Representatives of the EU Parliament and the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the core elements of a new framework for a European digital identity (eID) in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The requirement that member states assign a lifelong unique personal identification number to each citizen, which had been opposed by Pirate Party MEPs in several committees, was completely removed from the draft. The Pirates were also able to prevent the mandatory acceptance of state browser certificates, but rejections due to insufficient security will need to be justified. The details of the agreements will now be negotiated in further technical meetings and will probably be finalised in another trialogue under the Spanish Presidency in autumn.

Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer, who negotiated the bill in the co-advisory Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), comments:

“We successfully prevented the allocation of a unique, permanent personal identification number that could have been used to comprehensively record and monitor our lives. Instead of a uniform personal identification number, different user numbers can be assigned from one service to another in the future. This must now be be made clear in the wording of the legislation.

Nevertheless, there is a great danger that the planned ‘digital identity’ will gradually displace the anonymity on the internet that protects us from profiling and identity theft. We have not been able to enforce the right to use services without electronic identification or authentication. Those who register with social media via their eID wallet out of convenience will therefore sacrifice their anonymity.

Many details are still unresolved. In the further negotiations, we Pirates will push for the sensitive data of citizens in their digital wallets to be stored exclusively in a decentralised manner on their own devices – unless they opt for centralised storage. Decentralised data storage protects our data from mass hacks and identity theft. We also demand guarantees that non-users of the theoretically voluntary eID system must not suffer any disadvantages and can use alternative identification or authentication methods.“

Pirate Party MEP Mikuláš Peksa, who sits at the negotiating table for the Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE), comments:

“Yesterday, we made a significant shift in the design of eIDAS 2.0, which will be privacy-conscious and provide users with a user-friendly electronic wallet for all kinds of IDs and certifications. We already know that e-signatures will be free for individuals, and in the draft, we have finally eliminated unique persistent identifiers that could facilitate snooping. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. Nonetheless, this stands as a nice victory of reason, for the time being.”

Background: In the course of the so-called EIDAS reform, the planned “European Digital Identity” is to give EU citizens access to public and private digital services and enable online payments. The Federal Ministry of the Interior mentions the opening of a bank account, the registration of SIM cards, the digital storage of driving licences and the storage of digital prescriptions, but also the identification for mail or social media accounts.

patrick-breyer.de/en/european-…

Nuovo appuntamento con la rubrica Privacy weekly, tutti i venerdì su StartupItalia. Uno spazio dove potrete trovare tutte le principali notizie della settimana su privacy e dintorni.

guidoscorza.it/chatgpt-alla-sb…

Pirate Party MEP and digital freedom fighter Dr Patrick Breyer criticises yesterday’s draft bill by the EU Commission to introduce a “Digital Euro”:

“The introduction of digital cash would be long overdue in the information age. Digital cash could be as anonymous and freely usable on the internet as notes and coins. However, the ‘digital euro’ now proposed by the Commission does not deserve that name. Digital technology is to be misused to monitor, limit and control our finances to an extent never seen with cash.

While cash can be accepted and spent anonymously at any time, which is important for undocumented refugees, for example, it will only be possible to receive and spend digital euros with an account against presentation of identification. While people are allowed to hold and pass on unlimited amounts of cash, the amount of digital euros in our hands will be limited in the future. And while with cash even confidential payments and controversial donations have so far been possible anonymously and without fear of becoming known, trace-free payments in digital euros are to be completely impossible online and limited offline to an unknown and ever-changing amount. The declared aim of fighting money laundering and terrorism is just a pretext to gain more and more control over our private transactions. Where every payment is recorded and stored forever, there is a threat of hacker attacks, unauthorised investigations and chilling state oversight of every purchase and donation.

Cash is financial freedom without pressure to justify spending. What medicines or sex toys I buy is nobody’s business. For thousands of years, societies around the world have lived with cash that protects privacy. The EU Commission wants to deprive us of this financial freedom for online payments. In the legislative process, this birth defect must be corrected. We need to find ways to take the best features of cash into our digital future.”

patrick-breyer.de/en/the-digit…

POLITICO’s weekly transatlantic tech newsletter for global technology elites and political influencers.

By MARK SCOTT

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THERE ARE TWO MORE DIGITAL BRIDGE NEWSLETTERS before I down tools for a couple of weeks of vacation. I’m Mark Scott, POLITICO’s chief technology correspondent, and as my mind inevitably turns to my upcoming break, I bring you actual footage of my response when editors ask me why my copy is filed increasingly late. True story.

OK. Enough with the jokes. Let’s get down to business.

— Everyone now wants rules to govern artificial intelligence. But, so far, much of this over-hyped tech is falling short.

— Why the so-called Brussels Effect only really works when you view Europe’s relationship as tied to the United States.

— A bunch of U.S. state privacy laws come into force on July 1. What does that tell us about a potential federal data protection regime?

AI SCORES AN ‘F’ ON REGULATION

REGULAR READERS OF THIS NEWSLETTER will know I’m pretty skeptical of the über-hype surrounding artificial intelligence. But even I must admit the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard have given the public a greater appreciation of what AI can do than anything that has preceded them. So with that in mind, how do so-called foundation models, or the vast tracts of data used to power the likes of generative AI, do when it comes to following the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act? This is the only comprehensive rulebook for the technology that exists, currently, anywhere in the West, so it’s the only game in town to grade these models’ performance. It’s not a perfect analogy. But researchers at Stanford University crunched the numbers, so let’s break it down. Warning: No one did very well.

First, a couple of caveats. The academics based their analysis on the European Parliament’s version of the proposals, mostly because these lawmakers inserted several provisions specifically related to foundation models and generative AI, in particular — something that had not existed in earlier drafts. Saying that, they did have to make a series of assumptions around accountability, transparency and other areas of the legislation. So it’s best to see the results as a guide, more than a definitive explainer. Still, when they looked at 10 of the leading models — everything from OpenAI’s GPT-4 to Aleph Alpha’s Luminous — no one met the requirements laid down in Brussels’ upcoming rulebook.

“Because there’s so much up in the air, and because some of the requirements are under-specified. we had to fill on some of the gaps,” Kevin Klyman, one of the authors of the analysis, told me. That includes newly created requirements from EU lawmakers around baking in risk-mitigation procedures — and showing how they did that — within foundation models; providing detailed overviews of how these models are developed for outside auditors; and even upholding the 27-country bloc’s sustainability standards around energy consumption (AI, after all, needs a load of computing power to work well).

So, how did companies do? The academics broke the AI Act’s requirements down into 12 buckets (from explainability of where the data came from to safeguards around using copyrighted material), then used a ranking scale from 1 to 4 to determine how closely each firm’s foundation model met those legal asks. They then added them all up and gave each company a score out of 48. Yes, this sounds complicated, but check out the handy chart here; it’s pretty straightforward. Overall, Meta received 21/48; OpenAI scored 25/48; Google earned 27/48. The worst-performing was Aleph Alpha at 5/48, while BigScience, an open-source alternative, came first with 36/48.

