August 2017 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

AI Programs Are Learning to Exclude Some African-American Voices
by Antonio Vetro' Aug. 31, 2017

Aug. 31, 2017

Questo breve articolo fa 2-3 piccoli ma chiari esempi di bias di alcuni algoritmi usati nel riconoscimento vocale e di sentimenti : https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608619/ai-programs-are-learning-to-exclu… Un caro saluto, Antonio

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Corso di Perfezionamento in Criminalità Informatica e Investigazioni Digitali
by Silvia Martinelli Aug. 31, 2017

Aug. 31, 2017

Cari tutti, solo per segnalare il Corso di Perfezionamento dell'Università degli Studi di Milano in Criminalità Informatica e Investigazioni Digitali, Prof. Giovanni Ziccardi, che si terrà a Milano a partire dal mese di ottobre. Il corso si rivolge ai possessori di laurea e laurea magistrale e intende fornire ai partecipanti nozioni al fine di gestire le emergenze connesse alla valutazione, acquisizione e gestione del rischio, della prova digitale e dell’informazione elettronica in generale sia a fini processuali (penali, civili, giuslavoristici, amministrativi) sia per lo svolgimento di investigazioni interne e/o aziendali nonché alla gestione del rischio, della prova digitale in contesti transnazionali e alla comprensione dell’aspetto sostanziale e processuale dei principali e più comuni reati informatici. Il percorso formativo è strutturato in 56 ore di didattica frontale: - stalking e bullismo; - crimini informatici a sfondo sessuale; - odio domestico; - ambito finanziario e aziendale; - diritto di famiglia; - normativa 231, privacy, misure di sicurezza e trattamento illecito dei dati; - reputazione dell’individuo online e sua tutela/violazione. Le lezioni si terranno un giorno a settimana, di giovedì (12 e 26 ottobre, 9,16,23 e 30 novembre, 14 dicembre. Dalle 9 alle 18) Contributo di iscrizione: € 706,00 Per ulteriori informazioni: infomaster.giurisprudenza(a)unimi.it o giovanni.ziccardi(a)unimi.it Iscrizioni aperte da oggi! http://www.unimi.it/studenti/corsiperf/111497.htm Un caro saluto, S.

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NYT: "Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 31, 2017

Aug. 31, 2017

*Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant* By KENNETH P. VOGEL AUG. 30, 2017 WASHINGTON — In the hours after European antitrust regulators levied a record $2.7 billion fine against Google in late June, an influential Washington think tank learned what can happen when a wealthy tech giant is criticized. The New America Foundation has received more than $21 million from Google; its parent company’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt; and his family’s foundation since the think tank’s founding in 1999. That money helped to establish New America as an elite voice in policy debates on the American left and helped Google shape those debates. But not long after one of New America’s scholars posted a statement on the think tank’s website praising the European Union’s penalty against Google, Mr. Schmidt, who had been chairman of New America until 2016, communicated his displeasure with the statement to the group’s president, Anne-Marie Slaughter, according to the scholar. […] Continua qui: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/us/politics/eric-schmidt-google-new-amer…

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Studio accurato Università di Princeton: ISPs Can Use IOT Devices to Spy on You (Smart Home)
by gabriele elia Aug. 30, 2017

