Speaking on stage at TechBBQ in Copenhagen just a day after the first electoral debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump, the former US Army intelligence analyst said the “normalisation of disinformation” is “ensuring participants in democracy become so jaded, confused and exhausted, they lose confidence in their institutions.”

Manning, who in 2013 was convicted of leaking classified military documents to Wikileaks, added that campaigns to mislead voters have been made easier because of the internet.

“I’m generally a technology optimist, but there is a concern for the potential for misuse,” she said. “The biggest issue we’ll face in the next 15 years is how we verify information.”

While AI-generated images and text are both a problem, the root issue lies in how information is verified and how easily users trust information.

“As these technologies improve, even sophisticated users may struggle to distinguish between AI-generated content and reality,” she said.

However, the activist reiterated her view that we should not blame the technology, calling this a “short-sighted view.”

“The same arguments could be made about photo doctoring, and then Photoshop.”

With her speech coming just hours after the first face-to-face confrontation between Democrat Presidential candidate Harris and her rival Republican nominee Trump, Manning said she is “cautiously optimistic about the state of American democracy”.

“It is shakier than it has ever been, but it is heading in a direction that leads me to believe this uncertain period may be coming to an end. But that could change,” she added.

Encryption and privacy

Manning delivered her keynote to a packed hall of tech entrepreneurs and experts in the Danish capital’s Lokomotivvaerkstedet venue, confronting the current dividing lines being drawn between regulators in some countries and social media platforms.

In Brazil, a judge last week chose to ban social media platform X after it refused to appoint a local representative in a wider legal battle over the moderation of political content that allegedly incited violence and spread misinformation. X boss CEO Elon Musk has taken to the former Twitter platform to deny any wrongdoing and accuse the judge of breaching Brazil’s constitution.

Plus, the chief executive of Telegram has recently announced it will improve moderation on the platform after he was arrested in France for allegedly allowing criminal activity to run on the platform.

When asked for her opinion on privacy in the wake of these issues, Manning said: “I certainly take issue with Telegram not cracking down on very problematic information on its platform.”

However, she said that she is not sure where the line can be drawn on privacy and transparency in these instances.

“I tend to believe that an individual has a right to privacy, but I think large groups of people and the actions they do in an organised manner should be transparent.”

“When it comes to institutions, like Telegram, they still need to be held accountable, and there should be transparency over everything and everybody.”

Cyber secrecy

Manning continued that secrecy is “almost impossible” in 2024 because of “smartphones and the ability to capture information on the ground and share it quickly.”

“It’s very difficult to hide information,” she said. “I was shocked that in 2022, I had more information as a civilian about what was happening on the ground in Ukraine than I did as an intelligence analyst in 2010.”

She claimed that conflicts and information are very visible if you know how to look for them.

In the same vein, Manning said that cybercriminals are often ahead of cybersecurity professionals “due to a lack of experience on the part of those protecting against these threats.”

“Also, companies have little incentive to fully protect their information.

When a data breach happens, it gets reported, but then the news is quickly buried among other stories.”

As a result, Manning claims companies aren’t held liable: “This lack of accountability is one of the reasons why we see so many data breaches without substantial consequences.”

The post Chelsea Manning talks misinformation, X and Telegram at TechBBQ appeared first on TechInformed.

In the ongoing battle within the EU to regulate multinational corporations, led by European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, Apple has been ordered to pay Ireland €13bn ($14.4bn) in back taxes, while Google has been fined €2.4bn ($2.7bn) for antitrust violations.

Vestager, who has made a name for herself going after Big Tech’s tax arrangements within the EU, said in a post on X, “Today is a huge win for European citizens and tax justice.”

One bad Apple

The case against Apple goes back to 2016 when the European Commission accused the company of receiving illegal tax benefits from Ireland.

According to the Commission, Apple’s subsidiaries in Ireland paid a much lower tax rate than other companies — as low as 0.005% in 2014 — a practice that violated EU state aid rules.

The Irish government, however, sided with Apple, arguing that the arrangement was lawful, stating that its low corporate tax rate is an essential tool in attracting foreign investment.

In 2020, the General Court of the CJEU issued a judgement annulling the Commission’s case, but the Commission appealed the judgement, and the Court has now ruled its 2016 decision stands.

In an official statement after the latest judgement, the Irish Department of Finance said: “The Irish position has always been that Ireland does not give preferential tax treatment to any companies or taxpayers.”

Apple vehemently denied the European Commission’s accusations, insisting it complied with both US and Irish tax laws.

