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China nearly triples number of supercomputers, report says - BBC News
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 18, 2015

Nov. 18, 2015

Chissà come mai. JC http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34840805 (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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Report "Surveillance by intelligence services: fundamental rights safeguards and remedies"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 18, 2015

Nov. 18, 2015

This report, drafted in response to the European Parliament’s call for thorough research on fundamental rights protection in the context of surveillance, maps and analyses the legal frameworks on surveillance in place in EU Member States. http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2015/surveillance-intelligence-services (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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App Permissions: An Analysis of Android Phones | Pew Research Center
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 18, 2015

Nov. 18, 2015

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/11/10/an-analysis-of-android-app-permission… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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NYT Ed: "Mass Surveillance Isn’t the Answer to Fighting Terrorism"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 18, 2015

Nov. 18, 2015

*Mass Surveillance Isn’t the Answer to Fighting Terrorism* By THE EDITORIAL BOARD NOV. 17, 2015 It’s a wretched yet predictable ritual after each new terrorist attack: Certain politicians and government officials waste no time exploiting the tragedy for their own ends. The remarks on Monday by John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, took that to a new and disgraceful low. Speaking less than three days after coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris killed 129 and injured hundreds more, Mr. Brennan complained about “a lot of hand-wringing over the government’s role in the effort to try to uncover these terrorists.” What he calls “hand-wringing” was the sustained national outrage following the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, that the agency was using provisions of the Patriot Act to secretly collect information on millions of Americans’ phone records. In June, President Obama signed the USA Freedom Act, which ends bulk collection of domestic phone data by the government (but not the collection of other data, like emails and the content of Americans’ international phone calls) and requires the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to make its most significant rulings available to the public. […] Continua qui: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/opinion/mass-surveillance-isnt-the-answer…

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TechCrunch: "Encryption Is Being Scapegoated To Mask The Failures Of Mass Surveillance"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 17, 2015

Nov. 17, 2015

*Encryption Is Being Scapegoated To Mask The Failures Of Mass Surveillance* Natasha Lomas (@riptari) Well that took no time at all. Intelligence agencies rolled right into the horror and fury in the immediate wake of the latest co-ordinated terror attacks in the French capital on Friday <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34818994>, to launch their latest co-ordinated assault on strong encryption — and on the tech companies creating secure comms services — seeking to scapegoat end-to-end encryption as the enabling layer for extremists to perpetrate mass murder. There’s no doubt they were waiting for just such an ‘opportune moment’ to redouble their attacks on encryption after recent attempts to lobby for encryption-perforating legislation foundered <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/tech-trade-agencies-…>. (A strategy confirmed by a leaked email sent by the intelligence community’s top lawyer, Robert S. Litt, this August — and subsequently obtained by the Washington Post <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/tech-trade-agencies-…> — in which he anticipated that a “very hostile legislative environment… could turn in the event of a terrorist attack or criminal event where strong encryption can be shown to have hindered law enforcement”. Et voila Paris… ) Speaking to CBS New at the weekend in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks, former CIA deputy director Michael Morell said: “I think this is going to open an entire new debate about security versus privacy.” […] Continua qui: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/17/the-blame-game/

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Torino, domani al Campus lectio magistralis di Mariana Mazzucato
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 17, 2015

Nov. 17, 2015

*Torino - Domani mercoledì, 18 novembre* 2015, *alle 18:00*, *presso l'Aula Magna del Campus Luigi Einaudi *(Lungo Dora Siena 100/A), *l’economista Mariana Mazzucato* *terrà la Luigi Einaudi Lecture 2015 *dal titolo "Lo Stato innovatore: Keynes e Schumpeter, una convivenza possibile?", organizzata dal Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica ‘Cognetti de Martiis’ dell’Università di Torino in collaborazione con la Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. *Introduce Federico Revelli*, Direttore del Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica Cognetti de Martiis. *Mariana Mazzucato* è docente di Economia dell’innovazione alla Science Policy Research Unit dell’Università del Sussex. Ha svolto incarichi accademici presso l’Università di Denver, London Business School, Open University e Università Bocconi. Il suo recente libro, *Lo Stato innovatore*, rovescia l’immagine di uno Stato letargico, regolatore contro un settore privato dinamico e dimostra - attraverso l’utilizzo di esempi storici - come alcuni degli investimenti ad alto rischio che hanno portato a rivoluzioni nei campi dell’informatica, della biotecnologia, della nanotecnologia, siano stati promossi da istituzioni pubbliche. Svolge attività di consulenza per policy makers di varie parti del mondo su come ottenere una crescita economica che sia “smart” – trainata dall’innovazione – e più inclusiva; nel 2014 è stata vincitrice del New Statesman SPERI Prize in Economia politica. La sua ricerca analizza la relazione tra mercati finanziari, innovazione e crescita economica – a livello di impresa, industriale e nazionale; i suoi progetti attuali riguardano la crescita alimentata dall’innovazione, sostenibile, inclusiva e i sistemi finanziari globali distribuiti per la società. Per confermare la propria partecipazione: lecture-einaudi2015. <http://lecture-einaudi2015.eventbrite.it/>eventbrite.it <http://lecture-einaudi2015.eventbrite.it/>

