Brook Bello: Tech and Tech Policy Solutions to End Sex Trafficking (Ep. 160)
Brook Bello joined Joe Miller to discuss how tech policies can help end sex trafficking.
Bio
Dr. Brook Bello (@BrookBello) is Founder and CEO/ED of More Too Life, Inc., -- an anti-sexual violence, human trafficking and youth crime prevention organization that was named by United Way Worldwide as one of the best in the nation. A sought-after international speaker and champion against human trafficking, Dr. Bello has been recognized with countless achievement awards, fellowships and appointment, she was recently named a Google Next Gen Policy Leader, with the ability to learn from leading Google executives and other leaders in profound aspects that deal with world issues in relation to tech and tech policy. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 44thPresident of the United States and the White House in December 2016. She also received the advocate of the year in the state of Florida from Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Attorney Pam Bondi’s Human Trafficking Council.
Dr. Bello is also the author of innovative root cause focused successful curricula such as, RJEDE™ (Restorative Justice End Demand Education) -- a court appointed and volunteer course for violators of sexual violence, prostitution and human trafficking prevention in Miami/Dade, Sarasota and Manatee counties. In addition, LATN™ and LATN D2 (Living Above the Noise) educational mentoring curriculum for victims to prevent sexual violence and human trafficking.
She holds a Masters and PH.D in pastoral clinical counseling and accreditation in pastoral clinical and temperance based counseling. Her bachelor’s is in biblical studies. She also holds two honorary doctorates -- one in humane letters, theology and biblical studies from the Covenant Theological Seminary and Richmond Virginia Seminary.
Her dissertation defends the urgency in spirituality in mental health and the profound pain caused by shame. Bello is also a licensed chaplain and ambassador with the Canadian Institute of Chaplains and Ambassadors (CICA)—the only university accredited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC). She is also an alum of the Skinner Leadership Institute’s Masters Series of Distinguished Leaders. Dr. Bello was chosen 1 of 10 national heroes in a series by Dolphin Digital Media and United Way Worldwide called, The Hero Effect.”
Resources
Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
Life is Not Complicated, You Are by Carlos Wallace
News Roundup
Tech stocks tank following earnings reports
Tech stocks led a slide on major indexes as Amazon posted a two-day decline Monday, eliminating some $127 billion from its market value, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amazon actually posted a $2.88 billion profit in the 3rd quarter—11 times last year’s figure—but its sales increased by only 29%, falling about half a billion dollars shy of the average analyst estimate of $57.1 billion.
Alphabet too missed analyst estimates by about $310 million, coming in with $33.74 billion in revenue in the third quarter, which was up by 21% over last year.
At Twitter, active monthly users declined, but revenue was up 29% to 650 million for the third quarter. Twitter attributed the user decline to its purging of suspicious accounts.
Tesla also reported strong earnings, with $312 million in profits on $6.8 billion in revenue.
As for Snap – it looks like Facebook’s Instagram stories is eroding the platform, although Snap beat estimates, however slightly. Snap lost about 2 million users since the second quarter, but its net loss was two cents per share less than expected, and it also had more revenue than analysts expected -- $297.6 million – which was about $14 million more than analysts’ expectations.
N.Y. Times reports that Trump uses iPhones spied on by Russia/China
The New York Times reported that President Trump uses unsecured iPhones to gossip with colleagues that Chinese and Russian spies routinely eavesdrop on to gather intelligence. President Trump denies the report saying that he only uses a government phone and, in a Tweet, said the New York Times report is “sooo wrong”.
Facebook identifies Iranian misinformation campaign
Facebook identified an Iranian misinformation campaign which led it to delete 82 pages the company says were engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior”. Facebook’s head of cybersecurity Nathaniel Gleicher said the pages had over 1 million followers.
Google paid ‘Father of Android’ $90 million to leave the company following a sexual misconduct allegation
The New York Times reported last week in an investigative report that Google paid Android creator Andy Rubin some $90 million dollars in 2014 when he left the company following sexual misconduct allegations. Google released Rubin with praises from Larry Page even though an internal investigation found the allegations credible, according the New York Times. The newspaper reports that Google similarly protected 2 other executives. Rubin has denied the allegations and, in a letter to Google’s employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote that Google has fired some 48 employees for sexual harassment since 2016.
U.S. launches election protection cyber operation against Russia
U.S. cybercommand has launched a first-of-its-kind mission against Russia to prevent election interference. The initiative followed a Justice Department report released Friday outlining Russia’s campaign of “information warfare”.
