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Google Wallet, the Android version of the Wallet app on iPhones, has started supporting digital IDs and driver’s licenses. The company said the feature will begin rolling out this month, supporting the growing global push to get citizens to adopt digital ID measures. Maryland residents can use the feature immediately, but residents in Colorado, Georgia, and Arizona will get the feature “in the coming months.” The feature will require Android 8.0 and above. The digital ID will be stored locally on the device. However, you can access it remotely by going to myaccount.google.com. On Android 11 and later versions, Google claims a user can transfer their ID through NFC even when the phone is off. Google Wallet has the option for transferring credentials through NFC to an NFC ID terminal, and the option to “Show Code” that allows the user to show the traditional driver’s license barcode. Google said that IDs stored on Google Wallet can also be used at TSA check-ins. However, users must still carry their physical IDs for now. The post Android Update To Introduce Digital ID Wallets appeared first on Reclaim The Net.Android Update To Introduce Digital ID Wallets

While discussing YouTube’s decision to abandon the policy to ban election “misinformation,” CNN analyst Kirsten Powers, who claims to be a free speech supporter, suggested that if Big Tech platforms are banning what Republicans say, maybe they just shouldn’t say it. “If there is some sort of huge riot, then the first platform that’s going to move, which is YouTube, is the one that we’re going to look at and say, ‘What did we do here?’” CNN analyst Sara Fischer asked during the discussion. “Yes. But they can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” Powers replied. “Once it’s out, it’s out there. And so, if the problem is that, ‘Oh, people aren’t going to be able to upload things that Republicans are saying,’ maybe Republicans should stop saying it, right? Is that not the solution to the problem? So, I think that — look, I support free speech, and I don’t think we want to silence political speech. But this company does have responsibility. And that’s not a violation of free speech to say, ‘We’re not going to allow you to upload information that is demonstrably false,’” she added. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/446668804096.mp4 source: CNN, clipped by @a_newsman. The comments were odd coming from someone who once authored a book titled: “The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech.” YouTube last week abandoned the election misinformation policy, which started an aggressive crackdown on alleged election misinformation about the presidential election in 2020. “The ability to openly debate political ideas, even those…CNN’s Kirsten Powers Says If Big Tech Platforms Are Banning What Republicans Say, Maybe They Shouldn’t Say It

Telegram has described Brazil’s proposed fake news law as an attack on democracy. The bill has also been criticized by other tech companies and citizens. “Brazil is about to pass a law that will end free speech,” Telegram wrote in a message to users. It added that the bill would give “the government censorship powers without prior judicial oversight.” According to Telegram, the bill is “one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation ever considered in Brazil.” Telegram added that, “Democracy is under attack in Brazil.” The bill has already passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the lower house. Last month, the Brazilian government said that Google was engaging in “deceitful and abusive propaganda” for promoting stories criticizing the bill. On the Brazilian Google, the company displayed prominently a message that warned the bill would “make your internet worse.” Google removed the message the same day after the government threatened a fine of 1 million reals ($200,000) an hour. Telegram was also suspended after it refused to comply with an order demanding information about groups that were using the platform to promote violence in schools. Telegram successfully appealed the ruling. The post Telegram Pushes Back On Censorship In Brazil: “Democracy is under attack” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.Telegram Pushes Back On Censorship In Brazil: “Democracy is under attack”

A Canadian police officer who was penalized with 80 hours of unpaid work for donating $50 to the Freedom Convoy protest will appeal the decision. In a press release, the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said that Constable Michael Brisco’s appeal will be filed with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission. “Constable Brisco was exercising his right to freedom of expression when he made a small donation to the Freedom Convoy. He fully believed that the protests were peaceful, and his beliefs were confirmed by the Superior Court, which allowed for the protests to continue, albeit without honking,” noted his lawyer, Sayeh Hassan. “Canadians including police officers should be able to exercise their right to freedom of expression without being penalized. We are hopeful that the Ontario Civil Police Commission will overturn Constable Brisco’s conviction and uphold his right to freedom of expression.” Brisco donated on February 8, 2022, through the Freedom Convoy crowdfunding page on GiveSendGo. At the time, the officer was on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with the Windsor Police Force mandatory vaccination against Covid policy. JCCF described Brisco as a “highly trained and respected police officer with an exemplary record.” “He has been a police officer for 15 years and has no prior disciplinary record. He is a defender of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and believes that he was exercising his Charter right to freedom of expression when making the $50 donation to support the Ottawa Freedom Convoy,” JCCF added. The post Canadian…Canadian Police Officer That Donated To Freedom Convoy Appeals Unpaid Leave Punishment

Documents obtained by Michael Shellenberger as part of the Twitter Files revealed that Twitter leadership disagreed over banning Alex Berenson, further fueling his claim that Twitter had no justification to ban his account. Berenson was banned from Twitter in August 2021 for violating the platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policy. “The newly revealed secret debate inside Twitter’s former leadership highlights the still-unanswered question of whether Twitter banned me because it feared government or corporate retribution for allowing me to continue to publish on its site,” Berenson tweeted, after reviewing the evidence he received from Shellenberger. There was already evidence that the Biden administration and a Pfizer board member wanted to have Berenson censored. According to Berenson, after reviewing the documents, Twitter lawyers concluded that they could not win against the lawsuit Berenson filed to get his account reinstated. However, the reason the account was banned in the first place is not clear. Berenson, tweeted that the issue is “central to Berenson v Biden, my new lawsuit against the @WhiteHouse and @Pfizer for allegedly conspiring to violate my First Amendment rights by coercing Twitter to ban me.” The documents “troubled” Twitter lawyers enough for them to advise Twitter to settle the lawsuit “rather than risk them becoming public – even if the company had to agree to most of my demands.” When Twitter restored Berenson’s account, it admitted it made a mistake but did not explain why the account was banned in the first place. According to Berenson, they refused to explain because…Twitter Thought It Would Likely Lose First Amendment Lawsuit Filed By Journalist Alex Berenson After Ban

