Finland: Finnish technology firms: Wage hikes can't exceed 1%

Finnish medium-sized technology firms widely recognize that freezing wages for another year would reduce the work motivation of employees but remind that the room for wage increases is very limited, reports Kauppalehti.

The export-oriented technology firms surveyed by the newspaper indicated their willingness to agree on wage increases of 0.4–0.7 per cent.

The firms warned that raising wages by more than one per cent would especially erode the competitiveness of businesses that derive the majority of their revenues from exports. Any disruptions to production, they added, would also increase the risk of losing export orders to rival companies.

Juha Mäkitalo, the chief executive of Finn-Power, a manufacturer of sheet metal processing machinery that is about to re-locate its production facility from Kauhava to Seinäjoki, also pointed out that the prices of raw materials have spiked by almost 33 per cent over a short period of time.

“Earlier wage moderation has been helpful. It’ll also continue being an important competitive asset for us relative to, for example, our German competitors,” he commented to Kauppalehti.

Read more: Finnish technology firms: Wage hikes can't exceed 1%

Government Spying: Edward Snowden: Privacy Remains ‘Under Threat’

Edward Snowden has penned a new op-ed celebrating recent reforms of the US National Security Administration.

Writes Snowden: “the right to privacy . . . remains under threat. Some of the world’s most popular online services have been enlisted as partners in the N.S.A.’s mass surveillance programs, and technology companies are being pressured by governments around the world to work against their customers rather than for them.”

Read more: Edward Snowden: Privacy Remains ‘Under Threat’ | TIME

Government Spying: Snowden Says Technology Companies Should Lead on Data Encryption - by Adam Satariano

Edward Snowden, who leaked classified documents revealing the surveillance activities of the National Security Agency, said technology companies need to take a leadership role in improving encryption tools.

“There’s a technical response that needs to occur,” said Snowden, speaking through a video feed to a packed room of more than 3,000 people today at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. Technology companies can add layers of security that make it harder for intelligence agencies to scour for data, and can do it faster than new surveillance-oversight laws can be implemented, he said.

Snowden is now a fugitive in Russia to avoid arrest following last year’s release of the documents, which disclosed how global spy agencies collect vast amounts of data about phone calls and online activities. The revelations frayed U.S. relationships with countries such as Brazil and Germany and set off a global debate about whether the government is overstepping its authority and violating privacy to bolster security.

The leaks from Snowden, a former NSA contractor, showed that the U.S. had been collecting phone records as well as data from companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG), Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc. The disclosures made Snowden a hero to some people who want to see government activities reined in, while others, including U.S. President Barack Obama, say his actions compromised efforts to combat terrorism.

Security and privacy have been main themes of South by Southwest this year. Known as the conference that helped catapult Twitter Inc. to popularity, the gathering typically focuses on the discovery of new social-networking companies. Instead, this year’s event has focused more on the drawbacks and consequences of sharing personal information online.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange spoke at the conference on March 8 and said the group would soon release a new trove of classified information. He didn’t disclose the timing or the topic of the material because he said he didn’t want to give the subjects a chance to prepare.

Other speakers, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, have discussed the impact of Snowden’s leaks. Schmidt said the material alerted his company to the fact the U.S. government was intercepting data from Google’s servers. Schmidt said the company has since enhanced its encryption and is “pretty sure” the government can’t access the data.

Still, he said the company must comply with court orders for information. Schmidt said there must be a balance between transparency and security, because the government data being disclosed could put lives at risk. Assange and Snowden’s release of classified information have made them “celebrities,” Schmidt said, and may spawn copycat efforts, increasing the risk for harm if the disclosures aren’t done carefully.

Read more: Snowden Says Technology Companies Should Lead on Data Encryption - Bloomberg