Alleged Pittsburgh shooter repeatedly posted violent content on social media prior to mass murder
Before he allegedly murdered 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue, including a 97-year-old holocaust survivor, Robert Bowers allegedly posted hateful and violent content on social media numerous times on Facebook, Twitter, and the alt-right website Gab -- but he still wasn’t on the radar of law enforcement. Joyent, the web hosting platform that hosted Gab, has since banned Gab from using its platform, knocking it offline. Kevin Roose has more in the New York Times.
U.S. restricts exports to Chinese semiconductor firm Fujian Jinhua
The U.S. has decided to restrict exports to Chinese semiconductor firm Fujian Jinhua. The Trump administration says the company stole intellectual property from U.S.-based Micron Technology. The rationale is that if Fujian Jinhua supplies chips to Micron, there’s a risk that the Chinese-manufactured chips would edge out those manufactured by American competitors.
President Trump signs U.S. spectrum strategy
President Trump has signed a memo directing the Commerce Department to develop a spectrum strategy to prepare for 5G wireless. Mr. Trump has also created a Spectrum Task Force to evaluate federal spectrum needs and how spectrum can be shared with private companies.
UK fines Facebook £500,000 for data violations
Finally, the UK has fined Facebook just £500,000 for Cambridge Analytica-related data violations. That’s a little over $640,000— The Guardian notes that Facebook brought in some $40.7 billion last year. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office found that Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of some 1 million Facebook users in the UK via loopholes on Facebook’s platform that allowed developers to access the data of Facebook’s users without their consent.
Tiffany Moore: Trade, 5G, and Beyond: The Policy Landscape for Consumer Tech (Ep. 159)
How will the current trade war with China affect small, American-owned technology manufacturers? What's the potential of 5G for consumer tech? How is the consumer technology industry tackling diversity and inclusion? The Consumer Technology Association's Senior Vice President of Political and Industry Affairs, Tiffany Moore, joined Joe Miller to discuss these and other issues affecting the policy landscape for consumer tech.
Bio
Tiffany Moore (@TiffanyMMoore) currently serves as Senior Vice President of Political and Industry Affairs for the Consumer Technology Association. Promoted to the newly created position in April 2018, Tiffany’s expanded role includes overseeing CTA’s U.S. Jobs, and Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. In addition, Tiffany leads the association’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill on issues including communications and technology policy, patent litigation reform, strategic immigration reform and international trade, and overseeing CTA’s political action committee CTAPAC.
Tiffany joined CTA as Vice President of Government and Political Affairs for the Consumer Technology Association in December 2015.
Previously, Tiffany served as a government relations consultant to CTA as principal at Moore Consulting and strategic consultant with TwinLogic Strategies. In addition to CTA, Moore advised numerous corporate and association clients on how to influence technology and innovation policy before Congress and the Administration. Before launching Moore Consulting, Tiffany served as senior legislative advisor in the Legislative and Government Affairs Practice Group at Venable LLP.
In 2006, Tiffany was appointed Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) by Ambassador Rob Portman. In this role, Moore led domestic outreach efforts to American business, agriculture and consumer communities on the U.S. trade policy agenda and served as primary intermediary with governors, mayors and local elected officials on U.S. trade policy.
Prior to joining USTR, Tiffany served as director of government relations for Kellogg Company and led legislative policy efforts around a broad array of issues including trade, food security, safety, tax and advertising as director, government relations.
Tiffany began her legislative career working in a variety of roles in the office of U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), where she served as legislative director from 2000-2002.
In January 2018, Tiffany was named to the Board of Trustees of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation. Tiffany also serves on the Women’s Health Board of The GW Medical Faculty Associates dedicated to supporting the Mobile Mammography Program (Mammovan). In addition, Tiffany serves on the boards of the Faith and Politics Institute and the Washington Government Relations Group.
A proud native of Detroit, Michigan, Tiffany earned her M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and her B.A. from Western Michigan University.
Resources
Consumer Technology Association
Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation by Gary Shapiro (pre-order)
News Roundup
Twitter purges pro-Saudi bots
Twitter has purged bots that NBC News discovered were simultaneously tweeting pro-Saudi talking points regarding the alleged murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Washington Post also reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered a network of Twitter trolls to attack Kahshoggi’s viewpoints in the days, weeks and months leading up to his disappearance.
Why is Softbank’s CEO still warm on the Saudis?
Several companies have decided to distance themselves from Saudis, following the apparent murder of Jamal Khashoggi. But not Masayoshi Son—head of Japanese conglomerate Softbank, which has made extensive investments in U.S.-based companies, including WeWork, Uber and Slack, and which also owns Sprint. The New York Times has the report.
