Melanie Channon, University of Bath and Jasmine Fledderjohann, Lancaster University
The world’s population is expected to hit 8 billion people on November 15, according to the UN. Already this has prompted worry about whether there will be enough food, water and energy to support our growing population. While human activity is undoubtedly driving the climate crisis, population growth is a red herring.
By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist
| I’m Samuel Woodhams, a digital rights researcher and journalist based in London.
The saga of the NSO Group’s invasive Pegasus spyware continues, with yet another victim confirmed this month by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and digital rights group, R3D. The organisations said Mexican opposition politician Augustín Basave Alanís was targeted in September 2021, making him the fourth person allegedly hacked during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency. Continue reading |
Parveen Akhtar, Aston University
Following his uncontested run at the top job, Rishi Sunak acquires the less-than-coveted title of second successive un-elected British prime minister to take office in 2022. However, coming from Punjabi heritage, he also takes on the more esteemed title of the nation’s first British Asian leader.
Mallory Knodel,Ryan Polk,Sheetal Kumar
Published: October 05, 2022 | Center for Democracy & Technology
Mallory Knodel is Chief Technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, Ryan Polk is Director of Internet Policy at Internet Society and Sheetal Kumar is Head of Global Engagement and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital.
At the Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented the strongest endorsement of encryption yet by the world body in its report on privacy in the digital age, underlining that the technology that leverages cryptography to secure communications, is crucial to the rights to privacy, access to information, and free expression in an online world. Continue reading
Chris Bryant, University of Bath
Vegetarians have around twice as many depressive episodes as meat-eaters, according to a new study.
The study, based on survey data from Brazil, chimes with earlier research that found higher rates of depression among those who forgo meat. However, the new study suggests that this link exists independent of nutritional intake.
By Rina Chandran
Sept 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A worker loses his job during the pandemic, and signs up to become a driver for a food-delivery app: this was the reality for millions in the past two years, and is also the story of a new Bollywood film that examines the gig economy in India.
Continue reading
Vasilis Katos, Bournemouth University
It’s a crime story fit for the digital era. It was recently reported that a number of restaurants in New York had been targeted by internet scammers threatening to leave unfavourable “one-star” reviews unless they received gift certificates. The same threats were made to eateries in Chicago and San Francisco and it appears that a vegan restaurant received as many as eight one-star reviews in the space of a week before being approached for money.
By Nazih Osseiran
BEIRUT, Sept 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A Saudi app that lets ordinary people “play the role of a police officer” may have alerted authorities to the tweets of a student whose sentencing to 34 years in jail has drawn international condemnation.
Continue reading
OAKLAND, Calif, Aug 15 (Reuters) – America’s tech giants are taking a modern-day crash course in India’s ancient caste system, with Apple (AAPL.O) emerging as an early leader in policies to rid Silicon Valley of a rigid hierarchy that’s segregated Indians for generations.
By Diana Baptista and Avi Asher -Schapiro
MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A week after Pedro Figueroa borrowed 10,000 pesos ($500) from José Cash, a popular Mexican lending app, the barrage of online abuse began.
A slew of WhatsApp messages swamped his phone, threatening harm – to him and his reputation – if he did not pay. Continue reading