Connect with us

Tech

Ecuador Seizes Server of Swedish WikiLeaks Associate Ola Bini

The Swedish software developer and privacy activist with ties to WikiLeaks was taken into custody just hours after Julian Assange.

Published

on

On April 11, just hours after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested, a Swedish software developer and privacy activist with ties to the publisher was also taken into custody in Ecuador.

Ola Bini has been accused of “attempting to “assault the integrity of computer systems” and remains held in pre-trial detention. The Ecuadorian government has claimed that Bini was part of a blackmailing scheme to force President Lenin Moreno to allow Assange to stay in their London embassy, where he had been protected under political asylum since 2011.

Bini and his supporters maintain that this is untrue and that the Ecuadorian government has no evidence to back up their assertions.

On Friday, the Ecuadorian offices of Telconet were raided by the National Police and a server used by Bini was seized. Ecuadorian news site El Comercio reports that the developer has had a contract with the company to provide physical space for the operation of the server since April, 2015.

The company repeatedly claimed that they had no involvement with what Bini did with his server and happily handed it over to the authorities.

“Our business relationship was strictly limited to the provision of space in our data center and connection via our internet service,” the company said in a statement to El Universo.

The Ecuadorian Attorney General’s office posted a photo of a National Police officer examining the server inside the Teleconet offices, along with a statement saying that it is now at the Laboratory of Forensic Sciences.

In a letter from prison, posted to a website set up to support him, Bini wrote that “maybe me being a martyr, kidnapped by the Ecuador government, will serve to start discussions, catch attention and open new ways of fighting. Maybe it will serve to wake some people up.”

The day that Bini was arrested he had tweeted a news article about how the Ecuadorian government believed that there was someone with ties to WikiLeaks living in their nation. He lamented that it was “worrisome” and that it seemed like “a witch hunt.”

Bini has now been jailed for over a month.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tech

Twitter’s Comms Director — Kamala Harris’ Former Press Secretary — Says Platform Has Ordered Trump Campaign to Delete Tweet

Published

on

The communications director for Twitter, who happens to be Kamala Harris’ former press secretary, tweeted on Wednesday that the platform has required President Donald Trump’s campaign delete a tweet containing an interview with the president from their official account.

Communications Director Nick Pacilio wrote that “the original Tweet from @TeamTrump is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation, and we’ve required removal.”

The removal order comes after President Donald Trump quote tweeted their post, which was a video that they say contained “coronavirus misinformation.” During the interview, President Trump stated that kids are “almost immune” to Covid-19.

“The Tweet you referenced is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation. The account owner will be required to remove the tweet before they can tweet again,” Twitter said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Facebook has also removed the video, citing a similar reason.

“This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation,” Facebook said in a statement.

The interview in question was with Fox & Friends and aired Wednesday morning.

When asked during the White House briefing later that day about his assertion, Trump said: “If you look at children, they are able to throw it off very easily and it’s an amazing thing, because some flus they don’t, they get very sick. … They seem to be able to handle it very well, and that’s according to every statistic.”

Continue Reading

Tech

War is Peace: Twitter Trending Page Features Live Video of Portland Burning Under ‘Peaceful Protest’ Headline

Portland has been dealing with riots and aggressive protests for seven days.

Published

on

The Twitter trending tab went full Orwellian on Thursday evening while featuring the Portland “protests.”

The trending page was showing a live video with the headline “US Protests:  Thousands march in peaceful demonstrations through Portland.” The footage, contrary to the title, was a large fire just blocks away from the Justice Center, where mobs had gathered.

Multiple dumpsters and other structures were reportedly lit ablaze in the city around this time.

Shortly after a screen grab of the bizarre headline choice was tweeted by District Herald founder Cassandra Fairbanks, it was changed to “US protests: Thousands march in demonstrations through Portland.”

“A tow truck drives by with a wounded police vehicle, and people cheer raucously. One person shouts ‘burn that car,'” a journalist named Robert Evans tweeted from the protest.

Protests, riots, and general crime have taken over the United States for the last nine days following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police custody last week. There have been reported kidnappings, murders, attacks on police, widespread looting, arson and countless businesses vandalized and destroyed.

Portland has been dealing with riots and aggressive protests for seven of those days.

On Thursday, thousands of people gathered in Tom McCall Waterfront Park for what was largely a peaceful protest until nightfall.

“We’re going to be here every day. We don’t have an end date,” one of the speakers told the crowd at the park, according to a report from the Oregonian.

Around 9 p.m. local time, rumors began circulating of a confrontation between protesters and police, causing the crowd to disperse in different directions. Many headed to the Burnside Bridge or the Chapman Square park across the street from the Multnomah County Justice Center.

By 9:30 p.m., the Portland Police were reporting that they were seeing “criminal activity” with one of the groups of protesters.

The department repeatedly Tweeted throughout the night that “we support everyone’s First Amendment rights and want this to stay peaceful.”

“Those handing out fireworks, this is a peaceful crowd. We want it to remain peaceful. Do not throw fireworks at the crowd or officers. We have children in the crowd,” the department tweeted around 11:30 p.m.

 

Continue Reading

Tech

German Official Invites Twitter to Move to Germany Following Trump’s Executive Order

Germany, of course, is not exactly known for their respect for free speech.

Published

on

A German official has invited Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to move his company there following President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at protecting free speech on social media.

Germany, of course, is not exactly known for their respect for free speech, as they ban anything “capable of inciting popular hatred.” It actually sounds like a perfect match for a platform that arbitrarily bans accounts for edgy banter.

Thomas Jarzombek of Germany’s Economic Affairs Ministry tweeted on Thursday, “Hey @Twitter & @jack, this is an invitation to move to Germany! Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news. We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you!”

He also tagged President Trump in the tweet in an attempt to make sure that his dig would be noticed.

Earlier in the day, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to increase government regulation of the “new public square” by challenging their Section 230 protection from being held liable for content posted by users

Under Section 230, platforms that are not publishers cannot be held liable for most posts by users on their sites. By censoring certain opinions, the platform has crossed the line into acting as a publisher with an editorial line, which is not protected.

“Trump’s directive now could set the stage for federal regulators to write new rules and issue new punishments for companies deemed to exhibit political bias,” the Washington Post explained.

The order also established a council to probe allegations of censorship of users based on their political views and asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether or not content-moderation is falling in line with their pledges of neutrality to users.

“In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand pick the speech that Americans may access and convey on the internet.  This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic.  When large, powerful social media companies censor opinions with which they disagree, they exercise a dangerous power.  They cease functioning as passive bulletin boards, and ought to be viewed and treated as content creators,” the order read.

“The growth of online platforms in recent years raises important questions about applying the ideals of the First Amendment to modern communications technology.  Today, many Americans follow the news, stay in touch with friends and family, and share their views on current events through social media and other online platforms.  As a result, these platforms function in many ways as a 21st century equivalent of the public square.”

Continue Reading

Trending