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☆ Elon Musk may have a point in his fight against Brazil, but he's not actually helping
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk said he would ignore the order and demanded that Brazil uphold free speech principles. Musk's voice isn't helping the country's debate on free speech, a civil liberties expert told BI. AdvertisementElon Musk is wading into a war with Brazil over orders from the country's Supreme Court to ban certain X accounts that helped spread election misinformation. However, the country's protection of free speech is not absolute, giving the federal government greater discretion to ban certain types of speech — like hate speech. And it's this type of speech that Musk is going to bat for in Brazil — speech that can have serious implications for the country.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, isn't, Musk, Alexandre de Moraes, de Moraes, De Moraes, Jair Bolsonaro, Alimonti, Bolsonaro, Donald Trump, country's, brazenly, Jack Dorsey, Charles Breyer, Musk's, Breyer Organizations: Brazilian, Court, Service, Associated Press, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Nazi, Musk, Business, X Corp, Media Matters Locations: Brazil, China, India, Turkey

☆ Searches for VPNs spike in Texas after Pornhub pulls out of the state
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The apparent spike in VPN searches in Texas shows that these types of age verification laws aren’t just unconstitutional, they’re also silly and ineffective,” Greer said. “Similar search spikes have been reported after other states passed age verification laws, which EFF opposes,” said Hudson Hongo, a spokesperson for the group. It also highlights the running debate in statehouses nationwide about how and whether governments can require websites to perform age verification. It requires adult websites to implement “reasonable age verification” methods to ensure that pornography is not being distributed to minors. The 5th Circuit court’s latest decision formally lifts the injunction against the Texas law.

Persons: Pornhub, “, VPNs, ”, Evan Greer, they’re, ” Greer, Hudson Hongo, ” Pornhub, David Alan Ezra, Ezra, Ken Paxton Organizations: CNN, Texas, Pornhub’s, Google, Texans, Frontier Foundation, EFF, Court, Western, Western District of, Circuit, “ Locations: Texas, China, Russia, Turkey, Montana , Utah, Virginia, statehouses, Western District, Western District of Texas

☆ The TikTok ban is headed to a vote in the House. Here's what to know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A bipartisan group of representatives introduced a bill on March 5 to effectively ban TikTok. The House is set to vote on the legislation on Wednesday, where it's expected to pass. The bill has faced criticism from advocacy groups, TikTok fans, and former President Donald Trump. AdvertisementThe House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on a bipartisan-supported bill that could decide the future of TikTok. If this bill or a similar one passes through Congress, President Joe Biden has already said he'll sign it into law.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Mike Gallagher, Raja, " Gallagher, we've, Zuckerschmuck, ByteDance, Jeff Yass, GOP Sen, Todd Young, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Facebook, Susquehanna International Group, Trump, New York Times, Republican, Democratic, GOP, Center for Democracy & Technology, American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation Locations: United States, TikTok, Yass, Congress

☆ US Supreme Court prepares to hear landmark social media cases
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Monday’s Supreme Court showdown in NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice will determine whether states can forbid social media companies from blocking or removing user content that goes against platform rules. The Florida and Texas laws are broadly written, but officials from both states say the laws will keep social media sites from unfairly silencing conservatives. Social media platforms have insisted for years that they don’t discriminate against right-wing speech. It also allows individual social media users to sue platforms if they believe they have been unfairly censored or “deplatformed.”Florida Gov. The NetChoice cases reflect a deep divide in how many people see social media.

