The European Commission’s ongoing investigation into social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, could factor in the company’s handling of harmful content during the recent UK riots.
Charges against X were issued last month under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates stricter controls on illegal content and public security risks for large online platforms.
Although the UK is no longer part of the EU, content shared in Britain that violates DSA rules might still reach European users, potentially breaching the law. Recent events in Britain, where far-right and anti-Muslim groups exploited the fatal stabbing of three young girls to spread disinformation and incite violence, have raised concerns.
The European Commission acknowledged that while the DSA does not cover actions outside the EU, content visible in Europe from the UK could influence their proceedings against X. The company has yet to respond to these developments.
President Nicolás Maduro has imposed a 10-day block on access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in Venezuela, accusing its owner, Elon Musk, of using the platform to promote hatred following the country’s disputed presidential election. Reports from Caracas indicated that by Thursday night, posts on X were no longer loading on several major telephone services, including the state-owned Movilnet.
Maduro, in a speech after a pro-government march, claimed that Musk violated the platform’s own rules and incited hatred. He also accused X of being used by his political opponents to create unrest in Venezuela. As part of his response, Maduro signed a resolution from the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to remove X from circulation in the country for ten days. However, he did not elaborate on the process involved.
The tension between Maduro and Musk escalated after the disputed 28 July presidential election, where Venezuelan electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner. However, opposition candidate Edmundo González claimed victory, citing records from 80% of the electronic voting machines. Musk criticised Maduro on X, calling him a dictator and accusing him of electoral fraud. Since the election, Maduro has expressed a desire to regulate social media in Venezuela, alleging that platforms like X are being used to threaten his supporters and create anxiety across the country.
Turkey has blocked access to the social media platform Instagram, according to an announcement by the country’s infotech regulator. The reason or duration of the ban remains undisclosed, but it has also rendered the platform’s mobile app inaccessible.
The decision follows remarks by communications official in Turkey, Fahrettin Altun, who criticised Instagram for allegedly blocking condolence posts regarding the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent figure in the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Altun labelled Instagram’s action as ‘censorship’ and pointed out that the platform had not provided any policy violation as justification.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Instagram, has not yet responded to the ban or to Altun’s accusations. The Turkish Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) made the decision public on its website on 2 August.
Civil society organisations and more than 150 tech companies within the Cybersecurity Tech Accord urged the United Nations to revise the final draft of the UN Cybercrime Convention. Non-state stakeholders share concerns that the current language of the convention could lead to human rights abuses and criminalise the work of penetration testers, ethical hackers, security researchers, and journalists.
The UN member states are currently in the final round of negotiations for what will become the first global treaty on cybercrime, with talks running from 29 July to 8 August. The current draft, published on 23 May, has seen some positive changes, but the Tech Accord, in particular, calls for further revisions. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also noted that the revised draft of the UN Cybercrime Convention includes some welcome improvements, however significant concerns remain about many provisions that fail to meet international human rights standards. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) added that the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention mandates intrusive domestic surveillance measures and requires states to cooperate in surveillance and data sharing. It allows the collection, preservation, and sharing of electronic evidence for any crime deemed serious by a country’s domestic law, with minimal human rights safeguards, even with countries that have poor human rights records.
These shortcomings are particularly concerning given the already expansive use of existing cybercrime laws in some jurisdictions, which have been used to unduly restrict freedom of expression, target dissenting voices, and arbitrarily interfere with the privacy and anonymity of communications, according to the office’s analysis. A key concern of the Tech Accord is the need for more transparency in the convention’s current form, while the EFF calls to address the currently formulated highly intrusive secret spying powers without robust safeguards and insufficient protection for security researchers, among other concerns.
The US Justice Department has raised the alarm over TikTok’s potential influence on American politics, arguing that the app’s continued operation under ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, could enable covert interference by the Chinese government in US elections. In a recent federal court filing, prosecutors suggested that TikTok’s algorithm might be manipulated to sway public opinion and influence political discourse, posing a significant threat to national security.
The filing is part of a broader legal battle as TikTok challenges a new US law that could force a ban on the app unless its ownership is transferred by January 2025. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, addresses concerns over TikTok’s ties to China and its potential to compromise US security. TikTok argues that the law infringes on free speech and restricts access to information, as it targets a specific platform and its extensive global user base.
The Justice Department contends that the law aims not to suppress free speech but to address unique national security risks posed by TikTok’s connection to a foreign power. They suggest a possible solution could involve selling TikTok to an American company, allowing the app to continue operating in the US without interruption.
Why does this matter?
Concerns about TikTok’s data practices have been a focal point, with officials warning that the app collects extensive personal information from users, including location data and private messages. The department also pointed to technologies in China that could potentially influence the app’s content and raise further worries about the app’s role in data collection and content manipulation.
The debate highlights a clash between national security concerns and the protection of digital freedoms, as the outcome of the lawsuit could set a significant precedent for how the US handles foreign tech influence.