Aug. 30, 2017

più o meno ma mettere le cose insieme da un'idea precisa ... ovviamente in Europa non permesso da GDPR p.es. e altre norme privacy g Study: ISPs Can Use IOT Devices to Spy on You -<http://wirelessiq.us8.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=5000b2674aa552c31856aa…> A new study out of Princeton (hat tip, New Scientist) discusses how it's relatively easy for an ISP to use the internet of things (IOT) devices in many households to spy on and collect profitable data on consumers. Such "smart" devices are all the rage, from internet-connected televisions and refrigerators, to numerous flavors of internet-connected smart speakers like Amazon Echo. But in many instances, security and privacy are an afterthought, resulting in the devices being hijacked and used in botnets, or worse. Noah Apthorpe at Princeton University set up a fake home, complete with seven real internet-connected devices, in the hopes of finding out what they might reveal about their users. Apthorpe and other researchers found that it was notably trivial for an ISP to identify and track usage of numerous devices around the home, which could (if it's not already) be used to make the carrier even more money off of your everyday behavior. The study found that ISPs could track a user s sleep patterns by detecting when sleep trackers accessed to the internet, or observe when a home camera detected movement or when someone is watching a live video feed. That should be of concern given that ISPs recently successfully lobbied the GOP and Donald Trump to kill consumer broadband privacy protections that require ISPs to transparently detail what data they collect, and who they sell it to. That said, the study also found that tech-savvy users could take several steps to protect themselves from the prying eyes of their internet service provider. While tunneling smart home traffic through a VPN can help make ISP tracking and monetization of IOT data more difficult, the study found that "certain common device combinations and user activity patterns minimize the ability of a VPN to obfuscate smart home traffic metadata." More effective, according to the study, was home network traffic shaping by independent link padding (ILP), which can prevent any metadata attacks while preserving device functionality -- all with a minimal impact on home-network performance. "For smart homes without devices that stream audio or video, we found that only a maximum of 7.5 KB/s of cover traffic is needed to completely mask user activities," notes the report. "This is < 0.4% of the 2016 average broadband upload and download speeds in the United States. This rate of cover traffic would result in approximately 19GB of extra data used per month, much less than the 1TB monthly broadband data caps enforced by the largest United States and Canadian ISPs. "For smart homes with devices that stream audio or video, we found that no more than 40KB/s of cover traffic per household was needed for effective ILP shaping," the report adds. "While more costly than shaping for non-A/V devices, it is still < 2% of the average upload speeds of United States broadband internet." Those interested can find the full study here (pdf). read comment(s) http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Study-ISPs-Can-Use-IOT-Devices-to-Spy-on… [http://i.dslr.net/syms/b648e600373ebf8380a0f8c850ba043b.jpg]<http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Study-ISPs-Can-Use-IOT-Devices-to-Spy-on…> Study: ISPs Can Use IOT Devices to Spy on You<http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Study-ISPs-Can-Use-IOT-Devices-to-Spy-on…> www.dslreports.com News: A new study out of Princeton (hat tip, New Scientist) discusses how it's relat https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.05044 [1708.05044] Spying on the Smart Home: Privacy Attacks and ...<https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.05044> arxiv.org Abstract: The growing market for smart home IoT devices promises new conveniences for consumers while presenting new challenges for preserving privacy within the home. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2145450-your-broadband-provider-can-us… [https://d1o50x50snmhul.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/25154410/g…]<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2145450-your-broadband-provider-can-us…> Your broadband provider can use your smart devices to spy on you<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2145450-your-broadband-provider-can-us…> www.newscientist.com We knew hackers can use our voice assistants, baby monitors and even vibrators to put us under surveillance. But broadband providers may be a bigger threat

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VI Premio internazionale Vittorio Frosini in informatica giuridica e diritto dell'informatica 2015-2017
by avv. Monica A. Senor Aug. 30, 2017

Aug. 30, 2017

Ricevo e volentieri giro in lista: La Rivista Il diritto dell'informazione e dell'informatica, unitamente con la famiglia Frosini, promuove il premio dedicato alla memoria di Vittorio Frosini e destinato a una tesi di dottorato in informatica giuridica e diritto dellinformatica già discussa, oppure presentata in via definitiva, negli anni 2015-2016-2017. Il premio giunto alla sesta edizione è ormai internazionale e intende rendere omaggio alla memoria di Vittorio Frosini, ricordando il Suo contributo di fondatore della informatica giuridica in Italia, attraverso la Sua pionieristica opera Cibernetica, diritto e società del 1968, e poi in numerosissimi studi nellarco di oltre trentanni. Il bando di concorso del premio che è visibile al seguente link: http://www.fondazionecalamandrei.it. Un caro saluto, Monica

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Paper: "Artificial Intelligence Policy: A Roadmap"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 30, 2017

Aug. 30, 2017

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3015350 *Artificial Intelligence Policy: A Roadmap* 30 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2017 Ryan Calo University of Washington - School of Law; Stanford University - Law School; Yale Law School Date Written: August 8, 2017 Abstract Talk of artificial intelligence is everywhere. People marvel at the capacity of machines to translate any language and master any game. Others condemn the use of secret algorithms to sentence criminal defendants or recoil at the prospect of machines gunning for blue, pink, and white-collar jobs. Some worry aloud that artificial intelligence will be humankind’s “final invention.” This essay, prepared in connection with UC Davis Law Review's 50th anniversary symposium, explains why AI is suddenly on everyone's mind and provides a roadmap to the major policy questions AI raises. The essay is designed to help policymakers, investors, technologists, scholars, and students understand the contemporary policy environment around AI at least well enough to initiative their own exploration. Topics covered include: • Justice and equity • Use of force • Safety and certification • Privacy (including data parity); and • Taxation and displacement of labor In addition to these topics, the essay will touch briefly on a selection of broader systemic questions: • Institutional configuration and expertise • Investment and procurement • Removing hurdles to accountability; and • Correcting mental models of AI Keywords: artificial intelligence, robotics, policy, law, ethics

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"The right to ‘offend, shock or disturb,’ or the importance of protecting unpleasant speech"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 29, 2017

