Who’s more important: social care or Gavin Williamson?

The answer is: it’s a tie, at least online.

Our data team built a network graph mapping both conversations to visualise how Twitter users interacted with each other. 

Over a two day period, we analysed over 40k tweets, the bulk of both conversations.

Although the Twitter mentions of both social care and Williamson were about even, the star power of Maro Itoje and his pithy response to the story ensured Williamson’s gaffe dominated more of the online conversation.

So, a win for a government that has just jacked up taxes to a post-WW2 high?

#Data #Politics #SocialMedia

Under The Radar – 10 September

Mat Napo on Unsplash

This week, we discuss:

1. The military coup in Guinea

2. The recent developments in Britney Spears’ conservatorship case

3. The vaccine mandate debate in the U.S.

Another military takeover

What happened?

The President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, has been overthrown in a military coup after being captured by soldiers on Sunday. The leader of the coup, Commander Colonel Mahamady Doumbouya, confirmed the military takeover on state TV and promised a unity government in the coming weeks.

What does it mean?

The coup – the fourth successful military takeover this year after Myanmar, Mali and Afghanistan – marks the end of President Condé’s troubled presidency. The 83-year old spent his career building democracy in Guinea and, as such, both citizens and commentators alike had high hopes for ‘Guinea’s Mandela’ after his historic election victory in 2010.

But in the years following his victory Condé chipped away at Guinea’s embryonic democracy: he manipulated the constitution in order to extend his term and undermined key institutions along the way, whilst his third election victory in 2020 was widely disputed and met with international condemnation. Thousands took to the streets to protest the result, resulting in dozens of deaths, hundreds of arrests and the end of the country’s experiment with democracy. After the violence, many anticipated that the President would fall victim to a popular uprising or military coup, with the latter having now transpired.

Unfortunately for Guineans, a military dictatorship is no better than a corrupt resident and is just as unlikely to deliver freedom and prosperity. Commander Doumbouya may intend to hand the reins of power over eventually but, like his predecessor, may well have already developed his own taste for power by then.

#FreeBritney

What happened?

Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has filed to end the controversial conservatorship that has controlled his daughter’s life for the last 13 years.

What does it mean?

Britney’s conservatorship has received considerable attention over the past few months, following a high-profile documentary on the pop star that aired earlier this year. Since then, the unusual legal arrangement has come in for intense criticism from both the public and Britney herself. The singer has now attempted to remove her father from the conservatorship twice in the last two years. At the end of June, Britney appeared in open court for the first time to speak out against the legal agreement that she called “abusive”, and described her father’s treatment of her as “cruelty”. Then, in July, she told a judge that she wished to file charges against her father for “conservator abuse”. As a result, the case has increasingly drawn the attention of women’s rights activists and groups. Yesterday, Jamie Spears submitted that his daughter “is entitled to have this court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required”. He cited that recent events and changing circumstances have called into question whether a conservatorship for Britney is still needed. Britney’s conservatorship finally appears set to end in the coming months, but without social media and the legions of fans who have continued to shine a light on her tragic situation, it is likely she would still find herself under the control of her father.

ACLU supports vaccine mandates

What happened?

Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) declared its support for vaccine mandates, arguing that “far from compromising them, vaccine mandates actually further civil liberties”.

What does it mean?

Renowned American economist Thomas Sowell once said: “There are no solutions. Only tradeoffs”. So, it’s not particularly noteworthy to favour public policy compromising bodily autonomy for the common good. What is newsworthy, however, is for an organisation – historically defined by an absolutist commitment to civil liberties – to advocate for something so inimical to its modus operandi. And moreover, to garb the concession in the claim that a clear infringement of civil liberties is, in fact, the opposite. But this is only a continuation of the ACLU’s transformation in recent years. Indeed, post-Trump’s ascension to the White House, there has been a noticeable drift from its traditional non-partisanship. Most glaringly when it poured $800,000 into campaign ads for Democrat Stacey Abrams, but also when it actively opposed the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. As culture wars have gripped America, the ACLU has felt compelled to wade in – and no doubt it will continue to do so. With a new crop of activist-lawyers at the ALCU – following a huge hiring drive after the 2016 election – expect civil liberties to fall even lower on the agenda in place of political posturing.

This Week’s Must Reads

1. ‘China and Big Tech: Xi’s blueprint for a digital dictatorship’ by James Kynge & Sun Yu for The FT

2. ‘Hurricane Ida drowned 11 New Yorkers in their own homes. The climate crisis is here’ by Ross Barkan for The Guardian

3. ‘We have learnt the wrong lessons from 9/11’ by David Aaronovitch for The Times

4. ‘Legislating in the Name of God’ by Linda Greenhouse for The New York Times

Chart of the week

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Job Title

Company

Industry

Digital Digest – 3 September

Maxim Hopman

In this week’s Digital Digest, we look at the Home Office’s proposed updates to the use of surveillance cameras, and the challenges facing low Earth orbit satellite broadband systems.

