Clean and clear: The Hindu Editorial on a Twitter whistle-blower and the Indian government

Both the Government and Twitter need to reassure the public that sensitive user data were not compromised 

Both the Government and Twitter need to reassure the public that sensitive user data were not compromised 

A whistle-blower’s disclosure that the Indian Government forced Twitter to hire its agent, who then got access to the platform’s user data, should alarm anyone even remotely interested in the health of democracy in the country. At the very least, it requires an official response from the Government as also from Twitter, arguably the most influential social media network of these times. Instead, there now is silence. But perhaps this is hardly surprising, given how such matters have played themselves out in recent years. The disclosure was made to U.S. government agencies and congressional committees last month but came to light when CNN and The Washington Post reported about it last week. The whistle-blower is Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko, a cybersecurity expert brought in to help a Jack Dorsey-run Twitter in November 2020 to confront challenges related to security and privacy. He was fired by Mr. Dorsey’s successor Parag Agrawal early this year. In his short stint there, he found that Twitter had a long way to go to address security vulnerabilities — the disclosure says, “he uncovered extreme, egregious deficiencies by Twitter”. But, according to Mr. Zatko’s disclosure, Twitter conveyed a very different message to the outside world, and thus ended up deceiving everyone from users to investors, and from the Federal Trade Commission to Elon Musk (who not long ago seemed to want to buy the social media network).

The Indian angle may be a side-story in all this but, worryingly for the world’s largest democracy, comes under the ambit of what Mr. Zatko considers “multiple episodes suggesting that Twitter had been penetrated by foreign intelligence agencies and/or was complicit in threats to democratic governance”. To be fair, there are unanswered questions about this part of his disclosure, whose most important line is the following: “The Indian government forced Twitter to hire specific individual(s) who were government agents, who (because of Twitter’s basic architectural flaws) would have access to vast amounts of Twitter sensitive data”. It is not clear, for instance, whether the agent he is referring to is the grievance officer that social media networks operating in India are required to recruit, as per the new laws framed last year. Also, it may seem that the access to sensitive data that this agent has is a product of Twitter’s own flaws and not anything else. That is why a clarification is important. In recent years, the Government has come across as being too eager to block its critics on social platforms. That, on top of unfettered access to sensitive user data, as is being alleged in the disclosure, can kill free speech. It is now time for the Government to assure everyone that it is indeed batting for the individual’s rights of free speech and privacy.

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Biden Energy Secretary Granholm: Clean energy is 'best peace plan the world has ever known'

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Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm suggested in a recent interview that the United States’ green energy push will be the "greatest peace plan" in world history.

"If we want to be energy secure and energy independent, that means we've got to produce our own energy," Granholm said in an interview with VOA News on Friday. "My counterpart in Ireland, the energy minister there, has said that no one has ever weaponized access to the sun. No one has ever weaponized the wind. Perhaps a move to clean energy will be the greatest peace plan the world has ever known." Granholm’s comment immediately received criticism from conservatives on Twitter and was highlighted in a post from an account operated by the Republican National Committee.  "The war in Ukraine and ensuing energy crisis were entirely brought about by 'clean energy' and climate idiocy," author and Fox News contributor Steve Milloy responded. "Lying. Airhead." ENERGY SEC. GRANHOLM CLAIMS BAN ON RUSSIAN OIL PROVES ‘WE CAN’T RELY ON THE VOLATILITY OF FOSSIL FUELS’

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Granholm’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Granholm has referenced the conversation with her Irish counterpart in the past including an instance in April that prompted Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers to call her out on Twitter for a "dangerous" line of thinking.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Nov. 23, 2021, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

SPECIAL COUNSEL RULES BIDEN'S ENERGY SECRETARY VIOLATED HATCH ACT In the interview, Granholm said that the increasing oil production is what the administration is calling for "right now" but "ultimately we've got to move to clean." "That's what the bill that the president signed yesterday, for the United States, it is the largest commitment to combating climate change of any country in the world," Granholm said, referring to the recently signed spending bill passed through Congress by Democrats. "It's by 10 the largest bill that we've ever passed in the United States to combat climate change. So it is so important for our energy security. And I know our European allies are trying to do the same."

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attends the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 4, 2021.  (Reuters/Phil Noble/File Photo)

Granholm was asked if the upcoming winter months will be "difficult" for Europe given efforts to cut back on Russian energy dependence that many fear will cause an energy crisis as temperatures drop and more Europeans require heating. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "I think it will be," Granholm said, adding that NATO allies are united in their opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and will not back down on the effort to "wean" off of Russian fuel.

"There's no doubt it's going to be an expensive winter," Granholm said. "I know that the European leaders are looking for how they can alleviate the pain for real people in these increases in prices. But I know ultimately, they are determined to move away from Russian fuels and toward clean energy."

Andrew Mark Miller is a writer at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/biden-energy-secretary-granholm-clean-energy-is-best-peace-plan-the-world-has-ever-known/?feed_id=13625&_unique_id=63017f18de38e

CBI raids a clean chit from Modi government, says AAP

Party leaders say agency officials returned empty-handed even as BJP, Cong. demand CM, Dy. CM’s resignation

Party leaders say agency officials returned empty-handed even as BJP, Cong. demand CM, Dy. CM’s resignation

A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence, AAP leaders said the agency sleuths returned “empty-handed” and termed the exercise a “total failure”.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said the exercise was a “clean chit from the Narendra Modi government”.

“We don’t have a problem with the CBI officers. They are doing their duty, it is their job. They will have to do whatever the Central government asks them to do. Earlier, it was the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] that misused its power, now it is the BJP. We all remember how Prime Minister Modi used to go around harping about the misuse of the CBI when he was on the other side,” said Mr. Bharadwaj.

The CBI conducted raids at 31 locations, including the residences of Mr. Sisodia and Delhi’s former Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, across six States and one Union Territory on Friday after it registered an FIR in connection with the AAP government’s excise policy, which was rolled out in November last year.

Demand for Assembly session

Hitting out at AAP, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the excise policy was “completely illegal” and demanded that the city government immediately convene an Assembly session to discuss “the scam”.

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress leaders and workers staged a protest outside the AAP’s office on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Mr. Sisodia in connection with the alleged irregularities in the excise policy.

The protesters marched from the Delhi Congress office at DDU Marg towards the AAP headquarters.

Mr. Bidhuri also demanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation saying “he was aware of the policy being illegal and was responsible for its execution”.

“Permission was given to open liquor shops in non-conforming and residential areas. The Delhi Cabinet had no right to provide such approvals as the Master Plan-2021 does not allow it. There is a process for changes in the master plan and they are notified only after the approval of the DDA and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. But the Delhi Cabinet deliberately violated the rules of the master plan,” said Mr. Bidhuri.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/cbi-raids-a-clean-chit-from-modi-government-says-aap/?feed_id=13604&_unique_id=63016cca6f646