Banananomics: Shrewd Automakers, Forced Labor, And Data Privacy

Shrewd Automakers, Forced Labor, And Data Privacy

Multiple major automakers relied on forced labor in China for some purchased parts, a Senate Finance Committee investigation found Monday.

Inputs that matter: BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volkswagen purchased parts that the U.S. government flagged for links to forced labor camps in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, home to the Uighur minority group of Muslims.

• The two-year investigation also found that BMW and Jaguar Land Rover continued importing the flagged parts as recently as last month, even after they were informed of the forced labor, the report states.

The opportunity: The report claims that BMW imported about 8,000 Mini cars to the U.S. that contained a flagged part after a Chinese manufacturer was added to a forced labor list in December. 

• "The BMW Group has strict standards and policies regarding employment practices, human rights, and working conditions, which all our direct suppliers must follow," the company said in a statement to The Hill.

Zoom in: "Automakers are sticking their heads in the sand and then swearing they can't find any forced labor in their supply chains," Finance Chair Sen. Ron Wyden said in a statement.

• "Somehow, the Finance Committee's oversight staff uncovered what multi-billion-dollar companies apparently could not: that BMW imported cars, Jaguar Land Rover imported parts, and VW AG manufactured cars that all included components made by a supplier banned for using Uyghur forced labor."

• "I'm calling on Customs and Border Protection to take several specific steps to supercharge enforcement and crack down on companies that fuel the shameful use of forced labor in China."

Between the lines: Meanwhile, Automotive News reports that Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, Kia, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have told Congress they would hand over drivers' data if faced with a subpoena.

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High Tech, Disinformation, and A Dead Spy

Israel's CyberArk has signed an agreement to purchase U.S. cybersecurity firm Venafi in a cash and stock deal worth $1.54 billion.

Inputs that matter: CyberArk will pay $1 billion in cash and about $540 million in shares to buy the provider of machine identity protection solutions from private equity investment firm Thomas Bravo.

• Traded on the Nasdaq with a market cap of over $10 billion, CyberArk specializes in identity security and protecting privileged accounts on corporate servers against external attackers and malicious insiders.

• "This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone for CyberArk, enabling us to further our vision to secure every identity – human and machine – with the right level of privilege controls," said CyberArk CEO Matt Cohen.

• "By combining forces with Venafi, we are expanding our abilities to secure machine identities in a cloud-first, GenAI, post-quantum world."

The opportunity: In a related story, the Russian KGB accused Israel of war crimes, amplified divisive political debates in America over slavery reparations and immigration, and spread nonsensical stories about Polish mercenaries in Ukraine.

• These stories had been taken from legitimate news outlets and modified using large language models, most likely one built by OpenAI, the U.S. company that operates ChatGPT.

• For instance, more than 90 French articles were altered with the following English instruction: "Please rewrite this article taking a conservative stance against the liberal policies of the Macron administration in favor of working-class French citizens."

Zoom in: Earlier this week, Israel revoked its decision to shut down Associated Press news agency's Gaza live feed.

• Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi reversed the decision, which has led to mounting international pressure.

• The White House expressed concern, while the Foreign Press Association said it was alarmed by "the latest in a series of chilling steps by the Israeli government to stifle the media."

• AP's vice-president Lauren Easton said it "decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government."

• Mr Karhi said the equipment was confiscated because it violated a new media law by providing images for broadcasts on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network, which it banned.

Between the lines: Meanwhile, a British man charged with spying for Hong Kong was mysteriously found dead in a U.K. park over the weekend.

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