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Meta's moves to malign TikTok reveal common dirty lobbying practices
Dirty Lobbying Practices by Tech Companies Pose Danger to Public | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses dirty lobbying practices by the biggest tech companies.

Meta reportedly hired a GOP firm to malign TikTok. How dangerous is this move to the public?

Well, I think it is important that we know these kinds of dirty lobbying practices that apparently looked attractive and acceptable to Meta or Facebook. It seems like a desperate effort to polish a tarnished image of the company and they must have thought that offense is the best defense. But generally, the public, the audience, readers of the news have no way of knowing which stories have been planted or that they are planted in media at all. And I think the fact that this is a common practice is revealing and cynical. But the problem is that for many of the biggest tech companies all kinds of lobbying, sponsoring, influencing has become accessible in ways that very few can compete with, they just have a lot of money to spend. I was surprised to hear, for example, that WhatsApp's lead, Will Cathcart, claimed this week that his company was not heard by European legislators when it came to the Digital Markets Act while a public consultation was held. And Meta, which owns WhatsApp, spent 5.5 million euros on lobbying in Brussels last year. So I'm pretty sure they did have an opportunity to engage.

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Watching Russia: cyber threats & disinformation
Russia Cyberattack on the West: Feared, Predicted, Not Manifested Yet | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:

Unfortunately, the war that Russia started against Ukraine is still ongoing in all its devastation. And so today we focus again on some of the tech related aspects of that completely unjust and unnecessary conflict.

How likely will Russia launch a sweeping cyberattack on the West?

Well, I don't have a crystal ball, but going by with what we've seen in the past with ransomware attacks, hacks, cyberattacks on Ukraine's power grid already years ago, as well as attempts to manipulate the US presidential elections, there are certainly is no lack of will or ability on the Russian side and that makes the absence of new meddling or direct attacks with devastating impact on Western targets, actually quite remarkable. These were feared and predicted, but they have not quite manifested yet.

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Limiting Putin's propaganda: Big tech & the Russia-Ukraine war
Outsized Power of Big Tech Revealed in Russia-Ukraine War | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:

If you're like me, you've been glued to the news all week after Russia invaded Ukraine to understand what is happening on the ground and how the democratic community is responding. We've seen tectonic changes already in this past week, and we could say the same for Big Tech.

How is the Russia-Ukraine war testing the role of Big Tech?

Well, I do think we see their outsized power revealed once more. We saw Putin restricting access to platforms like Facebook, as he is losing grip over his propaganda narrative. But then also social media companies finally being forced to stop amplifying state propaganda channels of Russian media in the EU, due to new sanctions. But the fact that the platforms are not doing the same in the US and other jurisdictions says a lot about their reluctance. And there's also a problem with executing their own corporate policies. New research shows that Facebook fails in 91% of cases to correctly label content when it is Russian state sponsored. It's very messy.

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Cyber warfare & disinformation play key role in Russia Ukraine conflict
Cyberwar in Ukraine: Part of Putin's Escalation & Geopolitical Agenda | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:

These are dark and bitter times. We've just seen Russia starting a completely unjustifiable war with disproportionate force against Ukraine and these acts of aggression that we see, threats on the foundations of a rules based order and of our own freedoms in democracies worldwide. Yes, to all this aggression, there is also a cyber dimension.

Cyber warfare is clearly a major part of the Russia Ukraine conflict, but cyber weapons are notoriously hard to control.

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Constant Russian attacks on Ukraine in cyberspace
Ukraine Under Fire in The Digital Domain | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:

What is cyber's role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?

Well first of all, the world is looking with great concern at the massive buildup of Russian troops and wonders when or how an invasion into Ukrainian territory could be started from that position. But in the digital domain, Ukraine is already under constant fire. When we go back to 2017, the NotPetya attack was aiming at Ukrainian targets and infecting banks, government agencies, as well as media and took down part of the electricity grid.

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NFTs: Hype, mainstream growth - & implications
Challenges and Risks Associated with NFT | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:

How wild is the NFT art world? And are there any loopholes behind the trend?

Well, to start with for me, the prices are insanely wild. It looked like a small circle of already wealthy fans are enjoying this new type of speculation. And while I love art, I think there's a world of difference between the Bored Apes and Van Gogh. And I have not quite discovered any appealing cutting-edge creativity in the NFT space. And meanwhile, the loophole are many, there is unauthorized use of images for NFTs, but also risks of money laundering and inflating prices artificially. And the whole hype reminds me a bit of Tulip mania, when in the Netherlands between 1634 and 1637, bulbs were sold for as much as 10 times the annual salary of a skilled artisan.

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US pushes back on EU's proposed laws impacting US tech companies
US Taking Notice of EU's Tech Laws that Could Impact US Tech Companies | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:

What are the EU's digital gatekeeper rules, and why does the US want them changed?

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