Information Technology

The Tax Justice Network recently released a report naming various UK territories as some of the worst tax havens in the world, as they are some of the most aggressive in helping corporations avoid or minimise the taxes they contribute back to society.  This is of increasing interest to those in the UK considering the political push for Brexit was led by politicians offering tax havens as an example of future economic model for the UK, some of who are directly linked to companies or trust funds registered in some of the UK’s tax havens.  This telling situation begs the question how can tax avoidance be minimised?  Could technology, and especially revolutionary solutions such as blockchain, be used to maximise transparency and accountability in tax systems?

Could blockchain be used to curb tax avoidance?

United States Attorney General William Barr has recently called for a government "backdoor" into all encrypted communications services and devices (such as email, messaging, smart phones and voice and data applications) that he warned are being used by terrorist organisations and drug cartels to plan assassinations and illegal activities.  He claimed at a cybersecurity conference in July 2019 that Silicon Valley hasn’t done enough to aid the US Government in bypassing encryption, and that US citizens should face up to the need for government bypassing of encrypted services.  William Barr’s new push for a security backdoors into American products and services however comes just a few months after the US accused China and Huawei of doing the exact same thing, with Trump issuing an executive order banning Huawei technology.  Has William Barr revealed American hypocrisy on Encryption and Security? Does the US Government’s attack on encryption undermine their stance on China?

William Barr vs Encryption: Has the United States revealed its own hypocrisy on Chinese spying accusations?

Google have been accused of being a monopoly by many media sources, is this true?  Should Google be slapped with monopoly fines/competition laws?  And what effect does this have on consumers?

Are Google a monopoly that is destroying competition with rival companies?

Following the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on December 1st 2018, America has accused her of fraud, banned Huawei products, accused the company of building surveillance ‘backdoors’ (possible routes for hackers) into their equipment and having links to the Chinese government.  While the company refutes these allegations, the Chinese government have long accused the United States of conducting illegal surveillance campaigns against the Chinese government and key institutions.  In addition, when considering the extent of US mass surveillance campaigns leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, which is really the bigger surveillance threat?

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/countries-banning-huawei-181206130850129.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27587551
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_surveillance_disclosures_(2013%E2%80%93present)

Whose equipment poses a greater threat, US' or Chinese?

5G or 5th Generation cellular mobile communications technology is the latest advance in mobile communications technology set to be introduced internationally in 2019 to replace 4G.  It has been claimed that 5G will be faster, reduce latency, save energy, reduce costs and increase connectivity and some have speculated that its introduction will be revolutionary.  What can we really expect from the introduction of 5G this year, is 5G all it’s cracked up to be?

Is 5G really going to be that revolutionary?

Julian Assange is a cyber activist and the creator of WikiLeaks, a website for whistle-blowers and the leaking of secret information and news.  In August 2012 Julian Assange was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and has been confined there ever since, fearing for his safety if he leaves due to an expected extradition to the United States.  As it looks like the Ecuadorian government have been recently considering a change of tact in harbouring Assange, let’s consider: Is Julian Assange promoting transparency and challenging corruption through WikiLeaks or threatening the security of individuals, governments, companies and entire nations?