📡Guardians of Hong Kong
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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult China’s Communist Party

//YouTube is automatically deleting comments that contain certain Chinese-language phrases related to criticism of the country’s ruling Communist Party (CCP). The company confirmed to The Verge this was happening in error and that it’s working to fix the issue.

//Comments left under videos or in live streams that contain the words “共匪” (“communist bandit”) or “五毛” (“50-cent party”) are automatically deleted in around 15 seconds, though their English language translations and Romanized Pinyin equivalents are not.

//The accidental censorship is even more puzzling considering that YouTube is currently blocked in China, giving its parent company, Google, even less reason to censor comments critical of the CCP or apply moderation systems in accordance with Chinese censorship laws.

//Google has frequently been criticized for accommodating the wishes of the CCP by censoring content. Most notably, it created a prototype search engine known as Project Dragonfly that complied with Chinese state censorship. The project, which was never deployed, is part of the company’s long-running struggles to enter the Chinese market.

//When news of Dragonfly leaked in 2018 in a report from The Intercept, Google was criticized by politicians and its own employees for selling out its principles. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in June 2019, the company said it had “terminated” the project and that it had “no plans to launch Search in China.”

Full article: The Verge, (26-May)

Further reading:
Youtube’s CEO was involved in the founding of Google
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20291
Did the CCP manipulate Google search results to spread their propaganda more effectively?
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20289

#ChineseCensorship #Youtube #Google
#Newspaper

Remove China Apps garners 1 million downloads in India, gets 4.8 stars on Google Play Store 

// Remove China Apps, an app that claims to identify and delete all the Chinese apps has crossed 1 million downloads on Google Play Store

//The app has become increasingly popular on the Play Store owing to the growing friction between India and China.

//The Remove China Apps has been rated 4.8 stars on Google Play Store and it is currently one of the top apps.

//The app went live on Google Play Store on May 17

//TikTok had a bad run on the Play Store recently when it was downvoted to 1 star recently. However, Google got rid of over 8 million negative reviews from the app and the ratings went back to 4.8. A lot of users across the country had also uninstalled the app.

//another short video making platform Mitron... was reportedly designed to take on Bytedance-owned TikTok... was downloaded more than five million times and received 4.8 ratings on Google Play Store.

Full Article: India Today, (01-Jun)

Further reading:
Google pulls ‘Remove China Apps’ from Play Store
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/02/remove-china-apps-google-play-store/

#Google #India #TikTok #App #BoycottChineseProduct #BoycottMadeInChina
#Newspaper

China, Iran targeting presidential campaigns with hacking attempts, Google announces

//Chinese and Iranian government hackers have targeted the Gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively

//They may do so in search of insights into the thinking of the next American leader, or as the Russians did in 2016, to obtain material that might be disclosed publicly or used to interfere in the election.

//The hackers used a common technique called “phishing,”... enabling the hacker to gain access to the target’s credentials.

//Some analysts say the greater threat is the prospect of hacking, dumping and altering information that can embarrass or disparage a candidate or damage a campaign. The hacking and leaking of Democratic emails in 2016 led to the resignations of party officials and disrupted the party convention.

//Google threat analyst Shane Huntley said on Twitter that the hacker groups involved are APT31, which is linked to the Chinese government, and APT35, which is linked to the Iranian government.

//In 2008, Chinese government hackers compromised the computer networks of then- Sens. and presidential rivals Barack Obama (Ill.) and John McCain (Ariz.). In 2012, foreign and domestic hackers tried to gain access to the campaign networks of Obama and Mitt Romney (R).

//Iran has a history of weaponizing information... after seeing the political divisions Russia exploited in 2016 through both hacking and social media operations, it might be tempted to try something similar

Full article: Washington Post, (05-Jun)

#China #Iran #PresidentialCampaign #Election #Hacking #Google #Gmail #Biden #Trump
#NetizensVoice

The grave doubts about Google and YouTube

The latest controversy comes from today that if a random code is typed in the Google search box, it will bring up the gas explosion charity dispute in Taiwan, which was used by Kuomintang to smear Chen Chu during the previous presidential election in Taiwan.

What do we see further ahead?

YouTube has been caught red-handed for automatically deleting messages containing the words "communist thief" or "fifty cent army (Wu Mao)" for a long time. According to The Verge's article, Youtube has been deleting the related comments since last October.

