China already has hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras in place, reports the Atlantic’s deputy editor, and “because a new regulation requires telecom firms to scan the face of anyone who signs up for cellphone services, phones’ data can now be attached to a specific person’s face.” But the article also warns that when it comes to AI-powered surveillance, China “could…
Tag: borders
A Moment of Clarity Regarding the Raison d’Etre for the App Store
John Gruber, writing at DaringFireball: Feel free to file Google’s release this week of an update to their iPad Gmail app with support for split-screen multitasking under “better late than never,” but this is so late it borders on the absurd. It’s like the difference between showing up fashionably late and showing up a week after the party. Split-screen multitasking was…
Google Scrapped Cloud Initiative in China, ‘Sensitive Markets’
Google abandoned plans to offer a major new cloud service in China and other politically sensitive countries due in part to concerns over geopolitical tensions and the pandemic, Blloomberg reported Wednesday, citing two employees familiar with the matter, revealing the challenges for U.S. tech giants to secure business in those markets. From a report: In May, the search giant shut down…
China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague In Inner Mongolia
China has confirmed one case of bubonic plague in northern province Inner Mongolia, according to a statement on the local health authority’s website. From a report: The patient is now under treatment at a hospital and is in a stable condition, the Bayannur health commission said in a late Sunday night statement. It also issued a level-three alert, warning of the…
Sweden Tries Out a New Status: Pariah State
Sweden’s population is not quite twice the size of Norway’s — yet Sweden has reported 21 times as many deaths from Covid-19, prompting many countries to close its border to Sweden, reports the New York Times:
Norway isn’t the only Scandinavian neighbor barring Swedes from visiting this summer. Denmark and Finland have also closed their borders to Swedes, fearing that they would…
Covid-19 Killed the Era of ‘Big’ Flying
COVID-19 has shattered the aviation industry, with nations closing their borders and banning all but essential travel. A world where people could hop from country to country is now one where empty planes travel to maintain contractual obligations. Major carriers, including American, IAG, Delta and Lufthansa have all asked for government bailouts. From a report: One airline that will receive a…
EU May Ban Travel From US As It Reopens Borders, Citing Coronavirus Failures
European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times. From a report: That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and…
Slowing the Coronavirus Is Speeding the Spread of Other Diseases
schwit1 shares a report from The New York Times: As poor countries around the world struggle to beat back the coronavirus, they are unintentionally contributing to fresh explosions of illness and death from other diseases — ones that are readily prevented by vaccines. This spring, after the World Health Organization and UNICEF warned that the pandemic could spread swiftly when children…
Trump Administration Escalates Global Fight Over Taxing Tech
The U.S. investigation targets nine countries, plus the European Union, that have adopted or are considering new taxes that would hit American companies like Google and Amazon. From a report: The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would open an investigation into taxes on digital commerce that have been adopted or proposed in nine countries and the European Union, escalating…
Covid-19 Is History’s Biggest Translation Challenge
Services like Google Translate support only 100 languages, give or take. What about the thousands of other languages — spoken by people just as vulnerable to this crisis? From a report: If we want to avoid a pandemic spreading to all the humans in the world, this information also has to reach all the humans of the world — and that…