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FT: "Should we think of Big Tech as Big Brother?" (recensione dell'ultimo libro di Zuboff)
by J.C. DE MARTIN Jan. 7, 2019

Jan. 7, 2019

*Should we think of Big Tech as Big Brother?* /Are tech companies manipulating data to control human behaviour — or are their leaders simply naive?/ John Thornhill January 4, 2019 Many adjectives could be used to describe Shoshana Zuboff’s latest book: groundbreaking, magisterial, alarming, alarmist, preposterous. One will do: unmissable. As we grope around in the darkness trying to grasp the contours of our digital era, *The Age of Surveillance Capitalism *shines a searing light on how this latest revolution is transforming our economy, politics, society — and lives. As the inventor of the concept of “surveillance capitalism”, Zuboff fulfils a persuasive role in explaining the ways in which this “voracious and utterly novel commercial project” is radically rewriting the rules of the economic game, creating extraordinary new asymmetries of knowledge and power. By tracking our every click, our every digital expression of interest, ambition, longing and desire, the surveillance capitalists can climb inside our heads and sell those behavioural insights on to their real customers, the advertisers. [...] continua qui: https://www.ft.com/content/43980f9c-0f5b-11e9-a3aa-118c761d2745

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NYTimes.com: We Should Be Able to Take Facebook to Court
by Alberto Cammozzo Jan. 7, 2019

Jan. 7, 2019

<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/opinion/facebook-privacy-violation.html> After The New York Times revealed last month that Facebook continued to share personal information of millions of consumers with companies like Netflix, Yahoo, Spotify and Google — despite contrary assertions to Congress — many people decided to delete their Facebook accounts. But if Facebook’s actions, as described by The Times, violated the law, consumers should be able to send an even more powerful message, one that could leave a much larger imprint on the company’s ledger books: suing the company for damages. Facebook knows this and has been working to make it near impossible to do so. For example, consumers recently filed a lawsuit in Illinois claiming Facebook violated a state privacy law by using facial recognition technology on their uploaded photographs without their consent. Facebook is fighting the lawsuit by trying to get the court to buy into troubling arguments that would make it even more difficult for consumers to sue lawbreaking companies for damages. Facebook is arguing that the law at issue doesn’t grant consumers the ability to sue companies, otherwise known as a “private right of action,” based solely on the fact that a company violated the law. Instead, according to Facebook, consumers should have to show that the lawbreaking practice caused additional harm beyond a mere violation to get their day in court and damages. If you applied Facebook’s twisted interpretation of the law in this case to other contexts, sharing your intimate messages without your permission or handing over detailed profiles of you to political operatives without your consent — even if in direct violation of the law — alone shouldn’t cost the company a penny in court. Facebook is paradoxically arguing that privacy itself has no price, even in cases where it’s this precise lack of privacy that allows it to turn a profit. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this argument, and other companies have made similar arguments in privacy lawsuits. In addition, major industry players, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have put forward similar views. They are fighting legislation that would grant consumers the ability to sue companies for privacy violations and are lobbying for federal privacy legislation where enforcement is tied only to “concrete” harm, not necessarily to violations of the law. It’s easy to see why. Huge privacy violations have become commonplace. Without a private right of action, consumers have little practical ability to seek relief in cases where their data was mishandled or misused. This eliminates a powerful enforcement stick that can be used to dissuade companies from violating the law. A private right of action is also important because government agencies often do not have the resources to investigate and take action in every case where consumers’ privacy is violated. So, a private right of action may be the only avenue to hold a company accountable. In rare cases, the harm from a privacy violation may be clear, such as losing a job, money or sense of safety. But in most cases, the harm, while staggering, can be virtually impossible to measure. For example, how do you prove the collective impact of having companies profile you based on sensitive health data, affecting things like the content you see and the ads you’re served? How do you measure the national-security or societal impact of having people targeted with divisive and exploitative ads? How do you determine the collective impact of consumers’ being stripped of control over information they own and having intimate details of their life, like relationship status and political views, shared with countless entities? Industry players often seek to take advantage of the extreme difficulty that most people face in showing exactly how they have been hurt by a privacy violation. The bar is almost impossibly high for consumers or regulators who seek to rein in abusive data practices. Under the view that consumers must show “concrete” harm, it would not be enough to show that a company violated the law by, for example, sharing information without permission. And it would not be enough to show that millions of consumers were affected or that billions of pieces of information were improperly shared. For a fine or damages to be imposed, consumers would instead have the difficult burden of demonstrating that the unlawful collection of their own data damaged them in a tangible and measurable way, like causing physical, emotional or financial harm.