Aug. 29, 2017

*The right to ‘offend, shock or disturb,’ or the importance of protecting unpleasant speech* Nani Jansen ReventlowAssociate Tenant, Doughty Street Chambers. @bkcharvard fellow @cyberlawclinic advisor. Free speech, a fundamental component of democracy, has been the subject of increasing debate as harmful speech, both online and offline, has emerged as a topic of public attention. While a recent New York Times article calls into question whether fixing problems such as online harassment is even possible, the serious threat that online abuse, especially of women, poses to free speech is widely acknowledged. With such harms in mind, this brief essay does not dispute the importance of striving toward an internet that is a safe and open space for all to exchange views and ideas, regardless of gender, race, religion, or affiliation. Instead, it intends to underline the importance of devising measures to combat harmful speech online that leave sufficient space for the right to “offend, shock or disturb,” as the European Court of Human Rights aptly stated in the Handyside case. While stopping short of arguing for the creation of a “right to insult,” as was recently proposed, this essay does argue that we should take care in safeguarding a space in which unpleasant, unpopular, and offensive ideas and views can be freely shared, to ensure that free speech indeed remains the cornerstone of a democratic society. […] Continua qui: https://medium.com/berkman-klein-center/the-right-to-offend-shock-or-distur…

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Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Supreme Court in Unanimous Verdict
by Alberto Cammozzo Aug. 25, 2017

Aug. 25, 2017

Implicazioni per Aadhaar. <https://thewire.in/170303/supreme-court-aadhaar-right-to-privacy/> New Delhi: A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, that it is intrinsic to life and liberty and thus comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution. On Thursday, the bench, led by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar, pronounced a unanimous judgement even if the judges had slightly different arguments as to how privacy is intrinsic to right to life and liberty. The bench comprised Chief Justice Khehar and Justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde, R.K. Agrawal, Rohinton Nariman, A.M. Sapre, D.Y. Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S. Abdul Nazeer. In its 547-page judgment <https://www.scribd.com/document/357098939/SC-Right-to-Privacy-Judgment#from…> that declares privacy to be a fundamental right, the Supreme Court has overruled verdicts given in the /M.P. Sharma/ case in 1958 and the /Kharak Singh/ case in 1961, both of which said that the right to privacy is not protected under the Indian constitution. The judgment includes within it six separate judgments from different judges, though the conclusion is unanimous. /The Wire/ has broken the main judgment into its constituent parts to make it easier to see what the different judges said. (see below) The judgment also included a two-page final order, which states that /MP Sharma/ and /Kharak Singh/ are overruled, and the right to privacy is fundamental. [...]

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Il cyber-tribunale cinese, Alibaba e il conflitto di interessi 2.0
by Guido Noto La Diega Aug. 24, 2017

Aug. 24, 2017

Nel nuovo cyber-tribunale tutto e' smaterializzato, l'identita' delle parti e' verificata tramite Alibaba, che e' anche responsabile per la sicurezza delle comunicazioni del tribunale... "Taobao, an online marketplace founded by Alibaba, has recently been under fire for allowing vendors to sell both illegal VPNs <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-censorship-vpn-idUSKCN1AX0KX> that allow individuals to bypass China’s online censorship and customized photos and videos featuring African children <https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/10/16121668/chinese-web-merchants-taobao-af…> that have been called racist and exploitative. If the newly established cyber-court handles cases against Taobao, that means Alibaba could end up hosting and authorizing legal proceedings against itself." https://www.theverge.com/tech/2017/8/18/16167836/china-cyber-court-hangzhou… -- Guido Dr Guido Noto La Diega Lecturer in Law @ Northumbria University CEO @italiot | Fellow @ Nexa Center for Internet & Society | Founder @DPA2018 Northumbria Law School City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST noto.la.diega(a)gmail.com +44(0)191 349 5562 Twitter @guidonld You can access my papers on Academia.edu <http://northumbria.academia.edu/GuidoNotoLaDiega> and on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1794950>) This e-mail and any attachment hereto are strictly confidential and are exclusively intended for the person above identified. Without intended recipient’s entitlement, use, copy and dissemination of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received it in error, please advice us immediately by telephone and return the documents received to the above address, deleting the files. Thank you. Unless necessary, please do not print this e-mail.

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Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right
by avv. Monica A. Senor Aug. 24, 2017

Aug. 24, 2017

Importantissima pronuncia della Corte suprema indiana, con decisione unanime, in tema di privacy e data protection: https://thewire.in/170303/supreme-court-aadhaar-right-to-privacy/

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EFF's Jillian York on censorship: "What we need is for companies to choose openness, transparency, and due process"
by gianluca quaglia Aug. 24, 2017

Aug. 24, 2017

EFF's Jillian York on censorship: "What we need is for companies to choose openness, transparency, and due process" Continua qui https://www.facebook.com/eff/posts/10154674401606946 -- Sent from my smartphone Excuse any typos due to small screen (also...)

