Category: General

A hands-off approach to moderating content at Elon Musk’s Twitter could clash with ambitious new laws in Europe meant to protect users from disinformation, hate speech and other harmful material.

Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” pledged to buy Twitter for $44 billion this week, with European Union officials and digital campaigners quick to say that any focus on free speech to the detriment of online safety would not fly after the 27-nation bloc solidified its status as a global leader in the effort to rein in the power of tech giants.

“If his approach will be ‘just stop moderating it,’ he will likely find himself in a lot of legal trouble in the EU,” said Jan Penfrat, senior policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi.

Musk will soon be confronted with Europe’s Digital Services Act, which will require big tech companies like Twitter, Google and Facebook parent Meta to police their platforms more strictly or face billions in fines.

Other crackdowns

Officials agreed just days ago on the landmark legislation, expected to take effect by 2024. It’s unclear how soon it could spark a similar crackdown elsewhere, with U.S. lawmakers divided on efforts to address competition, online privacy, disinformation and more.

That means the job of reining in a Musk-led Twitter could fall to Europe — something officials signaled they’re ready for.

“Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules — regardless of their shareholding,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, tweeted Tuesday. “Mr Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act.”

Musk’s plans for Twitter haven’t been fleshed out beyond a few ideas for new features, opening its algorithm to public inspection and defeating “bots” posing as real users.

France’s digital minister, Cedric O, said Musk has “interesting things” that he wants to push for Twitter, “but let’s remember that #DigitalServicesAct — and therefore the obligation to fight misinformation, online hate, etc. — will apply regardless of the ideology of its owner.”

EU Green Party lawmaker Alexandra Geese, who was involved in negotiating the law, said, “Elon Musk’s idea of free speech without content moderation would exclude large parts of the population from public discourse,” such as women and people of color.

Twitter declined to comment. Musk tweeted that “the extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.” He added that by free speech, he means “that which matches the law” and that he’s against censorship going “far beyond the law.”

The United Kingdom also has an online safety law in the works that threatens senior managers at tech companies with prison if they don’t comply. Users would get more power to block anonymous trolls, and tech companies would be forced to proactively take down illegal content.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office stressed the need for Twitter to remain “responsible” and protect users.

“Regardless of ownership, all social media platforms must be responsible,” Johnson spokesman Max Blain said Tuesday.

Need seen for cleanup

Damian Collins, a British lawmaker who led a parliamentary committee working on the bill, said that if Musk really wants to make Twitter a free speech haven, “he will need to clean up the digital town square.”

Collins said Twitter has become a place where users are drowned out by coordinated armies of “bot” accounts spreading disinformation and division and that users refrain from expressing themselves “because of the hate and abuse they will receive.”

The laws in the U.K. and EU target such abuse. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, tech companies must put in place systems so illegal content can be easily flagged for swift removal.

Experts said Twitter will have to go beyond taking down clearly defined illegal content like hate speech, terrorism and child sexual abuse and grapple with material that falls into a gray zone.

The law includes requirements for big tech platforms to carry out annual risk assessments to determine how much their products and design choices contribute to the spread of divisive material that can affect issues like health or public debate.

“This is all about assessing to what extent your users are seeing, for example, Russian propaganda in the context of the Ukraine war,” online harassment or COVID-19 misinformation, said Mathias Vermeulen, public policy director at data rights agency AWO.

Violations would incur fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue. Repeat offenders can be banned from the EU.

More openness

The Digital Services Act also requires tech companies to be more transparent by giving regulators and researchers access to data on how their systems recommend content to users.

Musk has similar thoughts, saying his plans include “making the algorithms open source to increase trust.”

Penfrat said it’s a great idea that could pave the way to a new ecosystem of ranking and recommendation options.

But he panned another Musk idea — “authenticating all humans” — saying that taking away anonymity or pseudonyms from people, including society’s most marginalized, was the dream of every autocrat.

Source: Voice of America

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Laos) has agreed to launch the 6th phase of the Sustainable Rattan and Bamboo Production and Harvesting Project in thirty villages, nine districts of Borikhamxay, Xekong and Saravan provinces.

A Memorandum of Understanding on the WWF-Laos support was signed in Vientiane on Apr 26 between Deputy Director of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) Chansamon Phongoudom, and WWF-Laos Country Director Loris Palentini in the presence of representatives from beneficiary provinces – and relevant officials.

