July 2016 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Facebook wins privacy case, can now track any Belgian it wants
by Alberto Cammozzo July 2, 2016

July 2, 2016

Facebook can go back to tracking Belgians who aren't logged in or don't have an account. <http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/06/facebook-wins-privacy-case-aga…> In a somewhat unexpected twist, Facebook has won a legal battle against Belgium's data protection authority, which had sought to prevent Facebook from tracking non-Facebook (or not-logged-into-Facebook) users, both on the Facebook website itself but also via the company's Like and Share buttons that can be found in even the darkest depths of the known universe. The Brussels appeals court dismissed the case on Wednesday, saying that the Belgian CPP (Commission for the Protection of Privacy) had no jurisdiction over Facebook, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. "We are pleased with the court's decision and look forward to bringing all our services back online for people in Belgium," a Facebook spokesperson said. "Today's decision simply and purely means that the Belgian citizen cannot obtain the protection of his private life through the courts and tribunals when it concerns foreign actors," the CPP said in a statement. The CPP also said that it may launch an appeal to the Belgian Court of Cassation—the court of last resort—which in the past had overruled cases that involved foreign company jurisdiction. Back in November 2015, a lower court ruled in favour of the CPP and ordered Facebook to quit tracking people who don't have a Facebook account or who aren't currently logged into the service. If Facebook didn't comply, it faced fines of up to €250,000 per day. Suffice it to say, the company complied: in December, Facebook said that it had stopped tracking Belgian visitors who were not logged in. Further Reading Facebook must stop tracking Belgian users within 48 hours, or be fined €250K per day More privacy woes for the company in the wake of Safe Harbour being struck down. Today's ruling is certainly a win for Facebook, but it's not the end of the story. The initial Belgian court ruling was based on EU privacy law, and so it's safe to assume that other national regulators will bring cases against Facebook in due course. Two likely candidates for following Belgian's example are the Netherlands and Germany, both of whose data protection authorities have been part of a European task force investigating possible violations of EU law by Facebook.

1 0

Paper "EU regulations on algorithmic decision-making and a "right to explanation""
by J.C. DE MARTIN July 2, 2016

July 2, 2016

Segnalo confidando di sentire il parere degli esperti. juan carlos EU regulations on algorithmic decision-making and a "right to explanation" Bryce Goodman <http://arxiv.org/find/stat/1/au:+Goodman_B/0/1/0/all/0/1>, Seth Flaxman <http://arxiv.org/find/stat/1/au:+Flaxman_S/0/1/0/all/0/1> (Submitted on 28 Jun 2016) We summarize the potential impact that the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation will have on the routine use of machine learning algorithms. Slated to take effect as law across the EU in 2018, it will restrict automated individual decision-making (that is, algorithms that make decisions based on user-level predictors) which "significantly affect" users. The law will also create a "right to explanation," whereby a user can ask for an explanation of an algorithmic decision that was made about them. We argue that while this law will pose large challenges for industry, it highlights opportunities for machine learning researchers to take the lead in designing algorithms and evaluation frameworks which avoid discrimination. Comments: presented at 2016 ICML Workshop on Human Interpretability in Machine Learning (WHI 2016), New York, NY Subjects: Machine Learning (stat.ML); Computers and Society (cs.CY); Learning (cs.LG) Cite as: arXiv:1606.08813 <http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.08813> [stat.ML] (or arXiv:1606.08813v1 <http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.08813v1> [stat.ML] for this version)