Related Article→
https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/137869

Last month, #GoogleTranslate has suddenly replaced Taiwan wordings with China's wordings with a "community certification" label next to them. Examples include the word “video” will be translated to “Shi Pin” (視頻; instead of “Ying Pian”, 影片) while the word “software” will be translated to “Ruan Jian” (軟件; instead of “Ruan Ti”, 軟體), to list just a few.

Related Article→
https://www.facebook.com/BerryVoice/posts/3014567928622541

Google put the blame to the Youtube incident on its algorithm, but they haven’t said a word about the translation incident. What will be the excuse of the “Chen Chu, charity fund” incident this time?

I would like to ask: How much longer do Google have to hide behind “the algorithm” explanation ? How much longer do they have to keep us quiet?

Source: Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/551090876/posts/10157093414550877/?d=n

Further reading:
Remove China Apps garners 1 million downloads in India, gets 4.8 stars on Google Play Store 
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/22143
YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult China’s Communist Party
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/21939

#SharpPower #Google #GoogleTranslate #ChinaInfluence #Youtube #Taiwan
#SocialMedia #Privacy #UserData
Pompeo Praises Google, Facebook and Twitter for Refusing to Surrender User Data to Hong Kong Government
 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed thanks to Google, Facebook and Twitter for refusing to surrender user data to the Hong Kong government.  He has also encouraged other companies to do the same.
 
At a White House press conference, Pompeo criticised Beijing for its inconsistency, "Beijing said that for 50 years they’d give the people of Hong Kong 'a high degree of autonomy.' And you all have seen what’s happened after only 23 years – empty promises made to the people of Hong Kong and to the world."
 
Many mainstream social media platforms, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp have recently expressed that they will stop processing requests from the Hong Kong government for user information disclosure, after Beijing's forceful implementation of the National Security Law.  
 
Source:  Stand News  #Jul8
 #Twitter #FaceBook #Google #Pompeo
#Newspaper

In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins

//The technological Cold War between China and the United States is playing out on various fronts around the world. The trade war ensnared Chinese tech giants like #Huawei and ZTE while American companies complain of industrial policies that favor Chinese businesses. Digital controls in China have also kept companies like Google and Facebook from operating in mainland China.

//Hong Kong emerges as the front line in a global fight between the United States and China over censorship following the introduction of a draconian new security law that mandates police censorship, surveillance and can be applied to online speech across the world.

//Caught in the middle are the city’s seven million residents, online records of political debate which may now be illegal and the world’s largest internet companies which host and guard that data.

//Many big companies including #Facebook, #Google #Twitter, #Zoom, and #LinkedIn have already stated that they would temporarily stop complying with requests for user data from the Hong Kong authorities, which has amounted to over 7000 in the second half of 2019 because of protests. The police have also made numerous requests to have Google remove sensitive posts, to which Google said no.

//The Hong Kong government has responded by emphasizing the penalty for non-compliance. Based on the law, the Hong Kong authorities can dictate the way people around the world talk about the city’s politics, and employees of companies that failed to hand over user data could be arrested.

//Several local apps associated with the protest movement have already shut down. People have begun to delete their social media accounts, switched to using encrypted chat apps like Signal, and embraced coded online speech that flourishes on the heavily monitored internet of China.

//Companies, meanwhile, have the option of shifting data away from Hong Kong but it is by no means an easy task. Moving all employees out of the city would insulate firms from arrests, but it may not be feasible.

//The looming legal fights could determine whether the city falls behind China’s digital Iron Curtain or becomes a hybrid where online speech and communications are selectively policed.

The Cold War between the US and //China continues on the other hand as the US moves to ban Chinese apps that are seen as potential threats to national security.

Full Article: The New York Times
https://nyti.ms/32WaXuP

Further reading:
“Zero logs” VPN exposes millions of logs including user passwords, claims data is anonymous
https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/ufo-vpn-data-exposure/

#coldwar #internetsecurity #censorship
#Newspaper

South Korea’s Naver relocates Hong Kong data centre to Singapore

//Naver — a Google rival that dominates the South Korean market for web services and owns a majority of Japan-based WhatsApp competitor Line — confirmed it was relocating its data back-up centre from Hong Kong to an expanded site in Singapore.

//The move is the first by a major foreign tech group to formally retreat from the territory in response to China’s new national security laws

//Its exit comes amid widespread concern among foreign groups that they will be forced to hand over private user data to Hong Kong authorities as well as face censorship by the Chinese Communist party. Similar fears have stopped many US tech companies from operating within China for years.

