U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said Monday that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech there.

Facebook had no immediate comment on the criticism Monday, although in the past the company has said that it was working to remove hate speech in Myanmar and kick off people who shared such content consistently.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August. Many have provided harrowing testimonies of executions and rapes by Myanmar security forces.

The U.N. human rights chief said last week he strongly suspected acts of genocide had taken place. Myanmar’s national security adviser demanded “clear evidence.”

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, told reporters that social media had played a “determining role” in Myanmar.

“It has … substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissention and conflict, if you will, within the public. Hate speech is certainly, of course, a part of that. As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media,” he said.

U.N. Myanmar investigator Yanghee Lee said Facebook was a huge part of public, civil and private life, and the government used it to disseminate information to the public.

“Everything is done through Facebook in Myanmar,” she told reporters, adding that Facebook had helped the impoverished country but had also been used to spread hate speech.

“It was used to convey public messages, but we know that the ultra-nationalist Buddhists have their own Facebooks and are really inciting a lot of violence and a lot of hatred against the Rohingya or other ethnic minorities,” she said. “I’m afraid that Facebook has now turned into a beast, and not what it originally intended.”

The most prominent of Myanmar’s hardline nationalist monks, Wirathu, emerged from a one-year preaching ban Saturday and said his anti-Muslim rhetoric had nothing to do with violence in Rakhine state.

Facebook suspends and sometimes removes anyone that “consistently shares content promoting hate,” the company said last month in response to a question about Wirathu’s account.

“If a person consistently shares content promoting hate, we may take a range of actions such as temporarily suspending their ability to post and, ultimately, removal of their account.”
…

The inventor of the worldwide web, Tim Berners-Lee, called on Monday for powerful internet platforms and social media companies to be regulated to prevent the internet from being “weaponized at scale.”

The British computer scientist, in an open letter published on the 29th anniversary of the creation of the web, said a “new set of gatekeepers” was now dominant, controlling the spread of ideas and opinions.

“The fact that power is concentrated among so few companies has made it possible to weaponize the web at scale,” he wrote.

“In recent years, we’ve seen conspiracy theories trend on social media platforms, fake Twitter and Facebook accounts stoke social tensions, external actors interfere in elections and criminals steal troves of personal data.”

The intervention by the 62-year-old MIT professor comes as some European governments turn to legislation to curb “fake” news and hate speech that they fear is undermining the basis of their democracies.

In Germany, a law entered force on January 1 that foresees fines of up to 50 million euros ($62 million) on internet platforms that fail to remove hate speech — which is illegal — within 24 hours.

French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile plans legislation that would empower judges to order the removal of fake news during election campaigns.

And in Brussels, the European Commission has served notice to internet platforms that they must find a way to remove extremist content within one hour of being notified, or face legislation compelling them to do so.

Berners-Lee, whose Web Foundation campaigns for a more open and inclusive internet, doubted that companies that have been built to maximize profits can adequately address the problem on a voluntary basis.

“A legal or regulatory framework that accounts for social objectives may help ease those problems,” he said.

Expressing concern over how big internet platforms handle users’ data in targeting advertising, Berners-Lee said a balance needed to be found between the interests of companies and online citizens.

“This means thinking about how we align the incentives of the tech sector with those of users and society at large, and consulting a diverse cross-section of society in the process.”
…

What originally started as a music festival in the 1980s has evolved into an event that is much bigger and harder to define. Imagine networking and partying for more than a week. That is what is happening in Austin, Texas. Musicians, film promoters and tech companies from around the world are gathering for the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details from Austin.
…

Space scientists say the satellites and other spacecraft orbiting the Earth, including the International Space Station, are in increasing danger of collision with pieces of junk. Engineers are working hard to solve the problem of removing the trash that threatens functioning satellites worth millions of dollars. VOA’s George Putic reports.
…

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged over $850 million for solar projects in emerging economies, as both India and France called for affordable solar technology for emerging nations at the first conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in New Delhi.

The alliance was co-founded by both countries two years ago on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit to boost the use of solar power, countering the impact of climate change.

Dozens of country leaders, including many from Africa, attended the meeting in the Indian capital and emphasized the need for access to solar technology and concessional financing to address massive energy shortages in many of their sun-drenched nations.

