Starting today an auction began for a wireless spectrum in the 600 megahertz range in which a bunch of telecom companies will be entering. Will this auction result in lower bills for users due to the increase in the spectrum a company has? Unfortunately not. With that said, there should be an increase in quality for wireless networks.
Take a look at this CBC report for some further details!

What do you think about the auction format for frequencies? Is this the most effective format?

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/600-mhz-wireless-spectrum-auction-1.5051455

Last week, the Canadian Government issued a Direction to the CRTC under the Telecommunications Act with a view to increasing competition and lowering cellular phone prices

Canada has had Canadian ownership rules in both broadcasting and telecom in place for a very, very long time.

For years it appeared that the Canadian government was planning to allow non-Canadians to control licensed Canadian Telecom companies (but not broadcasters). However when trial balloons were floated Canadians tended to react negatively. The advantage in theory would be lower prices…

One other factor worth including in your deliberation – national security issues. For example last year the United States blocked the takeover of Qualcom, a U.S. company by Broadcom, a Singaporean company, ostensibly on national security grounds.

So what do you think, do the advantage of foreign ownership relaxation outweigh the concerns?

Jon

I found a French article about terms and conditions of Instagram that I wanted to share with you because it raises the issues of children on social media and because even adult can benefit from this article to better understand the “rules of Instagram”.

What if terms and conditions of use of Instagram were explained to an 8 year old?

A lot of children use social media but do not really understand the conditions of use because it is not simplified for them.
A lawyer from the firm Shillings “translate” these terms of use for an 8 years old child:

1. You have the right to feel safe when you use Instagram.

2. Officially, you own the photos and videos you post, but we have the right to use them, and let others use them, anywhere in the world. People pay us to use them, and we will not pay you.

3. You’re responsible for everything you do on Instagram and everything you post, including things you may not expect, such as your username, your data, and the music you listen to.

4. It is considered that your posts belong to you, and what you post should not break the law. If that’s the case, you’ll have a fine, and you’ll have to pay that fine.

5. Even if you are responsible for the information you put on Instagram, we can keep it, use it and share it with companies connected to Instagram. That includes your name, your email address, your school, where you live, your photos, your phone number, your “likes” and “dislikes”, where you go, where your friends go, how often you use Instagram, your birthday, who you are talking to, as well as your private messages.

6. We are not responsible for what other companies do with your information. We will not sell or rent your personal information to other companies without your permission.

7. When you delete your account, we keep this personal information about you, your photos, as long as reasonable for a financial purpose. You can read more about our Privacy Policy .

8. Instagram is not responsible for:
• The links on Instagram of other companies or people we do not control, even if it is us who sent you these links.
• What can happen if you connect your Instagram account to another app or site. For example if you share a photo and the other application takes your personal information.
• The cost of 3G when you use Instagram.
• If your photos are lost or stolen from Instagram.

9. Even though Instagram is not responsible for what happens to you when you use the app, we have a lot of power:
– We can send you targeted ads based on your interests, which we monitor. You can not stop us from doing it, and it will not always be specified in the ad.
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– We can edit or delete Instagram, or prevent you from accessing the app, when we want, without notified you. We can also delete some of your posts without telling you why. If we do, we will not owe you money, and you will not have the right to complain.
– You may be forced to give up your username, for any reason.
– We can – but are not obliged – delete or modify user content that violates the rules. We are not responsible if someone breaks them, but if you do, you are responsible.

11. Even if your data does not belong to you, ours belong to us. You may not copy, paste, modify or delete Instagram logos or other content that you create.

12. You can delete your account by filling out this form . If you do, your photos will disappear from your profile but if someone else has shared them, they will still appear on Instagram.

13. We can change these rules when we want by posting an update on Instagram, whether you notice it or not.

French source: https://www.businessinsider.fr/une-avocate-a-reecrit-les-conditions-dutilisations-dinstagram-comme-si-elles-etaient-expliquees-a-un-enfant-de-8-ans/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3i3PXl2nH2dltDH-vRd0hMwZ77yFlmI-V3ZkbNeIuRXhyOt2dzVtCAoog

A.I. is here and growing. The future of A.I. as both an engine of communications technologies and as a middleware interface to communicate with us is hard to doubt. A fascinating thing about technology which comes up again and again is how, no matter what the objective choices might be, we have the marked tendency as egotistical humans to anthropomorphize everything and make it all about us. The issue of A.I. bias is much discussed in law and ethics today. This lecture given earlier today by Dr. Rachel Adams and organized by Senior Lecturer Guido Noto La Diega at  Northumbria Law School in the U.K., is hugely interesting as it deals with the gendering of SIRI and the like. Moreover it also serves as deeper dive into how we directly bias A.I. and reinforce our own historical gender biases while we are at it.

One warning, the sound is a little on the low side to my fading ears so you may want to plug into a speaker and crank it up. Also you will not see much of the speaker as the camera ended up, extremely ironically, being set up perfectly for Guido and not for Rachel 😉

Jon