10 July 2019 Twitter is updating its hate-speech rules to ban posts that use dehumanizing terms against religious groups
Over time, the ban would be extended to cover to some other groups, it said. But a public consultation had indicated users still wished to use dehumanising language to criticise political organisations and hate groups. Tech companies have struggled to strike a balance between free expression and protecting users from attack. Twitter said it had taken “months of conversations” to decide on the policy. “Our primary focus is on addressing the risks of offline harm – and research shows that dehumanising language increases that risk,” the company said in a blog. Twitter’s hateful conduct policy had already banned users from spreading scaremongering stereotypes about religious groups – such as claiming all adherents were terrorists. In addition, it had prohibited the use of imagery that might stir up hatred, including photos edited to give individuals animal-like features or add “hateful symbols” such as the yellow Star of David badges associated with the Holocaust.
Mobile phone dealers demand to unblock all used phones via an amnesty scheme
The mobile phone dealers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have rejected the tax imposed by the government on used mobile phones and demanded the authorities to verify all of the blocked phones via an amnesty scheme for mobiles and unblock them. The All Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Action Committee Mobile Phones Association held a press conference at Peshawar Press Club and presented their demands. The representative of the association, Hamadullah said that the government’s decision to apply 10% tax on used mobile phones similar to what is being applied on the new cellphones is not fair. He said that this tax amount will destroy the mobile phone business in the country. Hamadullah further said that the mobile dealers have already suffered massive losses when the government blocked the imported smartphones from the country. 80% imported mobile phones in Pakistan are registered, and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocking the rest is completely unfair, he added. The government should deal with blocked cellphones via type and tag system. Pakistan’s electricity losses can be reduced by 90% with ElectroCure governance tool
Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology has recently held a meeting to discuss various problems in which the IT sector can provide assistance. The committee also discussed how electricity losses of the country can be minimized using modern technology. Upon which, CEO Ignite Yusuf Hussain said that ElectroCure governance tool for Electricity Data Management can help reduce Pakistan’s electricity losses to 90 percent. He said that the Ministry of Energy has already been given a briefing on adopting this new system. The Senate committee meeting was presided by Ali Khan Jadoon. Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who also attended the meeting, said that ElectroCure technology aims to address electricity theft arising from meter tampering, theft from transmission and distribution lines, and billing irregularities. He said that we have briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan and Ministry of Energy about the system. This system can only be implemented with the collaboration of bureaucracy, he remarked.
———————————————————————————————————————— 9 July 2019 Online ad growth predicted to slow down in 2021, by which point it will account for 52% of Global advertising
Global advertising spend is expected to grow 4.6 per cent in 2019, a dip from previous estimates, with internet advertising seen slowing to single digits in 2021 for first since the dotcom bubble burst, industry forecaster Zenith said. Zenith, owned by French advertising group Publicis, said in a report published on Monday that internet advertising would account for 52pc of global advertising expenditure in 2021, surpassing the 50pc mark for the first time. The report comes during the time when advertising companies including market leader WPP Plc have seen clients switching to using online platforms such as Google and Facebook to reach consumers. A Facebook tip-off leads the police to shut down a rave in England
Five people arrested over an illegal rave over the weekend have been released while inquiries continue. Officers alerted by advertisements on social media on Saturday evening later found about 600 people, at the event on Massingham Heath, Grimston, Norfolk. They monitored it through the night and disrupted it at about 15:45 on Sunday. Three men, aged 25, 28 and 31, were arrested in connection with organising the event. Police then received further calls from residents complaining about noise and the event was discovered. About 150 vehicles were on site throughout the night and specially trained officers went in to disrupt the event and seize sound equipment. Two other men, aged 20 and 33, arrested at the scene on suspicion of drug driving have also been released under investigation. A security firm says deepfaked audio is being used to steal millions of pounds
Symantec said it had seen three cases of seemingly deepfaked audio of different chief executives used to trick senior financial controllers into transferring cash. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create convincing fake footage. The AI system could be trained using the “huge amount” of audio the average chief executive would have innocently made available, Symantec said. Corporate videos, earning calls, media appearances as well as conference keynotes and presentations would all be useful for fakers looking to build a model of someone’s voice, chief technology officer Dr Hugh Thompson said. “The model can probably be almost perfect,” he said.