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new framework for commercial transfers of personal data.
by Alberto Cammozzo Nov. 17, 2015

Nov. 17, 2015

Speech by Commissioner Jourová: The future of U.S.-EU data transfer arrangements at the Brookings Institution <http://www.statewatch.org/news/2015/nov/eu-com-usa-umbrella-speech.pdf> [...] coming back to our topic of transatlantic data flows, [...] The major difficulty we have faced over the years is the fact that the 1974 Privacy Act only grants rights to US citizens and residents, whereas in the EU there is no such limitation for US citizens in our redress system. One of the essential elements of our agreement is therefore the Judicial Redress Bill that has recently been voted by the House. The Judicial Redress Bill would extend the rights US citizens and residents enjoy under the 1974 Privacy Act also to Europeans. This is a long-awaited and historical step and we appreciate the efforts of the Administration and Congress so far. It would end a de facto discrimination. We now await adoption of the Judicial Redress Bill by the Senate, and I look forward to discussing this with Senators on the Hill tomorrow. For the remainder of my visit to Washington this week, my goal is to bring us closer to finalising discussions on a new framework for commercial transfers of personal data. [...] This is important for transatlantic commercial relations and for effective protection our citizens' personal data. [...] We need to make sure that the new arrangement lives up to the standard of the court ruling. In light of the Court's judgment we need more clarifications from our U.S. counterparts on a number of points. These discussions have not been easy, they are not easy, but they have already yielded results: The U.S. has already committed to stronger oversight by the Department of Commerce, stronger cooperation between European Data Protection Authorities and the Federal Trade Commission. This will transform the system from a purely self-regulating one to an oversight system that is more responsive as well as pro-active. We are also working with the U.S. to put into place an annual joint review mechanism that will cover all aspects of the functioning of the new framework, including the use of exemptions for law enforcement and national security grounds, and that will include the relevant authorities from both sides. Finally, when it comes to the intervention of public authorities, in particular for reasons of law enforcement and national security, the Court underlines that such access to data must be subject to clear conditions and limitations. [] Alberto

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The Atlantic: "Uber Is Not the Future of Work"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 16, 2015

Nov. 16, 2015

Uber Is Not the Future of Work Gig-enabling apps are a distraction from the uncertainties that affect far more people: Will workers get paid enough and are their jobs safe? Lawrence Mishel Th e rise of Uber has convinced many pundits, economists, and policymakers that freelancing via digital platforms is becoming increasingly important to Americans’ livelihood. It has also promoted the idea that new technology—particularly the explosion of platforms enabling the gig economy—will fundamentally alter the future of work. While Uber and other new companies in the gig economy receive a lot of attention, a look at Uber’s own data about its drivers’ schedules and pay reveals them to be much less consequential than most people assume. In fact, dwelling on these companies too much distracts from the central features of work in America that should be prominent in the public discussion: a disappointingly low minimum wage, lax overtime rules, weak collective-bargaining rights, and excessive unemployment, to name a few. When it comes to the future of work, these are the aspects of the labor market that deserve the most attention. Continua qui: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/1857/11/uber-is-not-the-future-… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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FB e raccolte di dati personali
by Diego Giorio Nov. 16, 2015

Nov. 16, 2015

http://www.huffingtonpost.it/federico-mello/facebook-applicazione-tragedia-… Non che sia sorprendente, ma questo articolo evidenzia bene come dietro cause nobili e funzioni anche utili si celino raccolte ed analisi dei dati non del tutto trasparenti (giusto per essere generosi) Saluti a tutti D.

