GDPR is the victim of the ‘Analytics War’

T-209/21 is the case number that —regardless of the winner— will change if not the world, at least the industry based on personal data. On 1 November 2021, WhatsApp Ireland challenged before the European Court of Justice a binding decision of the European Data Protection Supervisor, which, in summary, questions how the company informs users and the nature and extent of the legitimate interest to profile users without their consent. The messaging platform’s defence argues on seven points, of which the most relevant are: the fact that the European Supervisor has interpreted the definition of ‘personal data’ in an extensive  (and not allowed) way and the violation of the ‘innocent until prove guilty’ principle by requiring Whatsapp to demonstrate the actual effectiveness of its user data anonymisation process instead of leaving the competent authorities with the duty to ascertain violations. These are two deadly blows because they are aimed at the two Achilles heels of the GDPR by Andrea Monti – Initially published in Italian on Strategikon – an Italian Tech blog. Continue reading “GDPR is the victim of the ‘Analytics War’”

Data Protection and scientific research, a change is urgent

Over the years, a reading of the legislation on protecting personal data (erroneously equated with ‘privacy’) has become entrenched, hampering scientific research. There is room to interpret the law more correctly and allow scientists to work more effectively for the common good by Andrea Monti – Initially published in Italian by Scienza in rete Continue reading “Data Protection and scientific research, a change is urgent”

On the release of AstraZeneca’s lots

After the Italian Council of State’s (the Supreme Court for Administrative Law) order on the off-label administration of hydroxychloroquine, once again judiciary powers judiciary show their unfamiliarity with logic and the scientific method. The price to pay is the delay in the vaccination campaign and the increase in distrust of vaccines by Andrea Monti – Initially published in Italian by Scienza in Rete Continue reading “On the release of AstraZeneca’s lots”

National Security, Social Singularity

In the next book on technology and national security written together with professor Raymond Wacks, we examine the consequences of what we called ‘social singularity’. Social singularity is the pretence (or the delusion) of being part of an online ‘community’ while being not.

Being a community member means sharing values, being ready to help and work for the common benefit, protecting each other. By contrast, living in a social singularity condition (favoured by social networking platforms) turns an individual into a part of a swarm whose only reason to team up with somebody else is personal motive. Once the need is satisfied, the swarm disappears, only to resurface with different members to pursue a different goal. There are plenty of examples of this social singularity phenomenon, from the various rabid outbursts of cancel culture to the Reddit traders Wall Street take over in the Gamestop case. Continue reading “National Security, Social Singularity”