Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Let’s think this through, people.
Apple opposing Australian encryption law which could set precedent for US
Apple is one of four tech giants to come out in opposition to a proposed new law in Australia which would force companies to provide access to encrypted user data. The fear is that, if the law is allowed to pass, it could set a precedent which other countries are likely to follow – with the USA high up the list of likely candidates to effectively ban strong encryption …
… Apple is able to provide access to iCloud backups, as these don’t currently use end-to-end encryption, but not to Messages and FaceTime conversations, which do. The only means Apple would have to comply in those cases would be to switch off end-to-end encryption.
… Seen as test case as other nations explore similar laws, Facebook, Alphabet, Apple and Amazon will jointly lobby lawmakers to amend the bill ahead of a parliamentary vote expected in a few weeks.




Something to sign up for?
Beta version of Google search engine for fact checks
Poynter: “Google wants to make it easier for people to find fact checks. To do that, the company is building another version of what it’s most known for: a search engine. On Tuesday, the Google News Initiative launched the beta version of a tool that’s specifically for fact-checking content. The feature, which the company has been working on for months, uses the same signals as other Google products, such as Google News, to surface work from fact-checkers like Snopes and (Poynter-owned) PolitiFact. “The goal here is to have fact-checking journalists have an easier job of locating all the work that fact-checkers have done on a specific topic,” said Cong Yu, a research scientist at Google. “For users, it’s if you want to know more about a certain topic.” The product alpha launched about six months ago, when fact-checking organizations started using it and giving Google feedback. Full Fact, a fact-checking charity based in the United Kingdom, was one of those organizations. While she didn’t test the fact-checking search engine directly, Mevan Babakar, Full Fact’s head of automated fact-checking, told Poynter in an email that, while the tool could be useful for collecting fact checks, it could also have unintended consequences…”




Perspective. Qualifications don’t matter, so put the CEO’s daughter (age 4) on the board?
These Tech Companies Will Need More Women on Their Boards
… California governor Jerry Brown signed the measure, known as SB 826, into law on Sunday.
… The law, sponsored by state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, requires all publicly traded companies based in California to have at least one woman on their board by the end of 2019. By the end of 2021, all boards must have two women, and boards with six or more members must have three women.


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