Tactical Tech May 2020
IN THE LOOP, May 2020
***RELEASES***
DATA DETOX X YOUTH
As part of our upcoming Youth project, we are excited to announce the
release of Data Detox x Youth, an activity book to help young people
take control of their tech. This interactive toolkit encourages young
people of secondary school age to think about different aspects of their
digital lives, from social media profiles to passwords to fake news, and
will soon be available in Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and
Arabic. Try it out now! https://datadetoxkit.org/en/yo
THE GLASS ROOM WINS CREATIVE REVIEW’S ANNUAL AWARD 2020
The Glass Room has won Creative Review’s prestigious The Annual 2020
award in the category ‘Installations & Exhibitions’. According to
Creative Review, “this interactive exhibition offered a fascinating look
at our relationship with digital devices and the way that our personal
information is stored and shared by governments, brands and tech
providers.” Read more: https://www.creativereview.co.
In addition, ‘Stealing Ur Feelings’, an augmented reality experience
that featured in The Glass Room, has been nominated for a ‘Webby’.
Voting closes at the end of today – you can cast your vote here:
https://vote.webbyawards.com/P
EXPOSING THE INVISIBLE: WHAT’S IN A COMPANY?
What’s in a company? A new section of Exposing the Invisible: The Kit,
co-authored by project lead Laura Ranca, answers this question. The
guide explains concepts and practices used in the corporate world, how
to map business ownership and connections, and how others investigate
obscure business activities around the globe:
https://kit.exposingtheinvisib
More and more parts of The Kit are now available to read in French. Have
a look here! https://kit.exposingtheinvisib
Finally, the English version of The Kit is now available to download in
a compressed form as a PDF:
https://cdn.ttc.io/src/kit.exp
ANNUAL REPORT 2019
Last year was an exciting year for Tactical Tech, with highlights
including a three-week exhibition of The Glass Room in San Francisco; a
redesigned and updated Data Detox Kit in ten languages; the launch of
Exposing the Invisible: The Kit; and the release of our Data & Politics
team’s guidebook ‘Personal Data: Political Persuasion’. In the Annual
Report 2019 you can read about our activities and achievements across
these four projects, including photos, statistics, infographics, press
quotes, information about partners and feedback from visitors to The
Glass Room: https://tacticaltech.org/#/new
DATA DETOX KIT: AUDIO RECORDING & TRANSLATION
In order to improve the accessibility of the Data Detox Kit, we are
trialling audio recordings of some of the content. Listen to our guide
to ‘Multi-Socialising’ here:
https://datadetoxkit.org/en/we
The Data Detox Kit is also now available in Lithuanian
(https://datadetoxkit.org/lt/h
languages to seventeen.
DATA & POLITICS: TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN APP 2020
Our Data & Politics team have analysed Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign app,
building on previous in-depth research about the role of campaign apps.
Find out how these technologies work – and why we should care:
https://tacticaltech.org/#/new
***TACTICAL TECH IN THE PRESS***
ARSON ATTACKS ON UK CELL TOWERS ALARM US OFFICIALS CONCERNED OVER
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
“In short, our advice is: don’t share everything that you come
across…Misinformation is as catchy as credible information often is.”
Marek Tuszynski, co-founder and Creative Director of Tactical Tech,
spoke to ABC about coronavirus conspiracy theories (ABC News)
https://abcnews.go.com/Interna
STOCKPILING FOOD FOR THOUGHT – THE SENSORIUM QUARANTINE WEEKLY SPECIAL
“An increased dependence on technology can be bittersweet. One of the
risks is that…we end up using platforms and services that have low
privacy or security standards.” Daisy Kidd, project coordinator of our
upcoming Youth project, discussed the implications of the coronavirus
pandemic with Sensorium Festival’s ‘Stockpiling Food For Thought’.