Those figures masked massive differences between how companies performed depending on specific requirements under the EU’s AI Act. On outlining ways to mitigate potential risks, Klyman said, OpenAI did a pretty good job, earning itself 4/4 for its compliance with the upcoming rules. Contrast that to Aleph Alpha, a German rival, whose lack of detailed documentation on how it was warding off potential harmful uses of its technology saw the AI startup scoring a mere 1/4 for its risk-mitigation policies. “The way providers that are doing a good job at handling risks and mitigations is they have a section of their work related to the model where they say, ‘Here are all of the potential dangers from this model,'” Klyman added.

I’m not sure I would give such disclosures a passing grade. Having a transparency section on a website about potential downsides and how a company will handle such risks doesn’t mean such safeguards will be enforced. For that, you need greater disclosures on how these models operate — something, unfortunately, that almost all the firms did badly on. When it came to publishing which data sources (including copyrighted data) were baked into these AI systems, only BigScience and, to a lesser degree, Meta ranked highly, based on Stanford’s scorecard. And Klyman warned that all companies were becoming more secretive around their foundation models as competitive pressures were leading many to bring up the drawbridge on how their systems operate.

So what does this mean for policymakers, both within the EU and elsewhere, who are working on AI rules, particularly related to these foundation models? Klyman said EU lawmakers needed to get more granular on how they wanted companies to comply with the AI Act. That involved giving quantifiable metrics on what compliance looked like in terms of risk mitigation, data governance and other wonky regulatory provisions. For U.S. policymakers, the Stanford academic urged Washington to create a national AI research center so that researchers could better kick the tires of how these foundation models were developed. “Transparency,” he added, “is extremely important.”

THE BRUSSELS EFFECT’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FAR IN BRUSSELS to hear officials (and think-tankers) drone on about the so-called Brussels Effect. Coined by Ana Bradford, a Finnish academic now based at Columbia Law School, the term refers to how the bloc’s expansive policymaking (and not just on digital) has a global effect — because the EU’s rules quickly take on a life of their own and become the de facto global standard. Within tech, the clearest example of this is the General Data Protection Regulation, or the EU’s wide-ranging data protection standards that are now followed by pretty much every country worldwide. More on that here.

Yet researchers at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), a Brussels-based think tank, have driven a tank-shaped hole through that theory — at least when it comes to data. They analyzed the digital trade implications of the bloc’s so-called adequacy data protection decisions, complex legal instruments that basically tell trading partners, “If you follow Europe’s privacy standards, to the letter, we will allow unfettered flows of EU personal data to your country.” It’s a massive trade opportunity, giving countries from New Zealand to South Korea unlimited access to the personal information of Europe’s well-heeled consumers. It’s a major bargaining chip Brussels uses during its free trade agreement negotiations.

But what the think-tankers discovered was this wholesale data access — the epitome of the Brussels Effect — only really made a difference to the more than 10 countries with adequacy if you factored in Europe also having a data-transfer deal with the U.S. What they found was up to a 14 percent jump in digital trade between these countries, or the equivalent to about $4 billion of additional exports. But that was down almost exclusively to the likes of Argentina and Israel trading more with the U.S. — via the legal certainty provided by Europe’s adequacy regime. It was not because these countries were shipping goods and services more to the 27-country bloc.

“Digital trade is moving upwards compared to all other trades, but it’s highly dependent or contingent on the U.S.,” Erik van der Marel, ECIPE’s chief economist and one of the report’s co-authors, told me. “As soon as the U.S. got adequacy, you see that U.S companies outsource a lot of stuff, in terms of services outsourcing, that can be done on the basis of European citizens data to other adequacy granted countries.” Call it the halo effect of Brussels’ privacy regime. American firms quickly strike up relationships with partners in other adequacy countries — mostly to reduce costs — and immediately increase trade between the U.S. and those nations, and not with Europe.

It gets even clearer as the researchers also calculated a 9 percent reduction in so-called trade costs, which are charges associated with doing business internationally, for countries with adequacy status. But, again, when they ran the numbers, those savings were predicated almost exclusively on Europe having a data deal in place with the U.S. There’s one caveat to the report: It didn’t include Brussels’ recently agreed adequacy deals with South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom. But if you included those agreements, van der Marel added, the increase in digital trade (mostly between these countries and the U.S.) would reach about $11 billion.

To fans of the Brussels Effect, I can already hear the criticism. These bumps in digital trade only happened because of Europe’s rules, so what are you complaining about? It’s also true that because most adequate countries are tiny (it’s not like Guernsey and the Faroe Islands are hot-beds of the global trading order), it’s only natural that Brussels’ relationship with Washington will dominate these wider relationships. But it’s also clear that if the EU wants to continue setting global regulatory standards, we should all acknowledge how important its relationship with the U.S. remains when it comes to boosting ties with other parts of the world.

The latest intelligence I have is that the third iteration of a transatlantic data deal (the previous two pacts were invalidated by Europe’s top court) will now be signed off by mid-July. A legal challenge from privacy campaigners will inevitably follow. But when it comes to digital trade, the deal is vital. These EU-U.S. agreements, according to van der Marel, represent up to a 14 percent increase in transatlantic commerce. That equates to $11.9 billion in additional digital trade exports from the U.S. to the EU and a further $7.2 billion from the EU to the U.S. When the global economy is teetering on the edge, $19.1 billion in extra international trade is nothing to sneeze at.

BY THE NUMBERS

US DOES PRIVACY. REALLY.

I’VE GIVEN UP (AGAIN) ON WASHINGTON moving ahead with comprehensive data protection rules before the 2024 election cycle takes over. But on July 1, Colorado and Connecticut’s privacy regimes come into force — and the enforcement powers of California’s separate legislation, which was enacted earlier this year, also start to bite. Throw in Virginia and Kentucky (whose laws started on January 1) and Utah (its legislation gets going at the end of 2023), and you’ve now got a stable of data protection rulebooks, at the state level, to give Americans a taste of what greater privacy safeguards could look like.

Still, not all regimes are created equal. After heavy lobbying from industry, almost all don’t allow consumers to directly sue companies for potential wrongdoing — those powers are exclusively limited to state attorneys general. Some, like Utah’s law, are pretty light touch. Others, like those in Connecticut and Virginia, require companies to provide European-style transparency to people about how their data is collected and used. Only one — the California Privacy Rights Act — creates an independent regulator akin to what is readily available on the other side of the Atlantic. How all these rulebooks handle data protection questions will either galvanize Washington into doing something or shepherd other U.S. states toward the legislation that best handles the public’s complaints.

WONK OF THE WEEK

THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT finds itself at the center of global (read: Western) debates on how countries can freely move data between each other while upholding people’s privacy. And Clarisse Girot, head of the data governance and privacy unit at the group of mostly-rich countries, is key to that work.

The French-born lawyer knows data protection better than most. She was head of international affairs at France’s privacy regulator before moving to Singapore and Jersey (the country, not the U.S. state!) before returning to Paris last year to take up her current role at the OECD.

“Companies, like policymakers and, of course, people have a shared interest in ensuring a high level of data protection,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “Facilitating compliance with these rules is essential to ensure the effectiveness of meaningful protection in data flows, in particular by enabling the optimisation of resources devoted to the protection of personal data.”

WHAT I’M READING

— U.S. lawmakers wrote to Joe Biden about their concerns over how Europe’s digital lawmaking was unfairly harming American companies — and called on him to act. Read more here.