———————————————————————————————————————— 8 July 2019 Jordan banned the hugely popular online game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds(PUBG), citing its “negative effects”
Often likened to the blockbuster book and film series “The Hunger Games”, PUBG pits marooned characters against each another in a virtual fight to the death, and has become one of the world’s most popular mobile games. A source in Jordan’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority warned the game “had negative effects on its users, which led to its being officially blocked”. The move follows similar bans in Iraq, Nepal, the Indian state of Gujarat and the Indonesian province of Aceh. In May, Chinese tech giant Tencent ceased offering the game, instead directing users to a newly launched and nearly identical programme it created. PUBG is widely popular in Jordan and institutions in the kingdom have issued warnings to employees not to play it. Psychologists in the country have repeatedly warned the game encourages violence and contributes to bullying among youth. A drone sighting that caused the closure of a British Airport could just have been a bird
Reports of a drone being spotted at the airport on Wednesday morning are still being investigated by police. They said “the movement” of the object suggested it was a drone. However, an expert who analyses reports of sightings said it was “extremely unlikely” a drone would have been able to fly near the airport. This is because of something called “geo-fencing”, which prevents most commercially available drones from being flown near airports. “The drone simply won’t take off if it is in a restricted location,” said Simon Dale, from Airprox Reality Check. “It is therefore extremely unlikely that a drone was operating in proximity to East Midlands Airport.” Mr Dale said the sighting could have been a bird, a party balloon, a Chinese lantern or a manned aircraft in the distance. The Lahore High Court has directed the PTA to stop unwanted promotional calls and text messages
Justice Shahid Jamil had called upon Muhammad Shafique, Communication Director of PTA. On being asked why PTA is not taking any action against these spam messages. Shafique mentioned that no proper mechanism exists to stop these unwarranted messages. But Shahid Jamil pointed out that if such messages can not be stopped, an action can be taken against numbers spreading these promotional messages. He mentioned that PTA is a regulatory body and should be able to take such actions against spam. The case will be heard on 19th July again and PTA Chairman might be called upon if PTA doesn’t take satisfactory action against these complaints
———————————————————————————————————————— 5 July 2019 According to a new study, overuse of mobiles by university students may have been related to lower grades, drinking problems and more sexual partners
In a survey of more than 3,400 people taking degrees in the US, those who said they had problems with the amount of time they spent on their phones also reported having more sexual partners. But they also were more likely to report anxiety or depression. One psychiatrist said the findings were “concerning”. Researchers from the University of Chicago, University of Cambridge, and the University of Minnesota developed the Health and Addictive Behaviours Survey. Its aim was to assess mental health and wellbeing among university students and to see what impact mobile phones had on them. Samsung is being sued by Australia’s consumer watchdog for allegedly making misleading claims about the water-resistant properties of its phones
In its statement, the ACCC said Samsung adverts depicted phones being exposed to seawater and swimming pools and claimed that this would not affect the device during its working life. Although Samsung adverts say its phones have an IP68 water resistance, said the ACCC, this rating does not cover salt water or that found in swimming pools. Samsung’s own website advises people against using the Galaxy S10 in a swimming pool or on the beach, said the consumer watchdog. Samsung had not done enough testing to make its advertised claims about the longevity of its products, alleges the ACCC. “Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn’t be, to attract customers,” said the ACCC. Calorie counting app creators have been criticised for allowing the platforms to be misused by people with eating disorders
The BBC found content logging self-harm and punishments for over-eating on MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and Lifesum. Eating disorder charity Beat said the mobile apps could exacerbate unhealthy behaviours and make recovery harder. The app developers said they promoted healthy eating, and safeguards to protect vulnerable users were in place. An investigation by the BBC found more than 20 harmful entries generated by users of MyFitnessPal, Lose It! or Lifesum, including some promoting dangerous cycles of starving and binging. ———————————————————————————————————————— 4 July 2019 TikTok says it is “sorry” that some children have felt pressured into sending money to their favourite influencers