Persons: Paxton, Moody, Ron DeSantis, Florida’s, Carl Juste, Greg Abbott, Donald Trump, Biden, David Paul Morris, “, ”, ” David Greene Organizations: Washington CNN, Facebook, YouTube, Social, Gov, Florida Gov, Miami Herald, Texas ’, Circuit, Republican, Texas, Bloomberg, Getty, Frontier Foundation, EFF, CNN, Freedom, Press Locations: Texas, Florida, . Texas, NetChoice, Miami, Walnut Creek , California

☆ Taylor Swift threatened to sue the college student who tracks her private jet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Grace Kay | Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementTaylor Swift has threatened to take legal action against the college student who tracks her private jet and manages social-media accounts that publish its flights. Sweeney told BI that he appreciates Swift's music and has no intention of harming those he tracks. Advertisement"I think the people are interested," Sweeney told BI over text. Swift has faced backlash for her private jet travel, even topping a list of celebrities whose private planes emitted the most carbon in 2022. Swift's spokesperson previously told BI the singer had purchased carbon credits to offset her jet use.

Persons: Jack Sweeney, Taylor Swift, Sweeney, Swift, —, Jack Sweeney —, stalkers, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tom Cruise, James Slater, Slater, Tree Paine, Swift's, Mark Cuban, Musk Organizations: Service, University of Central Florida, Elon, Washington Post, Business, Post, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Federal Aviation, FAA, BI Locations: Florida

☆ Why dragging tech CEOs in front of Congress might mean something this time
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. But his consistent criticism of some of the real issues happening in Big Tech has sometimes reminded me of a classic Clickhole headline: "Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point." Section 230 is controversial and has become a rallying point for some conservatives and others, who think it allows Big Tech to hide from criticisms that it isn't fair to all sides. Clearly, these big platforms haven't succeeded — sometimes motivated by a whole bunch of internal factors, including profit. AdvertisementBut if there were some magic bullet to stop child exploitation, I truly believe the companies would've used it by now.

Persons: —, Sen, Josh Hawley, Hawley, Mark Zuckerberg, flay, Sundar Pichai, Zuckerberg, Utah Sen, Orrin Hatch, Zuckerberg blinked, Meta, sextortion, Marsha Blackburn, Wednesday's, there's Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Republican, Business, Twitter, Google, Facebook, Street, Meta, ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation Locations: Big, Missouri, Utah, Florida, Tennessee

☆ Senators Grilled Tech Executives on Child Safety
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five of the country’s most prominent tech executives appeared at a hearing today on Capitol Hill, where they were berated by lawmakers for creating “a crisis in America” by ignoring the spread of child sexual abuse material on their platforms. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spent almost four hours needling the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord. Some said the companies had “blood on their hands” and that users “would “die waiting” for them to make changes. The senators pressured the executives to say on the record if they support the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan bill backed by dozens of senators but opposed by the A.C.L.U. Only Evan Spiegel of Snap and Linda Yaccarino of X said yes.

Persons: Evan Spiegel, Linda Yaccarino, X, Mark Zuckerberg, ” Zuckerberg Organizations: Meta, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Facebook Locations: America

☆ Lawmakers to grill CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X and other social media firms at hearing on child safety
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel and other leading social media executives face a grilling on Wednesday from lawmakers concerned about child exploitation and safety on their services. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have blasted the companies for failing to properly address what some have called a "plague of online child sexual exploitation" on social media apps. Wednesday's hearing is focused specifically on issues pertaining to child exploitation and the prevalence of child sexual abuse material on social media. The social media executives are expected to detail their efforts combating child exploitation on their platforms, which include working with law enforcement and tasks like proactively identifying potential predators. Watch: Early Meta platforms investor Brad Gerstner tackles big tech ahead of key earnings week

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel, —, Shou Zi Chew, Jason Citron, Sen, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, S.C, Citron, Meta, Brad Gerstner Organizations: Meta, U.S, Senate, Intelligence, Capitol, Washington , D.C, TikTok, Spiegel, Google YouTube, Committee, Lawmakers, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Locations: Washington ,, Washington, . New

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon-owned Ring will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates. In a blog post on Wednesday, Ring said it will sunset the “Request for Assistance” tool, which allows police departments and other public safety agencies to request and receive video captured by the doorbell cameras through Ring’s Neighbors app. Eric Kuhn, the head of Neighbors, said in the announcement that law enforcement agencies will still be able to make public posts in the Neighbors app. In a bid to increase transparency, Ring changed its policy in 2021 to make police requests publicly visible through its Neighbors app. Ring also maintains the right to share footage without user consent in limited circumstances.