— The European Parliament published a comprehensive overview of the metaverse (remember when that was popular?), including the potential cybersecurity and ethical implications of the technology. Take a look here.

— One for all the podcast lovers. Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna debunk much of the AI hysteria in a three-part series entitled “Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000.” It’s worth a listen.

— Meta explains why it’s pulling all news from people’s Facebook feeds in Canada after the country’s lawmakers backed rules that would require platforms to pay publishers when their content appeared on these networks. The blog post is here.

— The International Association of Privacy Professionals has written a glossary of key terms for AI governance as part of efforts to standardize people’s thinking about these topics.

— A global organization similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency is not the right way to frame international governance discussions around artificial intelligence, argues Ian J. Stewart for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

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Today, the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament (IMCO) recommended some far-reaching amendments to the draft EU Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), also known as chat control proposal. The opinion is not binding for the lead Committee on Home Affairs (LIBE), but serves as a political orientation. Pirate Party MEP and shadow rapporteur in the lead Home Affairs Committee Patrick Breyer has a mixed view of the proposals:

“The Internal Market Committee wants to pull out various poisonous fangs from the extreme proposal made by ‘Big Sister’ Johansson: The proposed deletion of mandatory age verification safeguards the right to anonymous communication, on which whistleblowers, among others, depend. The removal of appstore censorship for young people protects their right to free and protected communication.

However, ineffective netblocks with collateral damage for many legitimate contents could still be imposed. Above all, indiscriminate chat control would still be implemented, an attack on the confidentiality and security of personal messages unprecedented in the free world. Excluding encrypted communication and telephony, leaving AI-driven text searches for alleged grooming out of it – all this would not change the fact that the proposals would be the end of the digital secrecy of correspondence for most emails and chats. Digital privacy of correspondence does not only apply to encrypted communication!

Meta already searches Facebook and Instagram private messages ‘only’ for known material, but it is precisely this flood of unreliable reports that drains urgently needed law enforcement capacities in undercover investigations against abusers, leads to the mass accusation of innocent people, and to the criminalisation of thousands of young people who are supposed to be protected. To indiscriminately target law-abiding users without suspicion would be contrary to fundamental rights and, according to independent legal opinions commissioned by Parliament and the EU Council, would not stand up in court. Such a failure of the proposed detection mechanism would be irresponsible towards victims of abuse. The Internal Market Committee only hints at what targeted detection could look like, but does not implement it.

Now it is up to the lead committee on Home Affairs to respect the fundamental right to digital privacy of correspondence and to put in place court-proof, truly effective child protection measures.”

The lead Home Affairs Committee continues to negotiate its position, with the next round of negotiations taking place this afternoon. The conservative Spanish rapporteur, Zarzalejos, wants to lock in the committee’s position by September and then strike a deal by the end of the year under the Council Presidency of his home country. The Spanish government has attracted attention with its extreme statement that secure encryption should actually be banned.

patrick-breyer.de/en/committee…

Tutti i videi di Cesiro sono stati a rischio di muorire... 😭😭😭

Ecco l'esperienza post muori del #TronoDelMuiri

@Informatica (Italy e non Italy 😁)

Domani 28 giugno dalle ore 15.00 parteciperò al convegno “Protezione dei dati personali e nuove tecnologie tra diritto pubblico e diritto privato”, organizzato da Assoprivacy e dal Centro per la Regolamentazione dell’Intelligenza Artificiale CRIA presso l’Università dell’Insubria – DiECO. Dipartimento di Economia – Aula Consiglio, Via Monte Generoso, 71 –VaresePer maggiori info qui assoprivacy.eu/save-the-date-c…

guidoscorza.it/protezione-dei-…

Domani 28 giugno dalle ore 10.15 sarò a Milano- Sala teatro – Via Copernico, 38 al convegno “Il GDPR ci vuole tutti gendarmi?”, organizzato da Dario Fumagalli e OneSeal.Qui per info ontraining.eu/evento_il-gdpr-c…

guidoscorza.it/il-gdpr-ci-vuol…

Oggi dalle ore 17.00 parteciperò a “TikTok, Quo Vadis?”, un incontro promosso da Formiche alla Lanterna di Roma con la moderazione di Flavia Giacobbe nel quale discuteremo del futuro della globalizzazione digitale.

guidoscorza.it/tiktok-quo-vadi…

Questa sera dalle ore 21 sarò ospite in diretta su Radio Popolare della trasmissione “Doppio click” condotta da Marco Shiaffino per parlare di tecnologie, internet e privacy. Qui il link alla diretta radiopopolare.it/ascolta-la-di…

guidoscorza.it/doppio-click/

Domani 27 giugno a partire dalle ore 18.00 parteciperò a Roma all’Università Luiss Guido Carli, all’evento “SIOS23 SUMMER”, organizzato da StartupItalia in collaborazione con Luiss. Qui per info startupitaliaopensummit.eu/sio…

guidoscorza.it/sios23-summer/

Domani 27 giugno dalle ore 10.00 sarò a Milano all’Aula Magna della Fondazione IRCCS al convegno “La Ricerca negli IRCCS e la regolazione della privacy”. Per maggiori info qui istitutotumori.mi.it/contenuto…

guidoscorza.it/la-ricerca-negl…

#cosedagarante|Dalle ore 17.00, parteciperò al seminario “La sostenibilità digitale a scuola nel pieno rispetto del CAD e del GDPR”, ideato e curato da Massimo Corinti e promosso dalla rete “ARETE”. Qui il modulo di iscrizione al seminario nc.fuss.bz.it/apps/forms/s/JCZ… Per info qui fuss.bz.it/post/2023-06-26_inc…

guidoscorza.it/la-sostenibilit…

A partire dalle 10.30 parteciperò a Roma al convegno “Web3 e Blockchain, il futuro della digitalizzazione in Italia”, organizzato da Olitec, Decripto e FederItaly. Per info qui eventbrite.co.uk/e/biglietti-w…

guidoscorza.it/web3-e-blockcha…

Dopo la decisione scellerata da parte del WFP – World Food Programme e di USAID di sospendere gli aiuti alimentari a milioni di persone in Tigray e in altre parti dell’ Etiopia, arriva l’ennesimo appello da parte di Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Vescovo dell’Eparchia di Adigrat.

I media politicizzati in Italia non scrivono più della catastrofe umanitaria in atto nello stato regionale del Tigray da quando è stato firmato l’accordo di Pretoria (accordo di cessazione ostilità siglato il 2 novembre 2022). Non che nei 2 anni prima, durante la guerra genocida, lo abbiano mai fatto, ma oggi, dopo l’accordo mediato dall’ Unione Africana e monitorato (forse anche stilato e redatto dagli USA di Joe Biden) i media del tricolore si sono sentiti legittimati a non scriverne e darne notizia: come se un paio di firme su dei fogli di carta potessero cancellare la richiesta di giustizia per le centinaia di migliaia di vittime, come potessero cancellare le violenze e gli abusi che continuano anche dopo quasi 8 mesi da quell’ accordo, come se si potesse nascondere come polvere sotto il tappeto la disumanità e le morti per fame aggravate anche dal blocco sugli aiuti umanitari deciso dalle agenzie umanitarie occidentali sotto l’egidia di USA ed Europa.