1 0

Miles gloriosus cyberneticus
by Alberto Cammozzo July 2, 2016

July 2, 2016

Zero-day come arma segreta, da nascondere e in parte esibire. Swaggering in Cyberspace: Busting the Conventional Wisdom on Cyber Coercion <http://warontherocks.com/2016/06/swaggering-in-cyberspace-busting-the-conve…> Given increases in the ability and willingness of various actors to target a nation’s critical infrastructure, David Gompert and Hans Binnendijk have argued that the United States should use cyber operations to “amp up the power to coerce.” This is a reasonable objective, but it ignores the conventional wisdom about cyber coercion that says it doesn’t work. A major component of successful coercion is detailing the pain your enemy may endure. Communicating that capability in the cyber realm is likely to induce your enemy to “patch” the vulnerability you were hoping to exploit. How can actors ever coerce targets with cyber weapons if threatening them effectively neutralizes their utility? We propose one possible way of resolving this problem: selectively revealing an individual cyber tactic to your opponent. Exploiting the “perishable” nature of certain cyber weapons helps to address some of the problems with cyber coercion, though many problems will remain. This is true in at least three ways. First, it can reduce the uncertainty surrounding your capabilities by hinting at the breadth or depth of your remaining cyber arsenal. Second, because these weapons can be costly to develop, burning a tactic or vulnerability can serve as a “sunk cost” signal of resolve. Third, since some cyber weapons may be more damaging than others, the choice of which vulnerability to burn can communicate your level of interest in the dispute.

1 0

L'API del lavoro umano
by Antonio Casilli July 2, 2016

July 2, 2016

Inoltro il link verso questa nuova API che ha il potenziale di spingere all'estremo le pratiche di frammentazione lavorativa (microwork) e di captazione del valore prodotto dai lavoratori della piattaforme (digital labor). Si chiama Scale API http://www.scaleapi.com/ ('Get human tasks done with just one line of code') ed è stata lanciata da Alexander Wang et Lucy Guo, due ex dipendenti di Quora, provenienti rispettivamente dal MIT et da Carnegy Mellon. Il principio è semplice: se siete uno sviluppatore, ora potete lanciare delle app che, per esempio, prenota appuntamenti dal dentiste, o filtra contenuti "inappropriati" dalle navigazioni internet, o trascrive testi da immagini fotografate con lo smartphone. Solo che tutte queste tasks non sono realizzare dall'app stessa, ma da una folla di microlavoratori in Romania, Bangladesh, Tunisia, che, per qualche centesimo, prenotano, filtrano o trascrivono a cottimo. Alcun bisogno di call centers, o di dispendiose "click farms": l'API li connette dovunque essi siano a gli trasmette tasks da realizzare in tempo reale. Ci sarebbe molto altro da dire, ma vi lascio trarre le conclusioni che preferite, o che meglio si adattano al vostro settore di studio. Cheers, ---a -- Antonio A. Casilli Associate Professor, Telecom ParisTech Research Fellow Edgar-Morin Center (EHESS)

4 3

Re: [nexa] L'API del lavoro umano
by Maurizio Napolitano July 1, 2016

July 1, 2016

Il 01 lug 2016 20:09, "Matteo G.P. Flora" <mf(a)thefool.it> ha scritto: > > Si tratta di un servizio che esiste, con altri nomi, dal 2003. > La versione più "grande" come fatturato si chiama Mechanical Turk. > Ed è di Amazon Aggiungo il software pybossa che permette di crearsi una soluzione in casa per distribuire vari tipi di task Non ha però un sistema di retribuzione Una istanza di pybossa è su http://crowdcrafting.org ... ammetto però che non avevo pensato a task come "cercami un dentista" o "trovami un volo" Il caso di pybossa è nella raccolta collaborativa di dataset my2cents

1 0

Fwd: UN Human Rights Council Resolution Condemns Internet Shutdowns
by J.C. DE MARTIN July 1, 2016

