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China is accused of exporting authoritarian technology. But the west has done so, too, more covertly

UPKLYAK-FREEPIK

China’s 5G technology has now been banned in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the US, and many in the European Union. In 2019, a NATO Cyber Defense Center report identified Huawei’s 5G technology as a security risk.

Since September, telecommunications providers in the US have been able to apply for compensation through a $1.9-billion program designed to “rip and replace” Huawei and ZTE equipment, due to perceived risks to national security.

But fears over China’s attempts to export its digital and surveillance technologies go far beyond just Huawei and 5G. China has been accused of exporting “digital authoritarianism” and spreading “techno-authoritarianism globally.” It’s been declared a danger to the rest of the world.

In my research, I argue the story of digital authoritarianism is not that straightforward.

Technologies that help authoritarian leaders collect information and control their populations have been exported with few restrictions for decades. Although China does export ready-made surveillance systems to governments deemed as oppressive, countries in Europe and North America have also done so, albeit more covertly.

China falls in the direct line of fire for criticism on this front.

First, the country follows an authoritarian system. In a compilation of speeches by President Xi Jinping from 2012-18, he critiqued western political systems and called for greater “South-South collaboration” between China and countries in the developing world.

These views have since been incorporated as part of a new national ideology and China’s influential Belt and Road Initiative.

Second, both Chinese companies and the Chinese government have firmly maintained that countries are free to decide what they want to do with the technologies they purchase from China. They are neutral actors selling neutral technologies to other countries.

China is the largest exporter of telecommunications equipment, computers, and telephones in the world, with the US as its biggest destination. It has also exported digital infrastructure to more than 60 mostly developing countries through its Belt and Road Initiative.

Some of the most problematic exports of Chinese surveillance technologies include:

• CloudWalk’s facial recognition database in Zimbabwe, which opponents say may be used to monitor government critics;

• technicians from Huawei engaging in political espionage in Uganda and Zambia;

• the development of a controversial new “fatherland card” to monitor civilian activities in Venezuela;

• the sale of smart video surveillance technologies to the previous authoritarian government of Ecuador.

However, Chinese companies are not the only actors in the global trade arena that benefit from the argument of “technological neutrality.”

Companies from Europe and North America jumped at the first chance they got to sell surveillance systems to China in the early 2000s. Many of those technologies strengthened China’s online censorship system.

In a watershed report in 2001, an independent researcher, Greg Walton, showed that international companies started marketing their products to Chinese public security agencies as early as 2000 during a large security expo in Beijing. The same expo continued to attract international companies until the COVID-19 travel disruptions in 2020.

In 2006, Cisco was investigated by a US House subcommittee for selling surveillance technologies to China. The company defended itself by stressing its right to international trade and technological neutrality.

A couple of years later, Cisco again defended its right to sell to China in a meeting with the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights. A representative of the company argued: One thing tech companies cannot do, in my opinion, is involve themselves in politics of a country.

Earlier this year, investigative journalist Mara Hvistendahl also reported that Oracle (the same company that won the bid to co-host TikTok’s data in the US) had pitched its predictive policing analytics to public security agencies in China.

And in 2019, the UK was found to have exported telecommunications interception equipment to multiple countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A political science researcher at the University of Cape Town, Mandira Bagwandeen, argues it’s easy to point fingers to China, diverting attention from other countries.

Let’s face it, if the US was really serious about restricting the spread of so-called “authoritarian technology,” then it should also impose comprehensive measures and restrictions on both democratic and autocratic producers.

The fact is surveillance technologies with the capability to gather and analyze information about people are inherently political.

Princeton University Professor Xu Xu argues that digital surveillance resolves the “information problem” in authoritarian countries by allowing dictators to more easily identify those with anti-regime beliefs.

But regulating new technologies is difficult even in democratic countries. Australia is seeing this play out with the unregulated use of number plate recognition technologies by the police to monitor lockdown compliance.

The police have also tried to use COVID QR code check-in data numerous times as part of criminal investigations.

Unlike other electronics goods, surveillance technologies have the capability to shape and restrict people’s lives, rights and freedoms. This is why it is important they are regulated.

While it may be difficult to enact a unified set of rules internationally given the current tensions between China and the west, better monitoring and regulations at the domestic level could be the way forward.

One large initiative is a multi-year project run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute to map the international expansion of Chinese technology companies.

This is helping to monitor the activities of Chinese surveillance tech companies and providing data for government policy briefs. When iFlytek, a Chinese artificial intelligence technology company tied to surveillance of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, marketed its products in New Zealand, the media relied on ASPI’s findings to pressure a New Zealand company to cease its collaborations with the company.

And the European Parliament commissioned and published an extensive report on artificial intelligence in June 2021, which recommended establishing a security commission and new research center devoted to AI issues. It remains to be seen whether the report has any teeth, but it is the kind of start we need. 

 

Ausma Bernot is a PhD candidate at Griffith University.

Campaigning in the time of COVID

KATEMANGOSTAR-FREEPIK

The upcoming 2022 national and local elections will be the first, and hopefully the last, to be held in the midst of a pandemic. By election day, the Philippines will have surpassed the two-year mark of its COVID-19 anniversary, and health protocols and restrictions will surely impact the partisan political activities. When candidates begin campaigning, handshakes will be replaced with fist bumps and a spritz of alcohol. Traditional town hall debates may possibly be transformed to videoconference meetings where spectators can only give virtual applause. For health and safety reasons, physical campaigning activities will be drastically reduced, and online political activities will grow.

