Debate only works if it is disciplined by ethics. The failure to regulate the digital revolution is the great mistake of our age.
Read Simon Jenkins’ report on The Gaurdian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/04/chris-whitty-abuse-social-media-failure-to-regulate-digital?CMP=fb_a-technology_b-gdntech
By and large, microchips go unseen but they are at the heart of all digital products, including mobile phones and the modern car’s ‘brain’.
But when supplies run short, it can halt manufacturing, and there’s currently a global shortage.
Read more on the BBC Tech News site: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55936011
Just a handful of Big Tech companies, with wealth greater than some countries, controls almost every aspect of the internet.
They decide which voices to amplify or silence, which businesses to boost or crush, what personal data they collect and monetize – all with almost no accountability or oversight.
This centralization of power into the hands of a few multinational corporations runs counter to the original dream of a free, open, and fair internet. And as the events of recent years have shown, they are a threat to democracy.
The European Commission released its proposal for the Digital Markets Act (DMA), their attempt to curtail Big Tech’s power and revive competition on the Internet.
Read more Proton Technologies’ analysis to help better understand the issues around the DMA and what it would do here: Why the Future of the Internet Depends on the DMA
A battle is brewing down under between the Autralian Government and Google.
On the one hand, Australia wants Google to pay for news content it uses on its website. On the other hand, Google are threatening to turn off Google Search in Australia, a move being muted as a threat to democracy.
Read more:
Ignore threats to shut search in Australia and force Google to pay, small business groups say
Big Tech firms’ growing monopoly power means that more and more people are looking for secure alternatives to Gmail that won’t read their emails or profit off their data.
Read Protonmail’s blog on the subject here: https://protonmail.com/blog/gmail-alternative/
WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using the app.
On 6th February 2021, the data that WhatsApp collects through their app will now be shared with Facebook and anyone else with enough interest in purchasing your personal data.
This includes your phone numbers, other people’s phone numbers stored in your address books, profile names, profile pictures, status messages including when a user was last online, and diagnostic data collected from the app logs.
If you’re happy and comfortable allowing WhatsApp to share your personal details with Facebook and other tech companies, simply agree to the WhatsApp Terms and Privacy Policy notification when it appears.
People who object to the new terms and policy should consider using an alternative app such as the Signal Private Messenger app which provides the same robust encryption with a much more transparent privacy policy and terms of service. In addition to providing encrypted chats, SIGNAL also offers encrypted audio and video calls. And SIGNAL can also be used as the default SMS app on your phone.
Signal offers versions for Android and iPhone/iPad mobile devices, and there’s even versions for yor desktop on Windows and Mac. Head over to their download page to get started: https://www.signal.org/download/
Read more about WhatsApp’s ultimatum on the Ars Technica website
Zoom is one of the biggest names in video conferencing BUT be warned – the free version doesn’t use end to end encryption.
https://www.anonymoushackers.net/anonymous-news/free-version-of-zoom-is-not-safe/
The Center for Humane Technology envision a world where technology is realigned with humanity’s best interests.
Their work expands beyond tech addiction to the broader societal threats that the attention economy poses to our well-being, relationships, democracy, and shared information environment, and that these threats must be addressed to conquer our biggest global challenges like pandemics, inequality, and climate change.
Read more about CHT and their work here:
https://www.humanetech.com/
We tweet, we like, and we share – but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media?
The Social Dilemma is a documentary-drama hybrid that reveals how social media is reprogramming civilization with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.
Click this link to find out more about this worrying situation:
https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/the-film/