The project aims to strengthen and expand sustainable management of natural forest areas in target communities through supporting the development and implementation of sustainable forest management plans.

The project also promotes sustainability and legality of supply chain of rattan and bamboo and market linkages as well as supporting sustainable and climate resilient livelihoods through improved forest management and by improving production skills on rattan and bamboo products, according to WWF-Laos Country Director Loris Palentini.

“This project will be implemented in seven villages in Khamkeuth and Bolikhan of Borikhamxay Province, four villages in Lamam district and three villages in Thateng district of Xekong Province, three villages in Ta-oy district and four villages in Samuoy district and two villages in Nakhonpheng, Saravan Province,” said Mr Chansamon Phongoudom.

Source: Lao News Agency

Beijing has begun mass COVID-19 testing most of its 21 million residents amid fears the Chinese capital will be placed under a strict lockdown similar to the one imposed on Shanghai.

Authorities expanded testing across 11 districts Tuesday after launching the mass testing drive in Beijing’s most populous district of Chaoyang on Monday.

Beijing went on alert last week after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19, sparking widespread panic buying across Beijing Sunday in anticipation of a possible citywide lockdown. Long queues were seen in supermarkets in the city center, as shoppers snapped up rice, noodles, vegetables and other produce, while store workers hastily restocked some empty shelves.

Officials have urged residents in some neighborhoods to work from home, and have started closing some venues such as gyms and theaters.

So far, only 70 positive cases have been reported since last week, including 33 new cases on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Shanghai continues to struggle to contain an outbreak of new COVID-19 cases largely driven by the highly contagious omicron variant, with many of its 26 million residents still under orders to remain indoors. The lockdown has led to angry complaints of a lack of fresh food and medicine throughout China’s biggest city.

Shanghai reported well over 10,000 new coronavirus infections and at least 51 deaths on Tuesday.

Source: Voice of America

The world marks World Malaria Day, whose theme this year is “Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives”.

In the People’s Democratic Republic, a blend of traditional and innovative, evidence-based approaches is helping the country move closer to eliminating all malaria by 2030 and the deadliest strain by 2023.

Malaria now affects only a very small proportion of the population of Laos, mostly in ethnic minority communities in remote, forested areas. Epidemiological investigations have found transmission most likely when people sleep overnight in the forest or cultivation fields or stay in villages on the edge of the forest. Evenings and nights are when mosquitoes infected with malaria parasites are most likely to bite, including those infected with P. falciparum, which causes the most severe illness.

A relatively small number of communities – 60 villages, with 24,000 people – face the highest risk for malaria transmissions, reporting 68% (1,851/2,728) of all P. falciparum cases in January 2020 – October 2021.

To work toward zero malaria, especially that caused by P.falciparum in these highest-risk communities, the government of Laos accelerator strategies include activities tailored to the local context, and informed by local data and disease patterns. The national malaria programme is supported by the Lao Country Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) and WHO’s Mekong Malaria Elimination (MME) Programme.

These comprise complementary approaches – innovation and traditional public health tools:

Innovative approaches:

Two rounds of mass drug administration are given to everyone aged 7-49 years to kill any malaria parasites in the body. This method treats people with malaria who do not have symptoms as well as those with symptoms. With a high coverage of the medication, the malaria parasite is cleared from the community, eliminating the reservoir of malaria infection.

Monthly intermittent preventive treatment is then provided to people who sleep overnight in the forest or fields. This protects people from being reinfected with malaria parasites while they are in the high-risk areas.

Traditional malaria control tools

People in the communities are provided with insecticide-treated bed nets for all sleeping locations – village, forest and cultivation fields.

Active surveillance includes door-to-door visits to screen and test people with symptoms every two weeks to ensure that any cases of malaria are detected promptly.

Community engagement is conducted at all levels including advocacy from senior political leaders to community leaders and health education delivered by the village malaria worker during door-to-door visits every two weeks.

The accelerator strategy was adopted after a pilot project was conducted in 2020 in Khammuan Province, targeting 5 of the 60 highest-risk villages with approximately 1,200 people. The impact was impressive, with a 95% reduction in malaria cases during the peak malaria season in 2021 compared to the year before.