Online presence has been further maximized this pandemic where people are forced to stay at home and let the innovations of technology bridge the gap of being physically absent at one place but virtually present, nonetheless. As of 2021, the Philippines has over 80 million social media users,1 80% of whom are eligible to vote.2 Social media and video streaming websites have become additional platforms for politicians and candidates to publicize their accomplishments and respective ideals for the Philippines. As early as now, their online presence cannot be denied.

A few months ago, a vlogger launched a special series where she featured different political figures before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacies. Social media pages and cascade groups have also been organized to gather people of the same political beliefs so they may champion their respective bets together. People can also easily like and share publicity materials such as photos and videos which, when done collectively, lead the trending news for the day. All these are geared towards a common goal — to promote a political bet.

Considering that social media and technology have broadened the reach of political candidates, the question is whether these activities should be regulated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

However, the political activities prevalent today, while appearing to be partisan in nature, are not yet considered as campaigning because there is no candidate to speak of under the law. A person is deemed a candidate only upon the commencement of the campaign period. Thus, Comelec regulations in this regard still do not apply.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, campaign refers to an act designed to promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate for public office. This includes, among others, directly or indirectly soliciting votes or support for or against any candidate and publishing or distributing campaign literature. The Omnibus Election Code also provides for the campaign period for national candidates which is 90 days before the election day or from Feb. 8 to May 7, 2022, and for local candidates which is 45 days from the election day or from March 25 to May 7, 2022.

In Penera v. Comelec (2009), the Supreme Court ruled that there is no such thing as premature campaigning because a person who filed a certificate of candidacy becomes a candidate only upon the start of the campaign period. If there is yet no candidate whose interest is being promoted or defeated, there is no restriction to any election campaign or partisan political activity. Therefore, any activities aimed at promoting potential candidates before Feb. 8, 2022 (for national candidates) or March 25, 2022 (for local candidates) have no restrictions. This now begs the question: During the election period, may the Comelec regulate the online activities of the political candidates?

Under the Fair Election Act, the Comelec shall supervise and regulate all election propaganda, whether it be on television, radio, or any other medium. The same law provides for the parameters and limitations imposed upon lawful election propaganda such as the maximum size of pamphlet and leaflets to be distributed, dimensions of the posters or tarpaulins to be posted, permissible areas of posting, and measurements of print advertisements on broadsheets. It also prescribed the allowable television and radio airtime for each candidate. Simply put, the Fair Election Act set the maximum values of allowable campaign materials for each candidate to ensure that they have equal access to media and be given equal opportunities under equal circumstances.

Congress has not enacted any law regulating the online platform insofar as partisan political activities are concerned. In this regard, however, the Comelec issued Resolution No. 10488 which monitored online campaigning of candidates during the 2019 national and local elections, and social media is considered as a form of mass media regulated by the said Resolution. The Resolution also includes the creation of user groups or community pages on social media as a form of election campaigning and included social media posts as a form of lawful election propaganda. However, no limit was imposed as to the number of posts allowed, permissible video airtime, photo dimensions, and the like. There is also no limit on the number of official blogs or social media pages for each candidate. The only requirement under said resolution is the registration of the candidates’ social media pages with the Comelec.

Hence, it appears that candidates may have social media pages and unlimited posts without any repercussions. This may undermine the purpose of the Fair Election Act which is to grant all candidates equal opportunities to reach their constituents under equal circumstances.

However, while regulating online activities of candidates is ideal, this platform presents a number of setbacks that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do the same. Should the Comelec attempt to regulate these online activities, it will be reaching out to several social media platforms and deal with them separately to meet their respective concessions. It may also have little or no control over the people who are sharing or commenting on the posts. Should it attempt to tally the number of shares, it may not be able to reach the campaign posts shared privately. If a video posted exceeds a certain time, will the Comelec have the means to take it down? The volume and extent of social media, being vast and limitless, make regulating the same an extreme challenge.

Finally, should online campaigning be regulated, the Comelec must be able to guard against the danger of curtailing every person’s freedom of speech. In this day and age, social media has become a vital tool of expression for the netizens. Freedom of speech is a constitutionally enshrined liberty which allows people to discuss matters of public interest publicly and truthfully without censorship and punishment (Gonzales v. Comelec [1967]). This liberty is so broad that it extends to protection to nearly all forms of communication (Chavez v. Gonzales [2008]), necessarily including virtual speech. With the prevalence of social media, Filipinos are making the most out of the ease and convenience of being able to air their opinions with just a few taps on their screens. After all, the Omnibus Election Code expressly noted that an election campaign does not include public expression of opinions.

There is a fine line between purely political posts characterized as campaigning and posts which result from one’s exercise of freedom of speech. While there is a need for the Comelec to regulate online activities of candidates, it must do so without curtailing Filipinos’ liberty of expression. As highlighted by the Supreme Court in Diocese of Bacolod v. Comelec (2015): “At the heart of democracy is every advocate’s right to make known what the people need to know, while the meaningful exercise of one’s right of suffrage includes the right of every voter to know what they need to know in order to make their choice… Speech with political consequences is at the core of the freedom of expression and must be protected by this court.”

