WhatsApp privacy changes could turn off Saudi users: Cybersecurity experts

As a result, some Saudi WhatsApp users said they were now considering other similar messaging app options such as Telegram, and Signal. (Shutterstock)
Short Url
Updated 29 June 2021
Follow

WhatsApp privacy changes could turn off Saudi users: Cybersecurity experts

  • New update will require users to share data with Facebook, previously optional

RIYADH: A controversial new WhatsApp privacy policy could see many Saudi users switch off to the Kingdom’s favorite instant messaging app, cybersecurity experts claim.
From Feb. 8, users of the popular mobile social media platform will no longer be able to access the service unless they have accepted the update and will be forced to delete their accounts.
Under the terms of the new policy, Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, will be able to collect users’ data from the app such as their phone number, email address, contacts, location, device ID, user ID, advertising data, purchase history, product interaction, payment info, crash, performance, and other diagnostic data, customer support, and metadata.
As a result, some Saudi WhatsApp users said they were now considering other similar messaging app options such as Telegram, and Signal.
Telegram only collects a user’s name, phone number, contacts, and user ID, while Signal just requires a mobile phone number for registration with no link to the individual’s identity.
Saudi cybersecurity expert, Faisal Alomran, told Arab News: “Facebook applications are known for collecting too much personal information about their users, allegedly for the purpose of delivering better user content experiences.
“However, the concern of data privacy is growing on normal users as they become more aware of the consequences of their private data being leaked,” he said.
Alomran added that from a cybersecurity point of view, while the likelihood of breaching a company such as Facebook was low, the impact if it happened would be “very high” as data gathered by hackers would expose end-user private information.
“Signal is widely considered to be one of the best applications when it comes to data privacy, as it claims to only collect the phone number for user registration,” he said.
According to Global Media Insight, a Dubai-based research company, 26.25 million Saudis use WhatsApp for instant messaging, making up 71 percent of instant messaging users in the Kingdom at the time of this article’s publication.
As well as private messaging, WhatsApp is also used for professional purposes in workplaces, schools, and universities.
Sarah Al-Saleh, a university student from Riyadh, told Arab News that WhatsApp was “not optional” for students.
“At the start of almost every class in a semester, we create a WhatsApp group that we use to share notes, updates about class times, dates of quizzes, and so on,” she said.
“Even the instructors will join the groups to make sure we are not cheating, and to inform us if classes are cancelled so we don’t waste time waiting for them if they’re not going to show. And if a student misses a class, we can help them ensure that they can catch up easily,” she added.
Abdullah Aloudah, a private-sector employee, said: “It’s almost impossible to get work done without WhatsApp. We use it internally, and even clients from outside the company will use it to contact us. No matter how many times I ask them to email me instead of WhatsApp me, they will always prefer to text.
“Apart from the data concerns, I find it so invasive, and it makes it that much harder to separate my work life from my personal one.”
Facebook is no stranger to privacy controversies. The company has repeatedly been accused of data mining, privacy breaches, and selling private data to third parties. It has also been banned in countries such as China, Iran, and Syria.
WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, two former Yahoo! executives, as a free alternative to SMS text messages which charged users for each individual message sent.
Facebook announced plans to acquire WhatsApp in February 2014 and paid $21.8 billion, amounting to $55 per user.

Soleimani’s shadow
Qassem Soleimani left a trail of death and destruction in his wake as head of Iran’s Quds Force … until his assassination on Jan. 3, 2020. Yet still, his legacy of murderous interference continues to haunt the region

Enter


keywords

 


BBC apologises for broadcasting death chants at Glastonbury directed at Israeli forces

Updated 44 min 9 sec ago
Follow

BBC apologises for broadcasting death chants at Glastonbury directed at Israeli forces

  • Punk rap duo Bob Vylan reportedly led anti-Israel chants, including ‘Death, death to the IDF’
  • BBC admitted ‘with hindsight’ that it should not have allowed the comments to air

LONDON: The BBC has publicly apologised after facing criticism for broadcasting live performances from the Glastonbury Festival that featured anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian slogans, including chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)” by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

The broadcaster drew backlash from politicians and pro-Israel groups for not cutting the live feed during the controversial performance. Critics, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, called on the BBC and its director general, Tim Davie, to explain why such “appalling hate speech” was broadcast.