TikTok lets fans send their favourite videomakers “digital gifts”, which can cost up to £48.99. A BBC investigation found influencers promising to share their phone numbers with fans in exchange for the gifts. TikTok said it would strengthen its policies and guidelines but did not explain exactly how. Claire (not her real name) told BBC News she regretted spending £100 to obtain her favourite TikTok star’s phone number – and he had never answered his phone. Claire, 12, who lives in the north-west of England, sent TikTok star Sebastian Moy a £48.99 “drama queen” gift to show her appreciation for his videos. And when he had asked for another one in exchange for his personal phone number, she said she was swept up in the moment. The US-based video-maker has 3.8 million fans on TikTok and has not broken any of the app’s rules. The chief executive of Chinese tech giant Baidu has been doused with water during a speech about artificial intelligence
Robin Li, co-founder of the firm, was mid-presentation when a man walked on to the stage, grabbed his arm and emptied a bottle of water on his head. The incident happened at the Baidu Create 2019 conference in Beijing. Among the announcements was the news that the firm’s smart speaker can now be activated without a “wake word”. This means the device can respond to users’ commands automatically. After Mr Li was drenched with water, he was heard to say, “What’s your problem?” as he wiped liquid from his face. The man who took to the stage gave no indication of why he poured the water on Mr Li. United States government staff told to treat Huawei as blacklisted
A senior US official told the Commerce Department’s enforcement staff this week that China’s Huawei should still be treated as blacklisted, days after US President Donald Trump sowed confusion with a vow to ease a ban on sales to the firm. Trump surprised markets on Saturday by promising Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan that he would allow US companies to sell products to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. In May, the company was added to the so-called Entity List, which bans American firms from selling to it without special permission, as punishment for actions against US national security interests.
———————————————————————————————————————— 3 July 2019 German court fines Facebook over inability to combat hate speech effectively
Under a new regulation that came into force on Jan 1, 2018, companies like Twitter and Facebook have 24 hours to remove posts that openly violate German law after they are flagged by users. Offensive content that is more difficult to categorise must be deleted within seven days after it is reported and reviewed. Social media companies that fail to comply face up to 50 million euros ($60m) in fines. Further, online giants are required to publish every six months a report on how they have gone about combating hate speech.In a decision that can still be appealed by Facebook, the BfJ court levied a fine equivalent to $2.26m as it found that the company failed to provide a complete picture about complaints made by users in its report covering Jan to June 2018. US officials are investigating a secret Facebook group where border patrol members allegedly posted racist and sexist jokes about migrants
The private group had about 9,500 members, including former and current border patrol agents, ProPublica reported . Some posts mocked migrant deaths, while others targeted Latino members of Congress, ProPublica said. The Border Patrol chief has called the posts “completely inappropriate”. “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable,” Carla Provost said. The group was called “I’m 10-15”, ProPublica said – 10-15 being Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody”. According to ProPublica, members of the group mocked Latino members of Congress who visited migrant detention centres in Texas on Monday. Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Veronica Escobar were among those said to have been called “hoes” and “scum buckets” in the private postings. In one post, a member reportedly suggested throwing burritos at them, while another shared a doctored image depicting Ms Ocasio-Cortez performing a sex act on President Donald Trump. Virginia has become one of the first places to outlaw the sharing of computer-generated pornography known as deepfakes
The US state has done so by amending an existing law which criminalised so-called revenge porn – the malicious sharing of explicit photos or videos without the victim’s consent. It now makes clear that the category includes “falsely-created” material. The move coincides with a report critical of the UK’s own laws. The study, published by Durham University and Kent University , highlighted that artificial intelligence software had made it much easier to create deepfakes and at the same time the imagery was becoming more difficult to identity as having been manipulated. “We must overhaul our out-of-date and piecemeal laws, including criminalising the paralysing and life-threatening impact of threats, and recognising the significant harms of fake porn,” said one of the authors, Prof Clare McGlynn.