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not offered and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

1 See https://www.statista.com/statistics/489180/number-of-social-network-users-in-philippines/. 

2 See https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119885.

 

Julienne Therese V. Salvacion is an associate of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department (LDRD) of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices or ACCRALAW.

(632) 8830-8000

jvsalvacion@accralaw.com

Japan’s Princess Mako marries commoner

JAPAN’s Princess Mako and her husband Kei Komuro attend a news conference to announce their wedding at Grand Arc Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 26. — REUTERS

TOKYO — Japan’s Princess Mako, the niece of the emperor, married college sweetheart Kei Komuro on Tuesday, giving up her royal title and saying she was determined to build a happy life with her “irreplaceable” husband after a tumultuous engagement.

In an unusually frank joint news conference with her new husband, Ms. Mako said “incorrect” news reports about Mr. Komuro had caused her great sadness, stress and fear.

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) earlier this year after a four-year engagement plagued by money scandals and intense media scrutiny.

“I’m aware that there are various views on our marriage. I feel very sorry for those (for) whom we have caused trouble …,” said Mako, who will from now be known as Mako Komuro, having had to give up her royal title after marrying a commoner, in line with Japanese law.

“For us, marriage is a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.”

The two, 30, were married in the morning after an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the family’s lives, submitted paperwork to a local office registering their marriage.

The couple broke with tradition by foregoing the rituals and ceremonies usual to royal weddings, including a reception, while Ms. Mako also refused the one-off payment of about $1.3 million typically made to royal women who leave the imperial family after marriage.

Japan initially cheered the couple’s engagement announcement four years ago, but things turned sour soon after, when the tabloids reported on a money scandal involving Mr. Komuro’s mother, prompting the press to turn on him and the marriage to be postponed. Mr. Komuro left Japan for law studies in New York in 2018 only to return in September.

During the press conference, Mr. Komuro said he loved Mako and pledged to support and protect her, unusually open language for anyone connected to Japanese royalty. “I want to spend the only life I have with the one I love,” he said.

Television footage earlier showed Ms. Mako, wearing a pastel dress and pearls, saying goodbye to her parents and 26-year-old sister, Kako, at the entrance to their home. Though all wore masks in line with Japan’s coronavirus protocol, her mother could be seen blinking rapidly, as if to fight off tears.

Though Ms. Mako bowed formally to her parents, her sister grabbed her shoulders and the two shared a long embrace.

Mr. Komuro, dressed in a crisp dark suit and tie, bowed briefly to camera crews gathered outside his home as he left in the morning but said nothing. His casual demeanor on returning to Japan, including a ponytail which was cut before the marriage, had sent tabloids into a frenzy.

MONEY SCANDAL
Just months after the two announced their engagement at a news conference where the smiles they exchanged won the hearts of the nation, tabloids reported a financial dispute between Mr. Komuro’s mother and her former fiance, with the man claiming mother and son had not repaid a debt of about $35,000.

The scandal spread to mainstream media after the IHA failed to provide a clear explanation. In 2021, Mr. Komuro issued a 24-page statement on the matter and also said he would pay a settlement.

Public opinion polls show the Japanese are divided about the marriage, and there has been at least one protest.

Analysts say the problem is that the imperial family is so idealized that not the slightest hint of trouble with things such as money or politics should touch them.

The fact that Ms. Mako’s father and younger brother, Hisahito, are both in the line of succession after Emperor Naruhito, whose daughter is ineligible to inherit, makes the scandal particularly damaging, said Hideya Kawanishi, an associate professor of history at Nagoya University.

“Though it’s true they’ll both be private citizens, Mako’s younger brother will one day become emperor, so some people thought anybody with the problems he (Komuro) had shouldn’t be marrying her,” Kawanishi added.

The two will live in New York after Ms. Mako applies for the first passport of her life. — Reuters

South Korea’s former president Roh Tae-woo dies at 88

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

SEOUL — South Korean former president Roh Tae-woo, a decorated war veteran who played a pivotal but controversial role in the transition to democratic elections from rule by authoritarian leaders, has died, a Seoul hospital confirmed.

The 88-year-old died on Tuesday, a Seoul National University Hospital official said, without citing the cause of death.

Mr. Roh had been in poor health since 2002 when he received surgery for prostate cancer and he was repeatedly hospitalized in recent years.

In the space of a few decades, Mr. Roh went from military coup conspirator to South Korea’s first popularly elected president, before ending his political career in ignominy with a jail sentence for treason and corruption.

“I now feel limitlessly shameful for being a former president,” Mr. Roh told the public in a tearful televised apology in 1995 for secretly amassing a $654 million slush fund while in office.

Mr. Roh was born on Dec. 4, 1932, the son of a poor farmer in Talsong County, near the southeastern city of Taegu. He was educated first at the Korean Military Academy in Seoul and later attended a psychological warfare course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Mr. Roh began his military career during the 1950-1953 Korean War and was the commander of a combat unit in the Vietnam War. 

When former strong man Park Chung-hee was assassinated in 1979, Mr. Roh supported his former military classmate Chun Doo-hwan in a military coup that installed the latter in the presidential Blue House. Mr. Roh was rewarded with a series of government posts.

However, when Mr. Chun named Mr. Roh as his successor ahead of the 1987 presidential elections there was a public outcry, with large pro-democracy rallies held in Seoul and other cities.

