Tag Archive for: province

EXCLUSIVE Chinese province targets journalists, foreign students with planned new surveillance system

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BEIJING, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Security officials in one of China’s largest provinces have commissioned a surveillance system they say they want to use to track journalists and international students among other “suspicious people”, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.

A July 29 tender document published on the Henan provincial government’s procurement website – reported in the media for the first time – details plans for a system that can compile individual files on such persons of interest coming to Henan using 3,000 facial recognition cameras that connect to various national and regional databases.

A 5 million yuan ($782,000) contract was awarded on Sept. 17 to Chinese tech company Neusoft (600718.SS), which was required to finish building the system within two months of signing the contract, separate documents published on the Henan government procurement website showed. Reuters was unable to establish if the system is currently operating.

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Shenyang-based Neusoft did not respond to requests for comment.

China is trying to build what some security experts describe as one of the world’s most sophisticated surveillance technology networks, with millions of cameras in public places and increasing use of techniques such as smartphone monitoring and facial recognition.

U.S.-based surveillance research firm IPVM, which has closely tracked the network’s expansion and first identified the Henan document, said the tender was unique in specifying journalists as surveillance targets and providing a blueprint for public security authorities to quickly locate them and obstruct their work.

“While the PRC has a documented history of detaining and punishing journalists for doing their jobs, this document illustrates the first known instance of the PRC building custom security technology to streamline state suppression of journalists,” said IPVM’S Head of Operations Donald Maye, using the initials of the People’s Republic of China.

Reuters was unable to find any documents identifying journalists or foreigners as specific targets of surveillance systems in other parts of China.

The Henan provincial government and police did not respond to…

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They created a mobile food bank. Now, the family behind NL Eats is leaving the province

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Adib Rahman, Mehnaz Tabassum, Saif Ahmed and Shourov Islam—four founders of the nonprofit NL Eats—visiting Terra Nova National Park last summer. (Submitted by Adib Rahman)

The family behind NL Eats — a nonprofit known for the mobile food bank they began during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other community projects—is saying goodbye to Newfoundland and Labrador … at least for now.

Originally from Bangladesh, siblings Adib Rahman, Mahmudul Islam Shourov, Fabiha Tarannum and Mehnaz Tabassum, along with Tabassum’s fiancé, Saif Ahmed, formed NL Eats in 2019.

“We all recently graduated and we were looking for opportunities,” said Adib Rahman, who is the director of marketing for NL Eats.

“We have looked for opportunities in Newfoundland. But because of the pandemic … it’s very, very scarce right now, the opportunities available for youth.”

The family has now moved to Ottawa for work after living in St. John’s for more than six years. Some family members are permanent residents; some, like Rahman and Shourov, are still considered international students in the eyes of the federal government.

“With that status comes a lot of different restrictions,” Rahman said. “A lot of jobs are not available to us. And while we are in the process of our permanent residency right now, it is a lengthy process.”

While the family is sad to go, they’re vowing to make an annual visit.

They even bought a house before they left—and Tabassum said they definitely hope to return in a couple of years. 

In the meantime, they’re all staying very much involved with NL Eats. Working with their staff and volunteers on the ground in Newfoundland, the family will keep overseeing a wide array of community projects.

A mobile food bank and so much more

The Road to Success program is one of their latest ventures. Aimed at helping youth launch their careers through volunteering, paid internships and professional skills building, the family’s departure from Newfoundland actually sparked the idea for the program.

Shourov Islam and Adib Rahman preparing food hampers in St. John’s as part of Project #FoodForThought in June 2020. (Paul Daly/CBC)

“We love Newfoundland and it was very heartbreaking…

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German City Wants Names And Addresses Of Airbnb Hosts; Chinese Province Demands Full Details Of Every Guest Too

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Online services like Airbnb and Uber like to style themselves as part of the “sharing economy”. In truth, they are just new twists on the rental sector, taking advantage of the Internet’s widespread availability to broaden participation and ease negotiation. This has led to a tension between the online services and traditional local regulators, something Techdirt noted in the US, back in 2016. Similar battles are still being fought around the world. Here’s what is happening in Germany, as reported by Out-Law.com:

The City of Munich asked Airbnb to provide it with all advertisements for rooms in the city which exceeded the permissible maximum lease period [of eight weeks in a calendar year]. Specifically, for the period from January 2017 to July 2018, it wanted Airbnb to disclose the addresses of the apartments offered as well as the names and addresses of the hosts.

Airbnb challenged the request before the administrative court in Munich, which has just ruled that the US company must comply with German laws, even though its European office is based in Ireland. It said that the request was lawful, and did not conflict with the EU’s privacy regulations. Finally, it ruled that the City of Munich’s threat to impose a €300,000 fine on Airbnb if it did not comply with its information request was also perfectly OK. Presumably Airbnb will appeal against the decision, but if it is confirmed it could encourage other cities in Germany to make similar requests. At least things there aren’t as bad as in China. According to a post from TechNode:

The eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang will require online home-sharing platforms, including Airbnb, to report owner and guest information to the province’s Public Security Department. The platforms will need to check, register, and report the identity of both parties, including the time the guest plans to arrive and leave the property.

That information provides a very handy way of keeping tabs on people travelling around the province who stay in Airbnb properties and the like. It’s yet another example of how the Chinese authorities are forcing digital services to help keep an eye on every aspect of citizens’ lives.

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BC Auditor general faults province for lax computer security – Vancouver Sun

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Vancouver Sun

BC Auditor general faults province for lax computer security
Vancouver Sun
Technology Minister Amrik Virk said in a statement that the government recognizes its IT controls are the first line of defence against threats and has created a specialized team to oversee computer security issues as well as conduct an annual security …

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