Month: June 2022

Thank you very much for the invitation. I am delighted to have the opportunity to share some thoughts with you on a topic I am very much interested in and that I believe is of the utmost importance to people around the globe—and that is “the digital future of markets and money.”

So let us dive right in!

When I was your age, dear students, there were no cell phones, no internet, no Google, no Amazon, no Facebook, no Twitter, no TikTok, no YouTube. People did not have Apple Pay, PayPal, Alipay, or WeChat Pay.

Luckily, however, we already had money. Purchases were paid for with cash—coins and bills—with writing checks and with electronic money by wiring sight deposits from one bank account to another. As online banking didn’t exist, people were pretty busy filling out many remittance slips.

Digitalization

Times have changed a lot since then. Digitization, in particular, has been drastically developed and has brought about truly revolutionary changes over the past twenty years or so.

They come with digital transformation, i.e. the gradual transition of existing economic and social systems into the digital age, and also with digital disruption: radical changes triggered by innovative technologies and business models.

Digitization has proven to be a powerful catalyst for economic and societal change. It connects people from very different places and cultural backgrounds worldwide, bringing them closer together than ever before; it fuels competition in already established markets and drives and spreads innovations globally.

What digitization will not do, however, is change the concept of the market as such; I’m pretty sure of that. Because the concept of the market is inextricably linked to human action.

Human action means, generally speaking, that we, as human beings, replace one situation we find less satisfying with a situation we consider more favorable.

And we cannot stop doing it; we cannot not act—for logical reasons. Because if you say, “Humans can choose not to act,” then you act (namely in the form of speaking), so you commit a performative contradiction, thus saying something false.

For logical reasons, we know it is apodictically true that humans act. And as long as we do engage with our fellow human beings, there will be markets of all kinds, even in the age of digitization.

And that is very good news! Because markets—I should say: free markets—are mutually beneficial for all parties involved. Let me give you an example.

You pass a fruit shop and get hungry. You go in and buy apples for one euro. Question: What value do you assign to the apples? Answer: You value the apples more highly than the one euro—otherwise, you would not make the deal.

What about the shopkeeper? Well, he values the one euro he gets more highly than the apples he surrenders. Otherwise, he would not have partaken in the transaction.

As you can see: The free market transaction is beneficial for you and the shopkeeper. You are both better off after the deal. That is the beauty of the…

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EPIC Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald testified Tuesday morning on proposed bipartisan privacy legislation at a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce (video here).

Unveiled this month, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act would set data minimization obligations for companies that collect and use personal data, impose special protections for particularly sensitive data and the data of minors, establish digital civil rights safeguards, enable individuals to opt out of targeted advertising, and provide for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and in some cases individuals. The bill is backed by House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA), and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS).

“It is long past time to establish comprehensive protections for privacy and civil rights online,” EPIC’s Fitzgerald told the committee in her written testimony. “Congress must act now to reclaim privacy as a meaningful right and to protect personal data. The American Data Privacy and Protection Act presents Congress with the best opportunity it has had in decades to stop the very real harms that are happening online every minute of every day.”

EPIC has been calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive privacy law for more than 20 years. In July 1999, EPIC founder Marc Rotenberg testified before Congress on the need for comprehensive privacy legislation, warning that “the Internet is quickly becoming a privacy-free zone, where companies can push new products past an unsuspecting public.”

Tuesday’s hearing also featured testimony from David Brody, Managing Attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Bertram Lee, Senior Policy Counsel for Data Decision Making and Artificial Intelligence at the Future of Privacy Forum; and Jolina Cuaresma, Senior Counsel for Privacy & Technology Policy at Common Sense Media.

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“Data minimization is absolutely critical because it makes privacy the default,” Electronic Privacy Information Center Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald said to Pallone’s data minimization query. “It takes the onus off individuals to protect their privacy and instead requires companies to be the one to think about collection and use of personal data. It would better align with what consumers expect.”

Read the full article here.

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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Water? Check.
Beans? Check.
Rice? Check.
Canned fruits and veggies? Check.

All of the above are excellent choices for a survival pantry. And you probably have a good handle on the other foods that work well for long-term storage. However, there may be a category of meal supplies you are neglecting – spices.

Article continues below.

Survival foods are calorie-dense, nutritious, and shelf-stable. Yet, by their very nature, they are bland to the tastebuds. Adding herbs and spices to your pantry shelves not only will help you prepare more palate-friendly meals but, in some cases, seasonings can help preserve a precious fresh food supply and help you maintain your health and well-being.

For optimal freshness, the general rule of thumb is three to four years for whole spices and one to two years for ground spices. Writing the date on the bottle or label will help you know when to rotate out your supply.

