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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 16d

And the US TikTok precedent has been locked-in & now being raised elsewhere:

"Dr Dana McKay, associate dean in interaction, technology and information at RMIT University, said the best move from a data and security perspective would be for Australia to have its own local version of TikTok."

Australia may have to choose between a Chinese TikTok and one owned by Trump’s billionaire backers

Expert raises concerns about what US TikTok deal could mean for News Corp’s ‘worrying dominance’ in Australian media

www.theguardian.com

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 16d

"Users of US TikTok won’t enjoy any more privacy than with Chinese TikTok, due to lack of meaningful regulation of social media companies. They'll still be pervasively surveilled as they use the Net, both to advertise at them & for intelligence services to profile them”

(Paraphrased to shorten)

Australia may have to choose between a Chinese TikTok and one owned by Trump’s billionaire backers

Expert raises concerns about what US TikTok deal could mean for News Corp’s ‘worrying dominance’ in Australian media

www.theguardian.com

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 17d

TikTok US to lease a copy of ByteDance's existing algorithm; Oracle to 'retrain' the copy.

Retraining it along lines of FB, Twitter & Truth Social? US must be reaching saturation point for social media w algorithms pushing anger/misinfo. At least this retraining shouldn't affect folks outside US.

TikTok’s algorithm set to move from Chinese control to Big Tech under Trump deal

White House says it has finally reached an agreement with China to secure the future of the popular social video app in the U.S., with software giant Oracle taking responsibility for users’ data

www.independent.co.uk

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 19d

'Clegg said the relationship between the UK and the US tech sector was “all one-way traffic” and that the announcements suited the companies.

He warned Britain was being “defanged” by simply fostering a greater reliance on the US tech sector, rather than building its own.'

Nick Clegg: US-UK tech deal is ‘sloppy seconds from Silicon Valley’

Meta’s former president of global affairs says agreement will leave UK more reliant on US tech firms

www.theguardian.com

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 19d

If this goes ahead, I wonder if the US govt & Big Tech companies recognise what a precedent this sets. Hard for the US to threaten extra tariffs on countries with “digital taxes, legislation, rules, or regulations" affecting US Big Tech when the US is basically doing the same thing with TikTok.

White House outlines TikTok deal that would give US control of algorithm

The White House said a deal could be signed "in the coming days", but Beijing is yet to comment.

www.bbc.com

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 21d

It's also dismaying that ICANN, which (cl)aims to be globally inclusive, admits it's catering to the US admin's anti-DEI stance. This, despite many calls over the years that it move from USA to a jurisdiction like Switzerland, with a legal framework specifically supporting independent int'l orgs.

www.icann.org

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · 21d

A good reminder why the current US administration's anti-DEI stance - & US-based Big Tech's widespread adoption of that - means it's more important than ever to nurture the development of tech & tech companies outside the US, so tech truly can meet the needs of a diverse world.

Social media ban trial data reveals racial bias in age checking software: just how inaccurate is it?

Young people from Indigenous and Asian backgrounds are more likely to be miscategorised as over the age limit and older people as underaged, analysis finds

www.theguardian.com

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Sep 7

That's not to say that digital governance discussions *don't* happen in Australia. Just that it tends to be limited to a small pool of active participants and doesn't leak much into wider national awareness or debates.

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Sep 7

This doesn't surprise me. I follow int'l stuff & that's partly because there's a distinct lack of engagement in both general human rights & digital governance issues in Oz. Sometimes Aussies can be too laid back for their own good. Digital rights & responsibility convos Down Under are very niche.

One in three Australians upload sensitive data to AI tools, report finds

Over one-third of Australian professionals upload sensitive company data to AI tools without formal oversight, raising significant security and compliance concerns.

itbrief.com.au

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Sep 7

I remember when Russia would pretty much start every #UNcyberOEWG & AHC on Cybercrime criticizing USA for not meeting its UN HQ host obligations by refusing to issue delegates visas. Now that more countries are in USA's crosshairs, maybe it's time to move more meetings to the UN's non-US locations?

