Bloomberg: Facebook Paid Contractors to Transcribe Users’ Audio Chats. “Facebook Inc. has been paying hundreds of outside contractors to transcribe clips of audio from users of its services, according to people with knowledge of the work. The work has rattled the contract employees, who are not told where the audio was recorded or how it was obtained — only to transcribe it, said the people, who requested anonymity for fear of losing their jobs.”
digital surveillance
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: I Tried Hiding From Silicon Valley in a Pile of Privacy Gadgets
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: I Tried Hiding From Silicon Valley in a Pile of Privacy Gadgets. “As the spy gear piles up on my desk, my 10-year-old son asks me what my mission is. ‘I’m hiding,’ I whisper, pointing in the direction I think is north, which is something I should probably know as a spy. ‘From Silicon Valley.'” Quite a read.
Digital Trends: Facebook could pay another multibillion-dollar fine over facial recognition
Digital Trends: Facebook could pay another multibillion-dollar fine over facial recognition. “Facebook could have to pay yet another multibillion-dollar fine after losing an appeals court decision on Thursday regarding the company’s use of facial recognition data. “
CNN: FBI wants to monitor Facebook and Instagram for domestic threats in real time
CNN: FBI wants to monitor Facebook and Instagram for domestic threats in real time. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has quietly been searching for private contractors who could gather and feed to law enforcement tremendous amounts of user data straight from social media platforms such as Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB) and Instagram.”
Reuters: Turkey moves to oversee all online content, raises concerns over censorship
Reuters: Turkey moves to oversee all online content, raises concerns over censorship. “Turkey on Thursday granted its radio and television watchdog sweeping oversight over all online content, including streaming platforms like Netflix and online news outlets, in a move that raised concerns over possible censorship.”
The Next Web: Kazakhstan begins intercepting citizens’ web traffic to ‘protect them from cyber threats’
The Next Web: Kazakhstan begins intercepting citizens’ web traffic to ‘protect them from cyber threats’. “The Kazakhstan government has started to intercept all HTTPS traffic from all devices within its borders effective July 17, reports ZDNet.”
The Hindu: New social media rule for college students sets their teeth on edge
The Hindu: New social media rule for college students sets their teeth on edge. “Many engineering college students are unhappy with new rules that will see their social media accounts being connected to that of their higher education institutes. As per directions from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), on Monday asked all its affiliated colleges to identify a ‘social media champion’ — a faculty or non-faculty member — who will operate all the social media accounts of the college. The SMC will have to to publicise the ‘good work’ done by the institute and its students.”
