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#10YearChallenge and data mining
by Grace Githaiga 17 Jan '19

17 Jan '19

"If you use social media, you've probably noticed a trend across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter of people posting their then-and-now profile pictures, mostly from 10 years ago and this year. Imagine that you wanted to train a facial recognition algorithm on age-related characteristics and, more specifically, on age progression (e.g., how people are likely to look as they get older). Ideally, you'd want a broad and rigorous dataset with lots of people's pictures. It would help if you knew they were taken a fixed number of years apart—say, 10 years.... In other words, thanks to this meme, there’s now a very large dataset of carefully curated photos of people from roughly 10 years ago and now." Read more on: https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-10-year-meme-challenge/ Best regards -- Grace Githaiga Co-Convenor, Kenya ICT Action Network

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India's Bharti Airtel in talks to buy Telkom Kenya
by Victor Kapiyo 17 Jan '19

17 Jan '19

Looks like it's soon going to be a two horse race for mobile subscribers... India’s Bharti Airtel is in talks to buy Telkom Kenya, the country’s smallest telecoms operator, to create a stronger challenger to market leader Safaricom, three industry sources told Reuters on Monday. London-based Helios Investment, which owns a 60 percent stake in Telkom, is looking to partly cash out of the investment which it entered in 2015, the sources said. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Bharti-Airtel-in-talks-to-buy-Tel…

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Africa: Increasing internet Shutdowns and media bans limiting access to information
by Victor Kapiyo 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

ARTICLE 19 is concerned by a series of internet shutdowns across Africa, most recently in Zimbabwe, where the internet has reportedly been blocked since 15 January. Similar shutdowns in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon and South Sudan have likewise paralyzed access to information and communication for citizens of these countries. https://www.article19.org/resources/africa-increasing-internet-shutdowns-an…

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Startups write to PM Modi for exemption from Section 68; here's what it is - The Financial Express
by WANGARI KABIRU 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

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Economic sabotage via FAKE NEWS
by Patrick A. M. Maina 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

[long post - but interesting topic] Hi Listers, There is a new target for weaponised information (i.e. fake news / propaganda): The Economy. It is increasingly apparent that "Fake news" can be (and is being) used to sabotage and/or derail an entire country or region's economic agenda by (local and/or foreign) parties intent on furthering their own interests at any cost to the targeted country or region, and the media seems to be an unwitting (or unconcerned?) participant. Some of us may have already noticed a critical flaw in the "free media" business model. It is viewership (not the quality of stories) that drives their revenue. Now one would expect viewership and quality to be strongly correlated but that thought does not factor human nature. Majority of people gravitate towards entertaining / controversial / shocking / shaming subjects. Very few people care for deep, broad or complex analysis of the real issues especially if the conclusions are not sensational. Even fewer search for multiple viewpoints before drawing their own conclusions. They would rather trust the author to have done sufficient balanced research and analysis (which is often far from reality e.g. due to time constraints associated with "breaking" or "exclusive" news models). So *controversy* (not information) is what sustains media houses in democratic countries globally. Consequently this has made them easy targets for targeted disinformation campaigns. As much as the media claims to have a code of conduct or editorial policies, we see all over the world evidence that media (and/or journalism) is not free of overt/covert bias. In Kenya we have the open secret of "envelope" or "eWallet" journalism for example... Is "Free press" an illusion? How can a media house be free when its shareholders demand endless growth in profits - something that can only be achieved by "giving people what they want" (not what they need)? Which media house will publish a story that potentially upsets a major advertiser? Can they refuse millions from deep pocketed international lobbyists to spread propaganda (provided there are legal loopholes to evade treason, libel or other forms of accountability)? Critical thinkers will agree that nowadays the media (worldwide) are informing less and manipulating more...and it almost looks deliberate (no wonder the uptick in conspiracy theories globally!). The hidden (but harmful) impact of this is increased *mass ignorance* within populations at the very least, with other potentially worse implications (e.g. spread of unfounded fears or hate targeted at certain groups). Fake news is particularly insidious and destructive when the economy or development agenda is targeted for sabotage. To the average person, it looks like harmless gossip or sensational chatter from "concerned (usually faceless) groups" but if you consider the consequences in monetary terms, e.g. if truly beneficial projects be abandoned, delayed or scaled down for invalid or unjustifiable reasons, then there is a massive cost that the taxpayer will ultimately have to foot. What looks like fierce competition between geopolitical power players in pursuit of *their* interests can end up completely derailing an otherwise promising economic agenda of the targeted country/region. Should local media be held accountable for the consequences of facilitating economic sabotage that is commensurate with any harmful impact of the fake/distorted/half-truth stories being told? I value press freedom but I think all freedoms are balanced with some kind of equitable accountability (such that A's freedoms don't harm B's rights). It is not the media that feels the pain of irresponsible reporting, its the MSME business people whose opportunities for growth get limited, or hardworking employees whose taxes (or costs of living) go up as government scrambles to raise funds in a booby trapped economy. Meanwhile the controversy / fake news fuelled media shareholders laugh all the way to the bank. The bigger picture for all of us, no matter our role in society, is to try contribute (within our abilities) towards peace, progress, democratic ideals, better standards of living and economic prosperity. I think it is irresponsible for one party to exercise its rights just for the sake of it, without regard to impact on other people's rights (e. g. to have a stable, predictable and growing economy). What do you think? Is the western model of "press freedom" failing? Share your thoughts. BrgdsPatrick A. M. Maina(Independent Public Policy Analyst)