Scelta politicizzata, scelta criminale: come si può sospendere l’aiuto alimentare alle persone bisognose? E’ aumentata la percentuale di morti per fame anche tra i bambini sotto i 5 anni (28%)

Appello da parte di Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Vescovo dell’Eparchia di Adigrat per scongiurare il blocco sugli aiuti alimentari in Tigray, Etiopia

L’impatto fatale della sospensione degli aiuti alimentari umanitari alla popolazione bisognosa del Tigray e di altre parti del Paese.

Un appello a USAID e WFP – per scongiurare la decisione che porta la morte dei poveri e dei bisognosi

Un augurio di pace a voi e al bene umanitario che avete fatto la gratitudine è dovuta a tutti voi!!

Negli ultimi anni abbiamo visto come si è svolta una terribile guerra nella regione del Tigray e nelle aree circostanti. Durante questo conflitto, abbiamo assistito a come le forze combattenti hanno distrutto e saccheggiato le risorse alimentari dalle case e dai campi appartenenti alla gente. Per molti mesi è stato impedito al cibo di raggiungere coloro che ne avevano un disperato bisogno. E anche dopo che le scorte di cibo potevano essere consegnate, alcuni non potevano controllare la loro avidità e togliere il cibo a coloro che sono sfollati e disperati.

Secondo la Dichiarazione universale dei diritti dell’uomo, tutti gli esseri umani hanno diritto a un accesso affidabile a quantità sufficienti di cibo. In nome della nostra comune umanità non dovremmo mai permettere che venga portato via il cibo a coloro che cercano di nutrirsi per la propria sopravvivenza – non da coloro che scelgono la via della violenza e della guerra, non da coloro che cercano di distruggere i mezzi di sussistenza delle persone, non da coloro che cercano guadagno finanziario o valuta forte e non da quelli abbastanza ricchi e influenti da decidere sulla distribuzione delle scorte di cibo disponibili che condividiamo su questo pianeta.

Mentre la deviazione e il furto delle scorte di cibo che hanno avuto luogo per raggiungere la popolazione in disperato bisogno nel Tigray e in altre parti dell’Etiopia è totalmente inaccettabile e disumano, voglio invitare i decisori a considerare la nostra umanità condivisa e pregarli non pronunciare una condanna a morte su coloro che cercano di sopravvivere sulla scia di un terribile conflitto armato, coloro che stanno morendo ora.

È molto importante indagare in che modo quantità così elevate di cibo sono state sottratte ai bisognosi. È urgente migliorare il sistema di distribuzione alimentare, consentendo una maggiore trasparenza e un controllo più forte. Ma non biasimiamo i poveri per aver venduto una parte delle loro scorte alimentari ricevute attraverso donazioni mentre cercavano semplicemente di coprire i costi per medicine, libri scolastici e altre spese necessarie non fornite da donazioni. Ci deve essere un’altra soluzione a questo scandalo oltre a fermare la consegna di generi alimentari agli sfollati e ad altri che cercano disperatamente di nutrire se stessi e i propri figli. Oggi in centinaia muoiono di fame perché gli aiuti alimentari sono fermi da mesi e mesi: non può essere questo il prezzo da pagare per rimettere in sesto il sistema.

Ferma il cammino di coloro che facevano la guerra e distruggevano i raccolti; fermia coloro che impediscono agli aiuti di raggiungere gli affamati; dei responsabili di furto e corruzione; fermia coloro che hanno permesso che avvenisse il furto e hanno distolto lo sguardo per molti anni.

Ma non impedire il cibo a coloro che ne hanno un disperato bisogno, non togliere loro il diritto divino di nutrirsi
se stessi e non condannarli a una condanna a morte. La Chiesa cattolica, che ha vissuto nel mezzo di questa situazione sfrenata estremamente dolorosa nel Tigray desidera confermare ancora una volta il suo impegno di essere solidale in empatia, preghiera e impegno nel sostegno umanitario verso tutte le persone che stanno vivendo terribili sofferenze nel Tigray e in altre parti del Paese.

Possiamo noi tutti essere sempre benedetti con la Misericordia, l’Amore e la Pace di Dio,

+ Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Vescovo dell’Eparchia di Adigrat

Diocesi cattolica di Adigrat
Ref.No Ad.Ep/-006/23
EPARCHIA CATTOLICA ADIGRAT – TIGRAY ETIOPIA
Data 20 giugno 2023
7../P.O.Box 8 Ah / Tel.:251(0)344.452138/452203 Fax:251(0)344,452630 / e-mail: tselassiem@gmail.com

tommasin.org/blog/2023-06-23/e…

Durante il pieno svolgimento della guerra genocida in Tigray, stato regionale dell’Etiopia settentrionale, il 22 giugno 2021, l’aviazione etiope ha bombardato Togoga in un giorno di mercato.

Avevo scritto un aggiornamento su questo massacro per mezzo della difesa etiope che ha hattaccato indiscriminatamente un’area urbana e civili per la guerra contro “il terrorismo”, per fermare quelli considerati dalla legge etiope i membri del partito TPLF – Tigray People’s Liberation Front e tutti i loro sostenitori etichettati dissidenti.

La dottoressa Bisrat dopo 2 anni dal massacro di Togoga, via social ha condiviso un resoconto dettagliato dal punto di vista del supporto medico e sanitario.

Erano circa le 16:00 che ho avuto notizia dell’attacco aereo.

Un amico mi aveva chiesto di verificare se le vittime provenissero dall’attacco aereo in Togoga. Quando sono arrivata al pronto soccorso, ho visto quattro ambulanze in coda all’ingresso, stipate di medici e infermieri, in attesa di una lettera di autorizzazione dell’ufficio sanitario regionale del Tigray.
Ambulanze in attesa di partire verso il luogo del massacro a Togoga – Tigray giugno 2021
Dopo l’arrivo della lettera, le ambulanze sono finalmente partite per il Togoga attraverso la rotta Mekelle-Tembien intorno alle 23:30. Altre due ambulanze sono arrivate per portare i professionisti a Kokolo (circa 15 chilometri a sud-ovest di Mekelle) dove abbiamo sentito di dozzine di feriti, compresi i bambini che hanno cercato di venire all’Ayder Hospital tramite un camion e sono stati restituiti dai militari.

Quindi, due dottori, me compreso, e due infermiere si sono offerti volontari per andare lì. Siamo partiti utilizzando una strada sconnessa attraverso il parco industriale di Mekelle alle 18:30.

Dopo aver raggiunto un posto di blocco di un insediamento militare nel parco industriale, ci siamo fermati e abbiamo aspettato per circa 20 minuti, ma nessuno si è avvicinato a noi. Siamo arrivati ​​a Kokolo alle 19:30 solo per non trovare nessuno lì.

Dovevamo fermarci e decidere se andare in Togoga o tornare a Mekelle. Abbiamo deciso di andare sulla scena del massacro. Mentre viaggiavamo nell’oscurità, eravamo tutti davvero spaventati perché la strada era molto stretta e accidentata e l’esercito etiope poteva prenderci di mira.

