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EU Leaders Approve Brexit Proposal; Lawmakers in Britain Debate Security of Facebook; Tech Companies Explore India; NASA`s Lander Insight Lands on Mars
Aired November 28, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Twenty-seven members of the European Union have approved Britain`s plan to leave the EU but will the plan pass in Britain
itself. That`s the first topic we`re tackling today on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz. It`s great to see you. The Brexit, the British exit from the
European Union was decided by British voters in the summer of 2016. But if you look at the calendar you get a sense of how complicated the process is.
The European Union is a political and economic partnership of dozens of countries.
It was established in 1993. Two major reasons why Britains voted to leave it 23 years later, they wanted their country to set its own rules on issues
like immigration and international business, and not be governed by those of the broader European Union. British Prime Minister Teresa May has been
working with other European leaders to come up with a plan for how Britain will leave the EU. They`ve done that. Borders, trade, international
cooperation are all part of it.
But while the European Union has approved Britain`s Brexit plan the United Kingdom`s parliament needs to do that too and there are multiple critics of
the plan inside Britain including people on both sides of the country`s vote to leave the EU. Beyond Europe, U.S. President Donald Trump has also
voiced concerns about Britain`s ability to trade with America based on how the deal stands now. British Prime Minister May says her country and the
U.S. have already started discussions on how that will work. She also says there is not a better deal available for her country.
December 11th is the date when Britain`s parliament will have what it calls a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal. Brexit isn`t the only thing keeping
Britain`s parliament busy. Some of it`s members are also participating in an investigation concerning Facebook and disinformation, fake or misleading
information. Yesterday lawmakers from the UK and eight other countries attended an event called the International Grand Committee on
Disinformation.
It was held three weeks after a British government report came out that accused Facebook of not doing enough to keep it`s user`s personal
information safe. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited but he didn`t attend the hearing. Instead a Vice-President of Public Policy for
Facebook, who`s also a member of parliament`s House of Lords, was asked questions about Facebook concerning security. As Facebook grapples with
scrutiny in Europe, it`s part of a tech company effort to connect with hundreds of millions in India.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By 2024, one out of every five people on the planet will live in India. India is already the world`s largest democracy and
fastest growing major economy. But right now, fewer than 40 percent of it`s 1.3 billion people have access to the internet. For companies like
Google, Amazon and Facebook, that`s a problem. One that they`re spending billions to fix.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO OF FACEBOOK: If you really have a mission of connecting every person in the world, you can`t do that without helping to
connect everyone in India.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As Google, we`re extremely committed to India. Our mission in India is internet for every Indian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The battle to bring the internet to India is on. I`d say nearly 1 billion new users and perhaps even more importantly a leg up
on the future of the internet everywhere. In 2018, Walmart acquired Indian online retailer flip card for $16 billion. And in a recent sale event,
Amazon sold more than 1 million phones in just a single day. Yet even with those huge numbers, e-commerce only accounts for roughly 2.5 percent of
India`s retail sales. For big tech companies like Google, that presents an immense opportunity for growth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided to put high speed free public wi-fi in India`s railway stations (inaudible) stations today. Through the course of
that we built a product called Google station. Now that Google Station is now actually going to other emerging models where affordable access is a
constraint. Right? Africa, South East Asia and so on and so forth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more people the use Google, the stronger Google gets. It`s in the business of collecting data to sell ads. And India
alone could offer Google two times more data than all of North America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know of the things which I`m really excited by is giving everyone in India one day the chance to carry a smartphone
(inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Facebook sees an equally big opportunity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: India is a very, very big priority for us company wide. We do want India to play a very important role in global
(inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there are also challenges. Many apps aren`t written in Indian languages. And though mobile data is extraordinarily
cheap, smartphones are still way to expensive for many Indians to afford.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pricing is everything. Tomorrow morning if I could wake up and had one wish for the Indian internet, I would say it would be a
much more affordable, quality smartphone. Right? And if you could do that, than I think literally overnight we could double the user base in
India.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest challenge though might be the Indian government. Officials there have watched the data breaches and privacy
debates play out in other parts of the world.
MARK ZUCKERBERG: That includes the basic responsibility of protecting people`s information which we failed to do with Cambridge Analytica.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they`re taking a hard line. Regulators have blocked Google`s plans to stream (ph) new mapping and even prevented
Facebook from using the promise of free internet to push it`s app. Now, new regulation could restrict how tech companies can gather information
from Indian users.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think India needs a balance between privacy and innovativeness. And, you know, you can`t keep data locked up but you need
innovation to take place. So the right balance needs to be struck and probably India will find the right balance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the people who are coming online in the next phase of growth are going to be first time internet users. And therefore,
ability to make sure that people have the tools to understand what are safe internet practices is going to be a very important area of (inaudible) for
us as a company. But also for the community they embrace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to build policies that take care of this country`s assets and resources and still welcome (inaudible) money from our
side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As millions and millions come online, regulators and tech companies have the benefit of hindsight. How will the internet of
today be different if we knew in the 90s` what we know now? Could we do a better job with privacy, equal access, protection and free speech? India
is not only a staggering economic opportunity. It`s also a second chance at making the internet better for everyone, everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: NASA is involved in about eight active missions to Mars. The latest centers on a lander named "Insight". It`s about the size of a
1960`s convertible according to NASA but unlike one of those or the three rovers on Mars. Insight won`t actually go anywhere during it`s two year,
$850 million mission. Jeanne Moos explains what it will do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You think your flight was long. Took Insight almost seven months to get to Mars. At least your landing didn`t
require a heat shield to withstand 3,000 degree temperatures and a supersonic parachute to slow down. The lander had to stretch it`s legs.
No wonder the folks at NASA cheered every successful step and watch parties turned into nail biters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 37 meters. 17 meters. Standing by for touchdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time she made a call out, you know, the hairs on the back of my neck would start rising a little bit higher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Touchdown confirmed.
(APPLAUSE)
MOOS: There were record handshakes, high fives, fist pumps and hugs. Mission leaders raised their hands in jubilation. Museum goers cheered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Touchdown confirmed.
(APPLAUSE)
MOOS: While a drenched audience watching on a giant screen in Times Square faced conditions only slightly more hospitable than Mars. Within minutes
of landing came the first image.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got it. There it is.
MOOS: There what is, termites on a desert? Microbes under a microscope? Actually that`s Mars dust on the dust cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s the horizon back there. The bluish sky.
MOOS: When it comes to picking a parking spot on Mars, think flat like Kansas without the corn is how NASA described the landing zone. The
mission is designed to explore the interior of Mars. A probe will burrow 16 feet deep to take the planet`s temperature. A seismometer will look for
Mars quakes. NASA`s administrator estimated the U.S. won`t land a human on Mars until the mid 2030`s and some expected to see Matt Damon step out of
Insight`s lander.
MATT DAMON: I`m still alive. MOOS: So is the lander. The day began with fingers crossed and ended with
a line of high fives and a handshake worthy of an NFL touchdown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: So a spirited reaction to Insight`s landing. Scientist`s and mavens were excited about the opportunity to express another reconnaissance
laboratory to the red planet. Add their curiosity bout it and continue on their Mars odyssey. It`s not everyday that you see people so excited when
a mission gets on the ground. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
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