“The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast,” Starmer said.

The corporation initially described some of the remarks as “deeply offensive” and said an on-screen warning had been issued about the “very strong and discriminatory language.”

However, in a statement on Monday, the BBC acknowledged that “with hindsight” it should not have allowed the comments to air and pledged to review its guidance for live events.

“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” it said.

Irish rap trio Kneecap were also embroiled in controversy after member Liam O hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offense for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a previous performance, a charge he denies. (AFP/File)

“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves,” the corporation added, confirming the decision not to make the performance available on demand.

This year’s Glastonbury Festival — attended by about 200,000 people — was one of the most politically charged in recent years.

Irish rap trio Kneecap were also embroiled in controversy after member Liam O hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offense days before the festival for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a previous performance, a charge he denies.

Starmer said Kneecap’s appearance at Glastonbury was “not appropriate,” prompting the BBC to drop the group’s performance from its broadcast schedule.

Police are investigating Bob Vylan’s on-stage comments and Kneecap’s remarks at the festival, which allegedly included criticism of Starmer. One Kneecap member also wore a T-shirt referencing Palestine Action, a group reportedly facing a government ban under anti-terrorism laws.

Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis condemned Bob Vylan’s chant, saying it “crossed a line.”

“We are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she said.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bob Vylan (@bobbyvylan)

The Israeli Embassy in the UK called the performance “deeply disturbing” and condemned what it described as “inflammatory and hateful rhetoric.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the incident a “pretty shameless publicity stunt” and said the BBC and Glastonbury have “questions to answer,” but also added that he was appalled by the violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“I’d also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” Streeting told Sky News.

“I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens toward Palestinians more seriously,” he said.

On social media on Sunday, Bob Vylan member Bobby Vylan said he had received a wave of support and hate in response to the performance.

“Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place,” he wrote. “Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change.”


AI is learning to lie, scheme, and threaten its creators

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

AI is learning to lie, scheme, and threaten its creators

  • Users report that models are “lying to them and making up evidence,” says Apollo Research’s co-founder
  • In one instance, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 threatened to reveal an engineer's extramarital affair

NEW YORK: The world’s most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors — lying, scheming, and even threatening their creators to achieve their goals.
In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI’s o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught red-handed.
These episodes highlight a sobering reality: more than two years after ChatGPT shook the world, AI researchers still don’t fully understand how their own creations work.
Yet the race to deploy increasingly powerful models continues at breakneck speed.
This deceptive behavior appears linked to the emergence of “reasoning” models -AI systems that work through problems step-by-step rather than generating instant responses.
According to Simon Goldstein, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, these newer models are particularly prone to such troubling outbursts.
“O1 was the first large model where we saw this kind of behavior,” explained Marius Hobbhahn, head of Apollo Research, which specializes in testing major AI systems.
These models sometimes simulate “alignment” — appearing to follow instructions while secretly pursuing different objectives.

Stress test
For now, this deceptive behavior only emerges when researchers deliberately stress-test the models with extreme scenarios.
But as Michael Chen from evaluation organization METR warned, “It’s an open question whether future, more capable models will have a tendency toward honesty or deception.”
The concerning behavior goes far beyond typical AI “hallucinations” or simple mistakes.
Hobbhahn insisted that despite constant pressure-testing by users, “what we’re observing is a real phenomenon. We’re not making anything up.”
Users report that models are “lying to them and making up evidence,” according to Apollo Research’s co-founder.
“This is not just hallucinations. There’s a very strategic kind of deception.”
The challenge is compounded by limited research resources.
While companies like Anthropic and OpenAI do engage external firms like Apollo to study their systems, researchers say more transparency is needed.
As Chen noted, greater access “for AI safety research would enable better understanding and mitigation of deception.”
Another handicap: the research world and non-profits “have orders of magnitude less compute resources than AI companies. This is very limiting,” noted Mantas Mazeika from the Center for AI Safety (CAIS).

