Criticism and Online Safety Bill
Providers of encrypted messenger services, including Signal, WhatsApp and Threema, have sent an open letter to the British government criticizing the planned Online Safety Bill. In its current form, the bill would empower UK regulator Ofcom to proactively enforce searching of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communications servers – making end-to-end encryption virtually obsolete. The bill poses a “threat to the privacy, security and security of all UK citizens and the people with whom they communicate”. The law would also encourage other governments to pass similar laws.
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Forest firefighting drones
NASA’s ACERO project aims to use drones and advanced aeronautical technology to improve forest firefighting. Drones safely piloted from the ground can ensure continuous extinguishing even in poor visibility. In addition to safety for pilots, the effectiveness of the missions could also be increased. This is made possible by effective airspace management developed by NASA. Flight crews, drone operators and ground staff can exchange information via the system. In addition, the coordination between ground teams, firefighters and various government agencies should be optimized.
Lawsuit against taxonomy
As expected, the so-called taxonomy regulation of the EU, which classifies investments in natural gas and nuclear power as sustainable, will have a legal aftermath. The environmental organizations Greenpeace, BUND, WWF and others have now filed the lawsuits they announced against the regulation with the European Court of Justice. The main argument of the environmentalists is that the EU Commission violates Union law and the Paris climate protection agreement. Contrary to the claims of the EU Commission, it is possible to achieve the climate protection goals without nuclear power. Fossil natural gas is also not sustainable, as the emissions have a negative impact on the climate and nature. If the EU taxonomy is to steer capital into sustainable activities in a targeted manner, then it must be clear and unambiguous.
Energy transition is going too slowly
71 percent of German consumers would like to get an exact overview of their energy consumption more often. This was the result of a representative survey commissioned by the Bitkom industry association. For greater cost savings and transparency, a large part would also allow the sharing of their consumption data via smart meters, for example. Overall, Germans are dissatisfied with the speed of the energy transition. According to the survey, 78 percent of them are taking the energy transition too slowly.
(igr)
