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Central-Bank Digital Currencies Are Coming — Whether Countries Are Ready or Not
The Wall Street Journal reported:
“Central-bank digital currency” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But you might want to get used to saying it. These so-called CBDCs, or digital versions of dollars, yuan, euros, yen or any other currency, are coming, say those who study them. And depending on how they are designed and rolled out, their impact on the banking system could be profound.
One hundred and fourteen countries are exploring digital currencies, and their collective economies represent more than 95% of the world’s GDP, according to the Atlantic Council’s Central Bank Digital Currency tracker. Some countries, including China, India, Nigeria and the Bahamas, have already rolled out digital currencies. Others, like Sweden and Japan, are preparing for possible rollouts.
The U.S. is studying the issue and has run trials of various technologies to enable a digital currency, although Fed chair Jerome Powell has indicated the U.S. central bank has no plans to create one and won’t do so without direction from Congress.
New York Eyes Nixed COVID Vaccine Rule for Health Workers
The New York State Department of Health is “exploring its options” after a state Supreme Court judge struck down a statewide mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the agency said Saturday.
Judge Gerard Neri wrote in a ruling released Friday that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and the health department overstepped their authority by mandating a vaccine that’s not included in state public health law, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported.
The mandate is “null, void and of no effect,” the judge said. He sided with Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, a group of medical workers impacted by the vaccination mandate.
NYC Pols Urge Madison Square Garden Head James Dolan to Stop Using Facial Recognition Tech to Kick Out ‘Adversaries’
Local electeds are crying foul on Madison Square Garden’s ban on certain lawyers — and the use of facial recognition technology to impose it.
At issue is a recent series of four fan ejections from the Garden and Radio City Music Hall, which CEO James Dolan also runs as part of MSG Entertainment.
Earlier this month, MSG staff unceremoniously gave Benjamin Pinczewski the boot from a Rangers game after he was detected by facial recognition tech, Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal said. Like two others recently kicked out of the Garden and a woman ejected from Radio City Music Hall, Pinczewski is employed by a law firm involved in litigation against MSG, though he’s not personally working on the case.
“This technology is biased, it is error-prone and it is a threat to every New Yorker,” Albert Fox Cahn of the nonprofit Surveillance Technology Oversight Project said alongside the electeds. “It cannot be tolerated when the rich and powerful use surveillance technology to use our own images as a weapon against us.”
UT Blocks Students From Accessing TikTok
The University of Texas at Austin has barred access to the social media platform TikTok on its Wi-Fi network after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banned the application from use on government devices.
The university told students in an email on Tuesday obtained by The Hill that they were taking the step to comply with Abbott’s December directive to “eliminate the cybersecurity risk posed by TikTok.”
The platform’s ban on a campus of more than 52,000 students is the latest in a string of moves by Democratic- and Republican-controlled states to eliminate the use of the app on government devices. The backlash to TikTok stems from its ownership by Chinese company ByteDance, raising concerns at the federal and state level that it could harvest and supply sensitive information to the Chinese government.
Vaccine Manufacturers ‘Pressured’ Twitter to Censor Activists Demanding Generic COVID Vaccine: Report
A new installment of the Twitter Files released Monday alleges that a coronavirus vaccine manufacturer pressured Twitter into censoring accounts that were pushing companies to share the intellectual property and patents associated with the vaccines so low-cost generic versions could be made.
The Intercept reported that BioNTech, which developed Pfizer’s vaccine, and the German government allegedly warned the social media company of upcoming pressure campaigns targeting the companies.
Nina Morschhaeuser, a lobbyist for Twitter, allegedly forwarded requests to the company asking them to “hide” activist tweets targeting BioNTech’s account over a period of two days.
She also allegedly asked Twitter to shield accounts belonging to Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca from activists and to monitor hashtags on the platform like “#PeoplesVaccine.” The report acknowledges that it is not clear the extent to which Twitter complied with the requests.
Tech Executives Could Be Jailed for Deliberately Failing to Protect Kids Under U.K. Proposal
Tech executives could face the possibility of jail time for breaching online safety standards under a proposal in the U.K. after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government reached an agreement with Conservative lawmakers who sought to amend the Online Safety Bill.