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"Microsoft and the Yeoman Coders"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Jan. 7, 2019

Jan. 7, 2019

Di sei mesi fa, ma non l'avevo notato. jc * --------- Microsoft and the Yeoman Coders** * /By Gavin Mueller / This past week, Microsoft acquired <https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-b…> open-source code repository GitHub. In the /longue durée/ of the tech industry, it was a world-historical about-face: open-source code, which allows other programmers and interested parties to view, and even copy and modify code, arose in opposition to software companies that rely on strong intellectual property protections to wall off their products from technologically skilled users. In its early days, personal computing was a hobbyist pursuit in which young men (and it was mostly men) tinkered collectively with mail-order kits. Commercial software was scarce: you had to program things yourself. Within this milieu arose a robust culture of cracking things open and sharing what insights you found. Learning from others’ code was commonplace, as was passing around programs. [...] continua qui: https://jacobinmag.com/2018/06/github-microsoft-open-source-code-technology

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Finland's Plan to Train Population in AI
by Enrico Nardelli Jan. 7, 2019

Jan. 7, 2019

... sarò paranoico, ma secondo me stanno scherzando col fuoco... Finland’s plan to train its population in artificial intelligence. https://www.politico.eu/article/finland-one-percent-ai-artificial-intellige… Ciao, Enrico -- EN ===================================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/blog/enardelli/ http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ ===================================================================== --

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115° Mercoledì di Nexa | 9 gennaio 2019
by Nexa Media Jan. 7, 2019