Russian-linked Twitter bots
Some bots connected to Russia’s Internet Research Agency have also been attempting to interfere with U.S. elections, according to Twitter. Apparently the bots use platforms of automation companies like IFTTT to quickly disseminate tweets. IFTTT says it’s investigating.
The Justice Department also charged a Russian woman-- Elena Khusyaynova—with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Kusyaynova allegedly helped spearhead a campaign to divide Americans via social media.
Ebay sues Amazon
Ebay has sued Amazon in California Superior Court for allegedly poaching sellers by using Ebay’s internal email system. The complaint includes allegations of violations of both civil and criminal statutes.
Richard Parsons resigns from CBS board
Media veteran Richard Parsons has stepped down from the board of CBS, including as Interim Chairman, citing health issues related to a rare blood cancer he was diagnosed with several years ago. Strauss Zelnick will take up the reigns as interim chair. Zelnick is seasoned in all areas of the entertainment industry, including as CEO of Take Two Interactive—the creators of the Grand Theft Auto game franchise.
Netflix to take on more debt
Netflix—already under a mountain of debt—is seeking to take on another $2 billion worth, the company announced Monday during an earnings call. It’s the second time this year the company will take on more debt. Netflix was down .94% points at Monday’s close.
Uber considers IPO proposals
Finally, Uber is considering IPO proposals from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, some of which value the ride-sharing company at as much as 120 billion. The valuation exceeds that of the top three U.S. car makers – GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler – combined. Lyft is also said to be considering an IPO next year—its valuation is $15 billion.
Petra Molnar joined us to discuss her new paper which looks at the human rights impact of automated decision-making and immigration.
Bio
Petra Molnar (@PMolnar) is a refugee lawyer and researcher based in Toronto, Canada. She is a former refugee settlement worker who has researched forced migration issues in Canada and internationally including immigration detention, health and human rights, and gender-based violence. She is currently working on a book on resilience in the face of the Syrian conflict. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Master of Arts, Social Antropology, at York University.
Resources
Bots at the Gate: A Human Rights Analysis of Automated Decision-Making in Canada’s Immigration and Refugee System by Petra Molnar (University of Toronto, 2018)
News Roundup
GAO: “Nearly all” U.S. weapons systems are susceptible to cyber attack
The Government Accountability Office issued a report last week saying that “nearly all” weapons systems reviewed for weaknesses between 2012-2017 were vulnerable to cyberattacks. Testers were able to exploit the security holes using relatively simple tools and techniques, with one team taking only about an hour to hack into the weapons system. A key risk factor among these technologies is that many of them are interconnected, allowing them to transfer information more easily. Ryan Browne has more over at CNN.
Lawmakers demand answers from Google
Top Senate Republicans on the Commerce Committee delivered a letter to Google on Thursday demanding answers about why Google failed to disclose a privacy vulnerability in Google Plus immediately when it discovered it last March. Senators Thune, Moran, and Wicker are especially concerned that Google Chief Privacy Officer didn’t disclose the breach during his Senate testimony several weeks ago. Democrats too are jumping into the fray. Senators Blumenthal, Markey and Udall wrote a separate letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting an investigation into the Google Plus privacy breach. An independent audit conducted by Ernst and Young had approved Google’s security practices earlier this year.
Google drops out of Pentagon bid
Google has decided to drop out of the competition to handle the Pentagon’s cloud computing infrastructure. The contract was worth up to $10 billion. Google said it couldn’t be sure that the contract would align with its AI principles. Thousands of Google employees had signed a letter starting back in April asking Google to withdraw.
Republicans warn of Chinese efforts to sway the midterms
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FBI Director Christopher Wray both stated at a Senate committee hearing last week that China is attempting to sway the U.S. midterm election. However, they did not say that there is any evidence that China is interfering with the U.S.’s election infrastructure. Nielsen said that China’s efforts to sway public opinion are unprecedented. Wray says that China is the most significant long-term threat to U.S. counterintelligence the U.S. faces.
Warner/Rubio ask Canada to ban Huawei from 5G
Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week urging him to ban China-based company Huawei from participating in Canada’s 5G deployment program. The Senators accuse Huawei of being an agent of the Chinese government.
Lyft taps Anthony Foxx to head up its policy team
Lyft has tapped former Obama Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to head up its policy team. Foxx will report directly to Lyft President John Zimmer.