Abbiamo dovuto mettere su musica rilassante nel tentativo di calmarci. Abbiamo raggiunto Togoga intorno alle 20:20: circa 7 ore dopo l’incidente. Abbiamo trovato decine di feriti sdraiati sul ciglio della strada che aspettavano impotenti le ambulanze.
Abbiamo trovato decine di feriti sdraiati sul ciglio della strada che aspettavano impotenti le ambulanze. Massacro di Togoga Tigray giugno 2021
Alcuni sanguinavano; altri erano incoscienti; e altri soffrivano di fame d’aria. Sfortunatamente, non avevamo attrezzature mediche sufficienti per fornire anche il minimo indispensabile di cure di emergenza. Tutto quello che avevamo erano 10 sacchi di soluzione fisiologica normale, 10 cannule per fleboclisi, 2 scatole di guanti, 2 pacchi di garze e un paio di cerotti. Pensavamo che ci sarebbero state le quattro ambulanze che sono partite prima. Il mio telefono ha iniziato a squillare proprio quando siamo arrivati ​​sul posto. Era la chiamata di un medico di emergenza di una delle quattro ambulanze.
Alcuni sanguinavanao, altri erano in blocco respiratorio… Massacro di Togoga in giorno di mercato Tigray giugno 2021
Ci ha chiesto se avessimo raggiunto la zona e come ci fossimo riusciti visto che quando sono arrivati ​​a Romanat gli è stato negato il passaggio. Gli ho raccontato del percorso che abbiamo seguito.

Nel frattempo, abbiamo iniziato a curare le vittime con quello che avevamo in un recinto scolastico: appese le flebo agli alberi di acacia.
Soccorso ai feriti e alle vittime del massacro di Togoga Tigray giugno 2021
Abbiamo identificato quattro pazienti gravemente feriti e con loro io e un’infermiera siamo partiti verso Mekelle.

A metà strada, un amico delle ambulanze che ha tentato di percorrere il percorso che avevamo seguito ci ha chiamato e ci ha detto di tornare indietro poiché minacciavano di uccidere chiunque avesse cercato di entrare a Mekelle attraverso quella strada. Proiettili erano stati sparati contro le ambulanze che cercavano di passare.

È stata una notizia molto scioccante per noi. Qualcuno ci aveva dato un numero di telefono per chiamare il vicepresidente del governo ad interim in caso avessimo avuto problemi.Lo abbiamo chiamato chiedendo aiuto.

Ci ha detto che era meglio entrare da Romanat o passare la notte lì perché i militari erano arrabbiati e minacciavano chiunque cercasse di intrufolarsi per quella strada.

Abbiamo deciso di tornare e passare la notte a Togoga poiché non abbiamo considerato il ritorno a Mekelle attraverso Romanat come un’opzione praticabile. Cominciarono ad arrivare vittime che erano tornate a casa perdendo la speranza.

Abbiamo visto circa 50 persone ferite, tra cui una bambina di quattro anni. Tra le vittime c’erano anche 3 sorelle che hanno subito traumi che andavano dalle ustioni al viso a braccia e gambe mozzate. L’ultima vittima che abbiamo visto durante la notte è stata alle 3:00 del mattino del 23 giugno 2021.
Abbiamo visto circa 50 persone ferite, tra cui una bambina di quattro anni. Togoga massacre Tigray giugno 2021
Dopo abbiamo dovuto cercare di riposarci a stomaco vuoto. Altri pazienti hanno poi iniziato ad arrivare al mattino seguente. Abbiamo continuato il laborioso compito di cercare di prestare assistenza tra paura e rabbia e senza scorte mediche sufficienti a portata di mano.

Abbiamo chiesto agli anziani il totale dei morti e ci hanno detto che erano circa 64 con più di 180 feriti.

Abbiamo chiesto agli anziani il totale dei morti e ci hanno detto che erano circa 64 con più di 180 feriti. La mattina presto abbiamo iniziato a sentire pesanti bombardamenti. Abbiamo quindi deciso di spostare i pazienti in un’area boschiva vicina. Eravamo davvero spaventati per le nostre vite.

Abbiamo continuato a chiamare i nostri colleghi per sapere se c’era qualche possibilità che arrivassero le ambulanze. Ci informarono che erano stati fatti diversi tentativi, ma nessuno dava il permesso. Il team ha poi discusso altre opzioni, come trasportare le vittime in una tradizionale barella di legno, poiché alcuni dei pazienti stavano diventando critici. Ma verso l’ora di pranzo è stata fatta una telefonata che ci informava che le ambulanze avevano il permesso di passare e che potevano arrivare in qualsiasi momento. Abbiamo perso diverse ore ad aspettarli.

Mentre continuavamo a prepararci all’arrivo delle ambulanze, siamo andati al mercato dove è avvenuto l’attacco aereo, intorno alle 14:00 del giorno successivo. Abbiamo visto macchie di sangue, circa 25 case rase al suolo e pomodori e patate sparsi.
Direzione Togoga, giorno dopo il massacroin giorno di mercato in Tigray, giugno 2021
Quattro ambulanze sono finalmente arrivate alle 16:00 del 23 giugno 2021, molto tempo dopo: 27 ore dall’attacco aereo. Siamo tornati a Mekelle dopo 28 ore di un’esperienza scoraggiante. Purtroppo le sei ambulanze non sono bastate a portare tutte le vittime che necessitavano di cure mediche, così a molti è stato detto di restare dopo averli rassicurati che le ambulanze sarebbero tornate. Coloro che sono arrivati ​​all’ospedale di riferimento di Ayder sono guariti, anche se con disabilità, tranne uno che è morto per la ferita che ha subito al polmone.

Il dolore e la disperazione che ho provato durante quelle 28 ore risuonano ancora nella mia mente.

Quattro ambulanze sono finalmente arrivate alle 16:00 del 23 giugno 2021, molto tempo dopo: 27 ore dall’attacco aereo.

tommasin.org/blog/2023-06-23/e…

I residenti nella woreda [distretto] di Irob, nel Tigray orientale (stato regionale dell’Etiopia settentrionale), affermano di trovarsi di fronte a una grave crisi socio-economica a causa della presenza delle forze eritree in violazione con l’accordo di Pretoria firmato il 2 novembre 2022 (dopo 2 anni di guerra etnica con risvolti genocidi sul popolo tigrino)

Fissuhe Mezegebu, residente ad Agerelekoma, ora residente nelle vicinanze di Haraza, Irob, ha dichiarato di non avere accesso alla strada che li riporta a casa a causa della presenza delle forze eritree.

Ha dichiarato:

“Le forze eritree abitano nella nostra casa, quindi non possiamo tornare indietro”.

Ha aggiunto che i residenti sono sfollati (IDP) e attualmente si stanno rifugiando sotto una giungla arsa, inospitale vicino ad Assimba.

Haleka Gebretsadik Abraha, un altro residente nelle vicinanze di Endamossa, distretto di Irob, ha testimoniato che le forze eritree hanno distrutto la loro proprietà e saccheggiato ciò che ne restava.

Dice di aver assistito alle forze eritree saccheggiare il bestiame e bruciare case con attacchi di artiglieria pesante e bruciando intenzionalmente case usando fiammiferi durante il combattimento attivo sul campo.