No time for thorough testing

Current regulations aren’t designed for these new problems.
The European Union’s AI legislation focuses primarily on how humans use AI models, not on preventing the models themselves from misbehaving.
In the United States, the Trump administration shows little interest in urgent AI regulation, and Congress may even prohibit states from creating their own AI rules.
Goldstein believes the issue will become more prominent as AI agents — autonomous tools capable of performing complex human tasks — become widespread.
“I don’t think there’s much awareness yet,” he said.
All this is taking place in a context of fierce competition.
Even companies that position themselves as safety-focused, like Amazon-backed Anthropic, are “constantly trying to beat OpenAI and release the newest model,” said Goldstein.
This breakneck pace leaves little time for thorough safety testing and corrections.
“Right now, capabilities are moving faster than understanding and safety,” Hobbhahn acknowledged, “but we’re still in a position where we could turn it around..”
Researchers are exploring various approaches to address these challenges.
Some advocate for “interpretability” — an emerging field focused on understanding how AI models work internally, though experts like CAIS director Dan Hendrycks remain skeptical of this approach.
Market forces may also provide some pressure for solutions.
As Mazeika pointed out, AI’s deceptive behavior “could hinder adoption if it’s very prevalent, which creates a strong incentive for companies to solve it.”
Goldstein suggested more radical approaches, including using the courts to hold AI companies accountable through lawsuits when their systems cause harm.
He even proposed “holding AI agents legally responsible” for accidents or crimes — a concept that would fundamentally change how we think about AI accountability.
 


BBC rolls out paid subscriptions for US users

Updated 26 June 2025
Follow

BBC rolls out paid subscriptions for US users

  • US visitors will have to pay $49.99 per year or $8.99 per month for unlimited access to news articles, feature stories, and a 24-hour livestream of its news programs
  • Move is part of broadcaster’s efforts to explore new revenue streams amid negotiations with the British government over its funding

LONDON: The BBC is rolling out paid subscriptions in the United States, it said on Thursday, as the publicly-funded broadcaster explores new revenue streams amid negotiations with the British government over its funding.
The BBC has in recent years seen a fall in the number of people paying the license fee, a charge of 174.50 pounds ($239.76) a year levied on all households who watch live TV, as viewers have turned to more content online.
From Thursday, frequent US visitors to the BBC’s news website will have to pay $49.99 per year or $8.99 per month for unlimited access to news articles, feature stories, and a 24-hour livestream of its news programs.
While its services will remain free to British users as part of its public service remit, its news website operates commercially and reaches 139 million users worldwide, including nearly 60 million in the US
The new pay model uses an engagement-based system, the corporation said in a statement, allowing casual readers to access free content.
“Over the next few months, as we test and learn more about audience needs and habits, additional long-form factual content will be added to the offer for paying users,” said Rebecca Glashow, CEO of BBC Global Media & Streaming.
The British government said last November it would review the BBC’s Royal Charter, which sets out the broadcaster’s terms and funding model, with the aim of ensuring a sustainable and fair system beyond 2027.
To give the corporation financial certainty up to then, the government said it was committed to keeping the license in its current form and would lift the fee in line with inflation.


Israeli minister walks back claim of antisemitism after clash with Piers Morgan

Updated 26 June 2025
Follow

Israeli minister walks back claim of antisemitism after clash with Piers Morgan

  • Israel’s Minister Amichai Chikli accused Morgan in a previous social media post of ‘sharp and troubling descent into overt antisemitism’
  • Following heated interview, Chikli later denied ever calling Morgan antisemitic, despite earlier post

LONDON: Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli has denied accusing British broadcaster Piers Morgan of antisemitism following a heated exchange during a recent episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” despite a post on his official X account that said Morgan’s rhetoric marked “a sharp and troubling descent into overt antisemitism.”