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Concern over graft as State centralizes IT procurement
by Joel Itube 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Concerns-over-graft-as-State-centralises-proc… Kind Regards, Joel Itube

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] 'Right to be forgotten' by Google should apply only in EU, says court opinion
by Barrack Otieno 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Dear Listers, Interesting development. Learned friends what is your take? Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joly MacFie <joly(a)punkcast.com> Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2019 10:58:48 -0500 Subject: [Internet Policy] 'Right to be forgotten' by Google should apply only in EU, says court opinion To: "internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org" <InternetPolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> (Via Access Now) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/10/right-to-be-forgotten-by… The “right to be forgotten”, which enables claimants to request the removal of links to irrelevant or outdated online information about them, should not be enforceable globally, the European court of justice (ECJ) has found in a preliminary opinion. The controversial power, requiring search engines to prevent access to material on the internet, should be enforceable only in the EU and not worldwide, the court’s advocate general, Maciej Szpunar, said. Final judgments by the ECJ usually endorse initial opinions. The case related to a dispute between Google and France’s National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL), with a number of UK and international free speech organisations saying that extending the power could encourage censorship in countries such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. In his opinion, the advocate general said the right to be forgotten must be balanced against other “fundamental rights”, such as the right to data protection, privacy and the legitimate public interest in accessing information. Szpunar said if worldwide “de-referencing” was allowed, EU authorities would not be able to determine a right to receive information or balance it against other fundamental rights to data protection and to privacy. <snip> -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- - -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Samsung Users Can't Delete Facebook, making it crapware to users who don't need it
by Mwendwa Kivuva 10 Jan '19

10 Jan '19

Facebook has inked an unknown number of agreements with Android smartphone makers, mobile carriers and OSes around the world to not only pre-load Facebook’s eponymous app on hardware but render the software *undeleteable*; a permanent feature of your device, whether you like how the company’s app can track your every move and digital action or not. Bloomberg spoke to a U.S. owner of a Samsung Galaxy S8 who, after reading forum discussions about Samsung devices, found his own pre-loaded Facebook <https://crunchbase.com/organization/facebook>app could not be removed. It could only be “disabled,” with no explanation available to him as to what exactly that meant. The Galaxy S8 retailed for $725+ when it went on sale in the U.S. two years ago <https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/20/samsung-galaxy-s8-and-galaxy-s8-now-on-sa…> . A Facebook spokesperson told Bloomberg that a disabled permanent app doesn’t continue collecting data or sending information back to the company, but declined to specify exactly how many such pre-install deals Facebook has globally. Samsung told the news organization it provides a pre-installed Facebook app on “selected models” with options to disable it, adding that once disabled, the app is no longer running. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/09/facebook-is-the-new-crapware/amp/

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Fwd: [NRIs List] IGF2019 reminder: Taking Stock and Call for Issues OPEN
by Barrack Otieno 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

Listers, This is for your information and action. Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Anja Gengo <anja.gengo(a)un.org> Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2019 11:46:25 +0000 Subject: [NRIs List] IGF2019 reminder: Taking Stock and Call for Issues OPEN To: "igfregionals(a)intgovforum.org" <igfregionals(a)intgovforum.org> Dear Colleagues, This is a kind reminder on two important IGF processes currently underway: * Taking stock of the 2018 work programme and 13th IGF and suggestions for 2019 and 14th IGF All NRIs are encouraged to help strengthening the IGF, by providing written inputs on what worked well during the IGF 2018 cycle and how can we improve the 2019 IGF cycle. On THIS LINK<https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-community-public-consu…> you can see a set of proposed guiding questions to address. Deadline for submissions: 15 January 2019. All received inputs will be published on the IGF website, and summarized to feed into the first face to face IGF Open Consultations and MAG meeting. * IGF 2019 Call For Issues It would be much helpful to the IGF, if you would let the community know what issues were among highest priorities for your respective communities in the recent period. You can submit as many issues as you want through THIS LINK<https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2019-call-for-issues>. Deadline for submissions: 24 January 2019. Thank you very much in advance for your collaboration on these important processes! Best regards, Anja -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Use law on right to information to fight corruption
by S.M. Muraya 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

Dear Listers, If Executive Order No. 2 of 2018 is prioritized and maintained, in 2020, we can start to track the percentage of funds allocated to information system (transparency promoting) projects. https://www.nation.co.ke/oped/opinion/Use-law-on-right-to-information-to-fi… In his desire to make the government accountable and tackle the runaway corruption, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued Executive Order No. 2 of 2018, directing public entities to, from July 1, maintain and continuously update and publicise complete information of all tenders awarded. Subsequently, the Public Procurement Information Portal — an online platform for the publication of contract awards and tender notices by public bodies — was set up to consolidate and upload such information on a monthly basis. More than 7,000 tenders and 1,500 contracts worth Sh50 billion awarded to 4,200 suppliers have been posted to enhance transparency in the public procurement of goods and services.

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