Genet Kahsay, una donna residente a Endamossa, nel distretto di Irob, ha detto che le persone sfollate dalle loro case chiedono cibo e donazioni di vestiti.

Ha aggiunto che le truppe eritree li hanno costretti a fuggire in caverne e valli per ripararsi.

I residenti hanno espresso la loro profonda preoccupazione per le sfide che potrebbero dover affrontare per ricostruire le case distrutte durante la guerra mentre si avvicina la stagione delle piogge.

Un altro residente esorta gli enti interessati a insistere sul ritorno dei residenti alle loro case.

“Dobbiamo tornare a casa nostra e iniziare la nostra vita informale come ai bei vecchi tempi”

Genet Kahsay, una donna residente a Enda Mossa, distretto di Irob, ha detto che le persone sfollate dalle loro case chiedono cibo e donazioni di vestiti.

Ha aggiunto che le truppe eritree li hanno costretti a fuggire in caverne e valli per ripararsi.

Mekelle, 23 giugno 2023 // Tigrai Television

Approfondimenti:

• Etiopia, aggiornamenti dalla comunità Irob, Tigray
• Tigray, rischiano di sparire le minoranze etniche Irob e Kunama

FONTE: twitter.com/Tigrai_TV/status/1…

tommasin.org/blog/2023-06-23/e…

Ne scrivo oggi su HuffingtonPost Italia nella rubrica Governare il Futuro Qui il testo completo huffingtonpost.it/rubriche/gov…

guidoscorza.it/basta-scuse-la-…

Privacy e dignità della persona sono un binomio indissolubile e quando si viola la prima, travolgendo la seconda non c’è giustificazione burocratica o distrazione che tenga | Qui, nella Newsletter di @GPDP_IT la storia raccontata bene e i link ai provvedimenti

guidoscorza.it/privacy-e-digni…

Domani dalle ore 14.00 sarò a Bologna ospite della Fondazione Forense Bolognese per l’evento “Avvocati contro il cyberbullismo. Tecniche di difesa delle vittime e degli aggressori” e per presentare il libro “La privacy degli ultimi”. PER INFORMAZIONI: fondazioneforensebolognese.it/…

guidoscorza.it/avvocati-contro…

Domani a partire dalle 9.00 sarò a Bologna al teatro Arena del sole per l’evento “RDP al centro”, Un’occasione preziosa di incontro e confronto per proseguire insieme un cammino iniziato cinque anni fa PER INFORMAZIONI: gpdp.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-d…

guidoscorza.it/rdp-al-centro/

Le condizioni di vita per milioni di persone in Tigray, stato regionale dell’Etiopia settentrionale, sono precarie per le conseguenze post belliche, conflitto dai risvolti etnici e genocidi sull apopolazione regionale. Oggi aggravate dall’ennesimo scandaloso blocco del supporto umanitario da parte del WFP e dell’ USAID.

Come vive oggi la minoranza etnica di Irob

Oggi le condizioni di vita della minoranza etnica della woreda [distretto] di Irob (Erob, in tigrynia: ኢሮብ) posizionato nel Tigray nord orientale, è da considerarsi doppiamente catastrofica. Isolati ed invasi dall’esercito eritreo fin dall’inizio della guerra genocida scoppiata il 3 novembre 2020 e durata 2 anni. In aggiunta da conisderare anche il fattore ambientale di area rurale già normalmente poco accessibile ed in zona di confine con l’Eritrea.

Mercoledì 14 giugno il media Dimtsi Weyane ha condiviso un comunicato segnalando che:

“La diocesi cattolica di Adigrat ha distribuito sementi selezionate e attrezzature agricole a oltre 500 residenti di Irob con l’assistenza finanziaria di EU

Joshua Misgna ha detto che il popolo di Irob sta affrontando seri problemi a causa dell’invasione delle forze eritree.”

Un aiuto doveroso di vitale importanza, ma briciole in confronto alle reali esigenze e bisogni della popolazione, di milioni di persone ancora in attesa di supporto e aiuti per la loro stessa sopravvivenza, per la ricostruzione della comunità.

Sabato 17 giugno mi sono arrivati aggiornamenti su Irob da parte della ONG Chain of Love

La ONG lavora da una decina di anni per la sussistenza della popolazione del Tigray.

L’esercito eritereo ha occupato 4 delle 8 unità amministrative (kebeles).

Ma l’effetto negativo è più di questo.

L’esercito eritreo ha invaso il Tigray e nonostante l’accordo di cessazione ostilità firmato a Pretoria il 2 novembre 2022, obblighi il suo ritiro da tutto il territorio, continua ad essere presente in questo distretto in violazione di tale accordo, sta perpetrando ancora abusi sui civili.

1. ha disperso il centro amministrativo e i servizi base per la comunità;
2. ha distrutto i centri sanitari paralizzando il sistema sanitario e il servizio di ambulanza. I pazienti muoiono per malattie curabili e la comunità è costretta a caricarsi sulle spalle i pazienti per cercare di raggiungere i pochi ospedali operativi;
3. ha distrutto la struttura educativa e bloccato, come conseguenza, la riapertura delle scuole. I bambini di Irob rimangono fuori dalla scuola nonostante i distretti limitrofi non occupati erano riusciti a recuperare e riaprire gli edifici scolastici;
4. ha interrotto la produzione agricola rendendo difficile l’accesso agli input agricoli da parte di agenti governativi e non governativi. I farmaci veterinari e i vaccini forniti da Chain of Love a Irob sono accessibili solo a beneficiari limitati. Coloro che erano sotto occupazione non avevano alcuna possibilità di ricevere questo servizio. Altri sono fuggiti dalle loro case e dai terreni agricoli così da non poter piantare raccolti.
5. Poiché la strada è bloccata dall’esercito eritreo, gli aiuti non possono mai raggiungere il centro amministrativo. Quindi, i membri della comunità vengono fatti morire di fame.
6. Le cerimonie sociali vengono interrotte. Le cerimonie nuziali, i funerali e le festività si svolgono tra famiglie separate. Questo è molto doloroso per la comunità Irob il cui legame sociale è forte, valore fondante della comunità.
7. Il servizio religioso della Chiesa cattolica è limitato nelle parrocchie occupate.
8. I servizi importanti elettricità e acqua sono interrotti.

Per concludere, il popolo Irob sta sperimentando una sofferenza multidimensionale; religioso, sociale/psicologico, economico, sanitario ed educativo, ambientale e anche cittadinanza.

Venerdì 9 giugno 2023 Goyteom Gebreegziabher ha condiviso foto e commento della sua visita ad Irob indicando che:

• “Irob al (9 giugno 2023)
• ~ Ancora strada bloccata dalle truppe
• ~ Nessun accesso per e
• ~ Aiuti bloccati da truppe
• ~ #Endalgeda , #Weraetle , #Agerlokoma e #Alitena invasi dall’esercito eritreo
• ~ blocco accesso per fertilizzante e sementi
• ~ blocco accesso per Salute, Istruzione.”