Persons: Ring, Eric Kuhn, ” Kuhn, Matthew Guariglia Organizations: . Police, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Guariglia

☆ Amazon’s Ring to shutter video-sharing program popular with police
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Authorities seeking Ring surveillance videos must now submit a formal legal request to the company, rather than soliciting footage directly from users through the app, Ring said in a blog post Wednesday. Hundreds of law enforcement agencies have struck up partnerships with Ring, according to a tracker maintained by the consumer advocacy group Fight for the Future. But, he warned, it would not necessarily stop police from continuing to persuade Ring users to voluntarily give up their rights. Police are able to contact Ring users off the app. And Ring users can still decide if they want to voluntarily send video, sounds or images from their Ring devices to law enforcement.

Persons: ”, Evan Greer, Matthew Guariglia, Guariglia, didn’t, Ring, Massachusetts Democratic Sen, Ed Markey, “, enforcement’s Organizations: CNN, “, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Police, Fraternal, of Police, EFF, Massachusetts Democratic Locations: Massachusetts

☆ Why this tech is better than passwords, and how to switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Jake Piazza | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

There's a safer way to log in to apps and websites that removes the need to use passwords. The move toward passkeys comes as our digital privacy gets harder to protect, particularly as people need to remember more and more passwords. A recent Pew Research survey showed that almost 70% of Americans are stressed about the number of passwords they need to remember. Bottom line: Passkeys are better than passwords at protecting your personal information. I created the passkeys using my iPhone, but you can do it from a computer or Android phone by following similar steps.

Persons: passkeys, Jacob Hoffman, Andrews, Hoffman, Steve Won Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Pew Research, Electronic Frontier Foundation, CNBC

☆ Why Meta, X and TikTok face more pressure from Europe than the U.S. on Israel-Hamas war disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Days after the Israel-Hamas war erupted last weekend, social media platforms like Meta , TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) received a stark warning from a top European regulator to stay vigilant about disinformation and violent posts related to the conflict. In that case, the AGs argued that the Biden administration was overly coercive in its suggestions to social media companies that they remove such posts. In the U.S., "we can't have government officials leaning on social media platforms and telling them, 'You really should be looking at this more closely. Under the DSA, large online platforms must have robust procedures for removing hate speech and disinformation, though they must be balanced against free expression concerns. A series of letters from New York AG Letitia James to several social media sites on Thursday exemplifies how U.S. officials may try to walk that line.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Elon Musk, Biden, David Greene, they're, Kevin Goldberg, Goldberg, Christoph Schmon, Greene, New York AG Letitia James, James Organizations: Digital Services, Republican, AGs, White, Federal Bureau of, Electronic Frontier Foundation Civil, Freedom, EFF, DSA, New York AG, Google, CNBC, YouTube, EU's, Twitter Locations: Israel, U.S, New, Europe

A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in a case filed by TikTok and five Montana content creators who want the court to block the state’s ban on the video sharing app before it takes effect Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula is not expected to rule immediately on the request for a preliminary injunction. Content creators say the ban violates free speech rights and could cause economic harm for their businesses. Chinese law allows the government to order companies to help it gather intelligence. Meanwhile, 18 attorneys generals from mostly Republican-led states are backing Montana and asking the judge to let the law be implemented.

Persons: TikTok, Donald Molloy, Montana, hasn’t, ByteDance, “, Montanans Organizations: U.S, District, U.S . State Department, Oracle, Montana Legislature, American Civil Liberties Union, Frontier Foundation, Republican Locations: Montana, Missoula, U.S, Beijing, China, . Montana

The government says the online safety bill passed this week will make Britain the safest place in the world to be online. Here's a closer look at Britain's law:WHAT IS THE ONLINE SAFETY LAW? The government says the law takes a “zero tolerance” approach to protecting kids by making platforms legally responsible for their online safety. Senior managers at tech companies also face criminal prosecution and prison time if they fail to answer information requests from U.K. regulators. The law also sets up a clash between the British government and tech companies over encryption technology.

