The Wire with Castor

This week on the Wednesday Wire, Frances Wright has her regular Dear Science segment with Marcus Jones. They talk about an ICC report that says Human influence on global warming is 'unequivocal'; they then talk about an analysis which reveals that strange turns of phrase may indicate foul play in science; and also explain the mysterious dimming of a bright star. 

Frances then talks with Jill Ovens, co-leader of the Midwives Union, about the rolling strikes and lack of midwives in Aotearoa; Frances also speaks to Mallory Fraser, a student midwife, about entering the profession itself. 

Zazi Hewlett has her regular catch-up with ACT's Brooke van Velden, this week talking about the power outage that occurred in Waikato earlier this week and the Government's recently proposed Hate Speech laws.

Zazi also talks to the Chief Executive at Consumer NZ, Jon Duffy, and Ecostore's Group Research and Development Director, Huia Iti, about everything greenwashing, its effects on consumers and ways to to distinguish greenwashing brands from ethical ones. 

News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston investigates Apple's new technology that will scan their US consumer’s devices for known child sex abuse images (CSAM). The technology has recieved mixed reactions with some concerned that it breaches privacy rights and others pleased that it supports the fight to eliminate CSAM online. Jemima was interested to explore how Apple's technology might impact the response to CSAM in Aotearoa and how it would work under privacy law if it was to be rolled here.

Jemima speaks to Manager of the Child Exploitation Team for the New Zealand Police Detective Senior Sergeant Alex Carter, Chief Censor David Shanks and Privacy Commissioner John Edwards to better understand the CSAM situation in New Zeland. The experts explain how Apple’s technology could affect New Zealand’s response to CSAM and whether Apple’s technology would breach New Zealand privacy laws. These discussions also touch on the important question, do people who store CSAM on their personal devices have a right to privacy?

Unsurprisingly, Jemima discovers that there is no right to privacy in this situation. In Aotearoa, privacy does not go so far as to protect those participating in illegal child sexual exploitation. 

Disclaimers: This piece covers child sex abuse material. The interviews conducted do not describe the content of CSAM, rather the way the laws prohibiting it are enforced and how technology is used to find it online. However, if a topic like this makes you uncomfortable, it is advised that you do not listen to this podcast. 

As of 10 August 2021, Apple's CSAM scanning technology is only set to be rolled out in the United States. The discussions in this piece about how the technology may impact Aotearoa are all hypothetical. 

Today on the Tuesday Wire, Jemima Huston investigates Apple's new technology that will scan their US consumer’s devices for known child sex abuse images (CSAM). She speaks to Manager of the Child Exploitation Team for the New Zealand Police Detective Senior Sergeant Alex Carter, Chief Censor David Shanks and Privacy Commissioner John Edwards about some of the issues surrounding Apple's technology. Such as the CSAM situation in New Zeland, how Apple’s technology might impact New Zealand’s response to CSAM if it was rolled out here, whether Apple’s technology would breach New Zealand privacy laws and whether people even have the right to privacy when it comes to storing CSAM on their personal devices. 

Joe Wickins reportes the situation with the Line 3 oil pipeline in the United States and its impact on the environment and indigenous people. 

Jemima wraps it up with  achat with Palestinan Youth Aotearoa’s Fathi Hassneiah and Tāmaki Loves Palestine’s Robin Wilson-Whiting about their joint project to screen David Osit’s documentary Mayor this Sunday at the Capitol in Balmoral, Auckland. They discuss the situation in Palestine, the work of Palestinan Youth Aoteroa and the screening event. 

Producer Louis followed up on an interview with truck driver Wayne Hill about the industry's health, pay, and safety conditions. This comes after a recent report from WorkSafe claimed that low pay and long hours have contributed to poor health and safety outcomes. 

Louis spoke with CEO of the Road Transport Forum, Nick Leggett about the consumer pressure on companies and the role of government and regulators.