We then take a look at big tech, with the news WhatsApp has been hit with a mega fine for breaching privacy regulations, big tech’s second attempt at capitalising on pandemic-tech, and finally, Afghan nationals continue to fear retaliation over data linking them to foreign entities.

CLOSER TO HOME

UK revamps surveillance camera code

The Home Office is proposing to update its guidance on surveillance cameras for the first time since 2013 – this marks a crucial divergence in tech policy between the EU and UK in the wake of Brexit. The new Code of Practice will cover the use of CCTV by law enforcement and local authorities, specifically looking at live facial recognition which has proved a controversial measure.

Concerns in relation to facial recognition technology point to the risk regarding data protection and the intrusive nature of surveillance cameras. This is particularly salient following the leaked footage of former Health Secretary Matt Hancock with questions emerging in terms of access to footage, secure storage, and ownership of surveillance tech companies.

As public awareness grows surrounding the prevalence and use of facial recognition capabilities, experts have said that the code should put particular emphasis on explaining how images are used and take into account the potential for any negative disproportionate impact on minorities.

Why pigeons mean peril for satellite broadband

The University of Surrey cyber-security expert, Professor Alan Woodward, has highlighted the impact of ‘pesky pigeons’ in the outages in the rollout of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system.

In areas where fibre broadband connection is something to dream of, due to poor infrastructure and accessibility, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband systems could be a crucial step in establishing stable internet connection. However, disruption in the form of pigeons mistaking the satellite dishes for ‘modern bird baths’, as well as shortages of chips and liquid oxygen fuel have affected the initial rollout of Musk’s Starlink.

Starlink, which is admittedly still in its beta phase, is but one of many projects aiming to use LEO systems to improve internet connectivity. The service overall seems to be encountering a number of challenges aside from its pigeon peril, including cost, potential for satellite collisions in orbit, and interface capacity. It is clear users in areas affected by slow broadband will be waiting a while for a solution to their internet problems.

BIG TECH

WhatsApp hit with EUR225m privacy fine

WhatsApp has been smacked with the largest ever fine from the Irish Data Protection Commission, and the second highest under EU GDPR rules, for breaching privacy regulations. The only other tech company which has been fined more is Amazon, who were fined EUR746m earlier this year by Luxembourg’s regulator in relation to breaking GDPR rules.

The fine comes three years after an investigation into WhatsApp’s transparency regarding its handling of information. Key issues in the investigation included whether users were given enough information in relation to the processing of their data and WhatsApp’s privacy policies.

So far eight countries, including Germany, France and Italy have objected to the Irish DPC’s decision. Furthermore, due to the planned appeal by the tech giant, it will be years before the fine is ever paid.

Big Tech failed with contact tracing. Can it do better with vaccine passport apps?

Looking to the future it is becoming increasingly apparent that vaccine passports are going to be de rigueur. Big smartphone companies like Apple, Samsung and Google are capitalising on the trend by making it easy for their customers to demonstrate their vaccination status through apps linked to health agencies. Given the perceived ‘failure’ of contact tracing apps over the past year, industry insiders are debating whether this is Big Tech’s chance to showcase its prowess.

However, concerns surrounding data sharing and protection are hurdles which need to be addressed, and soon. With privacy increasingly becoming a hot topic of discussion with legislators and corporations alike, it is imperative that these companies hit the nail on the head if they want to make waves in this fast-paced environment.

Afghanistan: The biometric, social, and business data the Taliban could use to target left-behind Afghans

In the wake of the ‘Western’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, there are mounting concerns the Taliban will have access to US military and Afghan government databases containing personal information of Afghan civilians on a vast scale.

During the US occupation, Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE) was used to log the biometric data of those who assisted US forces. This is but one example of the many biometric databases which foreign and domestic entities have used over the past few years. The implications are potentially life-threatening to those with personal information on the databases, especially considering reports that members of the Taliban are going house-to-house looking for those with ‘foreign affiliations’.

This is the latest technological worry facing Afghan nationals following reports that citizens have been scrambling to erase their previous lives from social media for fear of punishment by the Taliban.

ALSO IN THE NEWS

1. A 12-year-old boy has made roughly £290,000 over the school holidays from selling a series of pixelated artworks, dubbed “Weird Whales”, as NFTs. See here.

2. China has banned under-18s from playing online games for more than an hour a day, this follows the state media outlets branding the biggest online gaming companies’ products as “spiritual opium” and “electronic drugs”. See here.

3. Zoom shares have taken a tumble in after-hours trading following reports of slowed growth due to the return of workers in the office. See here.

4. A software company believes it has found a solution to the damaging impact of ‘heading’ in football using virtual reality. See here.

5. The Economist has imagined a scenario from 2028 where smartphones are built around health-monitoring features and operate as personal health assistants. See here.

WORTH A READ

1. BBC News: Twitter tests safety mode feature to silence abuse

2. FT: Why Big Tech should embrace the ‘right to repair’ revolution

3. Wired: Data shows the true productivity cost of the city exodus

Subscribe

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Job Title

Company

Industry