Group warns of malicious emailed ballots
Apparently there are a few jurisdictions that permit voters to submit their ballots via email as an attachment. But election security groups including Common Cause and R St. are warning election officials that these ballots could come laden with malicious software that could grant a hacker backdoor access to election systems. So elections officials need to be wary of malicious ballots submitted by unknown persons. According to the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission, some 100,000 voters submitted ballots via email during the 2016 presidential election.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died. He was 65. The cause was non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates and amassed a $26 billion fortune which he used to build Seattle into a cultural destination and engage in philanthropy. He also owned the Seattle Seahawks. Steve Lohr at The New York Times has a full obituary.
Sean Perryman: How to Promote Diversity & Inclusion in Tech (Ep. 157)
How do the internet sector's efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in tech align with its broader policy agenda? Sean Perryman joined us to discuss.
Bio
Sean Perryman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanperryman/) is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Counsel at the Internet Association. He is responsible for leading IA’s advocacy efforts around diversity, inclusion, and workforce-related policies at the local, state, and federal level.
Prior to joining IA, Sean served as Counsel on the House Oversight Committee, Democratic staff where he advised on technology policy including AI, cybersecurity, and privacy issues. Before working on the Oversight Committee, Sean practiced civil litigation both in Texas and D.C.
Sean is passionate about issues of equity and inclusion. In his spare time he serves as Education Chair for the Fairfax County NAACP. He also regularly writes about issues related to race and advocates for a more equitable society.
Sean earned his B.A. from City University of New York- Baruch College. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. A Brooklyn, New York native, he now resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and daughter.
Resources
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
News Roundup
DOJ indicts 7 Russian intelligence officers for conspiracy
The Department of Justice indicted 7 Russian intelligence officers on Thursday on charges that they conspired to conduct malicious cyberattacks against the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Morgan Chalfant reports in the Hill that on that same day, the UK and the Netherlands announced that they had thwarted a Russian-led cyberattack against The Hague’s global chemical weapons watchdog. The indicted officials allegedly work for Russian military intelligence GRU. FBI special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 GRU officials earlier this year for their alleged role in hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Google+ bug exposes 500,000 users to potential data breach
Google announced that as many as 500,000 of its users may have had their personal data exposed from a breach in its unpopular social media platform, Google Plus. The company announced that it discovered the bug back in March but that there is no evidence that anyone exploited the bug. The company also announced that it will be shuttering Google Plus by August of next year.
Facebook executive stokes internal conflict at Facebook for supporting Kavanaugh
Joel Kaplan – Facebook’s vice president for global public policy is under internal fire at Facebook for supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. Kaplan sat directly behind Kavanaugh at the hearing, then threw a party for him to celebrate his confirmation, which reports say Kavanaugh and his wife attended. Kaplan and his wife hosted the party despite apologizing, in a note to Facebook’s staff, in which Kaplan said he recognizes that this moment is a painful one. Kaplan, however, as a private supporter and personal friend of Kavanaugh’s, did not break any company rules, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Victim’s Fitbit data leads to arrest of 90-year-old murder suspect
A Fitbit has led to the arrest of a 90-year-old San Jose man for allegedly murdering his 67-year-old stepdaughter after dropping off a homemade pizza and biscotti, according to police. The police tied the suspect to the victim’s heart rate which, according to her Fitbit device, surged and then rapidly declined while the suspect was still in the house. This was corroborated by surveillance footage, also synced up to internet time, that allegedly shows that his car was still parked outside, thus placing him in the house, when the victim expired.
Amazon announces $15/hour minimum wage but cuts bonuses
Amazon has announced a $15 minimum wage for all of its 250,000 employees, engendering the support of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Amazon also announced that it will begin lobbying Congress to raise the national minimum wage. Target’s minimum hourly wage stands at $12 while Walmart’s stands at $11.
Ranking Member Pallone questions tech CEOS about Russian influence on Kavanaugh hearing
House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone sent several questions to the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter to determine the extent to which Russian trolls impacted debate on the Kavanaugh hearing in ways that resembled Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. U.S. officials believe that Russians have continued their hacking operations against the U.S. Pallone noted that one Facebook Group that was vocal about supporting Kavanaugh, also advocated for boycotting Nike and Colin Kaepernick. Ali Breland reports in the Hill.
Trump administration relaxes restrictions on driverless trucks
Finally, the Trump administration has decided to relax restrictions on driverless trucks—shifting the onus for safety away from the federal government to companies who develop driverless technologies. But transportation Secretary Elain Chao says that the administration continues to be concerned about the effect that driverless vehicles will have on the workforce.
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Alex J. Wood -- Liberator or 'Boss from Hell'?: The Gig Economy's Double Edge
Oxford Internet Institute Researcher Alex J. Wood discusses the gig economy's double edge from the perspective of workers themselves.
