codastory.com
analyse
Amazon’s book recommendation algorithms promote anti-vaccine and QAnon conspiracy theories and far-right, white nationalist content - 16 mai 2021
A new report says the retail giant’s book recommendation algorithms direct people toward conspiracy theories and far-right, white nationalist content
A recently released report highlights how Amazon’s book recommendation algorithms can lead people to literature about extremism, white nationalism, and conspiracy (...)
analyse
In Mexico, a controversial new law requires cell phone users to hand over sensitive information to the government - 30 avril 2021
The law adds Mexico to a list of 18 countries globally that require biometric data registration for cell phone users
Digital rights groups are sounding the alarm about a new law in Mexico that would require all cell phone users to register their personal information and biometric data in a massive government (...)
analyse
Tunisian police are using drones and Facebook to doxx LGBTQ protesters - 22 avril 2021
Law enforcement unions have leveraged technology to harass minorities and discredit demonstrations demanding economic and social reform
The worst attacks against Rania Amdouni began in February. The 26-year-old human rights activist and artist had been on the front lines of a new wave of protests in Tunisia for (...)
analyse
India wants to use facial recognition in its coronavirus vaccine drive - 15 avril 2021
Opponents fear that the move is designed to further entrench the country’s controversial biometric ID system
India is planning to add a facial recognition system based on Aadhaar, the country’s centralized biometric identity program, to the national Covid-19 vaccination drive. The proposal has prompted criticism (...)
analyse
China’s new vaccine passport could expand the state’s already vast surveillance program - 12 mars 2021
The optional new digital tool will track the vaccination status of citizens entering and leaving China, fueling privacy concerns
China has expanded the number of digital tools available to fight the pandemic by debuting the world’s first vaccine passport regime, which will roll out on Monday. Available on the (...)
analyse
Platforms like YouTube have tried to combat harassment against women. It’s not working - 8 mars 2021
Accusations of misogynistic comments and threats of rape are common on popular streaming and social media platforms like Youtube and Twitch where moderation policies don’t go far enough
Last June the gaming industry had a moment of reckoning. Starting as a trickle, female and non-binary online gamers and streamers (...)
analyse
Navalny protesters say police are using facial recognition to track them down - 4 février 2021
Fears raised over the use of surveillance technology at demonstrations
Russian citizens claim Moscow police are using facial recognition technology to track, trace and detain protesters who have attended rallies in support of leading Putin critic Alexey Navalny. Police have responded harshly to the protests (...)
plainte
Clouds gather over Google’s Saudi deal - 2 février 2021
Saudi dissidents accuse the tech giant of bolstering a brutal dictatorship with its plan to provide cloud computing in the kingdom
Ten days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Abdullah Alaoudh was at his home in Washington, D.C. catching up with emails, when a warning banner flashed up on his screen.
“Google may have (...)
analyse
India’s Aadhaar identity system is eroding the rights of pregnant women - 20 janvier 2021
From the denial of maternity benefits to a lack of access to reproductive health services, the negative effects of this sweeping program are being felt across the country
Pooja Devi Kol lives in Dabhaura, a small village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, and is expecting her first child in four (...)
analyse
The dark side of open source intelligence - 16 janvier 2021
Internet sleuths have used publicly available data to help track down last week’s Washington D.C. rioters. But what happens when the wrong people are identified ?
In May, a video of a woman flouting a national Covid-19 mask mandate went viral on social media in Singapore. In the clip, the bare-faced woman argues (...)
analyse
Kazakhstan ramps up control of the internet ahead of elections - 11 décembre 2020
The launch of new online security measures has raised fears among opposition and digital rights groups
Kazakh authorities have launched a new online security initiative, which many fear is an attempt to ramp up control over the internet ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections.
On Monday the Ministry of (...)
analyse
Coming soon : Turkmenistan’s government-backed email and messaging app - 25 novembre 2020
The launch could tighten the government’s grip on digital spaces in a country where popular social media platforms are already banned
Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most isolated dictatorships, is planning to launch its own messaging app and email.
A state-owned communications company Turkmentelekom has (...)
analyse
Saudi Arabia ramps up surveillance at holiest sites - 17 novembre 2020
A new government app threatens Mecca’s undocumented residents
Aziz Ali Naeem first came to Mecca in 1948 to perform Hajj, a pilgrimage that is compulsory for all able Muslims once in their lives.
Within days of his arrival, he decided he was not going back home to Hyderabad in newly independent India. Although (...)
analyse
Digital rights advocates express alarm at proposal to surveil students and researchers - 14 novembre 2020
The hypothetical plan to combat digital piracy called for the use of software to monitor those accessing academic material
A recent proposal recommending the deployment of surveillance software in order to monitor those accessing academic material has drawn fire from digital rights advocates and scientists.
The (...)
analyse
Software snoops on students during exams - 12 novembre 2020
A new report on the use of surveillance software in remote exam taking raises concerns of bias and privacy infringement
Eye-tracking, facial recognition, video and audio surveillance — a new report on remote test-taking warns of abuse, bias, and privacy infringement of students taking exams at home.
The report, (...)
analyse
Ahead by a nose : Covid sniffing dogs prevent surveillance overreach - 10 novembre 2020
A UK security company says it’s ditching some surveillance tech in favor of specially-trained dogs who can detect the coronavirus
A British security agency says it is giving up on high-tech solutions to the pandemic in favor of Covid-19 detecting sniffer dogs — because they are a “softer touch.”
Already deployed at (...)
plainte
Legal backlash and user hacks compromise India’s Covid-19 app - 28 octobre 2020
A high court has ruled that individuals do not have to download the contact tracing platform to access public services, while some who have just turn it off
When India’s government launched its Covid-19 app in April, the stated aim was to inform people about the virus, help them to report symptoms and issue (...)
analyse
Pakistan’s Tinder ban signals coming showdowns with YouTube and Twitter - 26 octobre 2020
Pakistan pushes Silicon Valley for more censorship
For Karim, Tinder provided a safe space. The 25-year-old software engineer, who lives in Karachi, describes himself as an introvert in search of companionship. He also belongs to the Ismaili Shia community, a minority religious group whose members frequently face (...)
analyse
Ukraine’s controversial cybersecurity deal with Huawei - 25 octobre 2020
From the U.S. to Europe, the Chinese telecoms giant is facing sanctions and suspicion — but Kyiv is playing a different game
Governments across Europe are showing Huawei the door, but Ukraine is following a different path, entering into a new cybersecurity deal with the Chinese telecoms giant.
The new partnership (...)
analyse
Hyderabad to double number of surveillance cameras - 14 octobre 2020
This week, state authorities in Telangana announced a ramping up of surveillance across Hyderabad. On Monday, in a meeting with government and police officials, K. T. Rama Rao, the minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, tasked the police department with doubling the city’s surveillance cameras (...)
