CYBER GEOPOLITICS
Israel eases rules on cyber weapons exports despite criticism
« Israel is easing export rules on offensive cyber weapons, despite accusations by human rights and privacy groups that its technologies are used by some governments to spy on political foes and crush dissent…” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-hackers/israel-eases-rules-on-cyber-weapons-exports-despite-criticism-idUSKCN1VC0XQ
Boris Johnson could shift UK policy on Huawei after US warnings
“British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s national security team is reviewing the United Kingdom’s posture toward Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant that U.S. officials regard as a platform for spy agencies…” https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/boris-johnson-could-shift-uk-policy-on-huawei-after-us-warnings
CRYTOCURRENCY
The EU is reportedly investigating Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency over antitrust concerns
« Facebook is apparently facing another antitrust inquiry – this one relating to Libra, its cryptocurrency project…” http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/european-commission-investigates-facebook-libra-cryptocurrency-antitrust-report-2019-8
ACCESS
UN Human Rights Council urges India to end communications blackout
« The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday urged the Centre to end the communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir and restriction imposed on peaceful protests. The statement came a day after Pakistan said it planned to raise the Kashmir matter at the UN Rights Council…” https://scroll.in/latest/934804/jammu-and-kashmir-un-human-rights-council-urges-india-to-end-communications-blackout
Indonesia blocks internet in Papua over unrest fears
“Indonesia has cut off internet access in unrest-hit Papua over fears that a stream of offensive and racist online posts would spark more violent protests in the region, but critics slammed the move as a threat to free speech…” https://news.yahoo.com/indonesia-shuts-internet-papua-over-unrest-fears-070634388.html
DIGITAL ECONOMY
Ahead of G7 summit, Macron presses US to help reform taxes on big tech
« French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday U.S. tech giants paid unfairly low taxes, failing to contribute to the common good, and urged Washington to help reform the global corporate tax code…” https://news.yahoo.com/ahead-g7-summit-macron-presses-174240267.html
Facebook and Amazon back Trump’s probe into France’s tax on tech giants
“Amazon and Facebook have thrown their weight behind Donald Trump’s counter-attack on France’s tax on tech giants, which threatens to open a new front in global trade wars…” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/08/18/facebook-amazon-back-trumps-probe-frances-tax-tech-giants/
EU evaluating UKRAINE’s readiness for Digital Single Market
“A meeting between presidential adviser Mykhailo Fedorov and the European Union assessment mission with the participation of the European Commission’s DG CNECT representatives was held at the Presidential Office…3 https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-economy/2761962-eu-evaluating-ukraines-readiness-for-digital-single-market.html
CONTENT POLICY
Facebook, Twitter Accuse China of Fueling Hong Kong disinformation
« Facebook and Twitter have accused China of using social media to spread disinformation about Hong Kong’s protest movement…” https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/facebook-twitter-accuse-china-of-fueling-hong-kong-disinformation/5050014.html
YouTube takes action on campaigns targeting Hong Kong protests
“The move follows similar action by Twitter and Facebook, which said China was behind the campaigns. Google, YouTube’s parent company, said VPNs and other methods were used to disguise the origin of the accounts…” https://www.dw.com/en/youtube-takes-action-on-campaigns-targeting-hong-kong-protests/a-50132939
Youtube to stop targeted ads aimed at children on its platform
“There could be a significant change coming to YouTube, as a Bloomberg (paywall) report suggests that the platform is readying to end targeted ads aimed at children from being uploaded…” https://www.htxt.co.za/2019/08/21/youtube-to-stop-targeted-ads-aimed-at-children-on-its-platform/
Fake news can lead to false memories, new study claims
“Voters could form false memories after seeing fabricated news stories if those articles align with their existing political beliefs, according to newly released results of a 2018 study…” https://www.foxnews.com/tech/fake-news-false-memories-study
Researchers propose aggressive new method to eradicate online hate groups
“A team of researchers from George Washington University and the University of Miami recently published the results of a study to determine the ecological makeup of online hate groups…” https://thenextweb.com/science/2019/08/22/researchers-propose-aggressive-new-method-to-eradicate-online-hate-groups/
INTERNET OF THINGS
Brazil: ANATEL Opens Public Consultation On Rules For The Internet Of Things
« The Brazilian Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) opened, on August 2, 2019, the Public Consultation No. 39 to hear public opinion on a new regulation for Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) technologies in Brazil…” http://www.mondaq.com/brazil/x/837208/Telecommunications+Mobile+Cable+Communications/ANATEL+Opens+Public+Consultation+On+Rules+For+The+Internet+Of+Things
INFRASTRUCTURE
EU approves 60 million euros of state aid for Austria’s broadband network
« Austria’s plan to provide 60 million euros ($66.5 million) for the rollout of ultra-fast broadband internet services in remote rural areas of the Carinthia region has won approval from the European Union…” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-austria-telecoms/eu-approves-60-million-euros-of-state-aid-for-austrias-broadband-network-idUSKCN1VA15I
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Huawei launches powerful AI processor Ascend 910
« Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday launched the Ascend 910, which is described by the company as the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) processor, and an all-scenario AI computing framework MindSpore…” http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/23/c_138332184.htm
Waymo releases autonomous vehicle sensor data
“Waymo has released its Open Dataset comprised of sensor data collected by its autonomous vehicles (AVs) to aid researchers…” https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/waymo-releases-autonomous-vehicle-sensor-data/561432/
DOMAIN NAME
WIPO to adjudicate Chinese domain name disputes
A World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) centre has become the first non-Chinese body to provide dispute resolution services for Chinese country code top-level domains (ccTLD). https://www.worldipreview.com/news/wipo-to-adjudicate-chinese-domain-name-disputes-18496
ENCRYPTION
Security pros reiterate warning against encryption backdoors
Government-mandated encryption backdoors make countries, and more specifically their election systems, vulnerable to cyber attack, 74% of information security professionals warn. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252469043/Security-pros-reiterate-warning-against-encryption-backdoors
DATA PROTECTION
Google, Intel and Microsoft form a consortium for data protection
« Google, Intel, Microsoft and seven other companies have established the Confidential Computing Consortium to help define and accelerate open source technology that offers truly private data access, not only when they are stored or sent but also while they are being used.. » https://techlapse.com/global/google-intel-and-microsoft-form-a-consortium-for-data-protection/
MORE NEWS
EU-Asia Pacific cooperation in ICT research to create a new roadmap for academia and industry
“Europe’s digital innovation partnership with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore will address various global challenges and support spatial intelligence initiatives…” https://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/131691/en
Internet Governance updates 