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Sonos says users must accept new privacy policy
by gianluca quaglia Aug. 24, 2017

Aug. 24, 2017

Sonos says users must accept new privacy policy or devices may "cease to function" Continue here http://www.zdnet.com/article/sonos-accept-new-privacy-policy-speakers-cease… -- Sent from my smartphone Excuse any typos due to small screen (also...)

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Elon Musk leads 116 experts calling for outright ban of killer robots
by Alberto Cammozzo Aug. 21, 2017

Aug. 21, 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/20/elon-musk-killer-robots-… Some of the world’s leading robotics and artificial intelligence pioneers are calling on the United Nations to ban the development and use of killer robots. Tesla’s Elon Musk and Google’s Mustafa Suleyman are leading a group of 116 specialists from across 26 countries who are calling for the ban on autonomous weapons. The UN recently voted to begin formal discussions on such weapons which include drones, tanks and automated machine guns. Ahead of this, the group of founders of AI and robotics companies have sent an open letter to the UN calling for it to prevent the arms race that is currently under way for killer robots. ...

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Fwd: China’s dystopian push to revolutionize surveillance
by Alberto Cammozzo Aug. 21, 2017

Aug. 21, 2017

-------- Original Message -------- From: Greg Walton <greg.secure(a)GMAIL.COM> Sent: August 20, 2017 2:24:34 PM GMT+02:00 To: SURVEILLANCE(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: China’s dystopian push to revolutionize surveillance China’s dystopian push to revolutionize surveillance By Maya Wang | August 18 at 10:09 AM Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/ 2017/08/18/chinas-dystopian-push-to-revolutionize-surveillance /?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.df73d813863e As part of a new multimillion-dollar project in Xinjiang, the Chinese government is attempting to “build a fortress city with technologies <http://stock.jrj.com.cn/2017/07/03210922691114.shtml>.” If this sounds Orwellian, that’s because it is. According to the Sina online news portal, the project is supposed to strengthen the authorities’ hands against unexpected social unrest. Using “big data” from various sources, including the railway system and visitors’ systems in private residential compounds, its ultimate aim is to “predict … individuals and vehicles posing heightened risks <https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:IcPjLZTnMjwJ:news.sin…>” to public safety. And this isn’t the only project in China that aims to expand surveillancewhile denying people privacy rights. Across the country, local governments are spending billions of dollars <http://homelandsecurityresearch.com/2013/09/china-safe-cities-technologies-…> implementing sophisticated technological systems for mass surveillance. The consequences for human rights are ominous. [image: subscribe] The story must be told. Your subscription supports journalism that matters. Try 1 month for 99¢ <https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?promo=display_hp_subsbnr_…> Beijing’s impulse to surveil is certainly not new. But mass migration and privatization during the transition to a market economy have undermined the power of older practices that allowed the state to keep tabs on people, such as the “hukou” residency registration system. To bolster and broaden surveillance, the Ministry of Public Security turned to new technologies, launching the Golden Shield Project <https://books.google.com/books?id=S9rP0A2q14UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inaut…> in 2000 <https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/FreedomOfInf…>. The project aims to build a nationwide, intelligent digital surveillance network capable of identifying and locating individuals, as well as offering the state immediate access to personal records <https://archive.org/stream/230159-china-golden-shield/230159-china-golden-s…> at the push of a button. This dystopian project is bearing fruit. China’s pervasive Internet censorship and its use of countless security cameras <https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/05/one-legacy-of-tiananmen-chin…> in public spaces are well known. Recent reporting reveals authorities’ aspirations to enable facial recognition <https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-all-seeing-surveillance-state-feared-in-th…> through upgraded cameras, to calculate citizens’ “social credit” scores based on economic and social status and to establish a national DNA database <https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/15/china-police-dna-database-threatens-pri…> that logs genetic code irrespective of anyone’s connection to a crime. But we still know little of China’s full range of efforts to revolutionize surveillance. We have few details about China’s use of voice and speech recognition. There has not been any investigation into China’s nationwide “safe city” projects that vow to promote public safety using technology. We know even less about how China plans to use big data for crime prediction. What we do know is that China has no effective privacy protections and that it often treats peaceful speech as a crime. It is also worrying that some of these systems are designed to identify “focus personnel <https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2017/06/20/tibet-glossary-repr…>” — a catchall term for both those with a criminal record and those whom authorities deem threatening or antisocial, including peaceful critics, political activists, minorities or people with a drug use record. The story of Wu Bing <http://news.sina.com.cn/c/zg/jpm/2015-06-26/12541179.html> may offer a taste of what is to come. Wu is one of nearly 3 million individuals whose name is logged into a police database known as the “Online Dynamic Control and Early Warning System for Drug Addicts.” Wu kicked the habit in 2005, but whenever he uses his ID — when he checks into a hotel, for example — the police are alerted and sometimes force him to take a drug test. What’s worse, the Chinese government is promoting its surveillance model abroad. It has pushed the concept of “Internet sovereignty <https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-pushes-to-rewrite-rules-of-global-intern…>” — the idea that, instead of a free World Wide Web, a country’s rulers should determine what netizens can say and read. And its efforts are aided by Chinese companies eager to peddle their wares. In 2014, a Human Rights Watch report <https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/25/ethiopia-telecom-surveillance-chills-ri…> found that Chinese telecom giant ZTE sold technology and provided training to monitor mobile phones and Internet activity to Ethiopia’s repressive government. Meanwhile, closed-circuit television cameras and monitoring systems made by Chinese companies — some high-definition and equipped with facial and movement recognition powers — have been sold to countries around the world, including Brazil <http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2016-08/18/c_129239008.htm>, Ecuador <http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2016-08/18/c_129239008.htm>, Kenya <http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2016-11/04/content_27269942.htm> and Britain <https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/communist-state-funded-cctv-company-that…> . But we are beginning to see a backlash against Chinese companies with strong ties to the Chinese government, prompted by security concerns. In July 2017, Germany <http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/germany-curbs-foreign…> became the first European Union nation to tighten rules on foreign corporate acquisitions; this ensures that Germany retains control over critical technologies, including artificial intelligence applications. Others, including the United States <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-artificialintelligence-idUSKBN…> and Britain <https://www.ft.com/content/9cb95e84-6bc2-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0> are mulling similar restrictions. Yet foreign governments need to take stronger and more systematic action. They should first understand and review the ways in which the transfer of technologies used for abusive purposes is taking place. The United States needs to review and enhance a long-standing ban on exporting policing and “crime control” equipment to China. The sanctions, passed in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, have been largely ineffective in preventing U.S.-based companies <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/selling-china-surveillance> from selling software and hardware for surveillance purposes. That review should ensure that the list of equipment barred is regularly updated or supplemented to cover the latest technologies and that the sanctions are vigorously enforced. If the Chinese government’s Orwellian drive at home does not alarm the international community, its willingness to export that approach should. It’s not just the liberty of people in China at stake — it is the liberty of people across the globe. **************************************************** This is a message from the SURVEILLANCE listserv for research and teaching in surveillance studies. To unsubscribe, please send the following message to <LISTSERV(a)jiscmail.ac.uk>: UNSUBSCRIBE SURVEILLANCE For further help, please visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help ****************************************************