Irob woreda, Tigray Etiopia – giugno 2023
Ad ottobre 2022 l’ospedale di Alitena, che nell’agosto 2013 stava per veder inaugurato la sala operatoria, è stato bombardato da artiglieria pesante dell’esercito eritreo.
Alitena – ospedale bombadato dalle forze eritree
Goyteom Gebreegziabher non ha potuto dare aggiornamenti a riguardo perché ha confermato che durante la sua visita di giugno 2023, dopo quasi 8 mesi dalla firma dell’accordo di cessazione ostilità in Tigray siglato a Pretoria, c’è ancora l’occupazione e la presenza di soldati eritrei che determinano blocco negli spostamenti per civili e operatori umanitari.

Oggi dopo 2 anni di guerra genocida scoppiata in Tigray nel novembre 2020, dopo quasi 8 mesi dall’accordo di Pretoria, la comunità del distretto di Irob, la minoranza etnica che lo abita, è triplicamente martoriata: come crisi umanitaria conseguente alla guerra, isolati dal mondo e senza servizi base, per l’occupazione di forze straniere come gli eritrei in violazione all’accordo di Pretoria e perché WFP – World Food Programme, l’agenzia di supporto alimentare non ha mai avuto a che fare con la zona del Tigray nord occidentale, Irob, come osservato da Duke Burbridge.

Approfondimenti:

• Etiopia, il comitato del Tigray condivide il report preliminare sulla deviazione del cibo umanitario
• Etiopia, lo scandalo del dirottamento e blocco alimentare umanitario per milioni di persone in Tigray
• La fame nel Tigray e lo scandalo della deviazione degli aiuti alimentari tra WFP ed Etiopia
• Etiopia, in Tigray aumentano le morti dei bambini sotto i 5 anni per malnutrizione acuta indotta dall’uomo
• Etiopia, la pulizia etnica persiste nonostante la tregua in Tigray
• Etiopia, IDP, sfollati interni in Tigray non dovrebbero essere puniti doppiamente

tommasin.org/blog/2023-06-22/e…

POLITICO’s weekly transatlantic tech newsletter for global technology elites and political influencers.

By MARK SCOTT

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BUCKLE UP. DIGITAL BRIDGE IS A SPICY ONE THIS WEEK. I’m Mark Scott, POLITICO’s chief technology correspondent, and as the world of politics appears to be going from bad to worse (no matter where you are living), here’s a reminder that what may appear as government overreach one day can quickly become standard practice the next.

Grab your beverage of choice and relax:

— Jose Fernandez, a senior U.S. State Department official, talks about transatlantic ties, artificial intelligence and China.

— Twitter took down more pro-Trump accounts than anti-Trump accounts. But does that equate to censorship?

— Brussels’s new economic security plan is a pitch to have a seat at the world’s top geopolitical table. It’s a little messy.

A VIEW FROM WASHINGTON

WHEN IT COMES TO FANCY TITLES, Jose Fernandez‘s is a doozy. Officially, he’s the U.S. State Department’s undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment — and is in charge of the agency’s myriad bureaus, including the one recently created for cyberspace and digital policy. The former mergers and acquisitions lawyer also is central to the revamped transatlantic relationship via the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council. So when I caught up with him last week, Fernandez wanted me to know that — like almost everyone I talk to within these transatlantic digital policymaking circles — ties between Brussels and Washington are stronger than ever.

“Two years ago, our relations with the (European Union) were mired in irritants,” he conceded. “We’ve been able to get beyond those irritants and we’ve expanded our goals to meet our ambition.” That sounds wonderful. But dig a little below the surface, and it’s easy to find a raft of tricky policy questions that still mire the United States’ relationship with one of its largest trading partners in difficulties. Case in point: the ongoing discussions over a so-called “critical raw materials” deal that would allow European automakers and their suppliers to tap into American subsidies baked via the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

Fernandez said those talks were ongoing (he wouldn’t go further than that). But, he added, the very fact senior U.S. and EU officials now sat down, in person, every six months was a sign of how important Joe Biden’s administration took the transatlantic relationship. “We have irritants,” the State Department official said. “You couldn’t have a $1.4 trillion economic relationship without them. But there’s a real commitment to discussing them even when we disagree and to try to work through them.”

OK, sure. But what about China? Despite broad consensus between the White House and the European Commission — the executive branches of each region/country’s political structure — the U.S. is more willing to push back against China compared with its European allies, according to multiple conversations with U.S. and EU officials. Not true, said Fernandez. “Both Secretary Blinken and his counterparts in the EU have said that we’re looking to de-risk from China, not de-couple from China, and on that, we are 100 percent aligned,” he told me. “I would not agree with that. I think you’re seeing very close alignment,” he added when pushed on the differences over China.

Turning to the next iteration of the Trade and Technology Council, which will be held somewhere in the U.S. at the end of 2023, what will likely be on the agenda? For Fernandez (who also declined to say where it would be held later this year), the focus will be on artificial intelligence; so-called export controls, or bans on certain goods from being shipped to countries like Russia; and additional U.S.-EU funding for developing economies as they roll out 5G telecommunications networks and upgrade their digital cybersecurity capabilities.

“There’s a desire to continue to work with third countries on 5G development,” he said. During the last transatlantic summit in May, both sides announced funding for Costa Rica and the Philippines, respectively, on such digital infrastructure projects. “AI, and in particular generative AI, presents unlimited opportunities. But at the same time, some of the consequences have to be managed.” Like almost all Western officials in recent months, those attached to the Trade and Technology Council are falling over themselves to be seen to be doing something (anything!) to corral the growth of services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. That includes plans to create a voluntary code of practice, designed by Washington and Brussels, which companies can agree to follow to uphold basic principles like fairness, transparency and impartiality.

Yet what that code of practice — which is expected to be presented to other G7 leaders in the fall — will actually look like is still a work in progress. As of early June, it was merely a two-page policy memo, shared haphazardly between EU and U.S. policymakers. Fernandez, too, had little detail to give — and wouldn’t be drawn on the regulatory differences between Brussels and Washington on how to deal with artificial intelligence. “We are now in the process of starting, so I can’t really give you much info on that because there is not much,” he acknowledged when asked about what the voluntary code of conduct would actually entail.

ACCOUNTABILITY VS. CENSORSHIP, PART TWO

AS A LAPSED BUSINESS REPORTER, I LIKE NUMBERS. Figures — unlike, ahem, politicians, lobbyists and officials — don’t lie. So when I came across a research paper from Georgetown and Yale academics on how anti- and pro-Trump bots on Twitter performed (in terms of spreading partisan messages across the social network) in the build-up to the former U.S. president’s first impeachment trial in late 2019 and early 2020, my ears pricked up. It provides a snapshot of how such political social media users disseminate their messages online — and, more important, sheds light on accusations from some Republican politicians that Big Tech is unfairly censoring right-wing voices.

Before we get to the findings, let’s lay out the methodology. The researchers collected almost 68 million posts from 3.6 million Twitter users between December 2019 and March 2020. They broke those accounts down into potential bots, or social media users that posted at significantly higher rates than average people, and then did a content analysis, at scale, to see whether such automated accounts were more in favor or against Donald Trump. Finally, the academics tracked the types of content these partisan bots posted during the impeachment trial, and how those messages were spread more broadly across Twitter.

