Esra'a
"Niantic, the company behind the extremely popular augmented reality mobile games Pokémon Go and Ingress, announced that it is using data collected by its millions of players to create an AI model that can navigate the physical world" (and power robots)
https://www.404media.co/pokemon-go-players-have-unwittingly-trained-ai-to-navigate-the-world/
Esra'a
It should matter that one of Bluesky's investors is Alumni Ventures, which also funded Outlogic (formerly known as X-Mode Social) - basically a data broker that collected and sold location data by tracking various mobile apps (including dating, music, weather, and Muslim prayer apps.)
Among other controversies, Outlogic/X‑Mode had supplied location data to U.S. military contractors:
https://themarkup.org/privacy/2022/01/27/gay-bi-dating-app-muslim-prayer-apps-sold-data-on-peoples-location-to-a-controversial-data-broker & https://www.cyberdaily.au/security/10093-nsa-called-out-for-purchasing-data-from-illegal-data-brokers
Esra'a
"Billionaire Larry Ellison says a vast AI-fueled surveillance system can ensure citizens will be on their best behavior"
"Ellison said AI would be used in the future to constantly watch and analyze vast surveillance systems, like security cameras, police body cameras, doorbell cameras, and vehicle dashboard cameras."
Esra'a
60 organizations, including RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Free Press Unlimited signed a joint letter urging EU leaders to unequivocally and publicly call on Israel to meet the following press freedom demands:
- Provide access and uphold the freedom to report
- Protect the lives of journalists
- Ensure accountability and end impunity
Esra'a
"The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to collect and analyze photos of the faces of migrant children at the border in a bid to improve facial recognition technology, MIT Technology Review can reveal. This includes children down to the infant"
Esra'a
Pleased to announce the launch of Surveillance Watch, an interactive map and resource that documents the hidden connections within the opaque surveillance industry: https://www.surveillancewatch.io/
By mapping out the intricate web of surveillance companies, their subsidiaries, partners, and financial backers, we hope to expose the enablers fueling this industry's extensive rights violations, ensuring they cannot evade accountability for being complicit in this abuse.
Esra'a
"Between October 7 and November 14, a total of 9,500 takedown requests were sent from the Israeli authorities to social media platforms, of which 60 percent went to Meta with a reported 94% compliance rate."
"Alongside government takedown requests, free expression in Gaza has been further restricted by platforms unjustly removing pro-Palestinian content and accounts—interfering with the dissemination of news and silencing voices expressing concern for Palestinians."
Esra'a
More accurate marketing: "take photos of yourself, and then be surveilled with facial recognition forever"
Esra'a
The most tech-enabled genocide in history.
Esra'a
"Within a day of his ousting, Altman said he received 10 to 20 texts from presidents and prime ministers around the world. [...] He responded to the messages and thanked the leaders without feeling fazed."
I'm not sure getting so much support from world leaders is something I'd brag about. I interpret it as being an asset or a pawn to some really shady things they often do at the expense of human rights - things Altman's AI and crypto projects are surely enabling.
https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-comments-openai-ousting-not-eating-sleeping-2024-5
Esra'a
Meta tried to discredit researchers in one of Brazil's top universities who identified fraudulent ads in its platforms:
"Defaming scientists has become a global strategy of Big Techs in order to try to silence critics in universities."
"In the United States, the social network has gone as far as banning researchers from accessing data after they did something that displeased the company."
Esra'a
Join the Global Encryption Coalition's Steering Committee in calling on Ministers in the Council of the EU to reject all scanning proposals inconsistent with the principle of end-to-end encryption, including client-side scanning and upload moderation, as it will create serious security and privacy risks with global implications:
Esra'a
"Amid recent revelations exposing the alarming use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems by the Israeli army to automate target generation for bombings in the Gaza war, Access Now is demanding transparency from Google regarding the company’s involvement and complicity in human rights violations in Gaza."
https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/google-ai-war-gaza-israel/
Esra'a
@evacide It gets a bit worse, Telegram has a long-standing relationship with a Saudi organization that's essentially a govt arm in Riyadh, working in direct partnership to analyze and monitor an obscene amount of user data: https://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/641746/SAUDI-ARABIA/Etidal-Telegram-remove-over-16-million-extremist-contents-in-early-2024
They claim this only targets terrorist groups. I can verify that it absolutely impacts groups run by queer communities in the Gulf, because I was in one such group that was monitored and shut down by Etidal.
Telegram can fuck off into the sunset.
Esra'a
Proton Mail Discloses User Data Leading to Arrest in Spain
https://restoreprivacy.com/protonmail-discloses-user-data-leading-to-arrest-in-spain/
Esra'a
Disappointed to see The Markup share advice for people to use WhatsApp in its post about preparing your phone for a protest, and that it's coming from "digital security trainers."
Metadata literally kills, and WhatsApp is swimming in it. The metadata they collect includes:
Groups you're a member of, location, personal info (email, phone number, user IDs), contacts and their phone numbers, in-app search history, when you use the app & how often you use it. E2EE alone doesn't guarantee #privacy
Esra'a
@annika Well, I wasn't involved in the selection of other Board members. And "guidance" here relates to operationalizing the 501(c)(3) entity so that it can accept donations or potential grants with more ease and to be accountable for them.
Esra'a
An important thing to clarify on the newly formed Mastodon 501(c)(3) entity: it's not here to make or influence product decisions. It has no legal ability to enforce any such changes. Primary operations will remain led by the Germany-based Mastodon gGmbH, and this won’t change.
The focus of the U.S entity is to provide another vehicle for donations and other forms of support. The Board has no legal "control" beyond this.
Esra'a
The messaging app you choose impacts others as well, not just yourself, and while you personally may not require complete privacy, others in your network might have their lives depend on it.
Full post: The dangers of metadata in messengers - https://simplex.chat/blog/20240416-dangers-of-metadata-in-messengers.html
Esra'a
A VC firm supporting military tech and surveillance tools wants to partner up with one of the most repressive regimes around the world on AI investments, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/saudi-arabia-40-billion-ai-fund-a16z-partnership-nyt #ai #humanrights
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