#49 The boiling frog

A couple of the biggest stories dominating our public discussion have a common original sin. Our powerlessness in the face of the use and abuse of our personal data for institutional ends (be it by the State or by private companies) contributes to a sense of collective apathy. Like the story of the boiling frog, the dangers of this apathy build steadily and stealthily - right until they burst into the light of some emergency. Arj and Jordan explore two such headline emergencies: the reckless and harmful Robodebt scheme and the urgent moves by western nations to ban TikTok for national security reasons - two stories in the news for various reasons, but which at their core reflect uncaring attitudes to unethical and exploitative data use. Links: The boiling frog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog Article about Robodebt media strategy (SBS) https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/shut-this-story-down-government-released-robodebt-victims-details-to-stop-them-speaking-to-media/6esr2l6ds Salinger blog post on Robodebt https://www.salingerprivacy.com.au/2017/03/08/just-because-you-can-disclose-doesnt-mean-you-should/ Podcast: Recent revelations from the Robo-debt Royal Commission (7am podcast) https://7ampodcast.com.au/episodes/robo-debt-minister-leaked-dead-mans-data Samantha Floreani oped about TikTok (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/22/what-are-we-worrying-about-when-we-worry-about-tiktok NYTimes essay about banning TikTok (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/opinion/tiktok-ban-china.html The Australia Institute's 'Tech-Xit report' on life without Google and Facebook https://www.centreforresponsibletechnology.org.au/life_wo_google_facebook Credits: Music by Bensound.com