Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/eff-and-45-organizations-tell-un-reverse-decision-host-igf-saudi-arabia
@eff seems to agree with me that hosting the #IGF in Saudi Arabia is a bad idea.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240106034714/https://indico.un.org/event/1009455/
https://web.archive.org/web/20231114005554/https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/mag-2024-members

The next #IGF (an internet policy event hosted by the U.N.) is being held in Saudi Arabia, a country known for brutal repression and chopping critical journalists up into tiny little pieces.

Talk about out of touch.

You might remember the IGF from this critique of Kadokawa.

https://web.archive.org/web/20231227071126/https://www.iso.org/standard/81467.html

Nothing like a standards organization like ISO engaging in silly virtue signalling, like telling you what "SDGs" this supposedly "contributes towards" (this seems to be done in a "this vaguely intersects with this, let's toss it in" manner). Also, is it ethical to charge for these standards?

https://reason.com/2024/01/15/the-newly-unveiled-hhs-rationale-for-rescheduling-marijuana-underlines-drug-warriors-dishonesty/

"Last week, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Houston lawyer Matthew Zorn, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed the rationale for its August 2023 recommendation that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act."

Well, less humorously, robomanagers may well be more of a thing (and that might not necessarily be a good thing).

Manager: I thought AI would take the jobs of my employees, not my job.

Lol.

https://themessenger.com/news/florida-school-district-dictionaries-escambia-county-sex-ed
"A school district in Florida has taken dictionaries off its libraries' shelves because of fears they violate the state's recent legislation on books depicting or describing sexual conduct."

I don't know whether to laugh at this because of the sheer absurdity of it or complain about it. Both?

Are you tired of a company which manufactures hygienics products (Dove) reckoning themselves "experts" and coming in with their bad take on online "safety" legislation?

Are you tired of the mayonnaise company reckoning themselves a player in world politics?

Are you tired of a (seemingly conservative) investor (Ackman) clumsily delving into internet related matters and driving sex related censorship? (2020 - 2022).

Are you tired of a company which manufactures plastic blocks (Lego) turning up to internet policy summits?

It's also worth mentioning how pervasive criticism of this is. I hear it in random chat groups with friends (or strangers or acquaintances). I hear it from relatives (who might not even understand what the word "woke" means, but who know this ESG stuff is a problem).

https://reason.com/2024/01/14/is-esg-already-over/ I personally find there is a lot of virtue signalling and regressive behavior which both fails to contribute to any social value, and also undercuts a business' ability to offer useful services. Also, while this article mentions climate more, it's not simply about climate.

Apart from the use case there being a contrived, and unnecessary violation of privacy, they're also signalling that that would only be the beginning.

Perhaps, track a vehicle's location to "better optimize traffic" (I've seen this idea mentioned by like-minded people elsewhere), or some other "creative" use? Awful.

It seems the road to hell is paved with... Trying to overcome small inconveniences for bureaucrats?

I suspect that a few might get distracted by the newfangled "blockchain" novelty aspect (that is hard to take seriously) and ignore that they're exploring ways to lift private data out of vehicles.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221205221900/https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC130260

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission produced a disturbingly totalitarian report in 2022 which flew under the radar.

"The objective of the BC4T project is to investigate possible applications of blockchain (BC) technology on road transport, focusing on topics of interest to the European Commission’s policy agenda."

"The study also showed that sharing vehicle information such as fuel consumption or emissions to a fully BC-based monitoring system would be technically feasible."

"Adopting a European Digital Identity could open up a range of diverse applications within the connected mobility ecosystem linking users and regulators while protecting personal data and privacy. The benefits of the adoption and testing of BC could create a significant and transparent interlinking of public and private data and enable interoperability across different transport systems."

#privacy #eidas

https://reason.com/2024/01/12/aurora-colorado-police-detained-the-wrong-guy-at-gunpoint-they-gave-him-a-ticket-anyway/

"Newly released body camera footage shows Aurora, Colorado, police forcing 44-year-old Teddy Pittman to the ground at gunpoint after mistaking him for a fugitive. After searching the terrified Pitman and his car, the cops eventually let him go—but not without giving him a ticket for driving with a suspended license and making a bad turn."

"After coming up empty-handed, the task force let Pittman go—but not without slapping him with a traffic ticket for driving with a suspended license and making a faulty left turn. A judge eventually dismissed the ticket."

#HumanRights