Dutch Olympic Athletes: 'don't take your phone to Beijing 2022'

The NOC*NFS = Dutch Olympic Committee (DOC)has strongly advised that Dutch Olympic athletes should leave their phones/iPads etc at home during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. VPNs are unavailable in Beijing and the DOC has a strong idea about being spied on when using the only available internet connection. They're advised to bring an 'empty' phone and a cyber security firm will give individual (online) classes to athletes how to bring a clean-ish phone into China. Clean-ish as in: contacts y/n., pics y/n etc.

It's not the first time that the DOC warns for 'interesting effects'. There was a real warning for consuming food during the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in Beijing and Rio: local food (meat) contains too much growth hormone and it could show up during the doping tests. Some teams landed in Beijing 2012 a few weeks before the Olympics. That's when they found out about the hormones. As a result, the Dutch sailing crew and TeamNL Cycling landed in Rio months before the event for tests and training and they brought their own food and some switched to vegan food.

Apparently all participants/ team attendees of the games must register their sim card and phone numbers so that the authorities cam monitor them for health purposes - no problem :-)


B

What could possibly go wrong?

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Originally Posted by Brian

Apparently all participants/ team attendees of the games must register their sim card and phone numbers so that the authorities cam monitor them for health purposes - no problem :-)


B

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian

Apparently all participants/ team attendees of the games must register their sim card and phone numbers so that the authorities cam monitor them for health purposes - no problem :-)


B

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Even more info than I was aware of! The idea of bringing a clean phone with clean SIM card is a good idea. (Reminds me of TV shows where the bad guys use 'burners'.)

Actually, "a few" SIM cards would probably be useful

The GB team have had similar advice

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Originally Posted by paulpsz008

The GB team have had similar advice

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Perhaps they compete against each other, but I know for a fact that they share info as well. Not only TeamGB and TeamNL. It's about helping fellow athletes. That way you know that your opponent is at his/her best. That makes winning even better.

We had two 2 sailors from TeamAUS staying with us for a few weeks in 2019 (They became winners of the Nacra 15 Dutch Open Championship). And a member of TeamUSA and a member of TeamHKG train/sail with TeamNL during the off-season. The Olympic Committees of those countries pay TeamNL. The other way around: Dutch track athletes and Dutch swimmers train with TeamUSA.

As a footnote to this and regarding our own government, take a look : 17th Jan 22 source :publictechnology.net

The Home Office has retained a major advertising company to deliver a public communications campaign that will reportedly aim to stoke public sentiment in opposition to encryption technology.
Successive home secretaries have frequently voiced strong opposition to the concept of encryption on the grounds that it helps criminals; the incumbent minister, Priti Patel, has called on tech firms to include in their systems so-called back doors that would allow authorities to, effectively, access encrypted messages on demand. A fact sheet published by the Home Office in late 2019, meanwhile, conspicuously failed to rule out the proposal of anti-encryption legislation, although indicated that reaching a mutually satisfactory accord with Facebook and other tech firms was the government’s “preferred solution”.
Two years on, and absent any such agreement, the department is shortly to launch a public messaging initiative designed to turn the tide of public opinion against encryption. The campaign will focus heavily on what the government believes are the implications for child safety if the use of the security technology is expanded.
A report from Rolling Stone claims that M&C Saatchi has been awarded the contract to fulfil a campaign which could, according proposals understood to have been created by the advertising agency, include dramatic public stunts and efforts to encourage concerned parents to write directly to Mark Zuckerberg and other tech executives.


B

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to dig out the old school Nokia! - Charge it this evening and it’ll probably still have some charge left when you arrive in China!


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And people moan about British food standard ?