In response and to distance himself from Mr. Chun, Mr. Roh issued the “June 29 Declaration,” announcing significant political reforms including the direct election of the president.

He campaigned as a man of the people. In office, he discarded the title “excellency” and opened up the Blue House to the public.

Mr. Roh had success as a global statesman, scoring a diplomatic breakthrough with his “Nordpolitik” drive to establish formal ties with Cold War-era enemies Russia and China.

As the original driving force behind the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Mr. Roh helped South Korea forge a new international identity. He also ushered the country into the United Nations in 1991.

But his term in office was blighted by street protests and economic instability. Two weeks before he left the Blue House he was voted the worst politician in South Korea in a public survey.

Just a few years later he was sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison for his role in the 1979 coup and the 1980 Gwangju army massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators, as well as massive corruption.

Grim-faced and wearing prison pyjamas, Mr. Roh faced court alongside Mr. Chun, who received a commuted death sentence. Local media dubbed it the “trial of the century” as it dug up many of the dirtiest secrets from South Korea’s era of strongman rule.

Referring to the massacre, the judges’ verdict accused Mr. Chun and Mr. Roh of “putting down popular resistance to clear the way for their rise to power.”

Female relatives of the Kwangju victims, dressed in traditional mourning white, attacked Mr. Roh’s son, Jae-hun, as he left the court, shouting “Kill the murderer’s son.”

Both men were pardoned by President Kim Young-sam and freed from jail in 1997.

In 2013, Mr. Roh’s family helped him pay off the last of the money he illegally amassed during his presidency.

Mr. Roh is survived by his wife Kim Ok-sook and his two children. Son Roh Jae-heon is a certified lawyer in New York state and the president of the East Asia Culture Center in Seoul. Daughter Roh Soh-yeong, a director at an art museum in Seoul, is in the middle of a high-profile divorce trial with Chey Tae-won, the chairman of conglomerate SK Group. — Reuters

Rise in human bird flu cases in China shows risk of fast-changing variants

BW FILE PHOTO

BEIJING — A jump in the number of people in China infected with bird flu this year is raising concern among experts, who say a previously circulating strain appears to have changed and may be more infectious to people.

China has reported 21 human infections with the H5N6 subtype of avian influenza in 2021 to the World Health Organization (WHO), compared with only five last year, it said.

Though the numbers are much lower than the hundreds infected with H7N9 in 2017, the infections are serious, leaving many critically ill, and at least six dead.

“The increase in human cases in China this year is of concern. It’s a virus that causes high mortality,” said Thijs Kuiken, professor of comparative pathology at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam.

Most of the cases had come into contact with poultry, and there are no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, said the WHO, which highlighted the rise in cases in a statement on Oct. 4.

It said further investigation was “urgently” required to understand the risk and the increase in spill over to people.

Since then, a 60-year-old woman in Hunan province was admitted to hospital in a critical condition with H5N6 influenza on Oct. 13, according to a Hong Kong government statement.

While human H5N6 cases have been reported, no outbreaks of H5N6 have been reported in poultry in China since Feb. 2020.

China is the world’s biggest poultry producer and top producer of ducks, which act as a reservoir for flu viruses.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could not be reached for comment on the rise in H5N6 human cases. However, a study published on its website last month said the “increasing genetic diversity and geographical distribution of H5N6 pose a serious threat to the poultry industry and human health”.

Avian influenza viruses constantly circulate in domestic and wild birds, but rarely infect people. However, the evolution of the viruses, which have increased as poultry populations grow, is a major concern because they could change into a virus that spreads easily between people and cause a pandemic.

The largest number of H5N6 infections have been in southwestern Sichuan province, though cases have also been reported in neighboring Chongqing and Guangxi, as well as Guangdong, Anhui and Hunan provinces.

At least 10 were caused by viruses genetically very similar to the H5N8 virus that ravaged poultry farms across Europe last winter and also killed wild birds in China. That suggests the latest H5N6 infections in China may be a new variant.

“It could be that this variant is a little more infectious (to people)…or there could be more of this virus in poultry at the moment and that’s why more people are getting infected,” said Kuiken.

Four of the Sichuan cases raised poultry at home and had been in contact with dead birds, said a September report by China’s CDC. Another had bought a duck from a live poultry market a week before developing symptoms.

China vaccinates poultry against avian influenza but the vaccine used last year may only partially protect against emerging viruses, preventing large outbreaks but allowing the virus to keep circulating, said Filip Claes, Regional Laboratory Coordinator at the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization. — Reuters

When a multifaceted language is reduced to what you see onscreen  

By Bronte H. Lacsamana 

The virtual space is very restrictive, writes college student Arianne Micaela A. Bulaong.    

For her and her friends, the limitations of chat and video calls keep them from fully expressing themselves. No number of pixels on a screen can capture the way their faces contort and the lively manner with which they use their hands to tell a story. Most may be intrigued or puzzled by their abrupt movements and unfiltered looks that include drawn eyebrows, pouting lips, and the like — but that’s just how they communicate.    

“I am Deaf and I use sign language to interact with others,” said Ms. Bulaong in an interview with BusinessWorld via e-mail, where she bared her feelings about remote learning during the pandemic. “Since I can’t move much or use body language and facial expressions, I cannot fully and freely express myself online.”    

