Twitter fact-checks Trump's tweets about mail-in voting | China’s virus apps may outlast the outbreak, stirring privacy fears | U.S. signals broader crackdown on Chinese telecoms
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Twitter fact-checked two of President Trump's unsubstantiated tweets that mail-in ballots in the 2020 election would be fraudulent for the first time on Tuesday, directing users to "get the facts" through news stories that cover the topic. Axios
At the height of China’s coronavirus outbreak, officials made quick use of the fancy tracking devices in everybody’s pockets — their smartphones — to identify and isolate people who might be spreading the illness. In Hangzhou, where the system was pioneered, officials are exploring expanding the health code to rank citizens with a “personal health index". The New York Times
The Trump administration is signaling a broader crackdown on the Chinese communications sector — well beyond the companies that have already come under harsh U.S. scrutiny. In an interview, a senior DOJ official told POLITICO that the government’s past objections to powerful Chinese telecommunications players operating in the U.S. may provide a blueprint for the Federal Communications Commission to pursue other firms as well. Politico
ASPI ICPC
Nigeria-based scammers could be in Australia's backyard
9News
Few Australians realise many of these cybercrime gangs have moved into the Asia Pacific - Australia's back yard. A new report by expert Jonathan Lusthaus, 'Cybercrime in South East Asia', published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, shows many are based in Malaysia.
Read the report here: Cybercrime in Southeast Asia.
World
Scientists fight online virus misinformation war
Rappler
Rigorous and time-heavy scientific studies and publications are competing with the immediacy of social media and a public often demanding firm and definitive answers.
Australia
Steven Marshall on the post-COVID economy
InnovationAus
While being respectful of the state’s “traditional industries” in mining, agriculture, manufacturing and construction, Premier Marshall says the state has one eye on future industries in defence, cyber, blockchain, AgTech, space, and the creative industries as drivers of jobs growth.
Only technology exports can secure Australia’s future
Australian Financial Review
Globally, the tech sector has proven best at fulfilling these requirements and is an integral part of any advanced economy. The risk of low export growth in this sector over the coming decade is a huge threat to our national interest. This may sound alarmist at first. After all, DFAT’s technology category reported a large 34 per cent rise in exports from 2017 to 2019. But this comforting headline masks a terrible detail; that tech rose from a paltry 0.9 per cent of total exports to an equally demoralising 1.1 per cent.
National security agencies and the cloud: An urgent capability issue for Australia
ASPI
This new ASPI report, argues for the development of a national security cloud. If the community doesn’t shift to cloud infrastructure, it’ll cut itself off from the most powerful software and applications available, placing itself in a less capable position using legacy software that vendors no longer support.
Read post in The Strategist: Cloud computing transformation must be led by ministers and agency heads.
China
China’s Virus Apps May Outlast the Outbreak, Stirring Privacy Fears
The New York Times
At the height of China’s coronavirus outbreak, officials made quick use of the fancy tracking devices in everybody’s pockets — their smartphones — to identify and isolate people who might be spreading the illness. In Hangzhou, where the system was pioneered, officials are exploring expanding the health code to rank citizens with a “personal health index".
China closes WeChat account in crackdown on anti-American fake news
South China Morning Post
China has shut down a popular social media account for spreading fake news and conspiracy theories, as Beijing moves to curb misinformation and online hate speech in an attempt to tone down an ongoing war of words with the United States. The ban of Zhidao Xuegong, one of a group of commercially run “self media” accounts that are trying to profit from a rise in nationalism among Chinese, could also be a sign that Beijing does not want to go too far in fanning domestic hostility towards the US, or to deepen a blame game with Washington about the origins of the coronavirus.
North America
Twitter fact-checks Trump's tweets about mail-in voting for first time
Axios
Twitter fact-checked two of President Trump's unsubstantiated tweets that mail-in ballots in the 2020 election would be fraudulent for the first time on Tuesday, directing users to "get the facts" through news stories that cover the topic.
Facebook Executives Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive
WSJ
In essence, Facebook is under fire for making the world more divided. Many of its own experts appeared to agree—and to believe Facebook could mitigate many of the problems. The company chose not to.
Trump and friends: Where European countries come down on Huawei
Politico
After a bruising campaign to convince allies to dump Chinese giant Huawei, U.S. President Donald Trump can start to take stock on how effective — or pointless — his efforts have been. In short, it’s a mixed bag.
Tensions flare as U.S. signals broader crackdown on Chinese telecoms
Politico
The Trump administration is signaling a broader crackdown on the Chinese communications sector — well beyond the companies that have already come under harsh U.S. scrutiny. In an interview, a senior DOJ official told POLITICO that the government’s past objections to powerful Chinese telecommunications players operating in the U.S. may provide a blueprint for the Federal Communications Commission to pursue other firms as well.
Internet giants join forces to stop user data being tracked
TechRadar
Seven major tech firms are petitioning the United States House of Representatives to pass legislation that limits the warrantless collection of internet search and browsing history by the US Government. The group includes the likes of Mozilla, Engine, Reddit, Reform Government Surveillance, Twitter, i2Coalition, and Patreon.
Huawei CFO Gets First Chance at Release in Extradition Fight
Bloomberg
The chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., fighting extradition to the U.S., gets her first shot at release this week in a case that’s triggered an unprecedented diplomatic tussle between the U.S., China and Canada.
North Asia
Petition calls for investigation into Twitter censorship after hiring of Li Fei-Fei
Taiwan News
A White House petition was created last week after news broke that the Twitter accounts of Chinese dissidents started to disappear after a controversial Chinese-American artificial intelligence (AI) expert was hired to serve on the company's board.
NZ & Pacific Islands
Embracing Technology, Slowly But Surely
Solomon Times
Solomon Islanders, particularly public officials, had been travelling to attend conferences or meetings throughout the globe every week.
Meet 'Tala' the articial intelligence agent that speaks Samoan
RNZ
An artificial intelligence agent named Tala may open the door on a new way of gathering feedback from New Zealand's Samoan community.
South & Central Asia
What 300 Days of Internet Winter in Kashmir Tell Us About Erecting a Digital Wall
The Wire
The Supreme Court has left the question of whether 4G internet connectivity can be restored in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to a special government committee. As this committee deliberates, we should keep in mind that May 30, 2020 will mark 300 days since internet access has been disrupted or adversely affected in the region.
Europe
How COVID-19 will impact future cyberdiplomacy
OSCE
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a striking effect on our society, with more of our everyday life moving online. There has been a sharp increase in the use of digital services, from online learning and teleworking, to essential services like banking and healthcare. However, this has not come without unique risks.
Middle East
Misc
Call for Government
CyberPeace Institute
We call on the world’s governments to take immediate and decisive action to stop all cyberattacks on hospitals, healthcare and medical research facilities, as well as on medical personnel and international public health organizations. To this end, governments should work together, including at the United Nations, to reaffirm and recommit to international rules that prohibit such actions.
Research
The global AI agenda: Europe
MIT Technology Review
Human capital management is the fastest growing area of AI application for European businesses, reaching almost half of surveyed companies by 2022.
Jobs
A New Fellowship for Tech + Society Strategists
Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla and Ford’s “Tech & Society Fellowship” is a 24-month program supporting five to ten tech-and-society strategists across the Global South. Fellows will embed with existing civil society organizations to recognize, design, and implement a strategy that brings together a specific regional issue and technology. Fellows will be developers, tech policy analysts, designers, and other tech-specific professions. And they will build tools, grow communities, and conduct research.