Can they last longer? The answer is a definite yes. When stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry environment, many spices can outlast their expiration date. They just may lose their potency. Trust your senses when it comes to seasonings. If they smell or look “off,” it’s time to toss them in the trash or into your compost pile.

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Here is a list of basic seasonings you may want to add to your survival pantry shopping list.

1. Salt. There’s good reason salt has been highly valued and traded as currency throughout history. Long-lasting and easy to store, salt adds flavor to and can help preserve meat. For more reasons to have salt in your survival pantry, check out this article.

2. Black Pepper. A sprinkle (or two) of pepper can perk up just about any food. The strength and flavor of ground pepper will diminish over time, so you may want to consider storing whole peppercorns along with a pepper mill for a fresh taste.

3. Cinnamon. Cinnamon adds a sweet flavor and aroma to foods and beverages. Consider stocking up on cinnamon sticks for more extended storage than ground cinnamon. Cinnamon has potent anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties.

4. Cayenne. This spice delivers a healthy kick to soups, stews, chilis, and other bean dishes. Cayenne helps boost the immune and circulatory systems system, and it has anti-bacterial properties.

5. Ginger. Ginger is a tasty addition to many Mediterranean and Indian dishes. It also aids in the digestive process and can help ease nausea and upset stomach.

6. Garlic Powder. You can use garlic powder to add flavor to pasts sauces, casseroles, and many tomato-based dishes. One 1/4 teaspoon…

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EPIC has joined a letter led by advocacy groups Fairplay and the Center for Digital Democracy in calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate video game company Electronic Arts (EA) for unfairly exploiting young users in EA’s massively popular game, FIFA: Ultimate Team. In a letter sent to the FTC, the advocates described how the use of loot boxes and virtual currency in FIFA: Ultimate Team exploits the many children who play the game, especially given their undeveloped financial literacy skills and poor understanding of the odds of receiving the most desirable loot box items.

Citing the EPIC International Champion of Freedom Norwegian Consumer Council’s recent report, Insert Coin: How the Gaming Industry Exploits Consumers Using Lootboxes, the advocates’ letter details how FIFA: Ultimate Team encourages gamers to engage in a constant stream of microtransactions as they play the game. Users are able to buy FIFA points, a virtual in-game currency, which can then be used to purchase loot boxes called FIFA packs containing mystery team kits; badges; and player cards for soccer players who can be added to a gamer’s team. 

Among the 10 questions the advocates asked the FTC to investigate was “What does it mean that FIFA packs are “dynamically generated? Does EA use data-driven techniques to manipulate game players’ odds of receiving certain player cards? Relatedly, does EA use the data it collects about young people’s favorite teams and players and spending habits to market FIFA packs to individual game players?” Just last month, EPIC urged the FTC to promulgate a data minimization rule to protect children from harmful data collection. EPIC has long advocated for students’ and children’s privacy protections and regularly calls on the FTC to curb data abuses.

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Once upon a time, there was a tomato growing in my garden. It was beautiful and the first tomato of the season. Red and round and perfect, I was so looking forward to biting into it, letting that homegrown goodness slide down my taste buds. I watched it carefully, and when the day came to harvest it, I did so.

I then turned it over to admire it from that angle, only to discover that my beautiful tomato was rotten nearly halfway up. The rot started from the blossom end and was nothing other than blossom end rot, a calcium deficiency that affects tomatoes, watermelons, and a host of others. I was so bummed! But facts are facts, and I was simply out of luck. 

Nutrient deficiencies in plants are very similar to nutrient deficiencies in humans.

If you don’t get enough of them, you end up with problems.

Remember, plants need certain nutrients in order to grow healthy and produce fruits. A lack of any of those nutrients will interrupt the process and foil our food growing plans. This is a fairly large topic, so I’ll handle it in installments. Let’s take them one by one, starting with the majors. In this article, I’ll discuss how to diagnose and deal with problems arising from NPK nutrient deficiencies. The next in the series will tackle the secondary nutrients, with the micronutrients handled in the third. 

First, let’s discuss the diagnosis.

This process is the same regardless of the issue and is the tool that will lead us to the source of the problem. Observation and note-taking are the methods used. Ask yourself the following questions and record your observations. Some gardeners keep a pocket notebook for this purpose.  

• What plant exactly? Tomatoes and strawberries, for example, have different pests.
• How do the leaves look? Are the affected leaves older or younger? Are the veins differently colored than the leaf portions between them? Do the leaves have spots or edge curling? Is there a general yellowing, aka chlorosis? 
• Are there signs of pest predation such as rabbits or insects? 
• What about the environment? Has it been wet and damp, hot and dry, something else? 

