Group items tagged

"Individuals should not have to rely on whisper networks for justice. The Tech Worker Handbook is a collection of resources for tech workers who are looking to make more informed decisions about whether to speak out on issues that are in the public interest. Aiming to improve working conditions, direct attention to consumer harms, or otherwise address wrongdoing and abuse should not be a solo or poorly resourced endeavor."

London's Metropolitan Police have been urged to back down on plans to once again use facial recognition software at next weekend's Notting Hill Carnival. Privacy groups including Big Brother Watch, Liberty and Privacy International have written to police commissioner Cressida Dick (PDF) calling for a U-turn on the use of the tech. Automated facial recognition technology will snap the party-goers' faces, and run them against a database. The aim is to alert cops to people who are banned from the festival or are wanted by the police, presumably so they can take immediate action. The tech was first tested at the festival - where relations between police and revellers are often strained - last year, but it failed to identify anyone.

" Your activity tracker knows a ridiculous amount about you-from the wear on your running shoes to what coffee shop you'll stop at on your next ride. And that data's getting shared for financial gain. "

Your car is watching you - tracking your driving style, your whereabouts and even your favourite songs. Can it be trusted?

Privacy is a hot-button issue in the tech world. How will it fare in the age of pervasive computing - a world of billions of connected devices, systems, and services exchanging personal data?

"Julia Powles and Jat Singh from St Johns College Cambridge discuss why the internet of things poses huge risks to online privacy. Julia and Jat discuss their recent article on the issue and why the law needs to catch up with these technological developments."

"Nearly three years after the company was called out, it hasn't gone beyond a quick workaround"

"Facebook's collection of data makes it one of the most influential organisations in the world. Share Lab wanted to look "under the bonnet" at the tech giant's algorithms and connections to better understand the social structure and power relations within the company. "

The timeline below identifies key developments on tech platforms used by journalism publishers. Here you can explore the significant shifts in the platform landscape as these companies adjust to new relationships with publishers.

"It's time you put your data to work for you, not them. Mozilla Rally gives you the power to donate your data to research studies that are designed to build new resources, tools, and potentially even policies that empower people just like you to build a better internet and fight back against exploitative tech."

"rather than try to build the next Google, should we not focus on building the infrastructures that prevent the next Google instead?"

Alexandra DS on why security needs to be built into the internet of things

"As technology-especially computer, information, and Internet technology-permeates all aspects of our society, people who understand that technology need to be part of public-policy discussions. We need technologists who work in the public interest. We need public-interest technologists. Defining this term is difficult. One Ford Foundation blog post described public-interest technologists as "technology practitioners who focus on social justice, the common good, and/or the public interest." A group of academics in this field wrote that "public-interest technology refers to the study and application of technology expertise to advance the public interest/generate public benefits/promote the public good.""