Aguila Saleh, leader of a rival parliament in eastern Libya, no longer faces EU travel bans and asset freezes imposed four years ago, the EU said, confirming a Reuters report on September 9 that the so-called de-listing was planned.
Archiv: blacklists
China rejects US interference in CPEC, ties with Pakistan
Alice Wells alleged that there was no transparency in CPEC projects, claiming Pakistan’s debt burden was growing due to Chinese financing. She also touched on the cost escalation in the railways ML-1 upgrade project and said the Chinese companies joining CPEC were in World Bank’s blacklist.
Who would have guessed, the arts world is full of extremely intolerant people who pride themselves on their ‚tolerance‘ – until you disagree with them. Then you might be fired. Appalling. #brexit
U.S. Firms Are Helping Build China’s Orwellian State
(19.3.2019) When a Dutch cybersecurity researcher disclosed last month that Chinese security contractor SenseNets left a massive facial recognition database tracking the movements of over 2.5 million people in China’s Xinjiang province unsecured on the internet, it briefly shone a spotlight on the alarming scope of the Chinese surveillance state.
But SenseNets is a symptom of a much larger phenomenon: Tech firms in the United States are lending expertise, reputational credence, and even technology to Chinese surveillance companies, wittingly or otherwise.
China Goes ‚1984‘ While America Goes ‚Brave New World‘–But What‘s Next?
(11.7.2018)
Postman‘s key point was that Big Brother didn‘t need to bother watching John Doe or controlling him, because John Doe probably was already willing to be controlled by forces that rendered him harmless to Big Brother. Postman argued that Aldous Huxley‘s Brave New World was more prescient than Orwell‘s 1984, because in his book Huxley portrayed a citizenry perfectly willing to give up its most sacred possessions for trivial things.
‚Social Credit‘ Tech Is Coming: 5 Ways for U.S. Entrepreneurs to Capitalize
(12.10.2018)
This may all sound frightening, but a system devised by human beings to control others can also be controlled, if you know what you’re doing. If you’re a true entrepreneur, then you see the opportunity in every social evolution. And big changes mean even bigger opportunities. Are you ready?
Democratic 2020 Candidate Wants Government-Sponsored ‘Social Credit’ System Comparable To China’s
(17.11.2018)
New York entrepreneur and Democratic 2020 candidate Andrew Yang wants to implement a system in which a government-run mobile app rewards Americans with “digital social credits” (DSCs) for good behavior.
Americans would receive DSCs under Yang’s system for things such as “participating in a town fair,” “fixing a neighbor’s appliance” or “tutoring a student,” his presidential campaign website explains.
Is China‘s social credit system really the dystopian sci-fi scenario that many fear?
(6.12.2018)
To use Jamie Horsley‘s argument in Foreign Policy, „China‘s Orwellian social credit score isn‘t real…There is no such thing as a national ‚social credit score‘.“
Apart from the (negative) political implications of the work-in-progress social credit system, we should also consider the economic implication of such a system.
We’re closer to China’s disturbing ‘Social Credit System’ than you realize
In addition to more mundane areas like whether you pay your community charge on time, the system’s reputational algorithm will also factor in your choice of online friends. That person who complains about how the government is doing its job could suddenly cost you some serious social cred. Befriend too many wrongthinkers and you could quickly find yourself classed as a wrongthinker too.
Social Credit System being tested in China; could the U.S. be next?
(11.2.2019) „We’re beginning to see it already where insurance companies affect your premium based on whether you’re eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep or getting enough exercise,“ he said, adding that the need for Congress to act is urgent.
But Chertoff said the emphasis needs to change from how do we keep things confidential, and instead pass laws that focus on who controls the data once it’s been generated.
China’s plan to organize its society relies on ‘big data’ to rate everyone
(22. Oktober 2016)
The ambition is to collect every scrap of information available online about China’s companies and citizens in a single place — and then assign each of them a score based on their political, commercial, social and legal “credit.”
The government hasn’t announced exactly how the plan will work — for example, how scores will be compiled and different qualities weighted against one another. But the idea is that good behavior will be rewarded and bad behavior punished, with the Communist Party acting as the ultimate judge.
Blacklists and redlists: How China’s Social Credit System actually works
(23.10.2018) The idea is simple: By keeping and aggregating records throughout the government’s various ministries and departments, Chinese officials can gain insight into how people behave and develop ways to control them.
The goal writes Rogier Creemers, a postdoctoral scholar specializing in the law and governance of China at Leiden University in The Netherlands, is “cybernetic” behavioral control, allowing individuals to be monitored and immediately confronted with the consequences of their actions. In so doing, authorities can enhance the county’s expanding surveillance apparatus.
New York Times: Top Trump campaign official requested online manipulation plans from Israeli company
The campaign official, Rick Gates, was ultimately not interested in the company‘s work, a person with knowledge of the discussions told the Times.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team, who are investigating Russian interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign in the 2016 presidential election, have obtained copies of the proposals and questioned Psy-Group employees, according to people familiar with those interviews, the Times reports.
Mueller Probe: Israeli Firm, Trump Campaign Discussed Smearing Rivals in 2016
According to the report, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating foreign interference in the 2016 election, is closely examining these contacts. His office, the report said, has interviewed workers from Psy-Group and collected documents from the company’s headquarters in Israel.
Rick Gates Sought Online Manipulation Plans From Israeli Intelligence Firm for Trump Campaign
A third proposal by the company, Psy-Group, which is staffed by former Israeli intelligence operatives, sketched out a monthslong plan to help Mr. Trump by using social media to help expose or amplify division among rival campaigns and factions. The proposals, part of what Psy-Group called “Project Rome,” used code names to identify the players — Mr. Trump was “Lion” and Mrs. Clinton was “Forest.” Mr. Cruz, who Trump campaign officials feared might lead a revolt over the Republican presidential nomination, was “Bear.”
Trump team asked Israel firm to create election smear campaign
Psy-Group has also alleged to have been involved in Israel’s efforts against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The Times of Israel reported that these revelations, which came to light in a separate investigation, showed that Psy-Group registered the website outlawbds.com. The site was believed to contain a “blacklist” with photos and email addresses of individuals believed to support BDS, but outlawbds.com has since disappeared from the internet.