(The College of Saint Benilde’s School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies, or SDEAS, the tertiary-level school where Ms. Bulaong studies, explains that Deaf is spelled with a capital “D,” to distinguish them as people with their own language and culture.)  

Filipino sign language (FSL), a visual language which has grammar and syntax just like any spoken or written language, is used by the Filipino Deaf community. In 2018, it was declared the country’s national sign language through Republic Act No. 11106.  

Unfortunately, because the coronavirus pandemic has kept Filipino students home for over a year, the full extent of FSL has been reduced to what’s visible on a computer or mobile screen. This has been a blow to Deaf students everywhere, their learning experiences have changed just as drastically or maybe even more so than their hearing peers.    

“We teach FSL and written language bilingual lectures during the synchronous sessions via Zoom, which has Deaf-friendly features,” said Ana Kristina M. Arce, Chairperson of SDEAS’ Bachelor in Applied Deaf Studies Program, via e-mail. “Deaf learners then study in their own time to view FSL videos and read written texts of all learning materials and instructions in their online courses during the asynchronous sessions via the learning management system called BigSky.”    

With these digital tools, schools for the Deaf like SDEAS aim to provide appropriate online delivery courses, she added. However, such a set-up gives rise to issues of internet connectivity, varying levels of student engagement, and even mental health.  

HUMANIZING ONLINE CLASSES
The Filipino youth’s mental distress has been a cause for concern due to the on-and-off lockdowns that have prevented the return of in-person classes. In August, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) counted the Philippines as among just five countries that haven’t reopened schools since 2020, affecting over 27 million Filipino students.    

President Rodrigo R. Duterte only approved a pilot test of limited in-person classes in September, in areas with a low number of coronavirus cases.  

“I do experience stress and slight mental breakdowns,” said Ms. Bulaong, who admitted that she missed learning face-to-face. “It was challenging for me to do online classes at home but education does not stop us from learning. It really tested my patience and optimism to study well.”    

She said that her family was usually helpful when she encountered difficulties with her studies despite all of them being busy learning or working from home, but this may not be the case for all Deaf students.    

SDEAS Chairperson Ms. Arce, a Deaf person herself who has been teaching Deaf studies for eight years, explained the importance of humanizing online classes: “Many experience loneliness while staying at home. Most parents don’t know how to communicate as they are not fluent in FSL. Sometimes, they just use gestures.”  

To address this, SDEAS provides a Deaf Awareness and FSL program for hearing parents, to help the parents and the Deaf child understand each other better. For the students’ personal mental health, the school organizes online extracurricular activities.    

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
The Department of Education (DepEd) revealed in July that only 51,375 learners with disabilities (LWDs) enrolled in special classes this year, a significant drop from 2018 when 231,631 LWDs were enrolled.  

Though the department is currently working with various Deaf organizations to foster more inclusive education for Deaf students and other LWDs, there is much work to do.  

One challenge would be resource videos, said Ms. Arce. Learning materials often use audio without any subtitles. Deaf schools and educators have a hard time finding subtitled videos for their students.    

“Deaf community members [in the Philippines] have been advocating for FSL education. FSL modules are not sufficient or available in schools due to transitioning to the online classes,” she said, adding that both Deaf and hearing educators must work together to develop more modules that will be inclusive for all.    

On the difficulties faced by Deaf students, SDEAS student Ms. Bulaong said: “We need strength to cope with the situations happening in this world and doing the online classes. It is overwhelming for us. Help us when we are struggling and comfort us when we feel discouraged. Listen when we want to express our thoughts and feelings.”

LEARN THE LANGUAGE
Deaf people have but a simple request, according to her — that hearing Filipinos take a step to get to know them and their culture.

The best way to do this would be to enroll in formal classes, like Benilde’s FSL Learning Program, in order to learn to properly communicate with the Deaf.     

A mobile application called FSL Buddy, developed by Benilde in cooperation with Accenture Philippines, also exists as a guide for those who want to explore FSL on their own time.

First released in 2018, the app offers over 200 FSL signs from various word categories, visual-gestural communication lessons, and sensitivity and awareness orientation. Its second and latest version is currently in development and will soon be launched in leading app stores, adding frequently requested signs and phrases based on initial feedback.

“It may be hard at first, but it is fun to learn our sign language,” said Ms. Bulaong. “We will be happy to see them willing to start and [be] open to learning about Deaf culture.”  

  

Benilde-SDEAS is currently accepting Deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants for the 1st term (late August to early December) of the Academic Year 2022-2023.

WFH staff cautioned when accessing company network; personal devices a possible gateway for corporate cyberattacks 

PIXABAY

By Patricia Mirasol 

Work-from-home employees and information technology (IT) teams have a shared responsibility when it comes to securing their company’s network. 

A 2021 IoT security report by Palo Alto Networks, a multinational cybersecurity company, found an increase in non-business devices connected to corporate networks in the last year. When compromised, personal IoT (internet of things) devices like game consoles, heart rate monitors, and smart lightbulbs could be used to laterally access work devices — if both use the same home router — which in turn could allow attackers to move onto corporate systems. 

“Remote workers need to be aware of personal home devices that may connect to corporate networks via their home router,” said Vicky Ray, principal researcher of Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks, in a press statement. “Enterprises need to better monitor threats and access to networks… to safeguard remote employees and the organization’s most valuable assets.” 

