Biden administration outlines government AI ‘guardrails’ | UK court says dissident can sue Saudi government over spyware targeting | Georgian authorities raid homes of disinformation researchers

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• President Biden on Thursday signed the first national security memorandum detailing how the Pentagon, the intelligence agencies and other national security institutions should use and protect artificial intelligence technology. The New York Times

• The United Kingdom’s High Court greenlit a prominent dissident’s legal challenge against the Saudi Arabian government for allegedly deploying powerful zero-click spyware against him. The Record by Recorded Future

• The homes of two prominent disinformation researchers were raided by Georgian authorities in Tbilisi on Thursday, ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections this weekend. The Record by Recorded Future

ASPI

Now that ASEAN has its cyber norms checklist, the hard work begins
The Strategist
Gatra Priyandita
On behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Singapore last week published a checklist of action points aimed at giving effect to the standards, which are called 11 norms and were endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2015. Now, the challenge is to put the action points themselves into practice, overcoming resistance inside Southeast Asian governments and encouraging other states to follow.

Corporate wizards out-magic the muggles
Financial Times
John Thornhill
Michael Power, a consultant at the investment firm Ninety One, argues that many analysts tend to underestimate the competitiveness of China, and increasingly India, in leading technologies. He points to a recent study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that found China had strengthened its global research, and now leads in 57 out of 64 critical technologies, including quantum sensors, electric batteries and advanced robotics.

China

China struggles to break US chip design ‘chokehold’
Financial Times
Christian Davies, Michael Acton & Eleanor Olcott
Chinese companies are struggling to close the gap on US-based rivals in a crucial corner of the global semiconductor market. Electronic design automation software allows designers and manufacturers to develop and test the blueprints for new generations of chips, many of which consist of tens or even hundreds of billions of transistors, before they are put into production.

USA

Biden administration outlines government ‘guardrails’ for AI tools
The New York Times
David Sanger
President Biden on Thursday signed the first national security memorandum detailing how the Pentagon, the intelligence agencies and other national security institutions should use and protect artificial intelligence technology, putting “guardrails” on how such tools are employed in decisions varying from nuclear weapons to granting asylum.

TikTok election: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris vie for younger voters
Financial Times
Hannah Murphy
While the 2016 race for the White House was labelled the “Facebook election” as campaigns and voters flocked to the social media platform, this year TikTok is the app of choice for Harris and Trump’s online battle for younger voters.

US concerned about China's use of AI, says it could make countries vulnerable to coercion
Reuters
The U.S. government is concerned about China's use of artificial intelligence to repress its population, spread misinformation and undermine the security of the United States and its allies, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday.

Kroger and Walmart deny ‘surge pricing’ after adopting digital price tags
The New York Times
Sara Ruberg
Members of Congress are raising the alarm about new technology at supermarkets: They say Kroger and other major grocery stores are implementing digital price tags that could allow for dynamic pricing, meaning the sticker price on items like eggs and milk could change regularly. They also claim data from facial recognition technology at Kroger could be considered in pricing decisions.

Russia amplified hurricane disinformation to drive Americans apart, researchers find
Associated Press
David Klepper
Russia has helped amplify and spread false and misleading internet claims about recent hurricanes in the United States and the federal government’s response, part of a wider effort by the Kremlin to manipulate America’s political discourse before the presidential election, new research shows.

Americas

Mexican TikTokers have code words to report on narco-violence without getting banned
Rest of World
Daniela Dib
Mexican TikTokers who report on drug-related violence have come up with code words to avoid having their content removed. Creators use euphemisms and emojis to get around what they say are arbitrary moderation restrictions. TikTok told Rest of World that words related to narco-violence do not violate community guidelines. Some creators say TikTok’s moderation policies are unclear about which words can be used.

North Asia

Taiwan promotes balloon-based digital transmission system for emergencies
NHK World
Taiwan is promoting digital transmission systems that use balloons and satellites to secure internet and phone connections in the event of natural disasters or war. The Ministry of Digital Affairs invited media crews on Thursday to see a balloon-based backup system in the eastern county of Taitung.

Japan to participate in AUKUS defence tech tests: U.S. official
Nikkei Asia
Rintaro Tobita
Japan is expected to become a full participant in advanced defence technology tests within the AUKUS security alliance next year, a senior U.S. defence official has said. Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. make up the trilateral partnership, which has been developing autonomous military systems.

