Tag: smart city
  • May 13, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Here’s how China has made mass surveillance a “killer application” for AI: will the US do the same?

It’s increasingly evident that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a radical re-shaping of many aspects of society, not least in the world of privacy. Many people are trying to discern the shape of that new world in the current evolving situation. An interesting analysis from Naomi Klein picks up on many themes that have appeared … Continue reading “Here’s how China has made mass surveillance a “killer application” for AI: will the US do the same?”

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  • Nov 30, 2019 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Google’s “smart city” in Toronto: what it wanted, what it will now get – and why it’s still problematic for privacy

Earlier this year, Privacy News Online wrote about the latest news concerning plans to create a model “smart city” on Toronto’s waterfront. The company involved, Sidewalk Labs, is part of the Alphabet stable, along with Google. In an attempt to quell fears about privacy and other aspects of the plan, Sidewalk Labs released 1500 pages … Continue reading “Google’s “smart city” in Toronto: what it wanted, what it will now get – and why it’s still problematic for privacy”

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  • Jul 29, 2019 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments,

What can we learn from Palantir’s secret user manual for police users of its big data software?

Two years ago, Privacy News Online wrote about the mysterious Palantir Technologies. It describes itself as a company that makes “products for human-driven analysis of real-world data“. It is a data analytics supplier at heart, but one that is working on some of society’s most sensitive data, notably the kind used by law enforcement to … Continue reading “What can we learn from Palantir’s secret user manual for police users of its big data software?”

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  • Oct 27, 2018 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

As many feared, Google’s ambitious Sidewalk Toronto “smart city” project turns out to be a “surveillance city”

The idea of “smart cities” – the application of digital technologies to the urban environment – is much in vogue. But as this blog has noted, although potentially powerful, the approach does raise serious issues for privacy. Perhaps the most ambitious “smart city” project so far is one involving a sister company of Google, Sidewalk … Continue reading “As many feared, Google’s ambitious Sidewalk Toronto “smart city” project turns out to be a “surveillance city””

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  • Sep 15, 2018 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Here come connected vehicles and urban analytics: what do they mean for privacy?

Electric vehicles and driverless cars may get the headlines, but the real revolution on roads is happening elsewhere, silently and out of sight. For twenty years, more and more digital technology has been added to vehicles. Today, they have almost become computers that have wheels and engines. That’s been made possible in part by the … Continue reading “Here come connected vehicles and urban analytics: what do they mean for privacy?”

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  • Aug 5, 2018 |
  • Danica Sergison |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Smart cities raise important questions about our privacy rights at home and on the streets where we live

In the era of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, our municipalities have an increasing array of tools available to make the places where we live smarter and safer.  By collecting and analyzing live data, AI can help cities and towns more efficiently manage things including utility load and distribution, street traffic, deployment of … Continue reading “Smart cities raise important questions about our privacy rights at home and on the streets where we live”

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  • Sep 15, 2017 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments,

The Chinese IT giant Huawei has big plans for the cloud in Western markets, with important implications for privacy

Some Chinese high-tech companies may be bigger than you think. The e-commerce giant Alibaba has a market capitalization of over $400 billion. The social media and gaming company Tencent is not far behind, and nearly a billion people use its WeChat messaging service. Baidu is the world’s second largest search engine, and is increasingly strong … Continue reading “The Chinese IT giant Huawei has big plans for the cloud in Western markets, with important implications for privacy”

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