A new AI video-generating model, Kling, developed by Beijing-based Kuaishou, is now widely available but with significant limitations. Initially launched in a waitlisted access for users with Chinese phone numbers, Kling can now be accessed by anyone providing their email. The model generates five-second videos based on user prompts, simulating physics like rustling leaves and flowing water with a resolution of 720p.
However, Kling censors politically sensitive topics. Prompts related to ‘Democracy in China,’ ‘Chinese President Xi Jinping,’ and ‘Tiananmen Square protests’ result in error messages. The censorship occurs at the prompt level, allowing for the generation of videos related to these topics as long as they are not explicitly mentioned.
That behaviour likely stems from intense political pressure from the Chinese government. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is actively testing AI models to ensure they align with core socialist values and has proposed a blacklist of sources for training AI models. Companies must prepare models that produce ‘safe’ answers to thousands of questions, which may slow China’s AI development and create two classes of models: those heavily filtered and those less so.
The dichotomy raises questions about the broader implications for the AI ecosystem, as restrictive policies may hinder technological advancement and innovation.
A legal campaign led by allies of former US president Donald Trump requested an investigation within the misinformation research field, claiming an alleged conspiracy to censor conservative voices online. Under this investigation, academics in the field who worked at tracking election misinformation online were scrutinised daily, including regular scanning of their correspondence with AI software and searching for messages from government agencies or tech companies.
Disinformation has proliferated online as the US election approaches, especially after significant events such as the assassination attempt on Trump and President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Due to the political scrutiny, researchers held back from publicly reporting some of their insights on misinformation issues related to public affairs.
Last month, the Supreme Court reversed a lower-court ruling restricting tech companies and the government from communicating about misinformation online. But the ruling hasn’t deterred Republicans from bringing lawsuits and sending a string of legal demands.
According to the investigation by The Washington Post, the GOP campaign has eroded the once thriving ecosystem of academics, nonprofits and tech industry initiatives dedicated to addressing the spread of misinformation online. Many prominent researchers in the field, like Claire Wardle, Stefanie Friedhoff, Ryan Calo and Kate Starbird, have expressed their concerns for academic freedom and democracy.
Bangladesh remained without internet access for the fifth consecutive day as the government declared a public holiday on Monday. Authorities maintained strict control following a Supreme Court ruling that reduced a contentious quota system for government jobs, which had triggered violent protests. Despite an apparent calm, the nation witnessed military personnel patrolling the capital and other areas after a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order was imposed days earlier.
The protests, primarily led by students, erupted over a quota reserving 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. Clashes between police and protesters resulted in over a hundred deaths, according to local newspapers, though official figures have not been released. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to reduce the veterans’ quota to 5%, protesters have called for the restoration of internet services and the removal of security officials from university campuses.
Despite the court ruling, tensions in Bangladesh remain high. Protesters issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the government to end the digital crackdown and return the country to normalcy. The US Embassy in Dhaka described the situation as highly volatile, warning Americans to avoid large crowds and reconsider travel plans. The protests have presented a significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, highlighting ongoing political strife between her Awami League party and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Singapore has ordered five social media platforms to block access to 95 accounts linked to exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui. These accounts posted over 120 times from April 17 to May 10, alleging foreign interference in Singapore’s leadership transition. The Home Affairs Ministry stated that the posts suggested a foreign actor influenced the selection of Singapore’s new prime minister.
Singapore’s Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, enacted in October 2021, was used for the first time to address this issue. Guo Wengui, recently convicted in the US for fraud, has a history of opposing Beijing. Together with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, he launched the New Federal State of China, aimed at overthrowing China’s Communist Party.
The ministry expressed concern that Guo’s network could spread false narratives detrimental to Singapore’s interests and sovereignty. Blocking these accounts was deemed necessary to prevent potential hostile information campaigns targeting Singapore.
Guo and his affiliated organisations have been known to push various Singapore-related narratives. The coordinated actions and previous attempts to use Singapore to advance their agenda highlighted their capability to undermine Singapore’s social cohesion and sovereignty.
Residents of Akishima city in western Tokyo are petitioning to block the construction of a large logistics and data centre by Singaporean developer GLP. Over 220 residents have expressed concerns that the centre would harm local wildlife, cause pollution, increase electricity usage, and deplete the city’s groundwater supply.
The group has filed a petition to review the urban planning process that approved GLP’s 3.63-million-megawatt data centre, which is estimated to emit around 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. They also worry that the project would require cutting down 3,000 of the 4,800 trees on the site, threatening the habitat of Eurasian goshawks and badgers.
The residents are considering arbitration to force GLP to reconsider its plans, with construction set to begin in February and completion expected by early 2029. The opposition comes amidst growing demand for data centres in Japan, where the market is projected to grow significantly over the next few years. GLP has declined to comment on the matter.
