United Kingdom
Share government data to boost economy’, says UK statistics watchdog chief
- The UK Statistics Authority’s chair, Sir Robert Chote, had said that government data is too often “siloed” because government bodies were worried about people uncovering weaknesses in the data, or uncovering inconvenient conclusions. Additionally, gathering official data is becoming harder due to budget cuts, and because people are less willing to respond to surveys.
- There is “unrealised potential” in sharing and linking data, that could help government generate new ideas and improve policies. The pandemic provided an “urgent impetus for sharing data” leading to valuable insights. Since then, “many gains remain untapped” as data is no longer shared to such an extent.
United States
Lawyer who used flawed AI case citations says sanctions unwarranted in whistleblower case
- A lawyer has asked a federal court judge not to impose sanctions on him after he used incorrect case citations and quotes in a court filing, as the errors were unintentional and came from “good-faith reliance” on AI tools. The errors in question included “several miscitations and misquotations”.
- The lawyer who authored the filing with these errors, Thad Guyer, has said he will “redouble” his efforts to use automated systems to validate cases. In his declaration to the judge, he laid out his process for using and verifying information from these AI tools.
Zuckerberg says Biden administration pressured Meta to censor COVID-19 content
- CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has said the Biden administration pressured Meta to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic. This apparently refers to the Biden administrations’ requests to take down misinformation about coronavirus and vaccinations.
- In a letter to the U.S. House Representative Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg stated he regretted not speaking up about the pressure to censor content, and that the company would push back if faced with such demands again.
- The White House said in a statement: “Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
Europe
A view from Brussels: European Commission seeks input for new guidelines on minor protection under DSA, CSAM
- The European’s Commission’s “Have your say portal” is seeking input focused on the protection of minors online, specifically in the context of the Digital Services Act and reporting of child sexual abuse materials. The feedback period is open through 5th of September.
- The guidelines developed by the Commission for the Digital Services Act are aimed at helping online platforms in scope meet requirements to provide a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors. These guidelines should be led by the best interest of the child, and a risk-based approach to online harm, suggesting a “child-specific impact assessment.”
- The Commission’s Migration and Home Affairs aims to improve reporting of child sexual abuse material, under the CSAM legislation. A standard form has been developed by the Commission to provide more uniformity across the region on data to be included in reports by companies and organisations fighting online child sexual abuse.
International
Chinese hackers exploited bug to compromise internet companies, cybersecurity firm says
- A cybersecurity firm, Lumen Technologies, has said that a Chinese hacking group exploited a software bug (a previously unknown vulnerability in Versa Director) to compromise several companies in the US and abroad. Versa Director is a software platform used to manage services for customers of Santa Clara, California-based Versa Networks.
- An acknowledgement of the breach has been made by Versa Networks, and it has urged customers to update their software to fix the bug. They have confirmed three victims, including an internet service provider.
- Researchers at Lumin Technologies said they have “moderate confidence” the hacking campaign was carried out by an alleged Chinese government-backed group nicknamed “Volt Typhoon”. Volt Typhoon has emerged as a group of particular concern to U.S. cybersecurity officials. The FBI Director has said China was developing the “ability to physically wreak havoc” on U.S. critical infrastructure.
Brazil watchdog moves to block access to Elon Musk’s X after court order
- Brazil’s telecommunications regulator said it is suspending access to X (Elon Musk’s social network), to comply with an order from a judge. X missed a court-imposed deadline to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the suspension. The ruling means X is suspended in Brazil until it complied with all related court orders (including paying over $3m in fines). The ruling could cause X to lose one of its largest and most coveted markets.
- Musk has argued the Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was trying to enforce unjustified censorship, while the judge has insisted social media needs hate speech regulations.
- The feud between Musk and the judge has led to the freezing of satellite internet provider Starlink’s bank accounts in Brazil. Starlink is a unit of Musk’s SpaceX company.
- To stop access to X, telecommunications companies will need to stop carrying the network’s traffic and also prevent users of the site from dodging it by concealing their locations with virtual private networks (VPN). As per the judge’s order, those who access X via VPN will be fined up to $9000 per day.
