TikTok skirted a privacy safeguard in Google’s Android operating system to collect unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices, data that allows the app to track users online without allowing them to opt out, a Wall Street Journal analysis has found. The tactic, which experts in mobile-phone security said was concealed through an unusual added layer of encryption, appears to have violated Google policies limiting how apps track people and wasn’t disclosed to TikTok users. TikTok ended the practice in November, the Journal’s testing showed.

 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tiktok-collected-android-user-data-using-tactic-banned-by-google-2020-08-11

Why the US ban on WeChat is a much bigger deal than TikTok

 https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/why-the-us-ban-on-wechat-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-tiktok-20200807-p55jk0.html

The U.S. video-conferencing company Zoom closed the account of a group of prominent U.S.-based Chinese activists after they held a Zoom event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre

https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html

'Greatest peril': study finds Australia most dependent on China among the Five Eyes. The report did not recommend an immediate economic decoupling from China as that would be “painful and expensive” but said the Five Eyes countries should work together to prevent China dominating the nine industries that it identified would dominate the future economy. They are: artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomous robotics, computing hardware, cryptographic technology, materials and manufacturing science, nano-technologies, networking and data communication, quantum technology and synthetic biology.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/greatest-peril-study-finds-australia-most-dependent-on-china-among-the-five-eyes-20200514-p54ssg.html

Warning Over Chinese Mobile Giant Xiaomi Recording Millions Of People’s ‘Private’ Web And Phone Use

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/04/30/exclusive-warning-over-chinese-mobile-giant-xiaomi-recording-millions-of-peoples-private-web-and-phone-use/#333f931a1b2a

Chinese internet users who uploaded coronavirus memories to GitHub have been arrested

https://qz.com/1846277/china-arrests-users-behind-github-coronavirus-memories-page/

TikTok 'tried to filter out videos from ugly, poor or disabled users' Documents from the Incercept show social media app put pressure on moderators

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/17/tiktok-tried-to-filter-out-videos-from-ugly-poor-or-disabled-users

The Chinese Communist Party has gained the ability to spy on more than 100 million citizens via a heavily promoted official app, a report suggests. The app pushes out official news and images and encourages people to earn points by reading articles, commenting on them and playing quizzes about China and its leader, Xi Jinping. Use of the app is mandatory among party officials and civil servants and it is tied to wages in some workplaces.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50042379

Chinese face-swap app Zao rocketed to the top of app store charts over the weekend, but user delight at the prospect of becoming instant superstars quickly turned sour as privacy implications began to sink in.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-02/china-s-red-hot-face-swapping-app-provokes-privacy-concern

After five weeks of helping Chinese classmates I fired off a furious email. (Also, the problem with group assessments)

https://www.smh.com.au/national/after-five-weeks-of-helping-chinese-classmates-i-fired-off-a-furious-email-20190827-p52l8f.html

#BoycottMulan over Hong Kong protests tests Disney and moviegoers

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/boycottmulan-over-hong-kong-protests-tests-disney-and-moviegoers-20190819-p52iiq.html

As Western powers continue to grapple with if or how to fit Huawei’s 5G networks into their societies, reports have revealed the Chinese telecom giant is already well into researching 6G mobile technology.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2019/08/22/huawei-6g-research/

Silicon Valley is also keenly interested. In a report in March, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation identified AI as an educational tool worthy of investment. In his 2018 book Rewiring Education, John Couch, Apple’s vice president of education, lauded Squirrel AI. (A Chinese version of the book is coauthored by Squirrel’s founder, Derek Li.) Squirrel also opened a joint research lab with Carnegie Mellon University this year to study personalized learning at scale, then export it globally. But experts worry about the direction this rush to AI in education is taking. At best, they say, AI can help teachers foster their students’ interests and strengths. At worst, it could further entrench a global trend toward standardized learning and testing, leaving the next generation ill prepared to adapt in a rapidly changing world of work.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614057/china-squirrel-has-started-a-grand-experiment-in-ai-education-it-could-reshape-how-the/

Boeing's 737 MAX software outsourced to $12.80-an-hour engineers

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/boeing-s-737-max-software-outsourced-to-12-80-an-hour-engineers-20190629-p522h4.html

Chinese electric car company BYD Co, in which Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway holds a stake of 25 per cent, has signed a deal with an Adelaide-based group to produce an electric car for the Australian market from late 2020.

https://www.afr.com/business/transport/warren-buffett-backed-byd-in-australian-electric-car-deal-20190515-p51nlk

Jaguar is willing to pay you to drive your car and it is all about connection, according to the British maker. The company will pay drivers in cryptocurrency for providing road data including traffic conditions and pothole locations. The data will then be passed on to navigation companies and local authorities to help improve traffic flow and expedite road repairs. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is developing a “Smart Wallet” to hold the cryptocurrency. It will allow users of connected cars to pay for a range of products including tolls, parking fees and electric vehicle charging.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/motoring/hitech/jaguar-could-pay-you-every-time-you-drive-your-car/news-story/0fe661372fb5e0cfb7200f3253fedfe5

At Blakehurst High School in the south of Sydney 16 students play 90 minutes of competitive video games after school each week. About 45 minutes is practice and the rest is spent playing the hugely popular battle game "League of Legends" for points, as part of the META High School eSports league (MHSE) run by AFL club Adelaide Crows and game publisher Riot Games. “We have better group communication. Before that we didn’t have connections to some of the students. We have bonded and ask questions about school and help when we struggle with assignments and work." "The buried treasure for teachers is students building confidence in their skills," Mr Hewetson said. "There’s a lot of encouragement when someone pulls something off in the game and that gives a natural lift to everyone.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/buried-treasure-high-school-gamers-at-forefront-of-esports-growth-20190417-p51f18.html

The 6 reasons why Huawei gives the US and its allies security nightmares The biggest fear is that China could exploit the telecom giant’s gear to wreak havoc in a crisis.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612556/the-6-reasons-why-huawei-gives-the-us-and-its-allies-security-nightmares/

From fishing village to the world stage: inside China's Silicon Valley

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/from-fishing-village-to-the-world-stage-inside-china-s-silicon-valley-20181213-p50m4f.html

China tests opening up social credit scores with debt map. Nicknamed the Deadbeat Map, the applet is an add-on to Chinese social media platform WeChat. It allows users to pinpoint the location of those within a 500-metre radius who have failed to pay their debts.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2019/01/24/china-social-credit-scores-debt-map/