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Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices
Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the…
Norway’s state telecoms firm accused of helping Myanmar regime seize activists
Lawsuit in Norway alleges Telenor passed on data helping Myanmar military arrest 1,200 activists, some in safe houses When even two weeks of torture could not force Aung Thu to betray his fellow anti-coup activists, his military interrogators in Myanmar tried something different: they asked a Norwegian telecoms company, Telenor, then the largest one operating…
‘Invasive’ AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts
Countries across the continent have spent more than $2bn on Chinese tracking technology that is not ‘necessary or proportionate’, new report finds The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging technologies. At least…
Labour plans to consult on use of live facial recognition before wider roll-out
Policing minister says government will ‘put some parameters’ around its deployment in England Labour plans to consult on the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology before expanding it across England, the new policing minister has told the party’s annual conference. Sarah Jones, a Home Office minister, said the government would “put some parameters” over…