(Sensorium)
https://sensorium.is/articles/
***WHAT WE’RE READING: CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES***
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DIGITAL CONTACT TRACING
Over the past few weeks, Apple & Google have floated the idea of
developing and distributing a digital contact-tracing app that will
inform people when they’ve been exposed to someone who’s contracted
COVID-19.(Ali Alkhatib – Blog)
https://ali-alkhatib.com/blog/
VIDEOCONFERENCING GUIDE
Due to COVID-19, many folks are evaluating or using videoconferencing or
video chat. This chart compares several popular systems.
https://videoconferencing.guid
For an in-depth discussion of remote working tools, don’t forget to
consult “TECHNOLOGY IS STUPID”: HOW TO CHOOSE TECH FOR REMOTE WORKING by
our co-founder Marek Tuszynski:
https://tacticaltech.org/#/new
GLOBAL EXAMPLES OF COVID-19 SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES
This report provides a global snapshot of the different types of
technologies in use or in development for surveillance of COVID-19 at
the beginning of April 2020 (Digital Health & Care Institute)
https://echalliance.com/wp-con
CENSORSHIP.NO
The censorship.no project (CENO) by eQualit.ie allows you to browse the
Web without restriction, circumventing any network filtering.
https://censorship.no/
***WHAT WE’RE READING: PROVOCATION***
SHOW EVIDENCE THAT APPS FOR COVID-19 CONTACT-TRACING ARE SECURE AND
EFFECTIVE
Governments see coronavirus apps as key to releasing lockdowns. In
exchange for people’s health data, they must promise to work together to
develop the highest standards of safety and efficacy. (Nature)
https://www.nature.com/article
FROM AADHAAR TO AAROGYA SETU: HOW SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IS DEVALUING
INDIA’S DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
The app could potentially allow the government to peer into aspects of
the user’s private life that have nothing to do with Covid-19. (Scroll.in)
https://scroll.in/article/9601
TECH GIANTS ARE USING THIS CRISIS TO COLONIZE THE WELFARE SYSTEM
In recent years, firms like Google and Facebook have used the Global
South as a test bed for new and unregulated forms of data collection.
(Jacobin)
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/04
WHY NAOMI KLEIN IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT AMERICA’S FUTURE AS IT FACES
COLLAPSE DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS
Naomi Klein, who literally wrote the book on transformations that take
place under the cover of crisis, explains how the coronavirus is
different from past disasters. (Haaretz)
https://www.haaretz.com/us-new
THE DRIVE FOR CLICKS: THE CORONAVIRUS, MISINFORMATION AND DIGITAL
ADVERTISING
Coronavirus is among the most-read, most-Googled topic on the planet
right now. And some parts of the media are cashing in by spreading
misinformation and fear to get clicks. (Stop Funding Hate)
https://stopfundinghate.info/2
***WHAT WE’RE READING: ILLUMINATION***
HOW FACEBOOK WORKS FOR TRUMP
Donald Trump won the presidency by using the social network’s
advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised
to do it again. (The Atlantic)
https://www.theatlantic.com/te
MONITORING BEING PITCHED TO FIGHT COVID-19 WAS TESTED ON REFUGEES
The pandemic has given a boost to controversial data-driven initiatives
to track population movements. (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
https://www.thebureauinvestiga
HOW SOME CITIES ‘FLATTENED THE CURVE’ DURING THE 1918 FLU PANDEMIC
Social distancing isn’t a new idea—it saved thousands of American lives
during the last great pandemic. (National Geographic)
https://www.nationalgeographic
FACEBOOK JUST KILLED ITS ‘PSEUDOSCIENCE’ CATEGORY FOR AD TARGETING
For years, advertisers were able to target people interested in
pseudoscience (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/2020/
SUPPORT OUR WORK!
If you share our vision and would like to support the work we do, we
provide the option to donate directly through our website:
https://tacticaltech.org/#/don
—
Alexander Ockenden
Communications Coordinator
Tel: +49(30) 41715333 (office)
https://tacticaltech.org
@info_activism
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