“This case has never been about how much tax we pay, but which government we are required to pay it to,” an Apple spokesperson said. “We always pay all the taxes we owe wherever we operate, and there has never been a special deal.”

The iPhone 16 manufacturer maintained that its income was already subject to taxation in the US and that the Commission was trying to rewrite the rules retroactively.

Despite this, the Court ruled in favour of the Commission, and Apple must now repay the taxes.

In Google, we antitrust

The case against Google dates back to 2017 when the European Commission fined the company for abusing its online shopping comparison market dominance.

According to the Commission, Google gave preferential treatment to its own comparison-shopping service, disadvantaging smaller rivals.

The fine was the EU’s largest antitrust penalty ever issued at the time, totalling €2.4bn ($2.7bn) — until 2018, when the EU fined Google €4.3bn ($4.75bn) for abusing the dominant position of its Android mobile operating system to promote Google’s search engine.

Google has consistently contested the EU’s decision, arguing that its practices improved the quality of its services for consumers.

The company adjusted its shopping service in 2017 to comply with the EU’s ruling but continued to appeal the fine.

In a statement, Google said of its adjustments: “Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services.”

Despite these efforts, in its latest ruling, the Court solidified the Commission’s stance that Google abused its market position and that it was right to find Google’s conduct “discriminatory” and its appeal “must be dismissed in its entirety.”

Google faces another similar trial in the UK as a London court has argued that Google should pay £13.6bn in a lawsuit over whether it has too much influence on the online advertising market.

Who EU gonna call?

The cases were undoubtedly being closely observed across the EU as a significant moment for Big Tech’s European tax affairs — especially as the EU’s investigations between companies and member states have faced setbacks.

Just last year, Amazon successfully defended its tax arrangements in Luxembourg in a court battle, and the Commission similarly lost a case involving the Netherlands’ tax treatment of Starbucks, though it chose not to appeal.

The post EU strikes a blow against Apple and Google in landmark rulings appeared first on TechInformed.

This downsizing comes just months after Bending Spoons acquired the Dutch file-sharing platform in July for an undisclosed amount.

WeTransfer, which currently employs over 350 people and serves around 600,000 subscribers and 80 million monthly users, will undergo significant restructuring.

Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari explained that the company aims to create a “smaller, more sharply focused WeTransfer organisation” to ensure long-term success.

Ferrari claimed that Bending Spoons thoroughly analyses each acquisition to determine the best action.

“Once the vision is clear, we try to close the gap between the status quo and the vision as quickly and as fully as we can,” Ferrari told TechCrunch.

Bending Spoons has a history of restructuring its acquisitions, having previously implemented job cuts at Evernote and Meetup — and even laid off the entire team at Filmic after taking them over.

In a LinkedIn post, Gregory Witek, senior engineering manager at Booking.com, said, “Private equity companies have proven that acquiring companies and optimising their costs can work. However, since these transactions are private, they often remain undisclosed, so it’s hard to say how profitable they are.

“So far, Bending Spoons has raised more than $500M and is valued at more than $2.5bn, and this year, they have been on an acquisition spree.”

WeTransfer has used its advertising platform to promote arts and culture, even commissioning the short film “The Long Goodbye”, which won an Oscar in 2022 — leaving many with mixed feelings about its addition to a large portfolio.

In 2022, WeTransfer planned an initial public offering in Amsterdam, aiming for a valuation of up to 716 million euros, but due to market volatility, the IPO didn’t go ahead.

The company hasn’t disclosed its long-term product roadmap under Bending Spoons’ ownership. However, WeTransfer has recently introduced a new feature allowing users to extend the expiry date of shared links.

The post WeTransfer cuts 75% of staff months after acquisition by Bending Spoons appeared first on TechInformed.

The RansomHub group has claimed responsibility for the attack and is threatening to leak 93GB of data allegedly stolen from the organisation’s systems within six days, it said.

This relatively new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operator extorts victims in exchange for not leaking stolen files and sells the documents to the highest bidder if negotiations fail.

Considering the wide range of reproductive and sexual healthcare services offered by Planned Parenthood, including access to contraception, abortion care, and hormone therapy, a data breach within the organisation could have significant privacy, legal and safety concerns for patients.

While the criminals have published confidential documents on their extortion portal on the dark web to prove their claims, this has not been confirmed by Planned Parenthood.

According to law enforcement agencies, since surfacing in February this year RansomHub and its affiliates have breached over 200 victims from a wide range of critical US infrastructure sectors.