Promising more loans and donations for solar projects by 2022, Macron stressed the need to remove obstacles in scaling up clean energy.

“We only have one planet, and we are sharing it,” he said.

Pointing to African women called “solar mamas” who are trained in India to use solar technology to light up homes and villages, Macron said they had continued their mission, even after “some countries decided just to leave the floor and leave the Paris agreement” — apparently alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the Paris climate accord.

“Because they decided it was good for them, for their children, their grandchildren. They decided to act and keep acting, and that’s why we are here, in order to act very concretely,” Macron said amid applause.

One hundred and twenty-one countries, situated between the tropics, have signed on to the ISA. Backed by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies, it aims to raise $1 trillion for projects by 2030 for a massive deployment of solar energy.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is chairman of the African Union, pointed out that half the members of the ISA are African countries.

“The sunniest countries in the world should not lack for energy,” he said. “The fact that they do is an unacceptable irony.”

The solar alliance initiative is seen as a bid by India to be at the forefront of countries addressing the challenge of climate change — a departure from its stand some years ago that developed economies should cut their emissions more drastically, rather than pressure developing countries.  

After the U.S. walked out of the Paris accord, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to abide by it. India, which is the world’s third largest polluter, is ramping up solar energy rapidly in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint. The country plans to source at least 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030.

“If you want all of humanity to benefit, then I am confident that we all will come together and think like one family, so that we are able to bring unity in our objectives and efforts,” said Modi, advocating a solar revolution worldwide.

United Nations environment chief Erik Solheim, who attended the meeting in New Delhi, called the ISA a “milestone” in the fight against climate change and pollution.

 
…

A quick and reliable way of detecting carbon monoxide gas in the bloodstream could act as an early warning system for doctors trying to diagnose diseases. Faith Lapidus reports.
…

Technology increasingly relies on rechargeable batteries as a source of energy. Today’s batteries are better and last longer, but when their capacity drops under a certain level they have to be replaced. Some experts say that, even with a half of their capacity, batteries can be used for less critical purposes. VOA’s George Putic has more.
…

Facebook is getting deeper into the professional sports streaming game, partnering with Major League Baseball to air 25 weekday afternoon games in an exclusive deal.

The games will be available to Facebook users in the U.S. on Facebook Watch, the company’s video feature announced last August, via the MLB Live show page. Facebook said Friday that recorded broadcasts will also be available globally, excluding select international markets.

The package, MLB’s first digital-only national broadcast agreement, precludes teams from televising those games on their regional sports networks. The concept is similar to the exclusive package of Sunday night games on ESPN.

Facebook, Twitter and Amazon and other tech companies are in a race to acquire sports streaming rights, which can be lucrative and potentially boost user loyalty. The deal comes at a time when leagues are worrying about cord-cutters causing a decrease in viewers among cable television networks.

Verizon signed a deal with the NBA to stream eight basketball games on Yahoo, and Amazon paid $50 million to stream NFL games to Prime members last season.

The games will be produced by the MLB Network for Facebook Watch, with interactive and social elements that differentiate them from live streaming.

Facebook’s first-month schedule includes Philadelphia-New York Mets on April 4, Milwaukee-St. Louis on April 11, Kansas City-Toronto on April 18 and Arizona-Philadelphia on April 26.

Facebook had a package of 20 non-exclusive Friday night games last year that began in mid-May and used broadcast feeds from the participating teams.
…

Researchers in Sweden have embarked on a four-year project whose aim is to understand one of the most complex animal “languages” — the one dolphins use to communicate with each other. VOA’s George Putic has details.
…

A Canadian company’s hardware is being used to hack internet users along Turkey’s border with Syria, researchers said Friday, adding that there were signs that Kurdish forces aligned with the United States might have been targeted.

The revelation comes as Turkey presses its offensive against the Kurds dug in along the country’s frontier with northwestern Syria, a conflict that threatens to disrupt the American-led effort to extinguish the Islamic State group. The apparent use of Canadian technology to target a U.S. ally was an irony underlined by Ron Deibert, the director of the internet watchdog group Citizen Lab, which published a report on the spying.