Jan. 7, 2019

Nexa Center for Internet and Society Newsletter Se non visualizzi correttamente questo messaggio clicca qui <http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-115> NEXA 115° Mercoledì di Nexa Mercoledì 9 gennaio 2019, ore 18.00 - 20.00 Politecnico di Torino http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-115 Trasparenza on line e lo strumento del FOIA. Dialogo con i cittadini: scenari e impatto applicativo Speaker Introduce e coordina: Avv. Mauro Alovisio (Fellow Centro Nexa) This event will be webcast live: http://nexa.polito.it/upcoming-events Il panorama normativo italiano contempla diversi meccanismi di accesso a dati e documenti detenuti dalla pubblica amministrazione. L’*Accesso Civico Generalizzato* o Freedom of Information Act (FOIA introdotto dal d.lgs. n. 97/2016) è il più recente e, per molti versi, anche il più controverso dei meccanismi di accesso. Nella gestione di questo particolare procedimento, l’opportunità di alimentare partecipazione e controllo diffuso a beneficio della collettività sovente *confligge con la necessità di tutelare interessi* pubblici e privati oppure con la protezione dei dati personali. Il legislatore ha individuato esclusioni e limiti all’accesso, ma non ha fornito particolari strumenti per la gestione del processo decisionale , il quale risulta spesso estremamente *dilemmatico* e altamente *discrezionale*. Il seminario sarà un'occasione per discutere dei pregi e delle ombre del FOIA con gli autori *Massimo Di Rienzo* e *Andrea Ferrarini*. Illustrare *uno dei primi volumi in materia* che costituisce un manuale operativo e che guida le amministrazioni a orientare dipendenti pubblici alle prese con la complessità della gestione delle istanze di accesso civico generalizzato. Durante l'incontro saranno presentati gli strumenti di analisi (la checklist, il test di pregiudizio, il test di interesse pubblico e il bilanciamento) e *sarà approfondito il rapporto tra privacy e trasparenza* con presentazione di casi concreti e provvedimenti del Garante privacy. BIOGRAFIE - e informazioni supplementari [DONAGGIO] *Mauro ALOVISIO* è Fellow del Centro Nexa e laureato in Giurisprudenza presso l'Università di Torino. Si è specializzato in diritto per la protezione dei dati personali e diritto delle nuove tecnologie. Attualmente lavora presso l'Università degli Studi di Torino, professore a contratto presso l’Università degli Studi di Milano. Nel corso della sua attività professionale si è occupato di temi quali privacy e riorganizzazione della pubblica amministrazione attraverso l'uso delle nuove tecnologie. Mauro è Presidente del Centro Studi di Informatica Giuridica di Ivrea Torino. *Massimo DI RIENZO*, fondatore di @spazioetico <https://spazioetico.com/>, formatore e consulente per la pubblica amministrazione. *Andrea FERRARINI* si occupa prevalentemente di prevenzione della corruzione e trasparenza presso Regioni ed Enti Locali. *Letture consigliate e link utili:* * Diana-Urania Galetta,/Accesso civico generalizzato / <https://www.federalismi.it/nv14/articolo-documento.cfm?Artid=36275&content=…>, rivista Federalismi 2018. * Cosimo Tommasi, ,/Le prospettive del nuovo diritto di accesso civico generalizzato/ <https://www.federalismi.it/nv14/articolo-documento.cfm?Artid=35859&content=…>, Federalismi 2018. * Benetto Ponti (curatore), /Nuova trasparenza amministrativa e libertà di accesso alle informazioni/, Maggioli 2017. * Ida Angela Nicotra, /L’Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione. Tra prevenzione e attività regolatoria/, Giappichelli 2016. Che cosa sono il Centro Nexa e i cicli di incontri “Mercoledì di Nexa” e “Nexa Lunch Seminar” #mercoledì115 <https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%23mercoled%C3%AC115&src=typd> #foia <https://twitter.com/search?q=%23FOIA&src=tyah> #nexawednesday <https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nexawednesday&src=typd> Il Centro Nexa su Internet & Società del Politecnico di Torino (Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica) è un centro di ricerca indipendente e interdisciplinare che studia Internet e il suo effetto sulla società. Maggiori informazioni all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/about. Durante i “*Mercoledì di Nexa*”, che si tengono *ogni 2° mercoledì del mese* alle *ore 18 in punto*, il Centro Nexa su Internet e Società apre le sue porte non solo agli esperti e a tutti coloro i quali lavorano con Internet, ma anche a semplici appassionati e cittadini. Il ciclo di incontri intende approfondire, con un linguaggio preciso ma divulgativo, i temi legati alla Rete: motori di ricerca, Creative Commons, social networks, open source/software libero, neutralità della rete, libertà di espressione, privacy, file sharing, big e open data, smart cities e molto altro. Al centro di quasi tutti gli incontri un ospite pronto a dialogare con i direttori del Centro Nexa, il Prof. Juan Carlos De Martin del Politecnico di Torino e il Prof. Marco Ricolfi dell'Università di Torino, nonché lo staff e i Fellows del Centro Nexa. Maggiori informazioni sui Mercoledì di Nexa, incluso un elenco di tutti i “Mercoledì” passati, sono disponibili all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi. Si segnala inoltre che dal maggio 2012 *ogni 4° mercoledì* del mese *dalle ore 13 alle ore 14* il Centro Nexa organizza anche i "*Nexa Lunch Seminar*". Una lista di tutti i “Lunch Seminar” passati è disponibile all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/lunch-seminars. See our events calendar <http://nexa.polito.it/events> if you're curious about future luncheons, discussions, lectures, and conferences not listed in this email. Our events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Responsabile Comunicazione Centro Nexa su Internet & Società: *Francesco Ruggiero*, tel: +39 011 090 7219, Mob: +39 349 1335082, francesco.ruggiero(a)polito.it <mailto:francesco.ruggiero@polito.it>. Maggiori informazioni sui Mercoledì di Nexa e i Nexa Lunch Seminar, sono disponibili all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/events. Weekly Events Newsletter. Sign up <http://nexa.polito.it/mailing-lists> to receive this newsletter if this email was forwarded to you. To manage your subscription preferences, please click here <https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa>. Connect & get involved: Jobs, internships, and more <http://nexa.polito.it/get-involved>.