Southeast Asia

Singapore's Keppel to boost data center capacity with Asia expansion
Nikkei Asia
Mayuko Tani
Singaporean conflomerate Keppel will expand its data center operations across Asia to nearly double capacity, specifically in Malaysia, India, Japan and Indonesia.

Myanmar residents struggle to overcome severe internet blackouts with Starlink
Rest of World
Nu Nu Lusan
Myanmar is tied with China for the worst internet environment in the world. With messaging apps, social media, and VPNs banned, people look to satellite services, mesh networks, even walkie-talkies to communicate and work. People have turned to free VPNs and illicit Starlink connections, often at great risk.

South & Central Asia

Nvidia to supply chips to Reliance, other Indian companies in AI push
Reuters
Arsheeya Bajwa & Deborah Mary Sophia
Nvidia will supply artificial intelligence processors to Indian companies such as Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, the chip giant said on Thursday, as it deepens partnerships to exploit a growing market.

Europe

Georgian authorities raid homes of disinformation researchers ahead of elections
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
The homes of two prominent disinformation researchers were raided by Georgian authorities in Tbilisi on Thursday, ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections this weekend. Both women are said to be safe, although there are concerns about the security of their devices and online accounts.

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn fined €310m by Irish Data Protection Commission
The Irish Times
Ian Curran
The Data Protection Commission has reprimanded and fined LinkedIn Ireland €310 million and ordered it to bring its data processes into line with European law after finding fault with the legal basis the Microsoft-owned social media company relied upon to process its members’ data for advertising and to track behaviours.

Europe's top court rules for Intel to end long-running antitrust case
Reuters
The EU Court of Justice, Europe's top court, ruled on Thursday in favour of Intel, ending a nearly two-decade-long fight between the U.S. chipmaker and EU regulators who had said it had tried to thwart a rival.

Norway to increase minimum age limit on social media to 15 to protect children
The Guardian
Miranda Bryant
Norway is to enforce a strict minimum age limit on social media of 15 as the government ramped up its campaign against tech companies it says are “pitted against small children’s brains”. Prime minister wants young people to be shielded from ‘power of the algorithm’.

UK

UK court says dissident can sue the Saudi government for targeting him with spyware
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
The United Kingdom’s High Court greenlit a prominent dissident’s legal challenge against the Saudi Arabian government for allegedly deploying powerful zero-click spyware against him.

UK watchdog probes Alphabet's deal with Anthropic
Reuters
Martin Coulter
Britain's antitrust watchdog launched a probe on Thursday into Google parent Alphabet's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Almost two years after Microsoft-backed OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups.

UK proposes new data protection regime, hopes for £10 billion economic boost
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
The British government introduced its new Data Use and Access Bill to Parliament on Wednesday, claiming the reforms to the country’s privacy regime could boost the economy by as much as £10 billion over the next decade.

NHS staff use WhatsApp ‘constantly’ to share private patient data
Financial Times
Laura Hughes
NHS doctors and nurses routinely use WhatsApp to share confidential patient details, test results and medical documents, prompting experts to warn of a “wild west” for data. Frontline health workers said the platform has become an important work tool, and a workaround for official systems that are often siloed, making it difficult to access information quickly.

Africa

Somalia security cameras aim to cut al Shabaab attacks but militants fight back
Reuters
Abdi Sheikh
Thousands of security cameras have been installed across Somalia's capital to monitor the movement of al Shabaab militants and reassure residents, but they have also made business owners fearful of reprisal attacks. Rolled out this year as part of a municipal government initiative, officials say CCTV cameras have helped authorities keep track of militant activity in Mogadishu and ensure that security forces are doing their jobs properly.

Huawei Cloud sees fast business growth in South Africa
Reuters
Huawei Cloud's business in South Africa has grown fast over the past five years and it plans to launch more cloud solutions to expand market share to boost revenue, a company executive said on Thursday. Increased demand for faster computing from South African firms and the government has attracted big cloud operators into the country, with Huawei the first international vendor to host a local 'hyperscale' cloud data centre in South Africa in 2019.

Big Tech

New iMessage feature allows children to report nudity to Apple
The Guardian
Josh Taylor
Apple is introducing a new feature to iMessage in Australia that will allow children to report nude images and video being sent to them directly to the company, which could then report the messages to police.

Artificial Intelligence

Google Photos will soon show you if an image was edited with AI
The Verge
Chris Welch
Google has announced that starting next week, Google Photos will note when an image was edited with the help of AI. Now you’ll be able to see when generative AI has been used — or when multiple images are combined into one.

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