1. Countering an Authoritarian Overhaul of the Internet (Freedom House)

At home and on the international stage, authoritarians are on a campaign to divide the open internet into a patchwork of repressive enclaves. More governments than ever are exerting control over what people can access and share online by blocking foreign websites, hoarding personal data, and centralizing their countries’ technical infrastructure. As a result of these trends, global internet freedom has declined for a 12th consecutive year.

2. How Elon Musk is changing Twitter (Vox)

Elon Musk has only been in charge of Twitter since late October. But already, he’s turned the company and its platform upside down. In the days after Musk took over, he booted top executives, slashed rank-and-file headcount, pushed engineers to work harder, and began fast-tracking a hodgepodge of potentially revenue-generating features, including charging users to get or keep a verification check mark.

3. New report released on Open Internet opportunities for the EU-Africa partnership (European Commission)

The European Union (EU)-funded report “The Open Internet as a cornerstone of digitalisation” was released. It sheds light on the crucial role of a free, global, reliable, affordable and secure internet in driving social and economic growth in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

4. Much Ado About Musk (Ilan Manor Blog)

What, then, is the importance of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter? If Twitter is but a component in our information ecology, should we fear its acquisition by an eccentric billionaire with a panache for embroiling himself in scandals? Is there now a new risk to society? Or even democracy?? Over the past week, these questions have been debated passionately by Twitter users, influencers, journalists and pundits. None have offered a clear answer. My answer is “yes”. It matters. For three main reasons.

5. Elon Musk’s challenge to management thinking (The Economist)

Elon musk’s takeover of Twitter raises questions of policy: is it right for the world’s richest man to own such an important forum for public debate? It raises issues of law: is his decision to get rid of so many workers within days of completing the acquisition above board? And it raises questions of strategy: can Twitter make money by moving from a business model based on advertising to one based on subscription? But it is also an extremely public test of a particular style of management. In the way he thinks about work, decision-making and the role of the CEO, Mr Musk is swimming against the tide.

6. How ‘non-verbal communication’ is going digital (BBC)

We’re used to reading body language and silent cues in person. With remote work, subtle ways we communicate are changing – and workers need to know how to adapt.

7. Europe Prepares to Rewrite the Rules of the Internet (Wired)

The Digital Markets Act will force Big Tech platforms to break open their walled gardens in 2023, says the EU’s new ambassador to Silicon Valley.

8. Elon Musk bought Twitter. Now, what’s next? (The Verge)

Read on for the latest updates about what’s going on inside Twitter right now.

9. Security News This Week: TikTok Admits Staff in China Can Access Europeans’ Data (Wired)

There’s no longer a question about whether TikTok staff in China can access Europeans’ data. The company this week announced that it plans to update its privacy policy to explicitly list China as one of the countries where workers can access data from users in the European Union, such as location data that users opt to share.

10. These are the men running Elon Musk’s Twitter (The Washington Post)

Late last month, Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter and immediately fired four of the company’s most senior executives. In their place, he’s installed a small council of lieutenants to assess the company and begin implementing his vision. The group includes Musk’s personal lawyer, his chief of staff, a couple investor friends and a former Twitter executive who left the company years ago.

11. The age of ego-politics: Elon Musk and the power of the tech giants (Julian Ringhof/ECFR)

In times of geopolitical and digital upheaval, Western policymakers should leverage and update the means at their disposal to curb the powers of tech giant.

 

2022-11-08T08:43:25+00:00
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