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Re: [nexa] DiDIY
by elio.pennisi Aug. 21, 2017

Aug. 21, 2017

Nella pagina indicata manca (o non sono stato bravo a trovare) l'icona per accedere alla sottoscrizione. Elio. Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2017 09:37:41 +0200 From: "M. Fioretti" <mfioretti(a)nexaima.net> To: Nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> Subject: [nexa] Digital DIY Manifesto Message-ID: <680cefc9961c4b14ca7e2964cc9f8dfa(a)nexaima.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Dal DiDIY Project: Come e perché il fai-da-te digitale è importante per la società: un Manifesto che verrà inviato alla Commissione Europea, e siete tutti invitati a firmare, e ovviamente a far girare: http://www.didiy.eu/blogs/please-sign-digital-diy-manifesto Grazie e buone ferie, Marco -- http://mfioretti.com ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ nexa mailing list nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa ------------------------------ End of nexa Digest, Vol 99, Issue 30 ************************************ Elio PENNISI

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FastCompany: "You Are Being Exploited By The Opaque, Algorithm-Driven Economy"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 20, 2017

Aug. 20, 2017

*You Are Being Exploited By The Opaque, Algorithm-Driven Economy* / //Online shoppers are like Jim Carrey’s character in the Truman Show, // //totally oblivious to the actual forces controlling their reality. / By Ben Schiller 4 August 2017 5 minute Read Is internet shopping like The Truman Show–a movie about a man who thinks himself free, but whose life is actually controlled by a TV producer? Are we online consumers like Truman Burbank, hopelessly and blissfully naive while titanic companies control our fate? Are the prices we pay online a function of a competitive market, or are our choices framed in ways we don’t quite fathom? These provocative questions are posed in a fascinating book about how platform internet companies (Amazon, Facebook, and so on) are changing the norms of economic competition. Virtual Competition: The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm-Driven Economy argues that these companies, with their immense data advantage, are effectively making their own rules in the marketplace, beating back new market entrants, and disadvantaging customers. […] Continua qui: https://www.fastcompany.com/40447841/you-are-being-exploited-by-the-opaque-…

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London cops urged to scrap use of 'biased' facial recognition at Notting Hill Carnival
by Alberto Cammozzo Aug. 19, 2017

