Privacy
The Internet generally and the business models of consumer tech companies specifically mean that the default outcome is the end of privacy.
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Apple’s position on privacy seems unimpeachable, but it ignores trade-offs, and risks a bad outcome for the Internet as a whole.
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The current privacy debate is making things worse by not considering trade-offs, the inherent nature of digital, or the far bigger problems that come with digitizing the offline world.
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Just as encryption is only viable on closed systems, so it is that increased privacy regulations will only entrench walled gardens. That should affect thinking on regulation.
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Epic Systems and Electronic Health Records, Aggregators and Data Portability, Epic’s Privacy Objections
Epic Systems, an electronic health records company, is protesting a mandate that they make consumer health care available via API. Their arguments highlight the tension between interoperability and privacy.
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iCloud Backups and Encryption; Facts, Principles, and Concerns; Determining Defaults
More encryption news, this time about how Apple holds the keys to iCloud backups. I think this approach strikes the right balance: privacy exists, particularly if you work for it, while acknowledging legitimate societal concerns.
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Clearview AI, The Problem with Scraping, Tradeoffs
Clearview AI is billed as a story about facial recognition, but the most important questions it raises is about scraping. And, by doing so, it reveals how many trade-offs we have yet to confront.
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Lime Leaves 12 Cities; Scarcity Amongst Abundance; An Update on Apple, Trump, and Encryption
Scooter companies appear to be struggling, which is not a surprise; still, it is an excuse to re-visit assumptions around ride-sharing in comparison, and an generalizable principle about Aggregation Theory. Plus, an update on Apple versus the FBI.
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Visa/Plaid Follow-Up; Apple v FBI, Round 2; 2020 Differences
More on Visa/Plaid, including why payments in the U.S. and China are so different. Then, Apple is facing off against the FBI again, but its position is both stronger technologically and weaker politically.
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Apple Versus Project Zero, Apple’s Poor Response, The China Paradox
Apple took on Google’s Project Zero over the weekend, and didn’t come out looking particularly good, particularly since China is a huge paradox for Apple.
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Apple Updates Siri Policy, The Missed Middle Way, Alexa and Automobiles
Apple has updated its Siri policy, but misses a middle way on privacy that Amazon gets right. Then, Alexa has an opening in cars, but probably not for long.