The Agenda: Fix Social Media, Save Democracy
Ron Deibert joins TVO’s the Agenda to discuss his latest book, RESET: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society.
In the Media
Citizen Lab staff and research in the news.
CBC: Despite years of war, this Syrian activist remains hopeful of her country’s future
Citizen Lab researcher, Noura Al-Jizawi, reflects on her years as a leader fighting for democratic liberation in Syria. “Speaking about democracy is a bit easy. But working towards making democracy real is a really hard job,” she says.
New York Times: A Year After Wuhan, China Tells a Tale of Triumph (and No Mistakes)
In their reporting on how China handled the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Times cites Citizen Lab research that outlines information controls on Chinese social media during the outbreak.
The New Yorker: An Air Force Combat Veteran Breached the Senate
John Scott-Railton discusses the techniques he used to help identify individuals in the January 6th insurrection attempts on the US Capitol. Read the full story here.
Al Jazeera: The Business of Surveillance
Citizen Lab director Ronald Deibert joins Al Jazeera to discuss the growing harms of the global surveillance industry.
Toronto Star: Canada’s Huawei-5G decision risks putting it at odds with Five Eyes allies
Speaking with the Toronto Star, Citizen Lab senior research associate, Dr. Christopher Parsons, comments on the United Kingdom’s move to ban Huawei from the country’s 5G infrastructure. As Canada works to articulate its stance on the Chinese company, it must reconcile its unique relationship with Beijing.
The Guardian: Phone of top Catalan politician ‘targeted by government-grade spyware’
Citizen Lab researchers alert pro-independence individuals were targeted in a “possible case of domestic political espionage.”
SCMP: WeChat surveils international accounts to decide what to censor for Chinese users, study says
In order to build up its censorship algorithm, WeChat surveils international accounts to decide what gets through to China-registered users. A Citizen Lab study finds that the messaging app blacklisted more than 500 keyword combinations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Guardian: Malicious forces creating ‘perfect storm’ of coronavirus disinformation
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, experts have witnessed a rise in the number of disinformation and cyber espionage campaigns emerging from state actors, including Russia and China
Toronto Star: Toronto police chief halts use of controversial facial recognition tool
New reporting reveals that Toronto police officers deployed Clearview AI for months before Chief Mark Saunders knew of its use. The controversial facial recognition tool identifies individuals by scanning billions of pictures from the open web, including social media sites