US considers ban on wholesale shopping and other visa restrictions for Iranians during UN meeting

The Trump administration has already denied visas for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and his large delegation to attend the U.N. General Assembly later this month and is now considering ramping up r...

www.independent.co.uk

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Aug 29

The #WSIS+20 Draft Zero text is out!

Written inputs, in the form of text proposals, are open until 26 September. Send input, in MS Word format, by email to the Secretariat at [email protected]

publicadministration.desa.un.org

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Aug 27

When you accidentally stumble upon an echidna that then thinks that dashing into the shed & hiding under the lawn mower is a good idea! I’ll check in the morning to make sure it’s not stuck.

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Aug 27

These are not lamingtons. The only thing they have in common with lamingtons is they're square. Lamingtons should be plain sponge cake dipped in choc sauce & maybe some jam between 2 sponge layers. A recipe so easy Year 1 kids can make them for school fundraisers. These are misnamed tiny cube cakes:

M&S brings Australia’s national treat the lamington to UK high street

Rich sponge cake topped with buttercream dates from 1890s and M&S version comes in two varieties

www.theguardian.com

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Aug 24

Things you really shouldn't be trying to tow and park across multiple bays with a large SUV on a small supermarket parking lot at peak shopping times on the weekend:

1. Multi-horse horse float
2. Large boat

Bonus points for getting stuck making the sharp turns between narrow parking aisles 🤦‍♀️

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Reposted by S G Dickinson

The Fake History Hunter @fakehistoryhunter.net · Aug 14

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Reposted by S G Dickinson

The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · Jul 24

As the ICJ declares countries that don't act to prevent climate change could be breaching international law...

Australia is giving some Tuvaluans the choice to live in Aus as they lose their home to climate change.

While Australia chooses to dig up more fossil fuels.

#auspol

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 23

See also the letter from the co-facilitators (Costa Rica & Spain) announcing the silence procedure on Rev. 4 of the ToRs & Modalities for the AI Panel & Dialogue:

www.un.org

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 23

Rev. 4 ToRs & Modalities for the AI Panel & Dialogue placed under silence procedure on 17 July. I hear silence broke, as with Rev. 3.

Wonder how UN Member States will deal with this latest hurdle (Trump AI exec orders) dropping in the home stretch of their negotiations.

www.un.org

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 23

This might make the current tense UN negotiations on the terms of reference & modalities for the AI Panel & Dialogue even more fraught.

Also, it very much explains why the Pentagon signed a multi-million contract with Grok so soon after it went full-on Nazi. Can't get more anti-woke than that!

Trump signs three executive orders targeting ‘woke’ AI models

Crackdown on what the White House claims is bias echoes longstanding conservative grievances against tech

www.theguardian.com

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

#UNcyberOEWG: Australia announces that in partnership with the WG's secretariat, they've crunched the stats on rise in gender parity in interventions since the WG began:

- ~33% of interventions were made by women when OEWG began
- 55% in February WG session
- 53% in this week's session

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

The willingness to immediately forget all areas of disagreement at #UNcyberOEWG is kind of like giving birth: the endorphins released on seeing the tiny little screaming infant mean that the hours of trauma & pain of pushing out the baby are immediately wiped from memory.

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

#UNcyberOEWG has basically entered the "We are going to ignore all the disagreements & tensions of the past few years & instead congratulate each other on how wonderfully we worked together to develop this fantastic outcome" phase that inevitably happens before meetings like this come to a close.

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S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

#UNcyberOEWG delegates have 3 weeks from today to submit any written national statements regarding the final report just adopted or they can ask for the floor now.

Pacific Island States are first to take the floor, thanking Chair & his team for all their hard work. The room applauds in agreement.

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

#UNcyberOEWG Chair: with no more requests for the floor, moves to formal adoption of the draft final report of the WG. No objections in the room. Chair gavels report into adoption. Loud applause & whooping breaks out across the room! Chair calls it "applause of collective relief". Laughter in room.

docs-library.unoda.org

S G Dickinson @sgdickinson.bsky.social · Jul 11

#UNcyberOEWG: The Arab Group, represented by Tunisia, is third to take the floor, & joins consensus on Conference Room Paper, while also expressing some reservations, inc. on how international law is handled in the final report.