Long-time Slashdot reader clawsoon writes: Among Sunday’s releases from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on leaked Chinese documents about the detention of Xinjiang Uighurs — which they are calling the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority since World War II — is a section on detention by algorithm which “is more than a ‘pre-crime’ platform, but a ‘machine-learning, artificial…
Tag: human rights
Digital Authoritarianism Is On the Rise Around the World, Report Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: Internet freedom declined for a ninth consecutive year as governments around the world used social media to monitor citizens and manipulate elections, according to a new study that warned of creeping “digital authoritarianism.” Thirty-three of the 65 countries surveyed were found to have experienced worsening internet freedom since June 2018, compared with 16…
New Russian ‘Sovereign Internet’ Law Gives Government Sweeping Power Over Internet
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: A Russian law has taken effect that, in theory, would allow the Russian government to cut off the country’s Internet from the rest of the world. The “sovereign Internet law,” as the government calls it, greatly enhances the Kremlin’s control over the Web. It was passed earlier this year and allows Russia’s government…
Australia’s Buggy Automated System Suspended 1 Million Welfare Payments This Year
An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian’s report on last year’s update to Australia’s automated system for welfare benefits: Welfare advocates say the consequences have been disastrous… In 12 months, welfare payments were stopped an extra 1 million times… [A] recipient’s money is cut off automatically until they satisfy their job agency consultant that they are committed to looking for work… Consultants…
China Has Gained the Ability To Spy On More Than 100 Million Citizens Via a Heavily Promoted Official App, Report Suggests
Security researchers believe the Chinese Communist Party’s official “Study the Great Nation” app has a backdoor that could help monitor use and copy data from those who have it installed on their devices. The BBC reports: Released in February, Study the Great Nation has become the most downloaded free program in China, thanks to persuasive demands by Chinese authorities that citizens…
Apple’s Safari Browser Is Sending Some Users’ IP Addresses To China’s Tencent
“Apple, which often positions itself as a champion of privacy and human rights, is sending some IP addresses from users of its Safari browser on iOS to Chinese conglomerate Tencent — a company with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” reports the Reclaim the Net blog: Apple admits that it sends some user IP addresses to Tencent in the “About…
US Expands Blacklist To Include China’s Top AI Startups Ahead of Trade Talks
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The U.S. government widened its trade blacklist to include some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups, punishing Beijing for its treatment of Muslim minorities and ratcheting up tensions ahead of high-level trade talks in Washington this week. The decision, which drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, targets 20 Chinese public security bureaus and…
Giving nature human rights could be the best way to protect the planet
Rivers, lakes and forests around the world are being recognised as if they were legal persons. It sounds strange, but could it effectively protect the planet? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332492-800-giving-nature-human-rights-could-be-the-best-way-to-protect-the-planet/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Developer Takes Down Ruby Library After He Finds Out ICE Was Using It
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: A software engineer pulled a personal project down after he found out that one of the companies using it had recently signed a contract with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The engineer, Seth Vargo, cited the ICE’s “inhumane treatment, denial of basic human rights, and detaining children in cages,” as the…
China Intercepts WeChat Texts From US and Abroad, Researcher Says
China is intercepting texts from WeChat users living outside of the country, mostly from the U.S. Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia. NPR reports: The popular Chinese messaging app WeChat is Zhou Fengsuo’s most reliable communication link to China. That’s because he hasn’t been back in over two decades. Zhou, a human rights activist, had been a university student in 1989, when…