Page 62 - BNE_magazine_06_2019

62 Opinion
bne June 2019
ing protests in Ingushetia. Replicating this across the whole of Russia is another matter, however. Given the botched digital sledgehammer that was the Telegram ban and the poorly man- aged Yarovaya law, one can't help but feel Moscow has bitten off more than it can chew. A year on from the Telegram debacle, the service is still running and has more users than ever.
It's not just technical and political problems that Moscow may run into, but the international communications and tech firms already under pressure to comply with various strict laws. None are new to the censorship debate. Some, like Google and Apple, have fallen into line when it comes to, for example, data storage and localisation. Others, like Twitter and Facebook, have put up some resistance. The sovereign internet law will introduce a whole raft of new challenges for these companies that will ques- tion their values, reputations and potential complicity in under- mining online freedoms. While Moscow will be relying on their quiet cooperation, increased awareness of internet privacy means it is harder than ever for big tech to justify playing fast and loose with some user data more than others. Moscow will also want to avoid ugly public bans. That means companies like Facebook, with its 25mn users in Russia alone, have influence to wield. The question is whether they decide to use it. How they respond will have implications for internet freedoms across the world.
COMMENT:
Technology can reduce the global plastic pollution problem
Calin Corjan in Montreal
Plastic is one of the most essential materials we use every day, characterized by an unparalleled versatility that has led to a steadily growing demand for plastic products globally. It is widely reported that annual global production of plastics has increased dramatically, from 15mn metric tons in 1964 to over 350mn metric tons currently; and, because plastic is so economical, versatile and reliable, its production growth is expected to continue surging for at least the next decade.
The dark side to this wonder material – pointed out in a report titled Solving Plastic Pollution Through Accountability, published March 2019 by the Switzerland-based World
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Whatever happens it will be the Russian population that suffers. The sovereign internet law is incompatible with an open society and a diverse, growing economy. Tech is often touted by Moscow as key to raising living standards across the country. It is a great irony, then, when Putin talks of the need to keep up with its advancements, otherwise “new jobs, modern companies and an attractive life will develop in other, more successful countries”. Despite the new national digitalisation program and a wealth of tech talent (much of which ends up abroad), the environment needed for innovation and a vibrant digital culture is continually undermined by a security-obsessed state. This is another act of self-harm.
Polling shows the majority of Russians oppose the sovereign internet law. Civil society, now growing outside large cities into the country's heartlands, is unlikely to stay quiet. Moscow wants help to quell dissent. But the new law will stoke the very protests it wants to avoid.
Lindsay Mackenzie is a writer and editor based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Three quarters of all plastics ever made are currently already waste
Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) – is the environmental threat posed by the egregious amounts of plastic waste that have accumulated over the years, and that will likely continue to increase unabated.
“Plastic is not inherently bad; it is a man-made invention that has generated significant benefits for society. Unfortunately, the way industries and governments have managed plastic, and the way society has converted it into a disposable and single-use convenience, has transformed this innovation into a planetary environmental disaster. Nearly half of all plastic products littering the world today were created after 2000. This issue is only decades old, and yet over 75% of all plastic