Only half (51%) of the surveyed IT decision-makers with IoT devices connected to their organization’s network said these were segmented on a separate network from the one used for business applications. Another quarter (26%) of the respondents implemented micro-segmentation within security zones, a practice which separates IoT devices from IT devices and prevents hackers from moving laterally on a network. 

The attack worrying leaders the most (55%), revealed the 2021 report, involve the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT enables “dumb” items to become “smart” by equipping these with data-gathering sensors to help further business opportunities. The weaponization and hijacking of security cameras was also reported as a concern (46%). 

BEST PRACTICES
Among the IoT security tips Palo Alto Networks recommended for enterprises are: 

1. Know the unknowns — Get complete visibility into all IoT devices connected to the enterprise. This helps collect an up-to-date inventory of all IoT assets. 

2. Conduct continuous monitoring — Implement a real-time monitoring solution that continuously analyzes the behavior of all network-connected IoT devices, to segment the network between IT and IoT devices. 

3. Implement “zero trust” — Zero trust is an approach to security that relies on continuously verifying the trustworthiness of every device, user, and application in an enterprise. An IoT security strategy that aligns with zero trust is advisable to enforce policies for least-privileged access control. 

ACTIVE PLAYER
During his address at the SEIPI Annual General Membership Meeting on May 31, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Philippines is expected to become an active player in the global IoT space. 

“Global trends suggest that software is now being increasingly bundled with hardware products and gaining a larger share in the IoT value chain. With this, the strong software development competency of the similarly export-oriented Philippine IT-BPM industry can be a good source of technology, talent, and knowledge through linkages and value co-creation,” Mr. Lopez said. 

There will be 29.3 billion networked devices worldwide by 2023, up from 18.4 billion in 2018, according to Cisco, an American technology company. Its March 2020 white paper also predicted that connected home applications will have nearly half (48%) of the IoT market share by 2023.

Five key takeaways from the leaked Facebook documents

Facebook has been struggling to attract younger users for more than a decade, and some senior employees are alarmed over the company’s inability to keep teens engaged. When asked by analysts about growth prospects, Facebook executives frequently paint a rosier picture than the one depicted by internal research, a whistle-blower alleges. 

Those are just some of the findings outlined in a cache of disclosures made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, and provided to Congress in redacted form by her legal counsel. A consortium of 17 U.S. news organizations, including Bloomberg, has obtained the redacted versions received by Congress. 

The documents provide rare, vivid insight into ways Facebook, under the guidance of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, created a Silicon Valley social media behemoth that — while frequently posting lavish sales and profit gains — has also faltered in its mission to give users the tools they need to build community and bring the world closer together. 

In its own defense, Facebook points to new products and services it is developing to attract younger users; it notes that hate speech represents well under 1% of overall content on its platform and is declining; it says that it uses research, hypothetical tests and other methods to analyze how it recommends content and improve on efforts to curb the spread of harmful content. Facebook also contends that it has made adequate disclosures concerning growth and that the documents Haugen shared with the SEC represent a “curated selection” that “can in no way be used to draw fair conclusions about us.” 

Even so, the company’s missteps are beginning to take a toll. The documents chronicle worsening morale among some staff and disagreements over the best way to combat bad content; Facebook’s shares have lost more than 10% since the Wall Street Journal began publishing stories based on the whistle-blower’s documents; and lawmakers, already weighing legislation that would rein in Facebook’s power, are calling for even more stringent oversight. 

Other insights gleaned from the documents, researchers and people familiar with Facebook, including current and former employees: 

  • Facebook executives have long known that the platform’s hate-speech problem was bigger and more entrenched than the company discloses. While Facebook prioritizes rooting out violence and hateful content in English-speaking Western nations, it neglects developing regions that are more vulnerable to real-world harm from negativity on social media.
  • A Facebook team tasked with stemming the flow of harmful posts was hamstrung by a lack of staffing, limits placed on its product development and the platform’s engagement-focused algorithm that often ends up promoting content that can be false and divisive.
  • Facebook staff who study misinformation have concluded that the social network’s core products contribute to the spread of harmful material, and the company’s own efforts to quell misinformation are sometimes undermined by political considerations.
  • In 2019, Facebook set up a test account in India to determine how its tools affect people in its most important market; within three weeks, the fictional user’s account devolved into a maelstrom of fake news and incendiary images.
  • Facebook’s own staff, including internal researchers, faulted the company for failing to thwart the proliferation of groups that fomented violence on Jan. 6.

Here’s a selected list of takeaways from The Facebook Papers from other publications: 

  • The ubiquitous “Like” button and the ability to share posts became essential to Facebook’s identity. But internal documents show the company is struggling to deal with the effects of those tools, including amplifying hate speech and misinformation, the New York Times reported.
  • Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg personally agreed to comply with demands from Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party to censor anti-government dissidents or risk getting knocked offline in one of Facebook’s most lucrative Asian markets, the Washington Post reported.
  • Facebook has a multi-tiered system of sorting countries that receive extra protection during elections, with the U.S., India and Brazil getting the highest priority while others get very little protection unless material is escalated by contentmoderators,  The Verge reported.  
  • The leaked Facebook documents offer a treasure trove of insight into Washington’s antitrust war against the company, according to Politico. The papers show in granular detail that Facebook knows it dominates the arenas it considers central to itsfortunes  — contradicting the company’s own public assertions and providing potential fuel for antitrust authorities and lawmakers scrutinizing Facebook’s sway over the market. — Bloomberg

National Developers Convention 2021 pushes for innovative and green housing initiatives for smart subdivisions

DHSUD Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, Senator Francis Tolentino lead the roster of speaker experts

Aiming to gather the public and private sectors across the Philippines to discuss innovative solutions for the housing development industry, The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) Inc., in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), will conduct its annual National Developers Convention online with Plenary Sessions on Oct. 28 to 29, and Nov. 4 to 5, 2021.

