Janeiro has recently said it wants to offer incentives to those paying city property taxes using bitcoins.
Middle East
Saudi-Led airstrikes kill scores at a prison in Yemen
The New York Times
Vivian Yee
The seven-year-old war in Yemen intensified again on Friday when airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition on northern Yemen killed at least 70 people and knocked out the entire country’s internet, according to international aid groups and the rebels who control the area.
Misc
The internet Is failing moms-to-be
WIRED
Nina Jankowicz
As I soon realized, the most-downloaded pregnancy apps bear a closer resemblance to the political disinformation I research than a reliable medical resource for parents-to-be. The companies behind the apps caution users in long, inaccessible terms of service written in legalese that they are not a substitute for medical advice or care, however, the apps are still incredibly popular: In one 2016 study, at least 55 percent of participants used a pregnancy app to track and learn about their pregnancies, with first time-parents more likely to seek them out. It’s likely the usage of the apps has only increased in the intervening time. The top five apps boast incredible user statistics, reporting between tens of millions and hundreds of millions of lifetime users. Like social media platforms, they are free, generating revenue through advertisements, referrals, and in-app purchases. Many are run by “lifestyle” companies, a fact borne out in the information they provide: A 2021 academic study surveyed 29 apps and found over 60 percent did not have comprehensive information for every stage of pregnancy and only 28 percent cited medical literature.
People still trust tech, despite global backlash
Quartz
Samanth Subramanian
Workers on gig-economy platforms are protesting, Washington DC and Brussels are cracking down on Apple and Google, and the Chinese government is intent on curbing the influence of its technology firms. But a new survey shows that people trust the tech industry more than any other—even more than healthcare, the sector the world has relied on most heavily during the pandemic.
Why the pandemic’s work-from-home tech darlings are falling back to earth
The Washington Post
Aaron Gregg
The early months of the pandemic brought soaring fortunes for a handful uniquely-positioned tech companies who benefited from a work-from-home economy. For many of them, it didn’t last. Roughly two years into the pandemic, several of 2020s highfliers have seen their stock valuations under pressure while the world returned to something more closely resembling a normal business cycle.
Jobs
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.
ICPC Data Analyst
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for talented Data Analysts to join its growing centre. ASPI’s ICPC undertakes complex research on some of the most challenging issues at the intersection of technology and public policy. How do we develop international norms to deter information operations and coercive diplomacy, how should we build international cooperation on the development of emerging critical technologies, what is the right balance between regulation and innovation? We deliver empirical research that is policy-relevant and we’re looking for people who can help us analyse data at scale.