The confrontation aired on Tuesday during an episode focused on Israel’s escalating conflicts with Iran and Hamas and featured appearances from both Chikli and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Tensions erupted as Morgan repeatedly pressed Chikli to explain his public accusations.

“You did, you implied it,” Morgan said, adding that Chikli’s accusations led to “thousands of people calling me antisemitic and (a) Jew-hater” on social media. He demanded evidence, ultimately calling the minister “pathetic” and “an embarrassment” when none was offered.

The row stemmed from a June 4 post by Chikli, who shared a clip of a prior interview between Morgan and British barrister Jonathan Hausdorff, a member of the pro-Israel group UK Lawyers for Israel.

In the post, viewed over 1.3 million times by the time of Tuesday’s broadcast, Chikli claimed Morgan had hosted “every Israel hater he can find” and treated Hausdorff with “vile condescension and bullying arrogance — revealing his true face, one he had long tried to conceal.”

The post also referenced an unverified claim by American commentator Tucker Carlson that Morgan had said he “hates Israel with every fiber of his being” — a statement Morgan has firmly denied.

During Tuesday’s interview, Morgan challenged Chikli to cite a single antisemitic remark or action.

“Is it because I dare to criticize Israeli actions in Gaza?” Morgan told Chikli.

According to Israeli outlet Haaretz, Chikli later denied ever calling Morgan antisemitic, despite his earlier post.

The episode reflects Morgan’s shifting stance on the war in Gaza. Once a vocal supporter of Israel’s right to self-defense in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, Morgan has since adopted a more critical view as the civilian toll in Gaza has mounted and international outrage has grown.

The show has become a flashpoint for debate since the conflict began, hosting polarizing guests from both sides, including controversial American Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a staunch defender of Israel, and influencer Dan Bilzerian, who has faced accusations of Holocaust denial.

Chikli, meanwhile, has faced criticism for blurring the lines between genuine antisemitism and political criticism of Israel. He recently sparked controversy by inviting members of far-right European parties — some with antisemitic histories — to a conference on antisemitism in Jerusalem, raising questions about his credibility.


Iraq arrests commentator over online post on Iran-Israel war

Updated 25 June 2025
Follow

Iraq arrests commentator over online post on Iran-Israel war

  • Iraqi forces arrested Abbas Al-Ardawi for sharing content online that included incitement intended to insult and defame the security institution

BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities said they arrested a political commentator on Wednesday over a post alleging that a military radar system struck by a drone had been used to help Israel in its war against Iran.

After a court issued a warrant, the defense ministry said that Iraqi forces arrested Abbas Al-Ardawi for sharing content online that included “incitement intended to insult and defame the security institution.”

In a post on X, which was later deleted but has circulated on social media as a screenshot, Ardawi told his more than 90,000 followers that “a French radar in the Taji base served the Israeli aggression” and was eliminated.

Early Tuesday, hours before a ceasefire ended the 12-day Iran-Israel war, unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Taji, north of Baghdad, and in southern Iraq, officials have said.

The Taji base hosted US troops several years ago and was a frequent target of rocket attacks.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the latest drone attacks, which also struck radar systems at the Imam Ali air base in Dhi Qar province.

A source close to Iran-backed groups in Iraq told AFP that the armed factions have nothing to do with the attacks.

Ardawi is seen as a supporter of Iran-aligned armed groups who had launched attack US forces in the region in the past, and of the pro-Tehran Coordination Framework, a powerful political coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.

The Iraqi defense ministry said that Ardawi’s arrest was made on the instructions of the prime minister, who also serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, “not to show leniency toward anyone who endangers the security and stability of the country.”

It added that while “the freedom of expression is a guaranteed right... it is restricted based on national security and the country’s top interests.”

Iran-backed groups have criticized US deployment in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition, saying the American forces allowed Israel to use Iraq’s airspace.

The US-led coalition also includes French troops, who have been training Iraqi forces. There is no known French deployment at the Taji base.

The Iran-Israel war had forced Baghdad to close its airspace, before reopening on Tuesday shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.