With the theme “Beyond the Pandemic: The Future of Housing,” National Developers Convention 2021 will focus on providing an avenue for housing and property developers, key practitioners in the housing industry from the national and local government, and key stakeholders in the housing sector to tackle how they can collaborate in redesigning the housing industry through innovation and green initiatives with the ultimate goal to create smart subdivisions.

The virtual convention will be delivered via a customized microsite containing offerings and elements that will be educational for all delegates and participants. SHDA invites all the people involved in the housing development sector to join them in the event.

Anyone interested to participate can register for free through this registration link.

The opening of the event will be graced by DHSUD Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, who is in charge of presenting the current situation in the housing industry in light of today’s challenges. He will be joined by Fermin Sta Teresa, Jr., Senior Vice-President, Pag-IBIG Fund; Atty. Angel Aguila, OIC Director, Housing Real Estate and Regulation Bureau (HRDRB); Ma. Corazon Dichosa, Executive Director, Industry Development Services, Board of Investments; and Undersecretary Eduardo Bringas of Anti-Red Tape Authority.

SHDA is also hosting the first-ever Pag-IBIG Virtual Housing Fair on the microsite on Oct. 30 and 31, 2021, and invites home buyers to the convention as well.

The event will also spotlight the most talked-about trends in the housing development sector, including the ROI on going green for housing projects, disruptive and innovative technologies in housing development, and the creation of smart subdivisions, which is a vital component in making smart cities possible. Speakers include Emma Imperial of green mass housing producer Imperial Homes, Rommel Benig of eco-bricks manufacturer Green Antz, Jo Ann Eala of BPI’s Sustainability Group, Jean de Castro of engineering firm ESCA International, Sylvester Wong of green infrastructure designer AECOM, and Gerry Choa of ProFriends. Senator Francis Tolentino, Chairman of Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement, will discuss the benefits of using green initiatives and technological innovations to lower costs in building mass housing projects.

According to Rosie Tsai-Wang, SHDA Chairman, “Our key partner agencies: DHSUD, Pag-IBIG BOI and ARTA are committed to resilient building for better homes and process innovations to streamline regulatory choke points. Our speakers will highlight these themes and provide our audience with other important developments in the housing industry.”

“We want to showcase innovative tech solutions to pain points experienced by housing developers. Thinking Machines’ AI and data-driven tech can help identify development locations, Umpisa’s HomeJoy automates the home buying, selling and financing process, PDP Architects’ BIM-driven design lowers construction costs,” Maya K. Colayco, SHDA Governor, said.

Meanwhile, Atty Joy Z. Manaog, First Vice-President and Chair of the National Convention Committee said, “We want to show our member developers and colleagues in the housing industry that it is not just desirable, but also financially feasible to build a green mass-housing subdivision. Pag-IBIG, NHMFC and BOI will talk about financial incentives for this. IFC’s EDGE and BPI’s Sustainability Group will discuss some financing options available to developers.”

The event is an annual gathering of experts and stakeholders to discuss the future of the housing development conducted by SHDA. With over 300 members from chapters in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, SHDA is the major and leading organization of housing developers in the Philippines. SHDA is at the forefront in promoting and safeguarding the interests of its members through continued coordination and linkages with government agencies and allied professionals. SHDA envisions to be the leading voice in articulating the advocacy of the housing industry in the Philippines, thus becoming a responsive, esteemed, trustworthy, and relevant developers’ organization in the country.

 

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Southeast Asian leaders hold summit, excluding Myanmar coup leader

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Southeast Asian leaders begin their annual summit on Tuesday without Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew a civilian government on Feb. 1, in a rare exclusion for the regional grouping usually known for non-interference.

U.S. President Joe Biden will attend a joint session by video link, but it was likely no one would represent Myanmar at the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Summit host Brunei has said the bloc will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar but there has been no confirmation of who it might be.

Myanmar‘s foreign ministry late on Monday said it would only agree to its head of state or ministerial representative, indicating its seat would be empty at the summit.

ASEAN foreign ministers decided on Oct. 15 to sideline Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew a government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The ministers cited the junta chief’s failure to implement an ASEAN peace plan, which included ending hostilities, initiating dialogue, allowing humanitarian support and granting a special envoy full access in the country.

Since overthrowing Suu Kyi’s government, detaining her and most of her allies and ending a decade of tentative democracy, Myanmar‘s military has killed more than 1,000 people and arrested thousands, monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says.

The junta disputes that count as inflated and says soldiers have been killed in fighting nationwide with armed opposition groups.

Myanmar‘s junta released a statement on Monday night saying it had informed this year’s ASEAN chair Brunei that it could only “accept the participation of Head of State or Head of Government or his Ministerial level representative” at the summit.