In March 2022, the first round of mass drug administration was completed in the remaining 55 target villages with a high coverage estimated at 85%. The second round started in April to end before the peak malaria season.

The programme follows the Lao PDR’s investment in malaria data management systems that have ensured the country can effectively identify and respond to malaria cases. Read more about Lao PDR’s data-driven approach to eliminating malaria.

WHO Representative to Laos, Dr Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo said “World Malaria Day was an opportunity to acknowledge the strong political support, governance and community ownership that were key to the programme’s success – despite responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“In the Lao PDR, political leadership at all levels has been strong and impressive, including provincial and district political leaders joining activities in the communities. Community engagement and participation has been excellent. We have seen this in many ways including that people have walked long distances from their cultivation fields back to their villages to participate in the programme and benefit from its protection,” Dr Lo added.

Source: Lao News Agency

Tesla lost $126 billion in value on Tuesday amid investor concerns that Chief Executive Elon Musk may have to sell shares to fund his $21 billion equity contribution to his $44 billion buyout of Twitter.

Tesla is not involved in the Twitter deal, yet its shares have been targeted by speculators after Musk declined to disclose publicly where his cash for the acquisition of Twitter is coming from. The 12.2% drop in Tesla’s shares on Tuesday equated to a $21 billion drop in the value of his Tesla stake, the same as the $21 billion in cash he committed to the Twitter deal.

Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said that worries about upcoming stock sales by Musk and the possibility that he is becoming distracted by Twitter weighed on Tesla shares.

“This (is) causing a bear festival on the name,” Ives said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

To be sure, Tesla’s share plunge came against a challenging backdrop for many technology-related stocks. The Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since December 2020 on Tuesday, as investors worried about slowing global growth and more aggressive rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Twitter’s shares also slid on Tuesday, falling 3.9% to close at $49.68 even though Musk agreed to buy it on Monday for $54.20 per share in cash. The widening spread reflects investor concern that the precipitous decline in Tesla’s shares, from which Musk derives most of his $239 billion fortune, could lead the world’s richest person to have second thoughts about the Twitter deal.

“If Tesla’s share price continues to remain in freefall that will jeopardize his financing,” said OANDA senior market analyst Ed Moya.

As part of the Tesla deal, Musk also took out a $12.5 billion margin loan tied to his Tesla stock. He had already borrowed against about half of his Tesla shares.

University of Maryland professor David Kirsch, whose research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship, said investors started to worry about a “cascade of margin calls” on Musk’s loans.

Source: Voice of America

One in four children in Latin America and the Caribbean does not have vaccine protection against three potentially deadly diseases, a U.N. report said Monday, warning of plummeting inoculation rates.

While 90% of children in the region in 2015 had received the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP3), by 2020 coverage had dropped to three-quarters, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization.

This means that some 2.5 million children were not fully protected — and 1.5 million of them have not had even one dose in the three-shot regimen.

Globally, according to WHO, 17.1 million infants did not receive an initial dose of the DTP3 vaccine in 2020, and another 5.6 million were only partially jabbed.

Outbreaks of preventable diseases “have already occurred” in Latin America and the Caribbean, the agencies said.

In 2013, only five people in the region contracted diphtheria — a bacterial disease that can cause breathing difficulties, heart failure and potentially death.

Five years later, the number was nearly 900.

There has also been a rise in cases of measles — another disease that can be prevented with inoculation — from nearly 500 cases in 2013 to more than 23,000 in 2019, said the statement.

“The decline in vaccination rates in the region is alarming,” said UNICEF regional director Jean Gough.

The reasons were multifold.

“The context in the region has changed in the last five years. Governments have focused their attention on other emerging public health issues such as Zika, chikungunya and more recently COVID-19,” UNICEF neonatal expert Ralph Midy told AFP.

“The existence of migrant populations that are difficult to locate and do not always have access to regular health services, in addition to people living in isolated or hard-to-reach areas, also hinders the vaccination process,” Midy said.

The downward trend started even before the COVID-19 epidemic, which worsened the situation by interrupting primary health care services and causing some people to avoid clinics and hospitals for fear of the virus.

“As countries recover from the pandemic, immediate actions are needed to prevent (vaccine) coverage rates from further dropping, because the re-emergence of disease outbreaks poses a serious risk to all of society,” said Gough.

Source: Voice of America