Last month, the FBI, CISA, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a joint advisory about RansomHub’s trend of targeting healthcare organisations.

Earlier this month TechInformed published a report on a healthcare table top simulation, which focussed on preparing the sector to manage and mitigate cyber attacks.

Unhealthy attention

Healthcare has become a key target for ransomware criminals this year. Following an attack in February by ALPHV/Blackcat, Change Healthcare’s payment system was shut down leading to a reported $22 million ransom payout.

In the UK, meanwhile, a cyber-attack in June on pathology service Synnovis impacted several London hospitals and led to an unprecedently low level of blood stocks across England.

According to Greg Day, vice president and global field CISO at Cybereason, these attacks highlight how reliant the industry has become on digital technology for managing patient medical data and supporting numerous treatment processes.

He added that in his firm’s annual ransomware report on costs, it found that over half of the affected organisations took between three to 12 months to even detect they had been compromised.

“This delay often leaves many feeling compelled to pay the ransom. However, less than half of those who paid were able to recover their data and services without corruption.

He urged every business needs to test their response capabilities and strengthen their resilience. “As the complexity of attacks and the digitisation of medical systems continue to grow, we must develop faster, more effective ways to detect and mitigate these malicious operations,” he added.

The post Planned Parenthood: cyber attackers threaten to leak data appeared first on TechInformed.

The multi-year program aims to scale generative AI use cases, providing cost reductions and operational efficiencies.

Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever said: “We have already introduced 500 AI applications across Unilever, helping us to reach new levels of efficiency. But as AI matures and becomes increasingly intelligent and intuitive, we see so much more potential.”

“With the help of Accenture’s world-class tools and capabilities, we will be able to analyse where and how AI can have the highest transformational impact and deliver the greatest returns.”

Unilever will make use of Accenture’s ‘GenWizard’ platform.

Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture, said: “This next exciting chapter in our decades-long collaboration with Unilever will raise the bar on how enterprises can scale GenAI to power productivity and value at speed.”

“Accenture’s GenWizard platform will enable Unilever to create a full spectrum of targeted GenAI solutions across its business that can realise efficiencies and cost savings, uncover new ways of working and ultimately help drive competitive advantage.”

Last month, TI spoke to Unilever’s VP for consumer experience technology about how the big name is using artificial intelligence in its beauty experiences.

The firm has launched two consumer-facing apps that use AI to recommend beauty products based on a customer’s selfie.

TI also spoke to the firm’s R&D head of digital about how it is using AI to make its products more sustainable. Read the case study here.

The post Unilever and Accenture expand GenAI partnership appeared first on TechInformed.

So far, the government-funded organisation has awarded around £500,000 spread across the two initiatives.

The supply chain project Seamless Trade Across Borders aims to enhance cross-border trade and is supported by defence firms Leonardo and BAE Systems, the International Chamber of Commerce, and UK telco BT Group.

In a statement, Digital Catapult said that it hoped the incubator would support the UK Government’s Electronic Trade Documents Act, which aims to modernise international trade by making electronic documents easier to use.

The government claims that the act could unlock £25 billion in economic growth. Over 60% of international trade transactions are expected to be digitalised within the next five years.

As part of this incubation, Digital Catapult matches industry partners with technology innovators to address international supply chain challenges, including achieving seamless cross-border trade.

Technology providers involved in the project include inventory tracker Kavida AI, eTEU, an industry tech body for the shipping industry, AI tool builder Linear Works, and Exabler, which produces an AI tool that helps facilitate cross-border trade. Each provider will receive up to £85,000 to develop their solutions.

Kavida AI has previously partnered with Digital Catapult and UK manufacturing SMEs to achieve national-scale visibility. Founder and CTO Sumit Sinha added that the new initiative aligned with its vision of developing AI agents that empower businesses to conduct seamless cross-border trade at scale.

The innovation agency’s second initiative, the Product Carbon Footprint Measurement project, hopes to drive advances in how carbon footprint data is measured and exchanged internationally. It is backed by FMCG giant Unilever, GS1 UK and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

IBM announces new clean energy cohort for sustainability accelerator

Two startups, Altruistiq and Siccar, will also join the programme. Both will receive up to £125,000 to develop solutions to improve the carbon management process using artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology, and advanced identification systems to improve reporting on Scope 3 emissions.

Both initiatives build on the success of the Digital Catapult’s Digital Supply Chain Hub, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and has helped over 40 startups and SMEs to secure more than £3 million in funding

To learn more about the programme and how to collaborate with supply chain leaders, please visit https://hub.digitalsupplychainhub.uk.