Persons: They'll, haven’t, Meta Organizations: Google, Facebook, U.S, European Union, Services, IF BIG TECH, Companies, Ofcom, Rights Group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, U.S . Locations: Europe, U.S

☆ Supreme Court rules for Jack Daniel’s in ‘poop-themed’ dog toy trademark fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Jack Daniel's in a trademark fight over "poop-themed" dog toys that resemble the company's famous whiskey bottles. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said that VIP's alleged infringement of the Jack Daniel's trademark "falls within the heartland of trademark law, and does not receive special First Amendment protection." 7" label on Jack Daniel's bottles. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled in favor of VIP Products, saying its toys are protected under the First Amendment, which prompted Jack Daniel's to seek further review from the Supreme Court. Various companies, including Nike , Campbell Soup and American Apparel, filed briefs backing Jack Daniel's, saying the appeals court's interpretation of the law threatened trademark protections that shield the value of iconic brands.

Persons: Jack Daniel's, Elena Kagan, Campbell Soup Organizations: VIP Products, U.S, Circuit, Nike, Apparel, Electronic Frontier Foundation

☆ Pornhub asks users, Big Tech for help as states adopt age verification laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —In the two-minute video, adult performer Cherie Deville stares into the camera and intones soberly to viewers, for the second time in a month, that policymakers are coming for their porn. It’s unclear how much Pornhub expects to achieve, as the laws have already been passed and signed. Pornhub’s simultaneous appeals to users and to Big Tech highlight the challenging position the company now finds itself in amid a wave of state legislation. Now, Pornhub’s fight could prove to be a bellwether for the growing push to enforce age verification for social media. Device-based age verification, Tiwari said, could have “very serious privacy connotations, because you now have the largest tech companies in the world having your government ID and all the information present in them linked to individual devices.

Persons: Cherie Deville, soberly, ” Deville, Pornhub, CNN it’s “, Pornhub —, —, ECP, Solomon Friedman, Friedman, ” Friedman, “, Porn, Pornhub’s, Josh Golin, ” Golin, India McKinney, ” McKinney, Udbhav Tiwari, Tiwari, ” Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Ethical Capital Partners, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, Android, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Twitter, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Pornhub, Utah, Arkansas , Mississippi, Virginia, India

☆ A TikTok ban in Montana points to how a US ban would play out: messy and hard to enforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, as US lawmakers discuss a federal ban. US lawmakers have been talking about a possible TikTok ban over its ties to China. Montana's law suggests a federal ban would be hard to enforce — and might not solve anything. Last week, Montana became the first US state to ban TikTok — and the rule's implementation could show just how hard it would be to enact a federal ban. Montana's TikTok ban is hard to enforce from a tech standpointWhile the ACLU and other civil rights groups are questioning the legality of Montana's TikTok ban, even if it did stand up to a court challenge, it's hard to actually enforce.

Persons: TikTok, it's, Montana's, that's, Evan Greer, Aaron Mendes, Banning TikTok, Mendes, Donald Trump's, Karen Gullo Organizations: ACLU, TikTok, Apple, Washington Post, Facebook, Electronic Frontier Foundation Locations: Montana, China, British, TikTok

☆ Senators unveil bipartisan legislation to ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The proposed legislation by a bipartisan group of US senators aims to address what policymakers, mental health advocates and critics of tech platforms say is a mental health crisis fueled by social media. “Social media companies have stumbled onto a stubborn, devastating fact,” Schatz said. But it would represent a potentially vast expansion of the government’s role in regulating websites where age verification is a requirement. Tech companies could still develop their own in-house age verification technology or hire third party companies to perform the verification, lawmakers said. Violations of the proposed law could mean millions of dollars in Federal Trade Commission fines for social media companies.

