UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday swiped at Silicon Valley fat cats, saying they had grown too rich and powerful from capitalising on the “vast library” of user data they were secretly amassing.
Addressing the UN’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Mr Guterres urged governments to regulate social media platforms, which include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to better protect users’ data.
US, European and Canadian regulators are currently probing Big Tech’s dominance of digital advertising, while Australia’s government is embroiled in a row over making Facebook and Google pay news outlets for sharing their content.
“A vast library of information is being assembled about each of us. Yet we don’t really have the keys to that library,” said Mr Guterres.
“We don’t know how this information has been collected, by whom or for what purposes. That data is being used commercially — for advertising, for marketing and for beefing up corporate bottom lines.”
Mr Guterres said tech platforms were seeing an “ever-greater concentration of wealth and inequality” in a world that was rapidly resembling an Orwellian “22nd-century dystopia”.
“Our data is also being used to shape and manipulate our perceptions, without our ever realizing it,” Mr Guterres said in a pre-recorded video.
“Governments can exploit that data to control the behaviour of their own citizens, violating human rights of individuals or groups.”
The former prime minister of Portugal urged governments to pass laws and regulate technology firms and promote a “safe, equitable and open digital future that does not infringe on privacy or dignity”.
Mr Guterres also tackled gender parity, right-wing extremism and unequal access to coronavirus vaccines in a speech that presented a bleak global human rights situation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last month, Mr Guterres said he was worried about social media firms having “too much power” to decide about closing accounts, shortly after Twitter banned former US President Donald Trump from its platform over the 6 January violence in Washington.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
RACE CARD
6.30pm Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.40pm Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m
8.15pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
