Ask Google or Siri: “What is Taiwan?” “A state”, they will answer, “in East Asia”. But earlier in September, it would have been a “province in the People’s Republic of China.” From a report: For questions of fact, many search engines, digital assistants and phones all point to one place: Wikipedia. And Wikipedia had suddenly changed. The edit was reversed, but…
Tag: protests
Apple Reverses Ban On App That Allowed Hong Kong Protestors to Track Police Movements
UPDATE (10/4/2019): “Apple has reportedly reversed its decision to ban the app HKmap.live,” reports BoingBoing. Apple had banned the app, which allows Hong Kong protesters to track protests and police movements in the city state, despite increasing international condemnation against the violence used by the authorities, MacRumors had reported: According to The Register, Apple has told the makers of the HKmap…
Hong Kong Announces Ban On Masks, Face Paint That Helps Protesters Evade Facial Recognition
The Hong Kong government is banning masks and face paint in an attempt to stop the pro-democracy protests that have been raging since June. “The new ’emergency’ order was announced by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam at a press conference today and will go into effect at midnight local time, 12:00 pm ET,” reports Gizmodo. From the report: The new law…
Iraq Shuts Down Internet Access As Mass Protests Turn Violent
dryriver shares a report from Euronews: Iraq’s government shut off internet access, imposed curfews and deployed elite forces to secure key facilities on Wednesday amid widespread protests aimed at toppling the country’s regime. Five people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in the largest display of public anger against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s year-old government. Domestic instability could…
Giant telescope project in Hawaii delayed by protests
Anger is brewing on the Big Island of Hawaii over plans to build a giant telescope on a dormant volcano that is highly sacred to the region’s native population. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-giant-telescope-hawaii-protests.html…
In Hong Kong, Protesters and Police Are Now Doxxing Each Other
As protests continue to rock Hong Kong, social media sites are now being used to share names, photos, phone numbers, ages and occupationa of individuals “on both sides of the protest line,” reports the Guardian: Supporters of the Hong Kong government have sought to identify masked protesters at demonstrations, while protesters themselves also appear to have taken part, sharing private information…
Hong Kong Protester Forum Says Some DDoS Attacks Came From China
An online service used by Hong Kong demonstrators said a large digital attack that knocked out its servers briefly over the weekend was unprecedented and originated in some cases from websites in China. From a report: LIHKG, a forum that’s been used for organizing mass rallies in Hong Kong, posted a statement online after it was the target of what’s known…
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…
Uber, Lyft Propose $21/Hour Minimum Wage For Drivers After Wave Of Protests
Uber and Lyft, the two biggest rideshare companies, are telling their drivers they are willing to compromise with a proposal that includes a minimum wage of $21 per hour. From a report: The new proposal comes after days of protests that brought a caravan of rideshare drivers through San Francisco and ended in Sacramento Wednesday. The demonstrating drivers said they are…