☆ America's best bet for banning TikTok would have terrible side effects
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

As talk of a TikTok ban builds, the leading legislation with bipartisan support is the RESTRICT Act. Here's why the RESTRICT Act has some people so worried — and what the experts say might be a better approach. The type of data TikTok collects is similar to what Facebook or Twitter collect from its users. What would actually solve the concerns about the Chinese government getting US user data is comprehensive data privacy legislation, he and other experts said. "What we're saying is that if you're concerned about the Chinese government getting user data from TikTok," Greene said.

☆ Should parents decide what their kids do online? These states think so
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

That, at least, is the vision emerging from a growing number of states introducing — and in some cases passing — legislation intended to protect kids online. Now, in the absence of federal legislation, states are taking action, and raising some alarms in the process. On the surface, providing more guardrails for teens is a step forward that some parents may welcome after years of worrying about the potential harms kids face on social media. “Not all parents are passionate, kind and supportive of their kids, and even the ones who are don’t have the capacity or time to deal with the 24/7 nature of social media,” said Heitner. “It’s an unfair burden.”Enforcement issuesGiven that the bills are unprecedented, it’s unclear how exactly social media companies will adapt and enforce it.

☆ Republicans are starting to split over exactly how — and whether — to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Republicans generally support banning TikTok, but they're beginning to disagree on how. Sen. Rand Paul has also come out against a TikTok ban, blocking a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley. But even among Republicans who favor a TikTok ban, there are growing concerns about the RESTRICT Act — arguably the most prominent proposal put forward to deal with the issue. "So, I think we should ban TikTok. "It's worse than banning TikTok, because it can be applied to lots of other companies," said Paul.

☆ Utah governor signs bill requiring teens to get parental approval to join social media sites
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

As part of the bill, called the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, social media platforms will have to conduct age verification for all Utah residents, ban all ads for minors and impose a curfew, making their sites off limits between the hours of 10:30 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. for anyone under the age of 18. The bill will also require social platforms to give parents access to their teens’ accounts. “Social media provides a lifeline for many young people, in addition to community, education, and conversation,” said Jason Kelley, director of activism at the EFF. Given that the bill is unprecedented, it’s unclear how exactly the social media companies will adapt. Inouye said minors could “steal” identities – such as from family members who don’t use social media – to create accounts that they can access and use without oversight.

☆ These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on two pivotal cases dealing with online speech and content moderation. A set of rulings against the tech industry could significantly narrow Section 230 and its legal protections for websites and social media companies. If that happens, the Court’s decisions could expose online platforms to an array of new lawsuits over how they present content to users. Such a result would represent the most consequential limitations ever placed on a legal shield that predates today’s biggest social media platforms and has allowed them to nip many content-related lawsuits in the bud. “The massive social media industry has grown up largely shielded from the courts and the normal development of a body of law.

☆ Biden and Republican senators join forces in attack on Big Tech at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A person walks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building during rainy weather, in Washington, U.S. January 17, 2023. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and some of his most prominent Republican adversaries in Congress have become allies, of sorts, in an upcoming Supreme Court showdown between Big Tech and its critics. Biden took a shot at tech companies in his State of the Union address earlier this month, although he did not mention Section 230. "I think this is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to disentangle some of the knots that the courts themselves have woven here into the law," he said in an interview. "The rhetoric is that these are bad powerful tech companies that are harming ordinary people and causing a lot of harm and injustice," Rathi said.

The men’s defense lawyers asked a judge to rule the geofence warrant unconstitutional and throw out any evidence that came from it. Last March, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that a geofence warrant used to find a suspect in a bank robbery was unconstitutional. In September, a state court in San Francisco ruled against the use of a geofence warrant in a burglary investigation. Law enforcement agencies may then try workarounds, like teaming up with agencies in jurisdictions that lack restrictions. “This is a tool that law enforcement is hellbent on using, and I understand why,” Owsley said.

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