The post Digital Catapult launches supply chain & sustainability accelerators appeared first on TechInformed.

Though specific details remain sparse, Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer, has assured the public that there is currently no evidence of customer data compromise.

“We have introduced a number of measures to our internal systems to deal with an ongoing cyber security incident. The security of our systems and customer data is very important to us, and we will continue to assess the situation throughout and after the incident.

“There is currently no impact to TfL services, and we are working closely with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to the incident,” he said.

The organisation’s corporate headquarters at Palestra House, Southwark, is thought to be the main site affected. Due to office mitigations, employees have been advised to work from home.

The organisation has been transparent in its communication, aiming to prevent misinformation and reassure the public, particularly given the ongoing nature of the attack.

Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, emphasised the need for ongoing vigilance, particularly for organisations managing public infrastructure.

“We also need to bear in mind that the main root causes which allow criminals to penetrate organisations are social engineering, unpatched software, or poor credentials. While it’s not certain how the breach at TFL occurred, it is quite likely one of these avenues would be the culprit,” he said.

Mayur Upadhyaya, CEO and co-founder of APIContext noted that the attack on TfL underscores the importance of securing all parts of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, not just those directly exposed to the public.

He added: “TfL’s response, including the work-from-home directive and enhanced security measures, underscores the need for preparedness and contingency planning to minimise the impact of cyber incidents. Such proactive steps are crucial for maintaining operational resilience and mitigating potential damage.

“In today’s interconnected world, APIs are the lifeblood of digital operations. Securing these gateways is paramount to preventing unauthorised access and data breaches. Regular security assessments, vulnerability management, and incident response planning are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy.”

The cyber-attack comes after a string of attacks on public services in recent months, including a June cyber-extortion attempt on the NHS by the Russian ransomware gang Qilin.

William Wright, chief executive of cybersecurity company Closed Door Security, added: “The big question people will also want to know is who carried out the attack and if it can be attributed to another country, like Russia. TfL was also attacked by Russia last year, so it definitely isn’t out of the realm of possibility.”

Last year, personal information was stolen in an attack by a Russian ransomware group.

Wright said: “Given Russia’s recent uptick in attacks on the West, it wouldn’t be surprising, but it is far too early to speculate.”

The post Transport for London hit by major cyber-attack; no customer data breached appeared first on TechInformed.

Clearview AI uses data scraping technology to harvest people’s public photographs from websites and social media platforms to create an online database of 20 billion images of faces and data.

According to the watchdog, Clearview has not objected to the DPA’s decision and would therefore be unable to appeal against the fine.

“Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology, that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world,” DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement.

“If there is a photo of you on the Internet – then you can end up in the database of Clearview and be tracked. This is not a doom scenario from a scary film. Nor is it something that could only be done in China,” he added.

It also banned Dutch companies from using Clearview’s services.

The DPA ordered an imposing penalty of up to €5 million if Clearview doesn’t halt the breaches of the regulation.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Clearview’s chief legal officer, Jack Mulcaire said that the decision is “unlawful, devoid of due process and is unenforceable.”

“Clearview AI does not have a place of business in the Netherlands or the EU, it does not have any customers in the Netherlands or the EU and does not undertake any activities that would otherwise mean it is subject to the GDPR,” Mulcaire added.

Two years ago, the UK watchdog (ICO) also fined Clearview AI £7.5m for the same reason.

At the time, the ICO said that even though the firm does not offer its services to UK organisations, Clearview still had customers in other regions and found it “likely” that it could still use the personal data of UK residents given the nation’s high number of social media users.

The post Clearview AI fined $33m for facial recognition tech appeared first on TechInformed.

The agreement will see Provenance-validated claims appear on labels across Holland & Barrett’s online channels in the UK and Ireland. The company aims to give its customers trustworthy information to help them make informed purchasing decisions.

The sustainable product labelling with include the sustainability credentials of Holland & Barrett’s own products and those of partners from brands including Weleda, Westlab, Pukka Herbs, Grass & Co, and Faith in Nature.

The Provenance data will include background information on things such as whether the packaging has been recycled and whether the product is vegan-friendly, supported by verification and evidence.

Guy Farmer, commercial trading director at Holland & Barrett, said, “We’re delighted to partner with Provenance to further meet the growing consumer demand for transparent sustainability claims.

