US to curtail China Telecom's operation in the states | More regular auditing for Australia's Cyber Security agencies | Facebook's ad revenue behemoth and online scammers.
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday it begun the process of revoking China Telecom's authorization to operate in the United States as it took further steps to crack down on China's role in U.S. telecommunications. Reuters
A parliamentary committee has called for cyber security reviews to become a more permanent fixture on the national auditor’s annual work program after a string of subpar audit results. iTnews
Facebook is on track for record ad revenue this year. That’s partly due to its lax approach to stopping scammers, hackers, and disinformation peddlers who buy ads that rip off and manipulate people, say former and current workers. Buzzfeed News
ASPI ICPC
Censorship risks and electoral impact: Australia’s major parties need to drop WeChat
The Strategist
@fryan
With the next federal election likely to be held in 2022, now would be a good time for the Liberal and Labor parties to mutually agree to stop using WeChat as a campaign channel and to start work on bipartisan legislation to properly regulate this influential platform.
Read the report, TikTok and WeChat here.
How Can a Garment Be Cheaper Than a Sandwich?
The New York Times
According to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, at least 80,000 people were transferred out of Xinjiang to factories throughout China from 2017 to 2019, where they were put to work, unable to leave and under surveillance. The transfers appear to have continued in 2020, even as the country confronted the pandemic, according to China’s state-run news media.
Read the report, Uyghurs for Sale here.
World
Australia
Govt agencies face annual cyber security audits for next five years
itnews
@justinrhendry
A parliamentary committee has called for cyber security reviews to become a more permanent fixture on the national auditor’s annual work program after a string of subpar audit results.
‘No one's safe under these new laws’: critic rip proposed Surveillance Bill
Crikey
@isabellelane
The Morrison government’s proposed Surveillance Bill could be used to target everyone from Black Lives Matter campaigners to underage kids illegally downloading movies, critics have warned.
Entering the grimy world of the dark web
The Australian
@rachael_falk
Vital legislation to combat dark web criminals means child-sex predators, terrorists and drug-dealers can’t operate unfettered.
Urgent call to secure critical supply chains
The Australian
Supply chains for critical national systems vulnerable to foreign interference would be transferred to Australian companies, or companies from friendly nations, under a bipartisan blueprint to ensure the flow of vital goods and services in future global crises.
China
China says it 'misspoke' over trial of two Canadians in case linked to Huawei executive
The Guardian
Chinese authorities have prosecuted and tried two Canadians who have been held for two years over accusations linked to a case against a senior Huawei executive in Canada, the Chinese foreign ministry has said.
Apple Turned Blind Eye to Supplier Breaches of Chinese Labor Laws
The Information
@waynema
Apple surveyed 362 of its supplier factories in China that year and discovered that nearly half were over the quota for temporary workers. Eighty factories used temporary workers for more than half their labor force .
Chinese netizens boycott South Korean television show Running Man for ‘insulting China’
South China Morning Post
@dustguest
Members of the show were playing a board game that allows players to invest in real estate. Netizens spotted that China and Taiwan were placed side by side on the board, together with their flags. Many Chinese viewers saw this as support for Taiwan’s independence.
USA
FCC begins process of halting China Telecom U.S. operations
Reuters
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday it begun the process of revoking China Telecom's authorization to operate in the United States as it took further steps to crack down on China's role in U.S. telecommunications.
S&P DJI to remove Chinese firms from equity, bond indices
Reuters
@stanleywhite1
S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Thursday it would remove 10 Chinese companies from its equities indices, including Hikvision and SMIC, following a Trump administration order prohibiting purchases by U.S. investors of certain Chinese securities.
Christopher Krebs sues Trump campaign, lawyer Joe diGenova for defamation
The Washington Post
@hsu_spencer @morsedan
The former top U.S. cybersecurity official responsible for securing November’s presidential election sued the Trump campaign and one of its lawyers for defamation Tuesday, asserting that they conspired to falsely claim the election was stolen, attack dissenting Republicans and fraudulently reap political donations.
