U.S. Federal Government and States Ask Court To Break Up Facebook

Antitrust suits finally filed against Facebook. The U.S. and state governments want to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram. As has been long rumored, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Facebook, claiming the social media giant has pursued anti-competitive practices in violation of federal and state laws. This is … Continue reading U.S. Federal Government and States Ask Court To Break Up Facebook →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 December)

Further Reading “Social media superspreaders: Why Instagram, not Facebook, will be the real battleground for COVID-19 vaccine misinformation” By Isobel Asher Hamilton — Business Insider. According to one group, COVID-19 anti-vaccination lies and misinformation are proliferating on Instagram despite its parent company’s, Facebook, efforts to find and remove such content. There has been dramatic growth … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 December) →

Canada Releases Privacy Bill

Canada’s newly released privacy bill shares commonalities with U.S. bills but features a stronger enforcement regime that could result in fines of up to 5% of annual worldwide revenue for the worst violations. The government in Ottawa has introduced in Parliament the “Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020” (Bill C-11) that would dramatically reform the nation’s … Continue reading Canada Releases Privacy Bill →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (9 December)

Further Reading “Secret Amazon Reports Expose the Company’s Surveillance of Labor and Environmental Groups” By Lauren Kaori Gurley — Vice’s Motherboard. Yet another article by Vice drawing back the curtain on Amazon’s labor practices, especially its apparently fervent desire to stop unionizing. This piece shines light on the company’s Global Security Operations Center that tracks … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (9 December) →

Johnson’s Government Unveils Telecoms Bill

The UK seeks to remake its telecommunications sector, especially its security and supply chain risk aspects. The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has released its telecommunications legislation that would delineate the United Kingdom’s (UK) approach to managing “high risk” companies such as Huawei. The Telecommunications (Security) Bill would reform how the UK regulates the … Continue reading Johnson’s Government Unveils Telecoms Bill →

Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (8 December)

Further Reading “Facebook failed to put fact-check labels on 60% of the most viral posts containing Georgia election misinformation that its own fact-checkers had debunked, a new report says” By Tyler Sonnemaker — Business Insider. Despite its vows to improve its managing of untrue and false content, the platform is not consistently taking down such … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (8 December) →

Final NDAA Agreement, Part II

There are AI, 5G, and supply chain provisions in the national security policy bill the Armed Services Committee have agreed upon. So, it appears I failed to include all the technology goodies to be found in the final FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). And so, I will cover the provisions I missed yesterday … Continue reading Final NDAA Agreement, Part II →

Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (7 December)

Further Reading “Facebook steps up campaign to ban false information about coronavirus vaccines” By Elizabeth Dwoskin — The Washington Post. In its latest step to find and remove lies, misinformation, and disinformation, the social media giant is now committing to removing and blocking untrue material about COVID-19 vaccines, especially from the anti-vaccine community. Will the … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (7 December) →

Armed Services Committees Agree On Final NDAA

The annual defense policy bill creates a new National Cyber Director and addresses other technology issues. Last week, the negotiators agreed on a final FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that could get passed as early as this week. To no great surprise, President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the annual policy and … Continue reading Armed Services Committees Agree On Final NDAA →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (4 December)

Further Reading “How Misinformation ‘Superspreaders’ Seed False Election Theories” By Sheera Frenkel — The New York Times. A significant percentage of lies, misinformation, and disinformation about the legitimacy of the election have been disseminated by a small number of right-wing figures, which are then repeated, reposted, and retweeted. The Times relies on research of how … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (4 December) →