———————————————————————————————————————— 2 July 2019 A cat flap that automatically bars entry to a pet if it tries to enter with prey in its jaws has been built as a DIY project by an Amazon employee
Ben Hamm used machine-learning software to train a system to recognise when his cat Metric was approaching with a rodent or bird in its mouth. When it detected such an attack, he said, a computer attached to the flap’s lock triggered a 15-minute shut-out. Mr Hamm unveiled his invention at an event in Seattle last month. The presentation was subsequently brought to light by tech news site The Verge. App that can remove women’s clothes from images has been shut down
An app that claimed to be able to digitally remove the clothes from pictures of women to create fake nudes has been taken offline by its creators. The $50 (£40) Deepnude app won attention and criticism because of an article by tech news site Motherboard. One campaigner against so-called revenge porn called the app “terrifying”. The developers have now removed the software from the web saying the world was not ready for it. “The probability that people will misuse it is too high,” wrote the programmers in a message on their Twitter feed. “We don’t want to make money this way.” Anyone who bought the app would get a refund, they said, adding that there would be no other versions of it available and withdrawing the right of anyone else to use it. Wikipedia founder has called for a social media strike
People are being urged to stop using social media for up to 48 hours later this week in an effort to pressure the networks into restoring control of personal data to users. The call to strike has been issued by Dr Larry Sanger – a co-founder of the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia. In his call to action, Dr Sanger said the strike – from 4 to 5 July – would show the “massive demand” for change. However, some people have questioned how much impact the strike will have. Those taking part will avoid social networks on those two days to show they have a “serious grievance” against the services.
———————————————————————————————————————— 1 July 2019 Nokia distances itself from boss’s warning over Huawei 5G kit
Nokia’s chief technology officer Marcus Weldon told the BBC that the UK should be wary of using the Chinese hardware.He said Huawei’s telecoms kit had vulnerabilities that meant it posed a risk to 5G networks. In a statement issued after the BBC story was published, the Finnish firm said his comments do “not reflect the official position of Nokia”. It added: “Nokia is focused on the integrity of its own products and services and does not have its own assessment of any potential vulnerabilities associated with its competitors.” The statement undermines assertions made by Mr Weldon in which he said Huawei’s failings were serious.
Instagram ‘sympathy scammers’ exploit support for Sudanese protesters
Scammers making bogus claims about sending aid to Sudan in exchange for clicks have continued to crop up on Instagram despite the exposure and suspension of fraudulent accounts, some of which had hundreds of thousands of followers. The death of 26-year-old Sudanese activist Mohamed Mattar captured worldwide attention on social media. Mattar was one of around 100 people killed in a crackdown on protesters in Khartoum in early June. His online avatar at the time of his death was a simple circle in his favourite colour, a deep blue. Reddit places one of the internet’s most popular forums for supporters of President Trump on restricted access
The platform now warns visitors that some members of the community have been involved in making “threats of violence against police and public officials”. Users must now click an opt-in button to access The_Donald forum, and its content no longer appears in Reddit’s search results or recommendations. Members have complained of censorship. The forum, which is known as a subreddit, has more than 760,000 subscribers and once hosted an “ask me anything” session with Donald Trump in which he replied to questions from the public before the presidential election.
———————————————————————————————————————— 28 June 2019 Twitter says it will hide tweets by world leaders and politicians that break its rules but have been left online “in the public interest”
Tweets from prominent government offic