From Ben Evans: "Covid brought shock and a lot of broken habits to tech, but mostly, it accelerates everything that was already changing. For that and lots of other reasons, tech is becoming a regulated industry, but if we step over the slogans, what does that actually mean? Tech is entering its second 50 years."

In recent months, the audio-based social media app Clubhouse has emerged as Silicon Valley's latest disruptive darling. The format feels familiar: part Twitter, part Facebook Live, part talking on the phone. But as Clubhouse continues to expand, its security and privacy failings have come under increased scrutiny—and left the company scrambling to correct problems and manage expectations.

Over a decade of “disciplined” democracy, the Myanmar military and the security forces under their control has built up an arsenal of digital weapons now utilised as part of the junta's brutal crackdown against protesters peacefully resisting the unlawful military coup.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said the EU executive would propose a digital vaccination passport later this month. Members states will then decide whether to press ahead with the scheme to allow each other to recognize citizens' proof of vaccination.

Axel Voss, one of the fathers of the General Data Protection Regulation, told the Financial Times that it needs to be revised to take into account not only the widespread move to homeworking, but also the emergence of a host of new technologies.
(original article in Financial Times - paywalled)

The Ada Lovelace Institute published a report exploring 3 legal mechanisms that could help facilitate responsible data use and management: Data Trusts, Data Cooperatives, and Corporate & Contractual Mechanisms.

Google is leading the charge to replace third-party cookies with a new suite of technologies to target ads on the Web. And some of its proposals show that it hasn’t learned the right lessons from the ongoing backlash to the surveillance business model: Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) is potentially the most harmful of those new technologies.
read also: article on TechCrunch, Github W3C - Improving Web Advertising Business Group, and Google's framing as Privacy Sandbox

This research suggests that the SSI community needs to develop a cohesive design strategy, a clear narrative and vocabulary. Value needs to be defined across cultural context, while targeting accessible, high value niche opportunities to build momentum toward sustainable adoption.