Aug. 19, 2017

Year-on-year deployment isn’t really a trial, say privacy groups <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/17/concerns_over_facial_recognition_a…> London's Metropolitan Police have been urged to back down on plans to once again use facial recognition software at next weekend's Notting Hill Carnival. Privacy groups including Big Brother Watch, Liberty and Privacy International have written to police commissioner Cressida Dick <https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/sites/default/files/Joint%20letter%…> (PDF) calling for a U-turn on the use of the tech. Automated facial recognition technology will snap the party-goers' faces, and run them against a database. The aim is to alert cops to people who are banned from the festival or are wanted by the police, presumably so they can take immediate action. The tech was first tested at the festival – where relations between police and revellers are often strained – last year <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/26/notting_hill_carnival_police_surve…>, but it failed to identify anyone. Despite this, the Met said at the time <http://news.met.police.uk/news/statement-from-police-commander-for-notting-…> that it had "resulted in positive learning" and is describing this year's use as a continuation of the trial. It also said in a statement sent to /The Register/ that there would be a public consultation after the trial is complete. But the privacy groups' letter said that they "reject the notion that year-on-year deployment constitutes a 'trial' – for which, by the Force's own admission, there are 'no timescales'". The letter also points to reports of inherent biases in the system – research has previously shown <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6327355/> that matching accuracies are lower on certain cohorts of people: women, black people, and those aged 18-30. "Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community," the letter states. "We reject the proposition that it is appropriate to test biometric surveillance on this community." [...]

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FT: "Digital platforms force a rethink in competition theory"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 19, 2017

Aug. 19, 2017

*Digital platforms force a rethink in competition theory* /Economists need to provide regulators with tools to deal with market concentration// / Diane Coyle /professor of economics at the University of Manchester /August 17, 2017 Anxiety about the health of competition in the US economy — and elsewhere — is growing. The concern may be well founded but taking forceful action will require economists to provide some practical ways of proving and measuring the harm caused by increasing market power in the digital economy. The forces driving concentration do not affect the US alone. In all digital markets, the cost structure of high upfront costs and low additional or marginal costs means there are large economies of scale. The broad impact of digital technology has been to increase the scope of the markets many businesses can hope to reach. / /[…] Continua qui: https://www.ft.com/content/9dc80408-81e1-11e7-94e2-c5b903247afd / /

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Fwd: [netsociety] How significant is algorithmic personalization in searches for political parties and candidates?
by Alberto Cammozzo Aug. 17, 2017

Aug. 17, 2017

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"Social media intelligence and profiling in the insurance industry…"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 16, 2017

Aug. 16, 2017

*Social media intelligence and profiling in the insurance industry…* *…it’s not only the price you pay that will be affected* /This piece was written by PI research officer Dr. Tom Fisher./ The financial services industry is eager to gather more and more data about our lives. Apart from mining the data they have historically collected such as credit history, they are looking to use our social media profiles to reach into our friendships and social interactions. They are using these data in new and unexpected ways, including personality profiling to determine the risk of lending to you, and thus the price you will pay. Firstcarquote, a product from the car insurance company Admiral Insurance, is a leading example of such unexpected data exploitation. In a semi-aborted product launch in November 2016, the company proposed to use young drivers’ Facebook posts to determine their personality and use this information to offer discounts on car insurance. Not limited to causing damage to its own reputation, Admiral’s move raises serious questions about the future of the insurance industry. […] Continua qui: https://medium.com/privacy-international/social-media-intelligence-and-prof…

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Digitalizzazione italica
by don Luca Peyron Aug. 16, 2017

Aug. 16, 2017

Un articolo che ci racconta lo stato dell'arte in Italia. Buona lettura Dl http://www.ilfoglio.it/tecnologia/2017/08/13/news/sono-diego-risolvo-proble…

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Workers' Technology Bill of Rights (1983)
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 12, 2017

Aug. 12, 2017

Nel 1983 la International Association of Machinists USA pubblicava una "Workers' Technology Bill of Rights" (in allegato) Sono passati 34 anni ma è ancora interessante leggerla. Una traduzione in italiano è inclusa nel volume "La questione tecnologica" di David F. Noble (Bollati Boringhieri, 1993). Vale la pena segnalare che i Machinists pubblicarono la loro Bill of Rights sulla rivista "Democracy", diretta dal grande scienziato politico Sheldon Wolin. I (notevoli) annali dal 1981 al 1983 sono disponibili qui: https://dja8183.org/. juan carlos

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Cohem (Paper): "Law for the Platform Economy"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 11, 2017

