Sunday, 20 June 2021

Virtual Reality ( VR ) Arrival : Privacy Departure ?

Dear Shri Ravishankar Prasadji ,

Please look at the following development by Facebook ( Future is already here ? Privacy is dead – RIP ? ) in the following context :

Ø New IT rules ( announced only 3 months ago ) are being challenged by some Social Media platforms / intermediaries

Ø Proposed DATA PROTECTION LAW ( still a BILL ), seems to be going nowhere

Ø LEO satellites ( Starlink – OneWeb – Kuiper etc ) will take broadband to every corner of India

Ø China is preparing to launch a LEO satellite capable of 6G ( download 1000 movies in ONE second ! )

Facebook Development :

( source : Facebook testing in-headset VR ads for Oculus / 17 June 2021 )

Extract :

Ø Facebook has announced it's going to start testing in-headset VR adverts.

Ø Facebook initially started testing adverts on the Oculus mobile app last month, but it's now taking things a step further by trialling adverts inside the Oculus Quest VR headset

Ø it looks like players can point at an advert to click on a link or save it for later. There's also a drop-down menu to report and hide ads, and an option to tweak user preferences.

Ø if you click on an advert in-headset, Facebook will get information about whether you interacted with it

Ø the system will use data from your Facebook profile, as well as whether you've "viewed content, installed, activated, or subscribed to a Oculus app, added an app to your cart or wishlist, if you've initiated checkout or purchased an app on the Oculus platform, and lastly, whether you've viewed, hovered, saved, or clicked on an ad within a third-party app".

Dear Shri Prasadji,

Governments around the World seem to be saying :

“ Let us tax the revenues that the Social Media are earning from targeted advertisement – based on PRIVATE / PERSONAL DATA, they collect about their users , without explicit user permissions “

This approach is not going to take them very far. There will be court cases going on for decades ! It will be a futile exercise

I once again urge you to show a totally different way to the World by considering implementation of :

Ø Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]…………………......[ 14 Feb 2019 ]

Ø SARAL ( Single Authentic Registration for Anywhere Login )…[ 10 Feb 2019 ]

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 21 June 2021

MY TAKE :

( Source : A Greed-Ship named Facebook – 21 Sept 2020 )

Here is what Peter Diamandis writes in his 2020 book,

“ The Future is Faster than You Think “ [ page : 118 ] ,

“ ….the global advertising industry surpassed $ 550 billion, driving Google’s valuation north of $ 700 billion and Facebook’s above $ 500 billion. The reason for this spike is that these numbers are based on our data and the trail left by,

Ø Our searches

Ø Our likes and dislikes

Ø What we desire

Ø Who our friends are

Ø What we ( and they ) are clicking on these days

But with a blitzkrieg of TECHNOLOGIES converging on the industry, advertising will continue to change. First, it’s likely to get a little more invasive and a lot more personal “

Within a few months of Peter’s Prediction, Facebook is out to prove him right, by launching :

Announcing Project Aria: A Research Project on the Future of Wearable AR / 16 Sept 2020

As expected, this innocuous-sounding announcement says :

Ø Project Aria glasses are not a consumer product, nor are they a prototype. They won’t display any information on the inside of the lens, and research participants cannot view or listen to the raw data captured by the device.

Ø Again, we are not releasing this device to the general public and it won’t be for sale.

The announcement goes on to list measures adopted for DATA PRIVACY PROTECTION , at :

https://about.fb.com/realitylabs/projectaria/

But critics would rather believe Peter Diamandis than trust Facebook !

Following is one article re “ potential misuse “ of Project Aria VR Glasses :

Facebook’s Project Aria Is Google Maps — For Your Entire Life /
Dave Gershgorn ( 18 Sept 2020 )

Extract :

Ø Facebook can already see almost every aspect of how the world uses the internet, through its ad tracking of users and nonusers on and off its site. Project Aria would add a physical dimension to Facebook’s omnipotent gaze.

Ø If the project goes according to plan, the final result would be a live, 3D map

of the world, constantly updated and refreshed by people walking around

with AR headsets

Ø Ostensibly, Facebook will possess a live map of your home, pictures of your

loved ones, pictures of any sensitive documents or communications you might

be looking at with the glasses on, passwords — literally your entire life

Ø The product and research decisions made by Facebook right now can determine

whether Facebook is actually creating a distributed surveillance panoptic on

Ø Who has access to see the data from this live 3D map, and what, precisely,

constitutes private versus public data ? And who makes that determination ?

Ø Faces might be blurred, but people can be easily identified without their faces.

What happens if law enforcement wants to subpoena a day’s worth of

Facebook’s LiveMap ?

Ø One thing is for certain: If the company handles this platform the same way it’s

handled Facebook.com, we’re in for a lot of trouble

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Saturday, 19 June 2021

Congratulations,

Ø Shri Ashish Kumar Singh ( Add. Chief secretary – Transport Department )

( ( Psec2.cm@maharashtra.gov.in / psec.transport@maharashtra.gov.in )

Ø Shri Avinash Dhakne ( Transport Commissioner – Maha Govt )

( avinashdhakne@gmail.com / smccommissioner@yahoo.com )

Context :

Maharashtra plans to rework electric vehicles policy / HT / 19 June 2021

Extract :

Ø A committee headed by additional chief secretary of transport department Ashish Kumar Singh has prepared a revised draft of the policy by updating and fine-tuning it with the Central policies and the decision issued thereafter.

Ø The state is also planning incentives and subsidies to ,

# the industries and manufacturers of the vehicles and,

# auxiliary businesses such as manufacturers of batteries, chargers, spare

parts, among others.

Ø “The policy should focus on steps to be taken for its effective implementation in rural and urban areas by setting up robust infrastructure for the charging stations.

Ø The policy should also tap the subsidies to be given to suppliers and manufacturers, besides the foreign investment.

Ø It should also look at the measures that need to be taken to encourage EVs in public transport and their maximum use in the government sector,” he said.

===================================================

2021 EV policy: Maharashtra push for li-ion battery gigafactory / TOI / 19 June 2021

Extact :

Ø Transport commissioner Avinash Dhakne said the 2018 electric vehicle policy focused on attracting investments and incentives, while the 2021 policy draft is keen on infrastructure.

“ There has to be affordability and good infrastructure to push for vehicles “, Dhakne said

Ø There are plans to encourage e-charging points in housing societies, government buildings, and MSRTC bus stops, besides petrol pumps and at malls , in future. The presentation mentioned over 2,300 charging stations

Ø Also incentives are being planned to attract industries from the sector to set up in Maharashtra

===================================================

MY TAKE :

More than 2 YEARS ago, I sent following e-mail to our Policy Makers :