OK, the results — and, remember, you have to read this in the context of accusations that social media platforms have an unfair bias toward liberal voices. In terms of bots, though, it was an almost even split. Collectively, there were 10,145 anti-Trump bots (posting 9.2 million tweets over that time period) compared with 11,571 pro-Trump bots (with 9.8 million tweets). But even though these accounts represented roughly 1 percent of the overall Twitter users within the study, they posted 31 percent of the total content. Key takeaway: Twitter doesn’t have a significant bot problem, in terms of the number of accounts. But it does when you look at how those automated users dominate the online conversation.

“For the price you pay for them, it’s a good bang for your buck,” Tauhid Zaman, a Yale academic who co-authored the paper, in reference to the effectiveness of bots on Twitter. “Once they are up and running, the marginal cost of a bot is essentially free. So in information warfare, it’s a really efficient tool to use.” Yet the pro- and anti-Trump accounts weren’t uniform. The more liberal bots were more likely to post content from more mainstream media outlets, whereas conservative automated users more regularly circulated material from dubious sites, based on a non-partisan content analysis of the quality of links shared by these bots.

That had an interesting effect on Twitter’s response to these automated accounts at a time when the social media giant (in the pre-Elon Musk era and after he took over) has tried to clamp down (mostly, unsuccessfully) on bot activity. When Zaman went back, earlier this year, to see how many of the anti- and pro-Trump bots were still active on the Blue Bird, he found a marked difference. Since early 2020, Twitter had removed 40 percent of the conservative-leaning automated accounts versus just 12 percent of the liberal bots. For human partisan Twitter accounts, the same held true: 12 percent of Republican users had been removed by March 2023 compared with just 5 percent of Democratic accounts.

For some in the U.S. House of Representatives (looking at you, Representative Jim Jordan), that could be a smoking gun in the alleged censorship of conservative voters online. Right-wing Twitter accounts were four times more likely to be removed compared with left-wing Twitter accounts. But where this gets incredibly tricky is figuring out why Twitter removed the bots. Is it because the company hates conservatives? Almost certainly not (that’s how not companies work). Or is it because these accounts were statistically more likely to share either false or dubious information, which therefore put them at odds with Twitter’s terms of service that prohibit (or, at least, down-rank) the spread of such questionable material?

“How much you are a Republican correlates almost exactly to how much disinformation you share. It’s almost one-to-one mapping,” Zaman told me. “I can’t say Twitter is suspending you because you’re a Republican. They could be trying to enforce some general policy on disinformation. But the effect is that it looks like they are suspending Republicans more, in a biased way, versus Democrats.” Unpicking that relationship — between how much false content a partisan social media user shares, and how that puts an account in breach of platforms’ terms of service — is crucial to understanding why more right-wing users have been suspended versus their leftwing counterparts.

BY THE NUMBERS

EUROPE (KINDA) FLEXES ITS MUSCLES

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WANTS YOU TO KNOW it’s getting tough. In economic security proposals published this week, Brussels outlined how it would protect local companies from having their technology stolen by others; limit the ability of third-party countries (read: China) from using their economic muscle to strong-arm the 27-country bloc; and work collectively to stop authoritarian regimes from buying stakes (or the entirety) of European companies, particularly in high-growth areas like quantum computing and cybersecurity. “We also have to be clear-eyed about a world that has become more contested and geopolitical,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission president.

You could already hear the cheers from Washington as Brussels began to follow its lead on these topics. But don’t count your chickens just yet. First, the word “China” — key to all of these geopolitical maneuvers — didn’t get a mention. That may sound childish to point out, but appearances matter. And the failure of the Commission to call a spade a spade on China’s economic global ambitions doesn’t bode well for the negotiations to come. (These are just proposals that must be hammered out with the EU’s other political institutions.) Second, let’s be clear: The EU is still divided on how robustly to push back against Beijing. Until those divisions are figured out, which is key as Brussels will have to work with national capitals to implement its economic security agenda, I wouldn’t count on the 27-country bloc to pull its weight on the global stage.

WONK OF THE WEEK

WE’RE STAYING WITH THE WORLD OF AI this week to focus on Anna Makanju, head of public policy for OpenAI. It’s not her first Big Tech job (if OpenAI now makes it into that elite club?). The New York-based executive previously worked as a senior policy manager at Meta, specializing in content regulation.

The former Biden aide also has a background that would make most of the United Nations look on with envy. Born in Russia to a Nigerian father and a Ukrainian mother, she moved to the U.S. in the early 1990s and studied linguistics at Western Washington University, from which she graduated at 16 years old. She later graduated from Stanford University’s law school.

“I’ve argued countless times that Putin excels at neither strategy nor tactics despite so much odd insistence to the contrary in the West,” she wrote on Twitter last year (her career includes a stint at the U.S. Department of Defense). “Unless the willingness to kill an unlimited number of people inside or outside your country to achieve a goal is strategic or tactical brilliance.”

THEY SAID WHAT, NOW?

“We need an all-hands-on-deck approach — because that’s what AI’s complexities and speed demands,” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate, said when announcing his “SAFE Innovation Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” proposals to set guardrails, but not actual legislation, around this emerging technology. “Innovation must be our North Star. And it is SAFE innovation that we must seek.”

WHAT I’M READING

— Risks and harms from the online world will increase at an exponential rate, but the knowledge needed to combat those threats has been increasing within tech companies and across civil society, according to conclusions from a task force looking at trust and safety issues on the internet, overseen by the Atlantic Council.

— Google’s licenses for its “infotainment” services for automakers are not compatible with Germany’s revised antitrust rules that impose stricter obligations on dominant companies like the search giant, based on a decision from the country’s competition authority.

— A comprehensive review of popular messaging apps found a wide variety of security practices, as well as wholesale public misunderstanding about what was considered “encrypted,” argue Justin Hendrix, Cooper Quintin, Caroline Sinders, Leila Wylie Wagner, Tim Bernard, and Ami Mehta for Tech Policy Press. (Full report here.)

— Recent cyberattacks on government agencies and IT providers within Ukraine were directly tied to operatives, known as Cadet Blizzard, associated with Russia’s military intelligence, claims Microsoft in a threat intelligence report.

— A new generation of cross-border data transfer initiatives, and not merely those between the U.S. and the EU, could mark a new era of data sharing that upholds privacy standards while facilitating global trade, suggests Kenneth Propp for the Atlantic Council.

— The use of human subjects to train AI-generated responses led to a significantly improved service (in terms of a chatbot) and allowed for faster tweaks in the underlying model to weed out potential harmful/inappropriate interactions, according to research from a group of AI engineers at Meta.

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È quello che ho detto oggi a Ginevra nell’incontro “LAW AND ETHICS OF POST PANDEMIC HEALTH DATA SHARING organizzato dalla Fondazione Brocher

guidoscorza.it/law-and-ethics-…

Domani 20 giugno dalle ore 14.00 parteciperò al workshop “AI and Trust” nella sessione “AI: large language models for children and education” nell’ambito dell’agenda EuroDIG 2023 Per maggiori info qui Consolidated programme 2023 – EuroDIG Wiki

guidoscorza.it/eurodig2023-ai-…