Bio
Alex J. Wood (@tom_swing) is a Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. He is a sociologist of work and employment, focusing on the changing nature of employment relations and labour market transformation.
Alex is currently researching new forms of worker voice and collective action in the online gig economy as part of the iLabour project.
Alex previously researched online labour markets and virtual employment relations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia as part of the “Microwork and Virtual Production Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia” project. This project investigates the economic and social implications of new forms of economic activities in the context of ICTs for development.
Alex completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge Department of Sociology where he also worked as Research Associate on an ESRC impact acceleration project to evaluate potential ways of reducing workplace stress resulting from insecure scheduling.
Alex’s PhD (2015) is titled the “The insecure worker: workplace control in the 21st Century”. His PhD focuses on the changing nature of flexible and insecure forms of work such as zero hour contracts. New patterns of working-time flexibility and how this relates to insecurity, well-being, and issues of workplace control and resistance being central to account developed.
He also has a long standing interest in the relationships between industrial relations, union renewal and emerging forms of workplace representation and new patterns of class and inequality.
Previously he received his MPhil in Sociology from the University of Cambridge (2011) with distinction. He received a first class BSc (hons) degree in Politics and Sociology, from Aston University (2009).
Resources
Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy by Alex J. Wood, Mark Graham and Vili Lehdonvirta
News Roundup
New Facebook breach affects 50 million users
Facebook reported a data breach that began to take effect in July of 2017 when Facebook updated its View As feature which allows users to see how their profile looks to specific friends. The company said it didn’t discover the breach until September. While the company didn’t dislose exactly which user data was stolen or who stole it, it did reveal that the hackers obtained access tokens that enabled them to manipulate user accounts. Facebook says it has notified affected users and required them to log back into their accounts.
Elon Musk steps down as Tesla over tweets/SEC fraud investigation
Elon Musk has stepped down as the Chairman of Tesla and will need to pay a $20 million fine for his tweet last month saying he had “funding secured” for a $420 per share buyout of the company. The SEC had sued Musk for the tweet saying it misled investors. The SEC said that the $420 stock price was a weed reference—intended to impress his girlfriend\, rapper Grimes. He was also smoking up on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Obviously he was confused and bewildered—talking in tongues and rapping freestyle.
Federal prosecutors are now probing the ad industry
Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into ad agencies who buy advertising time on behalf of large corporate brands. A recent Association of National Retailers report found that media outlets have been offering ad agencies rebates—cash back after they meet spending threshholds -- but that the money hasn’t been making its way back advertisers. Suzanne Vranica and Nicole Hong report in the Wall Street Journal.
Environmental Protection Agency to dissolve science advisory office
The EPA will be dissolving its science office and ostensibly rolling it into the agency’s Office of Research and Development. This is the same agency that has basically censored the terms “climate change” from its website, speeches and all of pr collateral. It has also stopped giving climate change awards and is working to roll back full efficiency standards.
Federal preemption is trending
The doctrine of Federal pre-emption took center-stage this week in three different areas: net neutrality, privacy, and 5G buildout. Remember the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution makes federal law the supreme law of the land. On the net neutrality front, the state of California passed its own set of net neutrality rules that mirror the ones the FCC passed in 2015 but that Ajit Pai’s FCC repealed earlier this year. The Department of Justice is now suing the state of California, claiming the federal preemption doctrine.
On privacy, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Charter, and Twitter told the Senate Commerce Committee last week that they would support federal privacy regulation that would preempt California’s privacy law, set to go into effect in 2020, which would give California consumers more control over their data. But a national privacy framework that would preempt state privacy rules has support from both sides of the aisle.
And on 5G … the FCC passed new rules last week that would minimize the role of local and state authorities in the review process to build out 5G wireless infrastructure, by limiting fees that local and state authorities charge carriers in order to deploy 5G and capping the shot clock to require local authorities to approve 5G applications within 60 to 90 days.
Verizon begins 5G rollout in 4 cities
Five days following the FCC’s order to limit local and state oversight of 5G deployment, Verizon announced that it would be deploying 5G in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. This makes Verizon the first company in the world to offer 5G on a commercial basis to individual consumers. Brian Fung has more in the Washington Post.
Federal court rules against Uber drivers suing as a class
Finally, the federal District Court of the Northern District of California has ruled to de-certify a class of nearly 240,000 Uber drivers who are suing Uber, saying that they should be considered employees rather than independent contractors. This would entitle them to better benefits and things like reimbursement for gas. The decision was long expected since the US Supreme Court ruled back in May – in Epic Systems v. Louis – that courts are required to honor arbitration agreements that gig workers sign up for. All 240, 000 drivers would now have to pursue their claims individually.