Don’t forget to check the soil pH!

Doing so will tell you if it’s within the range that the plant can take up nutrients.

Most vegetables prefer a pH in the 6.5-6.8 range. Too much higher or lower, and the plant simply can’t absorb the nutrient, similar in concept to being in a pantry filled with cans and…

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EPIC and a coalition of over 70 organizations sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, calling on the company to end collection and retention of customers’ location data. The coalition’s letter reinforces a similar letter sent by over 40 members of Congress to Google last week. The coalition explained that “[i]f abortion is made illegal . . . it is inevitable that prosecutors will use legal means to hunt down, prosecute and jail people for obtaining critical reproductive health care.” Since “[l]aw enforcement officials routinely obtain court orders forcing Google to turn over its customers’ location information,” the coalition urged Google not to “allow its online advertising-focused digital infrastructure to be weaponized against people seeking abortions.”

Last month, EPIC issued a statement opposing the draft Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the erosion of the constitutional right to privacy.  EPIC has long advocated for health privacy, recently submitting comments to the Health and Human Services Department urging protection of patient data privacy. EPIC also recently supported a federal bill to ban surveillance advertising.  

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Jean-Baptiste is certainly best known for his famous Law of Markets (la loi des débouchés) also referred to as Say’s Law. Though Say’s Law is one of the key points of the classical school of economics, the manner in which this obvious proposition has been distorted and misinterpreted in a significant number of economic textbooks as well as in lectures of certified professors of economics is simply perplexing.

As a consequence, Say’s achievements are often abridged to some incoherent assertion that “supply creates its own demand.”

But Jean-Baptiste Say has much more to offer than his Law of Markets. Actually, he had already conceived a society without government long before Gustave De Molinari, who is often considered as being “the first writer to draw the conclusion that government could, in effect, be replaced by competing companies or agencies offering to provide security and protection.” It is my endeavor to show that Say was conscious of the shortcomings of governmental services in terms of the security and organization of society as such.

In the third session of his Cours à l’Athénée, Say explains that the supply of society is assured by the individuals who actually compose it. Furthermore, he notes that the disposal of capital is due to the private savings and precaution of individuals who, rather than destroying their savings, build their savings with the intention of creating new products. Likewise, he considers how these products come into the hands of those who need them, concluding that this is the result of interpersonal exchanges. As a result of this conclusion, he raises the following final question:

Have we found the government in this analysis up to now?

Again, he provides an answer:

No. And the reason of this is the fact that government is not at all an essential part of the social organization.

Thus, society could work without government management if people carried out their business and let other people carry out their business at the same time. Say underlines his position by giving some historical examples. Writing in 1819, he observes that at times during the previous thirty years, France had found itself in a situation in which all the authorities were suddenly halted. In these critical moments, no government was at all existent. And what does Say observe? During these periods, the essential functions of the social body could not have been carried out in a better way: everything worked, better than would have normally been the case. Say states that the worst occurred in times when people were too much governed.

Endeavoring to strengthen his position, he brings up another example, this time from overseas. In Kentucky, there are “cantons” in which one family would settle and take root, after which another family would move into the area, and so forth until the formation of villages occurred. There were houses, clothes, and food, and the people were better nourished than many households in the rue Jean-pain-mollet and yet there was no government.

His observations lead him to declare that…

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In new guidance issued to law enforcement agencies across Canada, the Privacy Commissioner laid out a set of tests and procedures that agencies should implement before using facial recognition under Canadian law. The Commissioner specified that this guidance “should not be read as justifying, endorsing or approving the use of FR by police agencies” and opined that with no law directly addressing facial recognition, “the current legislative context for police use of FR [in Canada] is insufficient.” The Commissioner also warned law enforcement that “police agencies must be open to the possibility that, in a free and democratic society, a proposed FR system which has a substantial impact on privacy (such as via mass surveillance) may never be proportional to the benefits gained.”

The guidance recommends standards for privacy impact assessments, accuracy testing, data minimization, data security, transparency, and oversight to govern law enforcement use of facial recognition. However, the guidance fails to set technical limits for accuracy or clearly identify thresholds for what the Commissioner considers proper use of the technology. The document leaves police agencies, not communities, with the final decision in whether and how to deploy facial recognition.

EPIC provided comments on the Commissioner’s draft guidance. EPIC argued that the Commission should recommend a complete ban on law enforcement use of facial recognition, and that the draft guidance was not sufficiently detailed to prevent police misuse of facial recognition or allow for independent oversight. The finalized guidance implements several of EPIC’s recommendations, including a prescribed schedule for external compliance audits and a requirement that facial recognition companies be contractually prohibited from using probe images to build the company’s database or train its’ systems.

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