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CfP: IPP2016 Conference "The Platform Society", Univ. Oxford 22-23 Sept 2016
by Calderaro, Andrea Nov. 16, 2015

Nov. 16, 2015

Ciao tutt*, segnalo la nuova call per la prossima Internet, Policy & Politics Conference sul tema “The Platform Society”. Scrivetemi pure per qualsiasi ulteriore informazione. Andrea The call for papers is now available for the IPP2016 conference: "The Platform Society", which examines the politics and policy of online platforms (22-23 Sept 2016, University of Oxford) http://ipp.oii.ox.ac.uk/2016/call-for-papers This is the fourth conference of the journal Policy and Internet, convened by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) in collaboration with the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) standing group on Internet and Politics. Convenors: Helen Margetts (OII), Vili Lehdonvirta (OII), Jonathan Bright (OII), David Sutcliffe (OII), Andrea Calderaro (Cardiff University/ECPR). Abstract deadline: 14 March 2016. Contact: policyandinternet(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:policyandinternet@oii.ox.ac.uk> RATIONALE Large scale internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Uber play an increasingly important role in contemporary society. These platforms facilitate connections between friends and family members, between consumers and producers, between voters and politicians, and between employers and employees. As such, they are becoming venues where large segments of contemporary life are played out. The data collected and in some cases made openly available by these platforms creates huge opportunities for advancing research in many fields of social science. Exciting advances have already been made in understanding, for example, how information spreads across networks and the importance of social influence on personal action. Yet researchers have only scratched the surface of the possibilities offered by new data sources and analysis methods. At the same time, the decisions made by these platforms increasingly shape contemporary life. Whether taking employment through Upwork, purchasing goods on Amazon, seeking information via Google, remitting money via PayPal, or debating politics on Twitter, our actions are enabled and constrained by sophisticated algorithms and company policies. The decisions, assumptions and interests reflected in these algorithms and policies have potentially very significant consequences to society at large, yet detailed understanding of these processes is still very limited. TOPICS The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars studying platforms, both in terms of interactions taking place on platforms and the data they generate, as well as the platforms themselves and how they are shaped and operated. We welcome theoretical as well as empirical, qualitative as well as quantitative studies, from all disciplines that can provide useful perspectives on the contemporary “platform society”. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: * Data driven studies of platform-mediated interactions (e.g. using APIs or scraped data) * Petition platforms and government as a platform * Studies of how algorithms and user interfaces shape interactions (e.g. STS, HCI) * Impacts of platforms in a given industry or government area (e.g. taxis, local gov) * Formal economic modeling of platform competition, strategy and policy * Political mobilization around platforms (e.g. Uber and AirBnB protests) * Open source and distributed platforms and their politics (e.g. Bitcoin, blockchain) * Innovation and entrepreneurship in platform marketplaces (e.g. App Store, Google Play) * Issues in research use of platforms (e.g. Mechanical Turk survey practices) * Conflicts between public policy and platform rules (e.g. Google in Europe) * Studies of how platform firms manage platforms (e.g. theoretical, ethnographic) * Comparative studies of platforms (e.g. rules of Twitter vs. Facebook) * Public policy development related to platforms (e.g. EU Digital Single Market) * Transnational issues in platforms and digital markets (e.g. TTIP, safe harbor) Accepted papers will be organized into thematically and methodologically relevant sessions and parallel streams. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Paper Proposals Paper proposals should consist of a title and a 1,000-word extended abstract that specifies and motivates the research question, describes the methods and data used, and summarises the main findings. Abstracts will be peer reviewed, and the authors of accepted proposals are expected to submit full papers prior to the conference. Applicants will have the opportunity to co-submit their paper to the journal Policy and Internet, which will operate a fast-track review process for papers accepted to the conference. Paper submissions can also be considered for a Best Paper Award (sponsored by the journal Policy and Internet). The prize will be awarded at the closing session of the conference. As the paper is intended to be published in a future issue of the journal, authors should indicate whether they would like their paper to be considered for the prize. SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT: http://ipp.oii.ox.ac.uk/2016/forms/abstract-submissions (deadline: 14 March 2016) Poster Proposals Posters should summarise in a visually engaging manner the purpose, methods and results of an original piece of research. All accepted submissions will be considered for a Best Poster Award. The prize will be awarded at the closing session of the conference. SUBMIT YOUR POSTER: http://ipp.oii.ox.ac.uk/2016/forms/abstract-submissions (deadline: 14 March 2016) IMPORTANT DATES * Extended abstract submission deadline: 14 March 2016 * Decisions on abstracts: 2 May 2016 * Full paper / poster submission deadline (for accepted abstracts): 1 September 2014 * Conference dates: Thursday 22 - Friday 23 September 2016 ----------------------------------------------- Andrea Calderaro, PhD Lecturer in International Relations | Cardiff University Associate "Internet Policy Observatory" | Center for Global Communications Studies (CGCS) - Annenberg Centre/University of Pennsylvania Chair "Internet & Politics" Standing Group | European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) Research Fellow "Centre for Internet & Human Rights" | European University Viadrina Editor “Digital Technologies & Global Politics” Book Series | Rowman&Littlefield Latest Paper: Internet Governance Capacity Building in Post-Authoritarian Contexts. Telecom Reform & Human Rights in Myanmar. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2686095 ----------------------------------------------- Twitter: @andreacalderaro The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited without the express permission of the sender. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.

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