Fight For Your Rights To Privacy

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Fight For Your Rights To Privacy
Number 3749
Broadcast Date MARCH 30, 2020
Episode Length 30:27
Hosts Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang
Guests Molly Wood

As health authorities race to contact trace infected patients with people in the public, many are turning to smartphones as a way to speed-up the process. But are there privacy issues related to this method and how can they be mitigated?

Guest

Quick Hits

Microsoft announced use of Azure services in regions with shelter-in-place orders increased 775% with use of services like Microsoft Teams, Windows Virtual Desktop, and Power BI. The company announced last week that it would be prioritizing Azure services to first responders, medical facilities and other healthcare applications.
Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island walked off the job Monday demanding better treatment during the COVID-19 outbreak. Workers at Amazon-owned Whole Foods are organizing a sick-out for Tuesday demanding paid sick leave for those who self-quarantine, free virus testing and hazard pay. And the Gig Workers Collective is calling for Instacart shoppers to strike in a call for sick pay.
Zoom updated its iOS app to stop sending device data to Facebook. According to a Zoom spokesperson, the company will eventually remove the Login with Facebook SDK entirely, and allow users to login with Facebook through a browser.
After shutting down a little over a month ago, HQ Trivia returned over the weekend, announcing it had been acquired by an undisclosed investor. Sources tell The Verge that more episodes will air regularly in the future, although an actual schedule hasn't been announced.
AMD introduced the Ryzen 4000 series of mobile APUs at CES, and the first reviews of the new chips are out today. PCMag found the 8-core Ryzen 9 4900HS chip in the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop offered comparable or better performance than current Intel i9 mobile chips, but significantly, was able to put the 4900HS in a 14-inch 3.5 pound laptop. Reviewers also saw strong battery life from the Zephyrus G14, with The Verge getting almost 9 hours on a charge with general use. AMD has competed with Intel on desktop performance since the launch of its Zen architecture in 2017, but the initial Ryzen 4000 reviews seem to show that AMD is now competitive in mobile as well.
Alan Mauldin, with the consulting firm TeleGeography, wrote about the impact COVID-19 is having on the undersea cable industry. Cable factories are running close to capacity to meet demand, but quarantines have led one manufacturer to close two major factories, pushing back deployments. The good news is that the existing cable framework has plenty of existing capacity that can be lit up. The bad news is that these cables need frequent maintenance, with over 100 breaks a year on average. Repairing these cables requires manned crews, as well as permits from governments to access ports and territorial waters, something that was already experiencing delays prior to the pandemic. While access to networks has been a priority for those working from home, Mauldin calls for governments to expedite this permit process to ensure the backhaul can keep up.

Top Stories

Microsoft announced it will add new features to its Office 365 subscription service and rename it Microsoft 365. Along with the normal Office apps you'll get Microsoft Editor in Office apps which recommends word choice and more concise ways of writing something. A PowerPoint feature listens as you rehearse and recommends changes. Excel can connect with banks to download spending data. And Family Safety lets parents monitor kids screen time on Windows, Android and Xbox. It shows which apps are being used and offers change of location alerts. There are also third-party integrations with software from Adobe, Headspace and Bark. The price stays the same when it becomes available April 21: $6.99 per month for an individual plan and $9.99 per month for a family of up to six people.
Microsoft announced a consumer version of Teams will launch later this year. It will include tools suited for families and small groups. Along with the expected features there will be some specific ones like sharing grocery lists, organizing family calendars and storing things like WiFi passwords and other account info shared in a family or group. Microsoft Teams for Android and iOS will get these new features in preview “in the coming months.” What about the fate of Skype? Microsoft’s corporate VP for Modern Life, Search and Devices Yusuf Mehdi told TechCrunch, “We remain committed to Skype. Skype today is used by a hundred million people on a monthly basis. The way I think about it is that Skype is a great solution today for personal use. A lot of broadcast companies use it as well."
The Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge is getting vertical tabs in its preview channels within the next few months. It will also get Smart Copy which can do things like preserve table formatting when you copy from a website. Password Monitor in Edge will notify you if it finds one of your passwords has been stolen, and directs you to the proper page to change your password. Microsoft also announced its Collections bookmarking feature will come to mobile later this year.

Roundup of what tech is doing to help fight COVID-19

Medical device maker Abbott received emergency use authorization from the US FDA for use of its existing ID NOW lab-in-a-box for COVID-19 testing. This uses molecular testing to look for viral RNA, and can be used outside of a hospital, and return positive results within 5 minutes, or an all-clear within 13 minutes. Abbott hopes to be able to deliver 50,000 tests per day by next week.
Fuel cell maker Bloom energy is delivering 170 certified repaired ventilators to Los Angeles that had been in storage since the mid-2000s and did not work properly. The original manufacturer said it would take a month to fix them. Bloom believes it can refurbish close to 1,000 a week and is looking for more to repair.
The German space agency DLR announced it successfully tested converting its aerospace-grade 3D printers to make medical equipment like ventilators and face masks. The work comes from the agencies Sytemhaus Technik engineering group, which used crowdsourced and open source templates for manufacturing. DLR is sharing what it learned with other institutions to help ramp up production, and working on getting their products certified by healthcare agencies.
The lab management company Battelle received special emergency authorization from the US FDA to implement a system to decontaminate N95 respirator masks using concentrated hydrogen peroxide. These masks are designed for single use, but the decontamination system allows them to be used up to 20 times. The process takes 2.5 hours, and Battelle currently has capacity for 80,000 masks per day. The company is partnering with the Columbus based OhioHealth as its first healthcare-system partner.

Discussion

Germany hopes to launch a smartphone app within weeks to trace people infected by the coronavirus. Like Singapore's TraceTogether app, the system is voluntary and uses Bluetooth to alert users of others nearby. The Fraunhofer Institute for Telecoms, Heinrich Hertz Institute is working with others in Europe to save the duration and contact between people for two weeks on cell phones anonymously without using location data. The effort has gained support across party lines.
The Wall Street Journal's sources say the US CDC, and state and local governments have used anonymized location data from mobile ads to aid in pandemic response plans. Data is received through the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network project coordinated by Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton and other schools, with the goal of creating a portal with information on up to 500 cities in the US.
Are these different?

In a recent Engadget piece, Violet Blue points out that while South Korea and European Union countries have turned to smartphone apps and services to track citizens, these countries have strong privacy legislation that put limits on the long term impacts.

European countries must meet GDPR requirements to collect data.

Singapore has privacy laws that require individual consent.

In Korea for example people know what was collected, how it would be used and when it would be erased. On March 9, South Korea's vice health minister Kim Gang-lip said, “Public participation must be secured through openness and transparency." Adding, his team was making efforts to “respect creative thinking and use cutting-edge technology to develop the most effective means of response.”

The tracking is also only worthwhile combined with testing and other efforts to help people. She writes, "most of the countries showing success with coronavirus tracing have unique, current legislation specific to pandemics with provisions on data collection."

Thing of the Day

Chris Christensen has a tip for those working from home and getting used to remote working software… namely, Slack.

Mailbag

I just want you to know how much I appreciate GDI because you, your regulars, and guests are such good human beings. GDI has grown my affection for you and my appreciation of what a great tech show you have created.
I have learned so much from you about the tech world. Not just the news, but what it might mean and how it fits into how we live, act, and think as people living together in this time.
I truly enjoy the banter before and after the show and what you share with me and your other listeners.
Thank you.
Sent by Rob from a rainy and cold Toronto suburb

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Links



Preceded by:
"Zoom Responsibly" 		Fight For Your Rights To Privacy
 Followed by:
"This is Your Brain on Text"
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