“With efficiency, basically everything is permitted.” Under the guise of caring for its citizens’ safety and wellbeing, the Singaporean government has kept its population under the watchful eye of surveillance cameras and tracking apps. Author Peter Guest argues that they refuse to be transparent about it, hiding or lying about how they use this data. For example, despite promising to only use the data gathered from their TraceTogether app for contact tracing, it was revealed seven months later that the police could access the data and use it in investigations. Read full article here
Societal Issues
To curb drug deaths, communities turn to Reddit, texts and wastewater
With drug overdose deaths on the rise, authorities are attempting to curb the epidemic by tracking and sharing information in real time. In one unique effort, a nonprofit in New York City is using drug-testing equipment and stamping or marking habits of dealers to identify drug batches that may endanger users. Other approaches are also being used, such as monitoring drug-related chatter on Reddit and analyzing local wastewater for opioid and other drug levels. With the combination of these efforts, researchers hope to put a dent in the opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths. Read full article here
Merv
June 1, 2023
