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What’s the difference between Russia’s internet before and after the invasion of Ukraine? That was the finding of a report published on Wednesday by Citizen Lab, a group from the University of Toronto that studies online censorship in authoritarian countries. The new report was one of the first attempts to quantify the extent of Russian internet censorship since the war began in February 2022. Before the war, Russia’s government issued internet takedown orders to Vkontakte, known as VK, once every 50 days on average. The government also used keyword blocking to censor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer terms on the site, the report said.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Citizen Lab, University of Toronto, Lab, Vkontakte, VK Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Vkontakte

A deal to ensure that data from Meta, Google and scores of other companies can continue flowing between the United States and European Union was finalized on Monday, after the digital transfer of personal information between the two jurisdictions had been thrown into doubt because of privacy concerns. The decision adopted by the European Commission is the final step in a yearslong process and resolves — at least for now — a dispute about American intelligence agencies’ ability to gain access to data about European Union residents. The debate pitted U.S. national security concerns against European privacy rights. The accord, known as the E.U.-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, gives Europeans the ability to object when they believe their personal information has been collected improperly by American intelligence agencies. A new independent review body made up of American judges, called the Data Protection Review Court, will be created to hear such appeals.

Persons: Didier Reynders, Merrick B, Garland, Gina Raimondo Organizations: Meta, Google, European Union, European Commission, European, U.S Locations: United States, European Union

☆ Meta Loses Appeal on How It Harvests Data in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Although the ruling applies only to Meta services in Germany, it is expected to influence other antitrust authorities in the European Union. antitrust law, called the Digital Markets Act, takes effect in the coming months and gives regulators new powers to encourage competition in the tech sector. The court said regulators investigating antitrust cases can also examine whether a company is breaking the European Union’s data protection law, called the General Data Protection Regulation, or G.D.P.R. After the company appealed the decision, it eventually landed before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. He has argued that Facebook uses the data it collects from users to strengthen its position over rivals, harming competition.

Persons: Meta, Andreas Mundt, Mundt, ” Mr, “ Organizations: European Court, Justice, Facebook, Big Tech, European Union, Markets, Data, Court of Justice, Amazon, Google Locations: Germany, European Union, Luxembourg

The expanding program — formally known as the System for Operative Investigative Activities, or SORM — was an imperfect means of surveillance. Russia’s telecom providers often incompletely installed and updated the technologies, meaning the system did not always work properly. At first, the technology was used against political rivals like supporters of Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed opposition leader. Russian authorities turned to local tech companies that built the old surveillance systems and asked for more. The new technologies give Russia’s security services a granular view of the internet.

Persons: —, Aleksei A, Anton Cherepennikov, ”, Ksenia Ermoshina Organizations: Citadel, U.S . State Department, United, “, Citizen, University of Toronto, MFI Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russian, Russia

☆ Barred From Grocery Stores by Facial Recognition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Adam Satariano | Kashmir Hill | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Simon Mackenzie, a security officer at the discount retailer QD Stores outside London, was short of breath. He then logged in to a facial recognition program, Facewatch, which his store uses to identify shoplifters. The next time those people enter any shop within a few miles that uses Facewatch, store staff will receive an alert. Use of facial recognition technology by the police has been heavily scrutinized in recent years, but its application by private businesses has received less attention. No longer just the purview of government agencies, facial recognition is increasingly being deployed to identify shoplifters, problematic customers and legal adversaries.

Persons: Simon Mackenzie, ’, Mr, Mackenzie Organizations: QD Locations: London

☆ Meta to Lower Age for Users of Virtual Reality Headset to 10 From 13
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Mike Isaac | Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Meta said it would require a preteen’s parental approval to set up an account, and that young users would only see apps and content rated for the preteen age group. The Quest headset allows people to enter the so-called metaverse, an immersive online world, and to play virtual reality games and do other tasks. Over the past year, Meta has slowly been moving the age restrictions for its virtual reality apps lower to reach younger audiences. In April, the company said it would allow people under 18 to use Horizon Worlds, Meta’s virtual reality-based social network. Horizon Worlds will remain restricted to users 13 and older, as reported earlier by The Verge.