//#Facebook, #Google and #Microsoft were among companies that this month temporarily blocked Hong Kong’s government from accessing user data as they assessed the implications of the new law. The US tech groups, most of which have data centres in Hong Kong, are locked in negotiations over a proposal to give regulators in the territory access to customer banking records.

//The decision by Seoul-based #Naver highlights the potential that other companies and investors could similarly shift operations and assets to Singapore, as Hong Kong loses its lustre as the region’s leading low-tax financial centre and a key tech and trade hub as Beijing tightens control.

Full article: FT, (21-Jul)

Further reading:
As National Security Law Descends upon Hong Kong, VPN Service TunnelBear Removes Hong Kong Servers, ProtonVPN Lists Hong Kong as “High-Risk Country”
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/23722
In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/23731

#Singapore #NationalSecurityLaw #Relocation #TechGroup
Ex-CEO of Google Warned: China's Control of AI will Harm the World

(North American News) The ex-CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, warned that the Chinese dictatorship would promote artificial intelligence (AI) development beyond the U.S. Once China controls the global AI technology, it would be a disaster to the world. Besides, he urged the U.S. government to catch up on the pace, doubling the funds on technology development in the next five years.

Schmidt, the Chairman of the Defense Innovation Advisory Board under the U.S. Department of Defense, participated in a seminar on AI technology at Bipartisan Policy Center on Tuesday. He said there is an advantage for the Chinese government as they are huge, single-minded, and adopt a top-down model, which the U.S. government is hard to duplicate. "I am not praising nor supporting them, but I urge you to take this issue seriously."

Schmidt described that the "high-tech authoritarianism" model motivated China to exceed the U.S. in all aspects. "They will have a larger economy, more funding on development, higher quality of investigations, broader technology applications, and a stronger computer infrastructure." He emphasised that once China controls AI technologies of the world, it “might not be a very pretty place to live.”

#US #China #AI #Google #Schmidt #technology

Source: Apple Daily #Aug28

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200828/G7KOU233ERC6RI5IAOZRS4Y6AU/
#Google Wrongly Displays the Establishment Year of the Republic of China on Taiwan's National Day

Source: Apple Daily; CNA #Oct11

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#Google Wrongly Displays the Establishment Year of the Republic of China on Taiwan's National Day

On Oct 10, 2020, as Taiwan was celebrating its the National Day, Google also wrongly displayed the establishment year of the Republic of China (#ROC), stating the year as 1949.

Based on history, the Republic of China was established in 1912 following the collapse of the Qing dynasty. The ROC had been run by the Nationalist Government (#Kuomintang; #KMT) with a base in China, until the Communist Chinese Party's takeover of China in 1949. The year 1949 displayed by Google was the time when the KMT was relocated to Taiwan and the establishment year of the People's Republic of China (#PRC), but not the ROC.

Taiwan's Apple Daily contacted Google Headquarters in the US. Google replied by saying that they needed to undergo further investigations in order to come arrive at a conclusion for the problem.

Source: Apple Daily; CNA #Oct11
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202010110200.aspx
Peter Thiel criticizes Google and Apple for being too close to China

Tech investor Peter Thiel criticized big U.S. technology companies for being too close to China at a Tuesday appearance at a virtual event held by the Richard Nixon Foundation.

Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and sits on Facebook’s board after making an early investment, is an outspoken voice in the technology investment world is known for contrarian opinions and conservative leanings. He’s backed defense contractors like Palantir and publicly supported former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for president.

On Wednesday, the Nixon session focused on China, and he was joined by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.

Source: CNBC #Apr07

#PeterThiel #Google #Apple #China #PayPal #Facebook

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/07/peter-thiel-criticizes-google-and-apple-for-being-too-close-to-china-.html
#FailedState #PoliceState
#Facebook, #Twitter, #Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws

Image: Stand News
Source: Wall Street Journal #Jul5

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#FailedState #PoliceState
#Facebook, #Twitter, #Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws

//Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have privately warned the Hong Kong government that they could stop offering their services in the city if authorities proceed with planned changes to data-protection laws that could make them liable for the malicious sharing of individuals’ information online.

A letter sent by an industry group that includes the internet firms said companies are concerned that the planned rules to address doxing could put their staff at risk of criminal investigations or prosecutions related to what the firms’ users post online. Doxing refers to the practice of putting people’s personal information online so they can be harassed by others.