Audio of this conversation is available via your favorite podcast service. Last week, the U.S Secretaries of State and Commerce and trade representatives from President Joe Biden’s administration met with top European Union officials in the heart of the Swedish Lapland for the fourth Ministerial meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, or “TTC”. Pressing needs were tackled, new initiatives were launched, commitments were made, and cooperation was deepened on a range of tech policy issues, at least according to the press releases. To hear an unvarnished view from someone who was at the meeting about what might actually come of it all, I invited on a journalist who is, in my opinion, one the best tech policy reporters in the world: Mark Scott, Chief Technology Correspondent for Politico. With his colleagues, Mark filed multiple pieces from Luleå, Sweden, where the event was held, including on the degree to which the specter of China loomed over the meeting; on tough talk from European Union internal market commissioner Thierry Breton; and on the dialogue around artificial intelligence. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the discussion. Justin Hendrix: Mark, you have just returned from a very interesting meeting that I feel like is sort of less well covered, a little bit off the beaten path. Can you tell folks just what went on in Sweden and what you observed there? Mark Scott: Sure. I mean it wasn’t just Sweden, it was northern Sweden. We were just in the south…A Recap of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council Meeting with Mark Scott

A clandestine UK Government unit dubbed the Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU) has been implicated in a troubling endeavor to curb and control online discussions about the controversial Covid-19 lockdown policies. The covert operation allegedly involved the collaboration of social media companies in a strategic bid to quell supposed domestic “threats.” According to revelations from Freedom of Information requests and data protection requests from The Telegraph, posts critical of Covid-19 restrictions, including those questioning mass vaccination of children, were systematically removed. Social media companies are now under scrutiny following allegations that their technologies were deployed to thwart the wide circulation or promotion of posts tagged as potentially problematic by the CDU or its Cabinet Office equivalent. The files revealed the surreptitious monitoring of critics of the Government’s Covid plans. Artificial intelligence firms were reportedly enlisted by the government to search social media platforms, flagging any discussions opposing vaccine passports. In a startling revelation, the BBC was implicated in clandestine government policy discussions regarding this alleged misinformation. The CDU, hosted by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), operated a “trusted flagger” system with major social media companies. This mechanism expedited requests for content removal. The CDU, still operational, was formed in 2019, initially focusing on the European elections, later shifting its attention to the pandemic. Critics, including MPs and freedom of speech campaigners, have labeled the revelations as “truly chilling” and a strategy tantamount to “censoring British citizens” — a tactic likened to those of the Chinese Communist Party. “Any attempt…The UK’s “Chilling” Secret Unit That Monitored Lockdown Dissent

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The Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a British organization financially backed by the US State Department, paid a substantial $90,810 to the Global Disinformation Lab at the University of Texas-Austin (UT Austin) to conduct research and develop a contentious report on conservative media outlets. The GDI is currently facing backlash for supplying advertisers with blacklists of conservative websites with the intention of revoking their monetization. The contentious report funded by GDI classified conservative media outlets including the New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and the Blaze as the “riskiest.” The payment agreement letter addressed to Sally Dickerson, the manager of the Global Disinformation Lab, stated: “As part of extending the risk ratings to other countries, the GDI seeks a local partner organization or institution (such as you) to compile a media list — based on the national media market and put together with a local partner/country reviewer — and conduct research on a selection of news domains applying a set of questions and data fields to determine each of the domain’s disinformation risk.” Internal messages recently leaked to The Federalist reveal that the lab’s employees expressed alarm, fearing backlash from conservative news outlets following a report by The Washington Examiner on the GDI’s role in blacklisting conservative websites. GDI’s total funding amounted to approximately $960,000 between 2022 and 2022, provided by the State Department and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a non-profit also funded by the State Department. Although the NED has decided not to continue funding GDI, the State Department has…Shadowy “Disinformation” Censorship Group Paid Public College For Online Blacklist Report

A lawsuit seeking class-action status has been filed against Life360, a family tracking app, for allegedly selling users’ location data without consent. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a minor in Florida and his family, who claimed that they would have never used Life360 if they knew it would sell their location data. The lawsuit cites a report by The Markup in December 2021 that revealed that the app was selling precise location data of millions of users to about one dozen location data brokers. We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here. A month after The Markup’s report, Life 360 announced it would only sell precise location data to Allstate company and Arity, and that it would sell aggregated data to Placer.AI. The lawsuit noted that the data Life360 was selling could be used to identify users and their visits to sensitive venues “including places of religious worship, places that may be used to infer an LGBTQ+ identification, domestic abuse shelters, medical facilities, and welfare and homeless shelters.” It added that the sale of precise location data “poses an unwarranted intrusion into the most private areas of consumers’ lives” that could subject them to “stigma, discrimination, physical violence, emotional distress, and other harms.” The plaintiffs want a jury trial and are seeking “compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages.” Last week, the judge approved a request to delay proceedings until a mutually agreed upon mediation session to be held on August 21. The parties involved have until August…Life360 Is Sued, Accused Of Selling Location Data