“Our customers have always looked to us for natural, ethical, and sustainable products. This initiative reinforces our commitment to sustainability whilst also providing our suppliers with powerful tools to build trust and loyalty with our customers around the claims they are making.”

The labels will begin appearing on the Holland & Barrett website initially, with some in-store sustainable product labelling to appear from 2025.

Green claims

Leveraging Provenance’s data platform will also allow the retailer and its partners to meet the criteria for sustainability regulations set out in the UK’s Green Claims Code.

In a Google Cloud study last year, over 70% of executives said they believe that if investigated thoroughly, most organisations in their industry would be guilty of greenwashing, and almost 60% admitted to exaggerating their own sustainability activities.

Provenance aims to support businesses that want to be more transparent about their impact to reduce greenwashing. It supports more than 300 businesses, including Unilever, Estee Lauder, and Princes.

“Holland & Barrett’s commitment to transparency and sustainability is truly inspiring. Being one of the first high street retailers to integrate our platform, they set a powerful example for the retail industry. We are excited to help their brands communicate their sustainability journeys in a compliant, customer-friendly way, setting a new benchmark for the retail sector,” said Provenance founder Jessi Baker.

“In a market where products marketed as sustainable are growing 2.7x faster than the rest, this collaboration will empower brands stocked by Holland & Barrett to better meet consumer demand for transparent sustainability and reap the rewards.”

The post Holland & Barrett strike Provenance deal for green labelling appeared first on TechInformed.

The ongoing conflict between Musk and Brazil’s authorities is rooted in issues of misinformation and legal compliance.

The feud escalated in April when Justice Alexandre Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts accused of spreading disinformation, many of which were linked to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

X’s failure to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil by a court-imposed deadline only exacerbated the situation, leading to the platform’s suspension.

Justice Moraes justified the ban by citing X’s non-compliance with Brazilian law, specifically its failure to curb the spread of disinformation.

Musk, who positions himself as a staunch defender of free speech, responded by accusing Justice Moraes of undermining democracy.

Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes https://t.co/eqbowALCeu

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024

X has long been one of the most popular platforms in Brazil, serving as a key space for political discourse, social movements, and everyday communication.

With X now in jeopardy, millions of Brazilian users seek alternatives, with Bluesky emerging as a leading contender.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky, often shortened to Bsky, is a relatively new decentralised social-blogging platform and public-benefit corporation based in the United States.

The app has seen an unprecedented surge in users following X’s suspension; it gained half a million new users in Brazil within just two days.

While Bluesky and X share some similarities in their basic functionality, they differ significantly in their content moderation and user experience approach.

Bluesky’s decentralised model allows for greater user control over their data and content, contrasting with X’s more centralised structure.

Additionally, Bluesky’s content moderation policies are seen as more transparent and community-driven, a key factor in attracting users disillusioned with X’s practices.

Are users migrating to Bluesky?

Google Trends data shows a sharp increase in searches for “Virtual Private Network” on August 30^th.

However, the ruling also fined individuals and businesses that used virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X. This may explain the surge in searches for “Bluesky” the following day, evidence of Brazilian users’ eagerness to find an alternative to X quickly.

The rapid influx of new users has posed challenges for Bluesky, particularly regarding technical infrastructure. The platform’s servers have experienced unprecedented traffic, leading to occasional slowdowns and connectivity issues.

Despite these challenges, Bluesky’s development team has proactively scaled up their systems to accommodate the growing user base, with reports of 15 times the usual daily peak traffic.

For anyone interested in how it’s going with the Brazil migration to Bluesky, we’re consistently at 15x our normal daily peak traffic

This graph is just kinda crazy, 4 days ago we couldn’t imagine the amount of load we’re seeing on our systems right now

The team is holding it down and doing great

[image or embed]

— Jaz (@jaz.bsky.social) Aug 31, 2024 at 17:36

The future of social media in Brazil

As more users migrate to platforms like Bluesky and Threads, the dominance of traditional social media giants like X and Facebook may be challenged.

This shift could lead to a more diverse and decentralised social media landscape in Brazil, with users enjoying greater freedom and privacy.

While Musk argues that free speech is essential to democracy, Justice Moraes and his supporters contend that freedom of expression must be coupled with a “duty of responsibility”.

The situation in Brazil has attracted global attention, with many wondering whether other countries might follow suit in regulating social media platforms more aggressively.

This comes after the founder of Telegram was arrested in France in relation to various organised crimes carried out within the cloud-based messaging app.

The post Musk moves out as Bluesky rises to fill Brazil’s Twitter void appeared first on TechInformed.