Aug. 11, 2017

*Law for the Platform Economy* UC Davis Law Review, Forthcoming 51 Pages Posted: 24 Jun 2017 Julie E. Cohen Georgetown University Law Center Date Written: June 22, 2017 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2991261 Abstract This article explores patterns of legal-institutional change in the emerging, platform-driven economy. Its starting premise is that the platform is not simply a new business model, a new social technology, or a new infrastructural formation (although it is also all of those things). Rather, it is the core organizational form of the emerging informational economy. Platforms do not enter or expand markets; they replace (and rematerialize) them. The article argues that legal institutions, including both entitlements and regulatory institutions, have systematically facilitated the platform economy’s emergence. It first describes the evolution of the platform as a mode of economic (re)organization and introduces the ways that platforms restructure both economic exchange and patterns of information flow more generally. It then explores some of the ways that actions and interventions by and on behalf of platform businesses are reshaping the landscape of legal entitlements and obligations. Finally, it describes challenges that platform-based intermediation of the information environment has posed for existing regulatory institutions and traces some of the emerging institutional responses. Keywords: platforms, data, algorithms, information, intermediation, institutions

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Fwd: [IP] re Apple refuses to override user location spying choices
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 11, 2017

Aug. 11, 2017

Controcanto su Apple e AML. juan carlos -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [IP] re Apple refuses to override user location spying choices Resent-Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2017 01:22:56 +0200 Resent-From: d004620(a)polito.it Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 19:21:51 -0400 From: Dave Farber <farber(a)gmail.com> Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net To: ip <ip(a)listbox.com> > Begin forwarded message: > > *From: *John Gilmore <gnu(a)toad.com <mailto:gnu@toad.com>> > *Subject: **Re: [IP] Apple refuses to override user location spying > choices* > *Date: *August 10, 2017 at 6:18:57 PM EDT > *To: *dave(a)farber.net <mailto:dave@farber.net> > *Cc: *"ip" <ip(a)listbox.com <mailto:ip@listbox.com>> > >> Apple refuses to enable iPhone emergency settings that could save >> countless lives >> >> https://thenextweb.com/apple/2017/08/10/apple-refuses-enable-iphone-setting… >> >>> OK why Apple are you refusing? Dfarber > > Because they've stopped beating their wives, of course. > > [first, note that the above URL contains covert tracking information, > that "#.tnw_O0GihW8u" on the end. Lauren, Dave, don't you strip that > stuff off before sending it to hundreds or thousands of friends? You > should!] > > I'm not a big Apple defender, but Apple is probably making the right > choice here. The extremely slanted article that Dave and Lauren > forwarded neglects to mention giving users real choice about their own > privacy. It also neglects the use of large-company Internet-based > physical tracking services that are required and used for this > supposedly "simple" AML (Advanced Mobile Location) feature. > > If users have location services turned off, they should stay off, even > for emergency calls. I don't want Apple (or Google especially) > overriding my choices about whether my phone is going to track me. > Especially not with the explicit connivance of government and > supranational eurocrats. These guys are famous for forcing stupid > privacy choices on the public (like the RFID chips in passports, > chosen because the immigration bureaucrats didn't consider merely > moving their OCR passport readers 20 feet back along the queue of > incoming people). > > On my own free software Android phone I enable the phone to find its > location via receive-only radio transmissions from GNSS satellites > (US's GPS, Europe's GLONASS, and China's Beidou satellites). This > enables my free software mapping application (OsmAnd, which uses the > free culture OpenStreetMap database, which is stored directly in my > phone) to help me navigate. Neither Android nor OsmAnd is reporting > either my general position or my specific location to ANY satellites > nor ANY servers anywhere. (Yes, Virginia, it is possible and easy to > use mapping applications that DO NOT report your location to Apple, > Google, Bing, NSA, or anybody else. Of course, Apple, Google, Bing, > and NSA don't tell you that.) > > I explicitly do not turn on "WiFi" or "GSM base station" location > services. That's because these services both require that the phone > first listen to the local radio environment, and then REPORT that > radio environment to servers run by large companies, via the Internet. > These servers, run by Apple or Google or their subcontractors, store > that information, and then reply to my phone with location information > about those specific WiFi access points and those specific GSM cell > towers. In both cases, some big company has silently collected a data > point about where my phone is, and thus where I am. And they are > under no obligation to me to use that information solely for my own > benefit; quite the opposite. They use it for their OWN benefit, and > even use it to build up their databases about WiFi access points they > haven't yet discovered. They use it to sell things to me. They use > it to report me to government agencies and civil suit opponents under > subpoenas, wiretap orders, or National Security Letters. Etc. > > The article about AML was closely cribbed from press releases and > other info published by EENA, the European Emergency Number > Association, a nonprofit funded by EU project funding and by commercial > vendors who sell to police agencies.