DW Weekly #175 – 30 August 2024
Last weekend, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, a messaging app known for its strong encryption and commitment to user privacy, was detained by French authorities.
There’s a long list of charges: of complicity in operating an illegal online platform, possessing and distributing child pornography, drug trafficking, organised fraud, and criminal association. Additional charges involve laundering proceeds from criminal activities and unauthorised provision of cryptology services.
Durov’s arrest at a Paris airport has sparked a significant global debate. The arrest has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters.
This development also highlights the core tension between cyberspace and real space. Once, there was a belief that the virtual world – the home of bits and bytes, and endless data streams – was somehow distinct from the tangible world we inhabit. In the early days of the internet, the virtual world felt like a vast, uncharted frontier – a place where the rules of the physical world didn’t seem to apply. But this so-called cyberspace was never a separate reality; it was an augmentation, a different layer of the same world we already knew. The concept of punishment in the digital world was, and remains, a legal reality. Those who are accused of cybercrimes are not sent to some virtual holding cell; they face real-world justice systems, real-world courts, and real-world fines and prisons.
In other news, the co-facilitators of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) shared under silence procedure (tacit consent) the text of the GDC, revision 4. with UN member states. The silence could be broken until Thursday, 29 August, signalling (a) state(s) dissatisfaction with the text; It appears that the silence has been broken this time. If you’re a diplomat based in Geneva, we hope to see you at our briefing next Tuesday to try to unpack these new developments.
Andrijana, Marko and the Digital Watch team
Highlights from the week of 23-30 August 2024
Elon Musk has publicly criticised judge Alexandre de Moraes, denouncing the legal actions as illegal and promising continued internet service to Brazilian users through SpaceX.
Uber plans to appeal against the fine imposed for breaching GDPR with data transfers.
The developers utilise cloud computing services from major American providers, which are legally permissible under current regulations.
Frank Okafor from the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS stated that the Participatory Policy Implementation Framework will boost digital transformation by improving state-level policy implementation.
Mark Zuckerberg from Meta and Daniel Ek from Spotify called for simplified, harmonised regulations to boost competitiveness and retain talent, allowing Europe to fully exploit AI’s potential and ensure economic growth and innovation.
The incident affected approximately 8.5 million Windows devices and disrupted multiple industries.
Beijing invests billions in nationwide data centre project.
Iran has banned VPNs to tighten internet control, drawing international criticism and highlighting the clash between government authority and digital rights.
The concept of a computer virus didn’t emerge from a place of malice, but rather from academic curiosity around self-replicating programs. This exploration delves into the origins of computer viruses, following their journey through years of technological advances and misdeeds, revealing how they evolved into a critical concern for today’s digital world.