“These companies are not closely regulated, and that can lead to a lot of unintended consequences, including consequences that harm our foreign policy interests and human rights interest as well,” Deibert said. “It’s a strong argument for government control over this kind of technology.”

Canadian tech

Citizen Lab identified the hardware behind the hacking as PacketLogic devices produced by Procera, a Fremont, California-based company that was recently folded into Canada-based network management firm Sandvine, which is owned by American private equity group Francisco Partners. 

In a statement issued before the report’s release, Sandvine said it investigates all allegations of abuse but said it had been unable to complete its inquiry because Citizen Lab refused to provide the company with its findings in full. 

“Once we have the necessary data, we will conduct a full investigation and take appropriate action,” Sandvine said.

The statement also said Citizen Lab’s allegations were “technically inaccurate and intentionally misleading,” but a representative for the company has yet to supply an example of a misleading or inaccurate claim.

Government spying

Citizen Lab said it discovered the hacking after a European cybersecurity company reported that network service providers in two unidentified countries were trying to compromise their users using a powerful hacking technique known as network injection. Citizen Lab scoured the internet for signs of the spying and eventually traced the activity to the Turkish provinces of Adana, Hatay, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir and to the Turkish capital, Ankara, as well as parts of northern Syria and Egypt. 

Network injection — so-called because malicious software is injected into everyday internet traffic by whoever controls the network — has long been feared as a particularly powerful form of government spying.

“This can potentially be used to target anyone in the country with the click of the button,” said Bill Marczak, the lead author of the report.

Although the identities of those being spied on in Turkey and Egypt aren’t clear, Marczak said that the devices appeared to be installed on the network belonging to Turk Telekom, a leading phone and internet provider in Turkey as well as parts of northern Syria. He said there were hints suggesting some of the targets are affiliated with the YPG, the Kurdish Marxist rebel group which is fighting Turkish forces for control of the northwestern Syrian province of Afrin. Although Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization, the group provides the backbone of the U.S.-backed operations against the Islamic State in eastern Syria.

American officials acknowledged Monday that ground operations against the jihadist group’s remnants in eastern Syria were on hold because Kurdish fighters were being diverted to the battle against Turkey. 

Turk Telekom statement

Turk Telekom said in a statement that it complies with Turkish law and doesn’t interfere with internet users’ access. It added that the company “does not redirect any internet user to receive malicious downloads of popular software applications.” A representative for the company did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.

Sandvine’s ties to the Turkey government have been the subject of previous reporting. In 2016, Forbes reported that engineers at Procera were so troubled at the prospect of supplying surveillance hardware for use by Turk Telekom that six of them quit in protest. 

“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with the regret of having been a part of (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s insanity, so I’m out,” one the engineers said in a letter of resignation quoted by Forbes.

LinkedIn shows at least 16 Procera-Sandvine employees listed as working in Egypt or Turkey. One Sandvine engineer based in Cairo listed “lawful interception” — a commonly used euphemism for state-sanctioned surveillance — as one of his interests.
…

Students around the United States are creating virtual businesses that produce simulated products, which are marketed and sold for virtual money. Mike O’Sullivan reports that hundreds of student entrepreneurs came to Pasadena, California, to promote the virtual companies they have created.
…

A federal judge is expected to hear arguments on Thursday about whether President Donald Trump violated Twitter users’ free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution by blocking them from his account.

The arguments before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan are part of a lawsuit brought last July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and several individual Twitter users.

Trump and the plaintiffs are seeking summary judgment, asking Buchwald to decide the case in their favor without a trial.

Twitter lets users post short snippets of text, called tweets. Other users may respond to those tweets. When one user blocks another, the blocked user cannot respond to the blocker’s tweets.

The plaintiffs have accused Trump of blocking a number of accounts whose owners criticized, mocked or disagreed with him in replies to his tweets.

They argued that Trump’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, is a public forum, and that denying them access based on their views violates the First Amendment.

Trump in court papers countered that his use of Twitter is personal, not a “state action.”

Even if it were a state action, he said, his use of Twitter was a form of “government speech,” not a public forum.

Trump’s Twitter use draws intense interest for his unvarnished commentary, including attacks on critics. His tweets often shape news and are retweeted tens of thousands of times.
…