Persons: Meta Organizations: Facebook, Meta

☆ Europeans Take a Major Step Toward Regulating A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The European Union took an important step on Wednesday toward passing what would be one of the first major laws to regulate artificial intelligence, a potential model for policymakers around the world as they grapple with how to put guardrails on the rapidly developing technology. The European Parliament, a main legislative branch of the E.U., passed a draft law known as the A.I. Act, which would put new restrictions on what are seen as the technology’s riskiest uses. It would severely curtail uses of facial recognition software, while requiring makers of A.I. The European Union is further along than the United States and other large Western governments in regulating A.I.

Organizations: European Union, European Locations: United States, A.I

☆ Google’s Online Advertising Practices Violate Antitrust Laws, E.U. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Google on Wednesday was charged with violating European Union antitrust laws by using its dominance in online advertising to undercut rivals, the latest in a string of cases around the world that strike at the core of the internet giant’s business model. The case was brought by the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation European Union, and marks the fourth time Google has been charged with violating European antitrust laws in recent years. accused Google of abusing its control of the market for buying and selling online advertising. Britain’s antitrust authority has also been investigating Google’s advertising practices. Advertising underpins nearly all of Google’s most popular services, including search, email, maps and Android, and allows the company to offer them for free.

Organizations: Google, European Commission, European Union, U.S . Justice Department

☆ Meta Fined $1.3 Billion for Violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Meta on Monday was fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) and ordered to stop transferring data collected from Facebook users in Europe to the United States, in a major ruling against the social media company for violating European Union data protection rules. The penalty, announced by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, is potentially one of the most consequential in the five years since the European Union enacted the landmark data privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation. The ruling announced on Monday applies only to Facebook and not Instagram and WhatsApp, which Meta also owns. Meta said it would appeal the decision and that there would be no immediate disruption to Facebook’s service in the Europe Union. Several steps remain before the company must cordon off the data of Facebook users in Europe — information that could include photos, friend connections, direct messages and data collected for targeting advertising.

☆ E.U. Approves Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal for Activision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

American and British regulators said Microsoft’s purchase of Activision would undercut this still-developing sector of the gaming industry before it had a chance to bloom. After negotiating the concessions with Microsoft, European Union officials said they concluded that the deal could go through, particularly because the cloud gaming market is still so small. In the European Union, PlayStation has a much larger market share than Xbox. Authorities also noted that Microsoft and Activision have a relatively small market share for mobile games, which accounts for about half of the overall video game market in European Union. The approval is a rare occasion where European regulators appear to be more accommodating to the tech industry than the United States.

☆ Facial Recognition Powers ‘Automated Apartheid’ in Israel, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Adam Satariano | Paul Mozur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel is increasingly relying on facial recognition in the occupied West Bank to track Palestinians and restrict their passage through key checkpoints, according to a new report, a sign of how artificial-intelligence-powered surveillance can be used against an ethnic group. At high-fenced checkpoints in Hebron, Palestinians stand in front of facial recognition cameras before being allowed to cross. When the technology fails to identify someone, soldiers train the system by adding their personal information to the database. Israel has long restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, but technological advances are giving the authorities powerful new tools. Amnesty called the process “automated apartheid.” Israel has strongly denied that it operates an apartheid regime.

In South Africa, a social media influencer who added “Vladimir” to his Twitter name to convey his reverence for the Russian president transmits Russian-generated content over Twitter and Telegram to a growing audience that now numbers 148,000 followers. On Afrique Média, a television channel based in Cameroon that reaches millions of people in Africa and recently signed a partnership with RT, the state-funded Russian television network, pundits regularly praise Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with one recently declaring, “Glory to Putin.”An animated video circulating online shows a brave Russian commando from the Wagner group, which is fighting for Russia in Ukraine, joining West African soldiers to defeat a horde of invading zombies from France. Over the past year, a flood of pro-Russian content has increasingly been surfacing on news outlets and social media platforms in Africa. The messages aim to drum up support for the invasion of Ukraine, and to frame Russia’s growing presence on the African continent as beneficial, while vilifying American and European — especially French — involvement in Africa.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

Starting in 2012, the year Mr. Putin retook the presidency, Roskomnadzor built a blacklist of websites that the companies were required to block. In 2021, authorities throttled access to the social media service to a crawl. It gathered information about government critics and identified shifting political opinions on social media. watch opponents and identify new threats to Mr. Putin, Mr. Voronin said. In the records, censors flagged ProUfu.ru for the critical Ukraine editorial written about Mr. Putin in February.

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