MIT Technology Review/The Download: Facebook still wants to gobble your data

MIT Technology Review
The Download
Facebook still wants to gobble your data  
MIT Technology Review   
04.19
  
The Download
  
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Good morning! Here are today's most important stories in emerging technology.

Facebook still wants to gobble up your data.

The company says it’s improving the way it handles your privacy—but with a business model centered on personal data gorges, don't expect a total U-turn.
Backstory: Every Facebook user, except those in America and Canada, signs up to terms of service agreed with the firm’s HQ in Ireland. That makes every one of them eligible for increased protection under the EU’s new GDPR data rules.
The news: Reuters says Facebook will change that, so only European users are eligible. Users elsewhere would then be governed by (weaker) US privacy laws.
Facebook says: It will extend new privacy measures to comply with the EU rules “to everyone, no matter where you live.” First in Europe, then the rest of the world.
But: Changing terms-of-service regions would give Facebook room to handle data differently for 1.5B users, and mean non-EU users have reduced legal recourse.
Plus: Sandy Parakilas, an ex-Facebook staffer who warned the firm about privacy issues, tells Wired that the company's new privacy setting pages to comply with EU rules “manipulate you into doing the thing they want.” Which is, handing over data.
Bottom line: Facebook depends on data. It won't be rolling over to give it all up.

The plan to watch all of Earth with video cameras.
A new satellite project called EarthNow aims to cover our entire planet in detailed, real-time video surveillance. And it has some big-name backers who like the idea.
The details: The Wall Street Journal says the company will launch 500 satellites, each one equipped with huge computing power to interpret what its cameras are capturing in real time. There’s no word on details like resolution or frame-rate.
Huge support: The firm revealed Wednesday that it’s backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Airbus. Cash figures remain secret.
Big brother is watching: EarthNow users should get a live picture of anywhere on Earth with about one second of delay. That, says the firm, will help catch illegal fishing, track whale migration, and study conflict zones. And who knows what else.

Gene therapy may free people from blood transfusions.

Fixing a genetic mutation lets beta thalassemia patients make healthy blood cells.
The news: An experimental treatment for the inherited blood disorder allowed 15 out of 22 participants to stop blood transfusions entirely. The other seven patients, most suffering from a severe form of the disease, now need transfusions less often.
Long-lasting cure: Doctors followed patients for up to three and a half years, and the treatment, made by Bluebird Bio, didn’t appear to wear off during that time.
Why it matters: About 288,000 people worldwide have beta thalassemia, and treating the disease requires a lifetime of transfusions and costs $720,000 over 50 years. The new treatment could cut both medical interventions and cost.

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Ten Fascinating Things

Our roundup of today's top tech news to get you thinking and debating.
1
  
Amazon has 100 million Prime members
And sells “tens of millions” of Alexa devices. Good luck, Walmart. (SEC)
2
  
Facebook wants to build its own AI chips
Chasing Google and Apple, it’s building a silicon team of its own. (Bloomberg)
3
  

Cryptocurrencies aren’t as private as you think
And here’s how cyber-sleuths can track down criminals that use them. (TR)
4
  

Tesla is being investigated over workplace conditions
Investigators will assess if the automaker properly records injuries. (Reuters)
5
  
Marissa Mayer is back
She’s starting a technology incubator called Lumi Labs. (Bloomberg)
6
  

AI could identify malware as easily as it does cats
Neural networks will be trained on a huge database of computer nasties. (TR)
7
  
Electric scooters are the new Uber
In the sense that cities find them really annoying, anyway. (Bloomberg)
8
  

How is America preparing for the future of work?
Jay Shambaugh, a former economic adviser to Obama, explains. (TR)
9
  

Eric Schmidt says Big Tech must work with the military on AI
But only once companies can agree on a set of guiding principles. (Verge)
10
  
Watch a pair of robots assemble an IKEA chair
They’re pretty good. And more patient than you. (IEEE Spectrum)

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Quote of the Day

“There’s no reason we should let [large, data-gathering firms] exist if the price is knowing everything about us. Let them disappear. They’re not important—our human rights are important.”

— Pioneering computer programmer Richard Stallman explains exactly what he thinks about corporations hoovering up personal data. (NYmag)
Jamie Condliffe
  
Top images by Facebook / Jamie Condliffe.

Please send your eye in the sky to hi@technologyreview.com.

Follow me on Twitter at @jme_c. Thanks for reading!

— Jamie
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