July 1, 2016

-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: UN Human Rights Council Resolution Condemns Internet Shutdowns Resent-Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:23:43 +0200 Resent-From: d004620(a)polito.it Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2016 09:22:00 -0600 From: David Sullivan <dsullivan(a)globalnetworkinitiative.org> To: participants(a)globalnetworkinitiative.org <participants(a)globalnetworkinitiative.org> https://www.accessnow.org/un-passes-resolution-condemning-internet-shutdown… BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS <https://www.accessnow.org/issue/business-and-human-rights/>DIGITAL SECURITY <https://www.accessnow.org/issue/digital-security/>FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION <https://www.accessnow.org/issue/freedom-of-expression/>NET DISCRIMINATION <https://www.accessnow.org/issue/net-discrimination/>PRIVACY <https://www.accessnow.org/issue/privacy/> UN passes landmark resolution condemning internet shutdowns 1 JULY 2016 | 4:48 AM Tweet <https://www.accessnow.org/un-passes-resolution-condemning-internet-shutdown…> Share <https://www.accessnow.org/un-passes-resolution-condemning-internet-shutdown…> *GENEVA *— Today the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed by consensus to a resolution <https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2016/06/A_HRC_32_L.20_English-…> supporting human rights online, despite efforts by hostile states to eliminate key provisions in the text. The landmark document specifically condemns internet shutdowns and renews 2012 and 2014 resolutions that declared, unequivocally, that human rights apply online just as they do offline. *“The UN has boldly spoken against the pressing problem of internet shutdowns. This unanimous statement by the world’s highest human rights body should give governments pause before they order blocking, throttling, and other barriers to information,”* said Peter Micek, Global Policy and Legal Counsel at Access Now.*“Development and human rights protections are strengthened in tandem when networks remain open, secure, and stable. All stakeholders, from telcos to activists to judges, must band together to demand an end to shutdowns.”* The resolution faced opposition by a small number of influential member states who attempted to water down the text. Access Now joined a group of civil society organizations to urge Human Rights Council member states in a letter <https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38428/en/unhrc:-reject-att…> to pass the resolution by consensus, citing its importance for bridging the gender digital divide; advancing the Sustainable Development Goals; and incorporating a human rights-based approach into expanding internet connectivity. As the letter notes, the Human Rights Council had twice previously affirmed by consensus that “the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.” *“This resolution marks a major milestone in the fight against internet shutdowns. The international community has listened to the voices of civil society — many of whom have suffered under shutdowns themselves — and laudably pushed back on this pernicious practice,”* said Deji Olukotun, Senior Global Advocacy Manager at Access Now. *“Shutdowns harm everyone and allow human rights crackdowns to happen in the dark, with impunity. Citizens can’t participate fully in democratic discourse during elections. The Human Rights Council’s principled stance is a crucial step in telling the world that shutdowns need to stop.”* The #KeepitOn campaign features nearly 90 organizations from 41 countries around the globe who are pushing back on internet shutdowns at every level, from governments to telcos to tech companies to everyday internet users. The full list of organizations is available on the campaign website: https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton/ The UN resolution follows a recent shutdown in <https://twitter.com/TurkeyBlocks/status/747923755079471105>Turkey surrounding bombing attacks, one in Bahrain around protests <https://www.accessnow.org/internet-disrupted-bahrain-around-protests-wrestl…>, and another in Algeria <http://www.smex.org/algeria-reconsiders-blocking-social-media-to-prevent-ch…> to prevent cheating on school exams. Notably, police in Ghana have backtracked from claims <http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/ghana-police-cancel-social-media-…> that they intend to block social media during upcoming elections in November 2016, after an uproar from civil society groups, politicians, and the UN. Last year, Access Now recorded at least 15 internet shutdowns around the world, and has already recorded 20 shutdowns in the first half of 2016. -- David Sullivan Global Network Initiative <http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/> Mobile: +1 646 595 5373 @David_MSullivan <https://twitter.com/David_MSullivan> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "participants" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to participants+unsubscribe(a)globalnetworkinitiative.org <mailto:participants+unsubscribe@globalnetworkinitiative.org>.

1 0

Spotify says Apple won’t approve a new version of its app because it doesn’t want competition for Apple Music - Recode
by J.C. DE MARTIN July 1, 2016

July 1, 2016

http://www.recode.net/2016/6/30/12067578/spotify-apple-app-store-rejection (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

1 0

The Eric Loomis Case and Predictive Crime Assessments: When Algorithms Take the Stand - The Atlantic
by J.C. DE MARTIN July 1, 2016

July 1, 2016

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/when-algorithms-take-… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

1 0