It added Myanmar “would be pursuing due process” under the bloc’s charter to resolve the dispute about participation at ASEAN summits.

On the agenda for Tuesday’s opening day were three separate meetings between the ASEAN leaders and representatives of the United States, China and South Korea.

Biden will lead the U.S. delegation for the ASEAN-United States summit, the U.S. embassy in Brunei said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. – Reuters

Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows

FILE PHOTO: 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Facebook Inc said on Monday it will start publishing the financial results of its augmented and virtual reality labs as a separate unit, where it is investing billions in its ambitions to build the “metaverse” and as it reported that its main advertising business faces “significant uncertainty.”

Facebook, which reported third-quarter profit up 17%, warned that Apple Inc’s new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter. The social media company reported quarterly revenue below market expectations, which Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts was due to the iOS changes.

David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer, said the company expected its investment in its hardware division, Facebook Reality Labs, to reduce overall operating profit in 2021 by approximately $10 billion.

The financial commitment to this hardware-focused unit which will work on Facebook’s “metaverse” ambitions, comes as the company is swamped by coverage of documents leaked by former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen which she said showed the company chose profit over user safety. CEO Mark Zuckerberg started Monday’s analyst call by issuing a defense against criticisms stemming from the documents, which he said painted a “false picture of our company.”

The CEO has said Facebook in the coming years will be seen not as a social media firm but as a company focused on the metaverse. The buzzy term refers broadly to a shared virtual environment which can be accessed by people using different devices.

Facebook, which has invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), including buying companies like Oculus, this year created a product team to work on the metaverse. This month, it said it plans to hire 10,000 employees in Europe over the next five years to work on this initiative.

“This is not an investment that is going to be profitable for us any time in the near future,” Zuckerberg told analysts. “But we basically believe that the metaverse is going to be the successor to the mobile internet.”

Wehner said that starting in the fourth quarter of 2021, it would break out Facebook Reality Labs as a separate reporting segment from Facebook’s family of apps.

Shares of the company were up about 1% in after-hours trade on Monday. Facebook, whose shares have gained about 20% so far this year, is about $85 billion away from regaining a spot on the $1 trillion club and joining new entrant Tesla Inc.

 

RETOOLING

The world’s largest social media network is under scrutiny from global lawmakers and regulators, including from the Federal Trade Commission which has filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive practices.

The whistleblower documents, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, have intensified scrutiny of the company. They include internal research and reports about Instagram’s effects on the mental health of teens and about whether Facebook’s platforms stoke divisions, as well as its handling of activity around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and inconsistencies in the company’s content moderation for users around the globe.

For the third quarter, Facebook reported monthly active users of 2.91 billion, up 6% from a year ago but short of analysts’ estimates.

On the call, executives emphasized the company’s focus on attracting young adults, including through its short video feature “Reels.”

“We are retooling our teams to make serving young adults their North Star rather than optimizing for the larger number of older people,” said Zuckerberg, a shift he said would take “years, not months, to fully execute.”

The leaked documents show Facebook’s ongoing concerns about its appeal to younger users, as rivals like TikTok have enjoyed popularity with teens. They also show the company’s difficulties in dealing with users who create multiple accounts on its platform.

Facebook said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to be in a range of $31.5 billion to $34 billion. Analysts had forecast $34.84 billion in revenue, or a 24.1% jump, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Its third-quarter revenue too faced the brunt of Apple’s privacy rules that made it harder for brands to target and measure their ads on Facebook. Sandberg, the COO, said Facebook expects it will solve “more than half” of the problems that led to the under-reporting by the end of this year.

“The changes to Apple privacy settings have not hurt Facebook in a major way, at least not yet,” said Haris Anwar, an analyst at Investing.com. “Though revenue and user numbers have taken a slight hit over the past quarter, the company’s earning power is still intact.”

The company’s total revenue, which primarily consists of ad sales, rose to $29.01 billion in the third quarter from $21.47 billion a year earlier, missing analysts’ estimates of $29.57 billion. Sandberg said Facebook’s advertisers were also affected by the global supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages, which hurt advertising demand across a range of sectors and regions.

Facebook said it repurchased $14.37 billion in stock during the third quarter and announced an additional $50 billion in share buybacks. – Reuters

Amazon signs deal with British spy agencies to boost use of AI for espionage -FT

REUTERS

Britain’s spy agencies have given a contract to Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host classified material in a deal aimed at boosting the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for espionage, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Britain’s GCHQ spy agency championed the procurement of a high-security cloud system and it will be used by sister services MI5 and MI6, as well as other government departments such as the Ministry of Defence during joint operations, the report added.

The agreement was signed this year with AWS, Amazon.com Inc’s cloud service unit, and the data of all the agencies will be held in Britain, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.

GCHQ said it would not comment on reports about its relationships with tech suppliers. AWS declined to comment on the report.

In February, Britain’s cyber spies at the GCHQ eavesdropping agency said they had fully embraced artificial intelligence to uncover patterns in vast amounts of global data to counter hostile disinformation and snare child abusers.

GCHQ has been using basic forms of AI such as translation technology for years but is now stepping up its use, partly in response to the use of AI by hostile states and partly due to the data explosion that makes it effective.

Earlier on Monday, GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming told a conference the number of ransomware attacks had doubled across the UK in 2021, compared with last year, according to the FT. – Reuters

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