The legislation is a highly anticipated bill that aims to make the internet safer for kids by enforcing age verification requirements and putting more responsibility on tech platforms to shield minors from harmful content.
The latest agreement could mean severe punishment for company leaders who deliberately fail to protect kids from online harm.
Michelle Donelan, the U.K.’s secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said in a statement Tuesday that the changes “deliver our shared aims of holding people accountable for their actions in a way which is effective and targeted towards child safety, whilst ensuring the U.K. remains an attractive place for technology companies to invest and grow.”
A New Yorker Is Suing Twitter for $5 Million Over a Data Leak That Researchers Say Exposed the Information of More Than 200 Million Users
Twitter is being sued for $5 million over a data leak that researchers said exposed the personal information of more than 200 million users.
New York resident and Twitter user Stephen Gerber filed a lawsuit against the social media firm on Friday in the Northern District of California, claiming that his personal data was leaked after the information was stolen by hackers between 2020 and 2021.
Gerber filed the class action lawsuit, which Insider has viewed, on behalf of himself and others affected by the data leak, and is seeking $5 million or more in damages.
Gerber pinned the data leak on hackers exploiting a vulnerability in Twitter’s application programming interface (API) which allowed them to obtain users’ Twitter usernames, email addresses and phone numbers.
Will Your Smartphone Be the Next Doctor’s Office?
The same devices used to take selfies and type out tweets are being repurposed and commercialized for quick access to information needed for monitoring a patient’s health. A fingertip pressed against a phone’s camera lens can measure a heart rate. The microphone, kept by the bedside, can screen for sleep apnea. Even the speaker is being tapped, to monitor breathing using sonar technology.
In the best of this new world, the data is conveyed remotely to a medical professional for the convenience and comfort of the patient or, in some cases, to support a clinician without the need for costly hardware.
Companies and researchers eager to find medical applications for smartphone technology are tapping into modern phones’ built-in cameras and light sensors; microphones; accelerometers, which detect body movements; gyroscopes; and even speakers. The apps then use artificial intelligence software to analyze the collected sights and sounds to create an easy connection between patients and physicians.
Big tech companies like Google have heavily invested in researching this kind of technology, catering to clinicians and in-home caregivers, as well as consumers. Currently, in the Google Fit app, users can check their heart rate by placing their finger on the rear-facing camera lens or track their breathing rate using the front-facing camera.
Airplane Lavatories Deliver New Hope for the CDC’s Variant Hunt
The cramped, damp and poorly lit airplane toilet is among the scourges of air travel, a source of dread for young and old alike. But the deafening “swoosh” of the airplane lavatory may have finally found a higher calling: helping government scientists detect deadly viruses entering the United States.
As COVID-19 cases explode in China and new viral threats loom, the Biden administration is ramping up surveillance of biological samples from international passengers arriving at U.S. airports to scan for new virus variants and other hazards to Americans’ health.
The small but growing Traveler Genomic Surveillance program, run by the CDC with a biotech firm and a company that collects samples, is seen by administration officials and public health experts as part of a revolution in biosafety infrastructure — and a critical plank of national security in the post-pandemic era.
As it expands geographically and sets its sights on new pathogens, it could function as an early warning system for where and when dangerous viruses and bacteria, natural or otherwise, enter the country.
Fed up With Facial Recognition Cameras Monitoring Your Every Move? Italian Fashion May Have the Answer
The red-headed man wearing what looks like the ultimate Christmas sweater walks up to the camera. A yellow quadrant surrounds him. Facial recognition software immediately identifies the man as … a giraffe?
This case of mistaken identity is no accident — it’s literally by design. The sweater is part of the debut Manifesto collection by Italian startup Cap_able. As well as tops, it includes hoodies, pants, t-shirts and dresses. Each one sports a pattern, known as an “adversarial patch,” designed by artificial intelligence algorithms to confuse facial recognition software: either the cameras fail to identify the wearer, or they think they’re a giraffe, a zebra, a dog or one of the other animals embedded into the pattern.
“When I’m in front of a camera, I don’t have a choice of whether I give it my data or not,” says co-founder and CEO, Rachele Didero. “So we’re creating garments that can give you the possibility of making this choice. We’re not trying to be subversive.”