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A New York City lawmaker is taking on companies that mine your face
by Alberto Cammozzo Jan. 5, 2019

Jan. 5, 2019

<https://www.fastcompany.com/90281673/nyc-face-recognition-law-ritchie-torres> Ritchie Torres was appalled. In March, the New York City Council Member learned from the New York Times that the iconic sports and entertainment arena Madison Square Garden, the legendary home to the Knicks and the Rangers and an endless parade of arena performers, has used facial recognition software to scan the faces of spectators upon entrance. Details remain scant, but the technology is meant to identify “problem” attendees by matching their faces to those stored in a database. Using the largely unregulated technology–and not telling the public what was being done with their faces–“radically challenges privacy as we know it,” says Torres, who represents the Bronx. In October, he introduced a bill that aims to bring a modicum of transparency to businesses’ use of the biometric technology, as well as iris and fingerprint scanning, by requiring businesses to conspicuously disclose the use of the technology at business entrances. “We’re increasingly living in a marketplace where companies are collecting vast quantities of personal data without the public’s consent or knowledge,” he says. “In a free and open society, I have the right to know whether a company is collecting my personal data, why a company is collecting my data, and whether a company will retain my data and for what purpose.” Under the bill, companies would be required to disclose, with signs at every entrance, if and how they are collecting, retaining, converting, and storing the biometric data of their customers. The online component of the bill would require a company to disclose four pieces of information online: the amount of information it retains and stores; the kind of information it collects; a privacy policy; and, most critically for Torres, any information sharing with third parties. To Torres, facial recognition is the most intrusive yet least regulated form of a fast-growing swath of biometric technology he characterizes as being “shrouded in secrecy.” “It’s even more intrusive than fingerprinting, [which] is a tangible intrusion into my privacy,” Torres explains. “This facial recognition is an invisible and intangible intrusion–that’s what makes it more pernicious. Even more than that, you’re building a database of private information that can then be commercialized.” [...]

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To save us from a Kafkaesque future, we must democratise AI | Stephen Cave | Opinion | The Guardian
by J.C. DE MARTIN Jan. 5, 2019

Jan. 5, 2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/04/future-democratise-ai… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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Sacasas: "When VCRs Were New"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Jan. 5, 2019

Jan. 5, 2019

Non solo divertente, è anche occasione per riflettere su come pensiamo/reagiamo alla tecnologia. jc When VCRs Were New January 4, 2019 <https://thefrailestthing.com/2019/01/04/when-vcrs-were-new/>~ L. M. Sacasas <https://thefrailestthing.com/author/lmsacasas/> Yesterday, I posted <https://thefrailestthing.com/2019/01/03/new-media-and-the-recurring-crisis-…> some excerpts from history Carolyn Marvin’s /When Old Technologies Were New/, her study of late 19th century electronic media. In keeping with the spirit of her title, here’s a quick look at a more recent case of when old technologies were new: the VCR. [...] https://thefrailestthing.com/2019/01/04/when-vcrs-were-new/

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Novità editoriale "En attendant les robots. Enquête sur le travail du clic"
by Antonio Casilli Jan. 3, 2019

Jan. 3, 2019

Hello all, buon anno e, per coloro che leggono il francese, una buona notizia: il mio nuovo libro esce oggi in libreria. Le Monde ne pubblica un estratto in anteprima: https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2019/01/03/derriere-l-illusion-de-l-i…. Cheers, Antonio -- Antonio A. Casilli Associate Professor (HDR), Telecom ParisTech Member, Interdisciplinary Institute for Innovation (i3 UMR 9217 CNRS) Associate Member, LACI-IIAC (EHESS) Faculty Fellow, Nexa Center for Internet & Society

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Come bypassare firewall e proxy aziendali (e di PA, banche.. etc)
by Giacomo Tesio Jan. 2, 2019

Jan. 2, 2019

Salve, e' stato pubblicato un nuovo exploit del bug che ho recentemente segnalato a Mozilla e Google. Basically any old webpage can perform local network host discovery on you. > To implement this I made a webpage which attempts to load images from > addresses 192.168.1.x. If you watch in the browser console it’ll show > either net::ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED for a host that’s up or > net::ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE for a host that doesn’t exist. This is a CORS > error which the javascript on the webpage is not allowed to differentiate > by catching. But one error takes 3 ms to happen and the other takes 3 > seconds! > [...] > A related thing a webpage in your browser might do is connect to localhost > and control any unauthenticated local services. Taviso used this to great > effect here https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/3374 https://rain-1.github.io/in-browser-localhostdiscovery E con questo siamo a 2 exploit che vanificano firewall e proxy aziendali. E io ne ho descritti altri nel bug report! E Mozilla tace. Io sono allibito. Ricordate "this is the Web functioning as desinged"! Giacomo

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