Countless people have chosen to quit Facebook over the years, but last week's mass exodus felt more significant. "I'm going to pull my photos and delete by the end of the week for good," wrote one user on her timeline, as allegations of Facebook's misuse of personal data escalated, and one of the firm's early investors, Roger McNamee, talked of a "cavalier disregard of their obligations to users". But other people found themselves in a quandary when confronted with the #DeleteFacebook hashtag. "Without it I will lose contact with a great many people who I genuinely care about," confessed one.
Anyone who followed advice to turn off connections between Facebook and third-party apps – games, news feeds, taxi services and more – would have received warnings, such as "You will not be able to log into websites or applications," or "Your friends won't be able to interact and share with you using apps and websites."
Facebook is intertwined with our lives
This prompted a realisation of how intertwined Facebook is with our lives, and the choice was stark: either undergo a highly disruptive digital detox or allow Facebook to continue using their data in ways that are still not fully understood.
How can the GDPR help?
That widespread sense of powerlessness has led the EU to introduce a new set of data protection regulations to be enforced from May 25, known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). They come at a critical time, as the story of Cambridge Analytica and its alleged misuse of Facebook data to create 30 million “psychographic” profiles continues to gather momentum. As the world gets used to the idea that frivolous online personality quizzes might be harnessed to influence national elections, the GDPR is designed to rebalance power between EU citizens and global technology firms, but its impact will be felt far beyond the EU.
Its measures include allowing people free access to their own data; the ability to extract, delete and move it; greater information about who holds that data, for what purpose and for how long; the power to deny businesses the ability to use that data for any purpose other than the reason it was collected; and, crucially, fines for non-compliance of up to 4 per cent of a firm’s global annual revenue or €20 million (Dh91m) – whichever is greater. Last week, McNamee referred to GDPR as a “brilliant idea”. “The notion that [our] relationship with these companies should be less one-sided will fix an enormous part of the problem,” he said.
You are the product
Privacy campaigners have pointed out for many years that if a service is free, then you yourself are the product. It’s never been an easy notion to fully comprehend, but as artificial intelligence techniques become more sophisticated and our data is made to work harder, the enormous value of that data is becoming more apparent. The European Commission estimates that the value of EU citizens’ data alone will reach €1 trillion by 2020.
"We have accepted the bargain offered to us without thinking about it too much," said Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusion, in a BBC radio interview last week. "The bargain was that we can get services for free and the cost is underwritten by advertisers. We're beginning to see the consequences of that."
The Privacy Paradox
The severity of the consequences is largely down to our failure to understand the terms and conditions of the bargains we opted into. The so-called Privacy Paradox - we hate our privacy being compromised but seem willing to give it up in return for convenience - is still very much in evidence.
The smokescreen concealing how our data is actually used feeds into this paradox, and its existence has been freely admitted by the industry. Last year, Andrew Ng, then chief scientist at Chinese search engine Baidu, said: “We often launch products not for the revenue but for the data, and monetise the data through a different product.”
That transformation of data into cash, assisted by toothless data regulations devised many years ago, has undoubtedly boosted the corporate might of Silicon Valley.
The smokescreen, however, is lifting. “It’s becoming evident to many more people that business models relying on the collection and commercial exploitation of personal data are deeply broken,” says Francesca Bria, co-ordinator for Decode, an EU project that develops tools to give people more control over how their data is used. “Big tech firms are behaving like feudal lords that control the infrastructure of the digital world,” she says.
The GDPR is an attempt to break up that feudal system, and in recent weeks Silicon Valley’s biggest firms have been rushing to comply with GDPR by introducing privacy dashboards that give people access to their data. Some analysts believe that the GDPR’s ban on selling advertising based upon personal information will have even greater consequences for digital firms, and while Facebook disputes that its business model is under threat, it has reportedly assembled its biggest ever cross-departmental team to deal with implementing the EU’s requirements.
Bria believes that people across the world will benefit from GDPR. “It can become the framework for all countries,” she says. “It’s now at the top of the agenda of policymakers in Europe, and these issues are being pushed at the level of the World Information Summit and World Trade Organisation negotiations. This way, we can reach critical mass and push forward an alternative model that preserves rights and enhances privacy.”
Our new-found understanding of how personal data can be used to influence the democratic process has led to speculation over how it might influence our general behaviour, from spending patterns to emotional outbursts.
Francois Chollet, a researcher at Google, gave his own insight last week in a series of posts on Twitter. “The human mind is a static, vulnerable system,” he said, “that will come increasingly under attack from ever-smarter AI algorithms [with] a complete view of everything we do and believe, and complete control of the information we consume.”
Some believe that actions to try to prevent this outcome are too little too late, but while GDPR exercises its regulatory muscle, Bria’s Decode project is attempting to build new data gathering systems which she hopes will underpin the future of AI across sectors such as health care, education and mobility.
“We’re at the very beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” she says, “There may be an argument that it’s too late when these technology giants dominate the market. But actually, there is still time.”
_______________
Read more:
After Cambridge Analytica, can we ever trust social media again?
Amid Facebook data mishandling crisis, Apple's Tim Cook calls for more regulations
Deleting Facebook will not stop your data being accessed
_______________
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
FIGHT CARD
Fights start from 6pm Friday, January 31
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) v Ahmed Saeb (IRQ)
Women’s bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (SWE) v Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (JOR) v Vitalii Stoian (UKR)
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) v Ali Dyusenov (UZB)
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) v Delfin Nawen (PHI)
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) v Mohamed El Mokadem (EGY)
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Ramadan Noaman (EGY)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Reydon Romero (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Juho Valamaa (FIN)
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) v Austin Arnett (USA)
Super heavyweight
Roman Wehbe (LEB) v Maciej Sosnowski (POL)
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
THE HOLDOVERS
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
UAE SQUAD
Jemma Eley, Maria Michailidou, Molly Fuller, Chloe Andrews (of Dubai College), Eliza Petricola, Holly Guerin, Yasmin Craig, Caitlin Gowdy (Dubai English Speaking College), Claire Janssen, Cristiana Morall (Jumeirah English Speaking School), Tessa Mies (Jebel Ali School), Mila Morgan (Cranleigh Abu Dhabi).
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Consoles: PC, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X and S
Rating: 4/5
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 101hp
Torque: 135Nm
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Price: From Dh79,900
On sale: Now
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90+4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
The years Ramadan fell in May
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Mental health support in the UAE
● Estijaba helpline: 8001717
● UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention hotline: 045192519
● UAE Mental health support line: 800 4673 (Hope)
More information at hope.hw.gov.ae