Website targeting U.S. election officials draws attention of intelligence agencies
Reuters
The harassment campaign against U.S. election officials following President Donald Trump's defeat took an ominous turn on Thursday after a website surfaced that accused them of "treason" and included photographs and home addresses, drawing the attention of U.S. intelligence agencies. The site, along with several associated social media accounts, included photographs of Republican and Democratic officials, with rifle crosshairs superimposed on them.
Google to Lift Political Ad Ban on Thursday
Wall Street Journal
@emilyglazer
Alphabet Inc.’s Google said it is planning to lift its ban on political ads on Thursday after a blackout of more than a month because of concerns over election misinformation. Google told advertisers Wednesday it will lift its so-called sensitive event policy and allow ads that mention a current state or federal officeholder or candidate, political party or ballot measure.
North-East Asia
Taiwan, Chips, and Geopolitics: Part 1
The Diplomat
Taiwan’s TSMC is a critical part of the global semiconductor supply chain. What does that mean for the U.S. and China’s Taiwan policies?
New Zealand & The Pacific
New Zealand Pushes the Dialogue on International Cyber Law Forward
Just Security
@schmitt_ilaw
New Zealand joined the growing list of states that have publicly set forth their views on how international law applies in the cyber context.
Launching the Pacific Data Hub: a one-stop shop
DevPolicy Blog
With the launch of the Pacific Data Hub we now hope to get others on board to help grow this capability. We want more research, statistics, project reports and outcomes on the platform so we can grow our collective knowledge and join up in our goals to address areas of social, health and economic inequality, infrastructure issues, the diminishing health of our oceans and, of course, climate change.
South and Central Asia
Four Predictions for India’s National Cyber Security Strategy 2020
The Bastion
The release of the National Cyber Security Strategy is imminent. As we await its release, based on its detailed inputs to the Secretariat, here are the Centre for Communication Governance's predictions on the four issues expected to be addressed by it.
UK
GCHQ partners with academics to better understand national security threats
GCHQ
We will be working with academics to better understand some of the biggest threats to national security – from state influence campaigns to cyber attacks on smart building.
Europe
Amazon sought to water down EU privacy rules, document shows
Politico
Company pushed for laxer rules around using data by pitting EU institutions against each other.
French privacy regulator readies fines for Google, Amazon
Politico
@ElisaBraun @vmanancourt
Google will be fined €100 million and Amazon €35 million for violations of rules.
The Americas
‘On Social Media, There Are Thousands’: In Cuba, Internet Fuels Rare Protests
The New York Times
@FrancesRobles
This swift mobilization of protesters was a rare instance of Cubans openly confronting their government — and a stark example of how having widespread access to the internet through cellphones is testing the power balance between the communist regime and its citizens.
Misc
Facebook’s Global Ad Machine Is The Company’s $80 Billion Annual Lifeblood. Workers Say It Puts Profits Over People.
Buzzfeed News
@RMac18 @CraigSilverman
Facebook is on track for record ad revenue this year. That’s partly due to its lax approach to stopping scammers, hackers, and disinformation peddlers who buy ads that rip off and manipulate people, say former and current workers.
Google CEO pledges to investigate exit of top AI ethicist
Axios
@inafried
Gebru's exit has provoked anger and consternation within Google as well as in academic circles, with thousands of people signing an open letter urging Google to reexamine its practices.
Suspect in case of Mirai botnet, which knocked major sites offline in 2016, pleads guilty
cyberscoop
@jeffstone500
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that an unnamed defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with a cyberattack that rocked the internet in 2016.
Griezmann ends commercial relationship with Huawei
Reuters
France and Barcelona footballer Antoine Griezmann, who has been an ambassador for tech giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, has cut commercial ties with the company, citing China's treatment of Uighur Muslims.
Research
China’s Approach to Cyber Sovereignty (pdf)
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
@China_Digital
In global circles, China is pushing for a state-centered, Westphalian understanding of sovereignty, in which the state holds ultimate authority in the digital space. Consequently, every state shall have the right to establish national online spaces and fully control content and data flows within its borders.