(*) The article and the EENA press > release carefully neglect to point out how the government-requested > AML feature would both override the user's location privacy settings, > and would report the user's location to some large faceless > corporation: > > "The process is completely automated. ... turn[s] on GNSS (global > navigation satellite system) and Wi-Fi. The phone then automatically > sends an SMS to emergency services, detailing the location of the > caller." > > The "report my location to large corporation" step between "turn on > Wi-Fi" and "send an SMS to emergency services" has conveniently been > ignored by this slanted article. It's all about Saving the Children, > not about Government Mandated Citizen Tracking Via Megacorps. The > "ignore my privacy settings" step isn't mentioned either; instead, > EENA is quoted as saying "accurate location information should be sent > during ALL emergency calls (emphasis theirs)" -- regardless of the > user's privacy choices. After all, who's in charge here? The > police agencies, or the citizen? > > The article also doesn't report that a significant fraction of calls > to government emergency services (911 in the US; 112 in Europe) are > spurious, typically "pocket dials". AML would report your location to > a company and to the emergency bureau, not just for real 911 calls > that you make in an emergency, but for every 911 pocket dial as well. > Try a web search for "911 pocket dial" for tons of links like these: > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_dialing#Accidental_calling_of_emergenc… > https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/remember-to-lock-your-phone-91… > http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/man-dies-911-dispatchers-mistake-call-for-p… > http://abcnews.go.com/US/911-pocket-dial-leads-arrest-burglary-charges/stor… > https://www.yahoo.com/gma/blogs/abc-news/apparent-butt-dial-oregon-police-l… > http://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2014/12/woman_25_arrested_after_pocket… > > This vague ETSI tech report for AML is the best technical description > available of the service: > > http://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_tr/103300_103399/103393/01.01.01_60/tr_103… > > It notes that if you're roaming in another country, either the SMS > containing your location will go to your home country (not to the > local emergency dispatcher -- another location information leak), or > the phone will need to contain a database of countries and their > dispatcher SMS numbers, plus a mechanism for regularly updating this > database. The report ignores the idea that the emergency dispatchers > in each country should be able to forward such information to the > right country's dispatchers; the standard tries to push all the > complication into the phone firmware. > > It also states that: > > "The use of AML software should be invisible to the user so > as not to confuse them when they are trying to get help. > > No record of the SMS message should be available to > the user either during or after the emergency call." > > In other words, don't tell the user that you spied on them, and don't > let them see any record of your spying. > > It also notes that turning on location services can drain the battery, > thus terminating the voice 911 call earlier. > > It also says that a Time of Positioning should be sent in the SMS > message; "the handset should attempt to use the time established by an > NTP server, this should be possible if a network connection is > available." So now there's a second access to an NTP server somewhere > on the Internet, that AML is requiring the handset to do, invisibly. > > It's getting less and less simple, the more we look into the details... > > Meanwhile, the proponents(*) have this to say: > > http://www.eena.org/download.asp?item_id=209 > > "Are there any privacy risks? > > No. ..." > > John > > (*) EENA says it's a nonprofit, not a regulator. But it lobbies for > and coordinates 1300 police agency bureaucrats from all over Europe > and the world. It's funded by ~400K euros of project funding from the > EU government, plus 90 corporate members each paying 10,000 euros a > year for the privilege of marketing their products to the 1300 "no > membership fee" bureaucrat members; total about 1.1M euros a year. We > are seeing more orgs like this, full of officials but exempt from FOIA > and sunshine laws, pushing totalitarian "solutions" that then their > members go back and mandate in their own jurisdictions. AAMVA is a > big one in the US, pushing the idea that to solve "terrorism", > everyone needs a government issued ID, tied to a national ID database, > just to exist or travel. Its membership: Heads of Departments of > Motor Vehicles in each state -- the ones who issue those ID cards. > They decline to allow privacy activists to join their membership, > conferences, or discussions; we tried.

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"Apple refuses to enable iPhone emergency settings that could save countless lives"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Aug. 10, 2017

Aug. 10, 2017

*Apple refuses to enable iPhone emergency settings that could save countless lives* by Már Másson Maack Despite being relatively easy, Apple keeps ignoring requests to enable a feature called Advanced Mobile Location (AML) in iOS. Enabling AML would give emergency services extremely accurate locations of emergency calls made from iPhones, dramatically decreasing response time. As TNW covered before, Google’s successful implementation of AML for Android is already saving lives. But where Android users have become safer, iPhone owners have been left behind. The European Emergency Number Association (EENA), the organization behind implementing AML for emergency services, released a statement today that pleads Apple to consider the safety of its customers and participate in the program: “As AML is being deployed in more and more countries, iPhone users are put at a disadvantage compared to Android users in the scenario that matters most: An emergency. EENA calls on Apple to integrate Advanced Mobile Location in their smartphones for the safety of their customers.” […] Continua qui: https://thenextweb.com/apple/2017/08/10/apple-refuses-enable-iphone-setting…

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