Brazil is sliding into techno-authoritarianism

Apple and Google have launched coronavirus exposure notifications without an app

Sponsored by Fundrise The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology 09.02.20 Good morning! Today: the pandemic is accelerating Brazil's slide towards a tech-enabled surveillance state, and Google and Apple have launched coronavirus exposure notifications that don't require an app. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Brazil is sliding into techno-authoritarianism For many years, Latin America’s largest democracy was a leader on data governance. In 1995, it created the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, a multi-stakeholder body to help the country set principles for internet governance. In 2014, Dilma Rousseff’s government pioneered the Marco Civil (Civil Framework), an internet “bill of rights” lauded by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. Four years later, Brazil’s congress passed a data protection law, the LGPD, closely modeled on Europe’s GDPR.  Recently, though, the country has veered down a more authoritarian path. Even before the pandemic, Brazil had begun creating an extensive data-collection and surveillance infrastructure. In October 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree compelling all federal bodies to share most of the data they hold on Brazilian citizens, from health records to biometric information, and consolidate it in a vast master database, the Cadastro Base do Cidadão (Citizen’s Basic Register). With no debate or public consultation, the measure took many people by surprise. In lowering barriers to the exchange of information, the government says, it hopes to increase the quality and consistency of data it holds. This could—according to the official line—improve public services, cut down on voter fraud, and reduce bureaucracy. In a country with some 210 million people, such a system could speed up the delivery of social welfare and tax benefits, and make public policies more efficient.  But critics have warned that under Bolsonaro’s far-right leadership, this concentration of data will be used to abuse personal privacy and civil liberties. And the covid-19 pandemic appears to be accelerating the country’s slide toward a surveillance state. Read the full story. —Richard Kemeny This story was published in the latest issue of MIT Technology Review, all about technonationalism. Read the rest of the magazine and subscribe. Apple and Google have launched coronavirus exposure notifications without an app The news: Apple and Google have announced they’re expanding their coronavirus exposure warning system so health agencies can take part without needing to create a customized app. Four US states will be the first to sign up to use the revamped system: Maryland, Nevada, Virginia, and Washington, DC. How it works: In states or regions which have enabled the “Exposure Notifications Express” tool, a prompt will flash up on phones with the latest version of Apple or Android’s operating system, informing the user they are able to access it. Apple users just need to tap the screen to enable it. Android users will still have to download an app—however the app is automatically generated for public health authorities by Google. All the agency has to do is provide Apple and Google with some basic information and set up servers to host Bluetooth keys and exposure verification. Why it matters: It’s a promising development at a time when excitement around contact tracing apps has distinctly cooled. However, it’s still not a panacea. These apps will only ever be part of the overall fight against covid-19, which still heavily relies on manual contact tracing, social distancing, and mass testing. What’s next for video games?  MIT Technology Review ran a free event yesterday about how the next generation of video game interfaces will change the way we interact with all types of technology. Gaming is big business, a fact the pandemic has only reaffirmed. The speakers were Brian Anthony of the MIT.nano lab and Julie Shumaker of Unity Technologies, interviewed by our very own senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven. You can go back and watch the whole thing on YouTube. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + The history of the smiley face.   + A rare “singing” dog, long thought to be extinct, has been found in the wild.   + How common are roundabouts? A data mapping journey.   + Jaguars are being reintroduced into the wild in Argentina. (NYT $)   + Are space elevators possible? Sponsor Message The future of real estate investing Fundrise is the platform making investing in private real estate simpler, smarter, and more accessible. Our team has transacted more than $4.9 billion worth of real estate and delivered average annual returns of 8.7% to 12.4% since 2014. Unlike most private real estate investments, Fundrise’s low investment minimums give you the flexibility to invest the right amount, at the right time, to meet your goals. Fundrise's Legal Disclaimer Sign up today. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The US won’t join a global effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine The Trump administration doesn’t like the fact the WHO is co-leading it. (WP $)   + The CDC is halting evictions until the end of the year to stop the spread of covid-19. (Axios) 2 Biden’s campaign has launched yard signs in Animal Crossing They might be seen by more people than the real-life versions these days. (The Verge)   + Big Tech is failing to act on election misinformation. (CNN)   + Twitter is adding context to “trending topics.” Critics say it should ditch the feature entirely. (NYT $)   + Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are investing $300 million to help enable safe voting. (Axios) 3 Microsoft has launched a deepfake detector tool It will give a percentage chance that a video has been artificially manipulated. (TechCrunch) 4 Facebook says Russia targeted left-wing voters for an influence operation It recruited journalists to write for a pseudo news organization called Peace Data. (Reuters)   + Young Africans don’t trust Facebook as a news source. (Quartz) 5 Americans had to flee the US to participate in this year’s world poker series It went fully online, but US laws on internet gambling made everything very complicated. (NYT $) 6 Amazon delivery drivers are hanging their phones in trees to get more work  They’re trying to game the system as competition for jobs intensifies. Bloomberg)   + Amazon is openly hiring union busters. (Vice)   + It’s also spying on its workers in closed Facebook groups. (Vice) 7 TikTok sale talks are have hit a major snag A new order from China means it may be impossible to include its core algorithms in any deal, making it virtually worthless. (WSJ $)   + Trump still thinks the US government is getting a cut of the sale (if it happens.) (Bloomberg $) 8 Keep procrastinating? These smart glasses ping you when you lose focus 👓 And they sound… incredibly distracting. (The Verge) 9 As we moved out of homes and offices, mold moved in Mmm, musty. (Wired $)   + It is pretty much impossible to return to offices safely. (Wired UK)   + Elevators are a big problem. (Wired UK) 10 Self-powered electronics turns paper into keyboards This could make food packaging interactive, or turn a notebook into a mini piano. (The Next Web) Have you registered for CyberSecure, our inaugural event on the business of cyber risk?  This two-day event for executives includes sessions on how to prevent and respond to ransomware, stand up to nation-state hackers, and build a cyber-resilient organization. Purchase your ticket today. Take a stand “We are the animals.” —Preston Estep, a genome scientist who lives in Boston, tells the New York Times about the process of testing homemade “DIY” covid-19 vaccines. Top image credit: STUART BRADFORD Please send your favorite roundabouts to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free Leading with Innovation. 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