Hong Kong’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in May proposed amendments to the city’s data-protection laws that it said were needed to combat doxing, a practice that was prevalent during 2019 protests in the city. The proposals call for punishments of up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars, the equivalent of about $128,800, and up to five years’ imprisonment.

“The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering the services in Hong Kong,” said the previously unreported June 25 letter from the Singapore-based Asia Internet Coalition, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.//

Read more:
www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-twitter-google-warn-planned-hong-kong-tech-law-could-drive-them-out-11625483036

Source: Wall Street Journal #Jul5
Image: Stand News
https://thestandnews.page.link/URLxJrLrxBrhxtdD6

#MassSurveillance #InformationFlow #Communication #Doxing
Facebook, Twitter, Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws

Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have privately warned the Hong Kong government that they could stop offering their services in the city if authorities proceed with planned changes to data-protection laws that could make them liable for the malicious sharing of individuals’ information online.

A letter sent by an industry group that includes the internet firms said companies are concerned that the planned rules to address doxing could put their staff at risk of criminal investigations or prosecutions related to what the firms’ users post online. Doxing refers to the practice of putting people’s personal information online so they can be harassed by others.

Source : WSJ #Jul05

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-twitter-google-warn-planned-hong-kong-tech-law-could-drive-them-out-11625483036

#Facebook #Twitter #Google #HongKong #DataLaws
#Google handed user data to Hong Kong authorities despite pledge after security law was enacted

//Google has provided user data to the Hong Kong government in response to three requests made between July and December last year, making it the first US tech giant to disclose its compliance with requests from the local authorities for user data after the national security law was enacted last June.

In total, the 42 legal requests it received during the six-month reporting period involved 46 user accounts, whilst the one emergency disclosure request involved a single account.

The tech giant said it still requires the vast majority of Hong Kong government requests to be processed through diplomatic procedures, including any national security law related requests…//

Read the full article
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/09/11/google-handed-user-data-to-hong-kong-authorities-despite-pledge-after-security-law-was-enacted/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Sept11
Image: Stand News

#Privacy #Data
#YouTube terminates campaign channel of sole Hong Kong chief executive candidate #JohnLee, citing need to comply with #US #sanctions on ex-official

//Online video sharing platform YouTube has terminated the campaign channel of Hong Kong’s sole chief executive candidate John Lee Ka-chiu, citing the need to comply with US sanctions placed on the former official.

The platform, operated by US giant #Google, made the rare move in taking down Lee’s YouTube channel early on Wednesday, clipping the Beijing-endorsed candidate’s ability to share videos of him meeting different sectors publicly.//

Source: SCMP #Apr19
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174862/youtube-terminates-campaign-channel-sole-hong-kong-chief

#ChiefExecutiveElection #SmallCircle
#Russia #Invasion #Ukraine
Google ordered translators to censor the word "war" in Russia

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, many international companies impose sanctions on Russia to show their support to Ukraine. These companies include Meta and Google.

In late March, #Google has told its Russian translators not to use the word "war" when describing the war in Ukraine, instead of vague terms including “extraordinary circumstances”, according to The Intercept.

According to a translator who spoke to The Intercept, the order applies to all Google products translated into Russian, including Google Maps, Gmail, AdWords, and Google’s policies and communications with users.

Read the full article on #TheIntercept
https://theintercept.com/2022/03/28/google-russia-ukraine-war-censorship/


Source: Unwired Hong Kong; #April
https://unwire.hk/2022/03/29/google-9/fun-tech/
A #US Federal Communications commissioner pushes #Apple and #Google to remove #TikTok from their app stores

Source: New York Times #Jun29

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A #US Federal Communications commissioner pushes #Apple and #Google to remove #TikTok from their app stores

In a letter to the companies released on Tuesday, Jine 29, 2022, #BrendanCarr, a Republican commissioner, said he believed that “TikTok’s pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data” violated Apple’s and Google’s standards and that TikTok should be taken out of the app stores...

The Biden administration has considered other measures to keep American data away from China but has not publicly pushed TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese owner.

TikTok has maintained that it is taking steps to keep employees in China from gaining access to its data. Shortly before a recent news report revealed it was struggling to do so, it said it was routing all data from its U.S. users through servers controlled by Oracle.//

Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/technology/apple-google-tiktok.html

Source: New York Times #Jun29

#CyberSecurity #DataSecurity #App #MadeinChina