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☆ Congress may be going after the wrong social network
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Chew, meanwhile, clapped back, “American social companies don’t have a good track record with data privacy and user security. But if lawmakers were serious about protecting the digital data of millions of American social media users, targeting TikTok alone is a limited way to achieve this goal. Separately, US intelligence authorities have said that Russian operatives were able to exploit US-based social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter as part of an election meddling campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential vote. Sherman said he thinks some lawmakers are raising important national security concerns regarding TikTok. Ultimately, Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the bill a “missed opportunity” for Congress to take real action regarding their concerns about US user data.

☆ Biden administration planning action to stop hostile foreign governments exploiting Americans’ personal data
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Biden administration is preparing an executive order aimed at curbing the ability of foreign governments to access sensitive personal data on Americans that could jeopardize national security, one current US official and one former US official familiar with the matter told CNN. Foreign efforts to exploit Americans’ data represent an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security and foreign policy, the draft text of the order says, according to the US official. The National Security Council at the White House declined to comment on the draft executive order. A surge in the amount of intimate personal information on US citizens that can be bought and sold online has alarmed lawmakers and senior US officials focused on national security. Wyden said he hoped the final text of the executive order, among other things, applies to data held by US subsidiaries of foreign companies.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, ” Sen, Ron Wyden, Wyden, TikTok, “, ” Justin Sherman, Duke, ” Sherman Organizations: CNN, Bloomberg News, National Security Council, White, Oregon Democrat, Social, Duke University Locations: China, Oregon

☆ Researchers find sensitive personal data of US military personnel is for sale online
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Sensitive personal information like the apparent home addresses and health conditions of thousands of active-duty US military personnel can be bought cheaply online from so-called data brokers, according to a study published Monday by Duke University researchers. The researchers could shop for data on servicemembers based on geolocation, including whether they lived or work near Fort Bragg, Quantico or other sensitive military locations. The Federal Trade Commission is currently considering new regulations to crack down on data brokers. “However, we have repeatedly raised concerns about the practices of data brokers and their potential impact on consumer privacy. The Pentagon and US intelligence community have long been concerned about how foreign spies might exploit the market for personal data on Americans.

Persons: Scammers, ”, Justin Sherman, ” Sherman, Ron Wyden, “, ” Wyden Organizations: CNN, Duke University, Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, Social, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Fair, Oregon Democrat, Department of Defense’s, Pentagon Locations: Fort Bragg, Quantico, Oregon, United States

☆ New bipartisan bill in Senate could address TikTok security concerns without a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Much of the existing legislation addressing TikTok at the federal and state level has focused on bans of the app. Wednesday’s legislation, known as the Protecting Americans’ Data From Foreign Surveillance Act, does not identify TikTok by name. TikTok has faced criticism from US officials who say the company’s links to China pose a national security risk. Congress has made several attempts in recent months to address data transfers to foreign adversaries. In February, House lawmakers advanced a bill that would all but require the Biden administration to ban TikTok over national security concerns about the app.

Persons: Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, Wyoming Republican Sen, Cynthia Lummis, —, ” Wyden, Wyden, TikTok, ByteDance, Biden, Justin Sherman, ” Sherman, Rhode Island Democratic Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee Republican Sen, Bill Hagerty, New Mexico Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich, Florida Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, Warren Davidson, Anna Eshoo Organizations: CNN, Oregon Democratic, Wyoming Republican, ByteDance, Commerce Department, Oracle, Texas, Commerce, Duke University’s Sanford School of Public, Rhode, Rhode Island Democratic, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee Republican, New Mexico Democratic, Florida Republican, Ohio Republican, California Democratic Locations: China, United States, Russia, Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee, New Mexico, Florida

☆ U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves – over internet cables
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +28 min

Three of China’s state-owned carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom) – had committed funding as members of the consortium, which also included U.S.-based Microsoft Corp and French telecom firm Orange SA, according to six people involved in the deal. China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Orange did not respond to requests for comment. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were resolutely behind HMN Tech, which had come in with a bid of around $500 million. China Telecom and China Mobile threatened to walk off the project, taking tens of millions of dollars of investment with them. Among them is China Telecom, which had previously won authorization to provide services in the United States.

☆ TikTok and its CEO are fighting to save the app in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In his talk, Chew, the CEO of TikTok, said the social network would not provide US user data to the Chinese government and has never been asked to do so. Chew stressed the steps TikTok has taken to protect US user data. The Harvard event is just one of several media appearances Chew has made in recent weeks amid mounting scrutiny of TikTok and of himself. “It’s life or death for TikTok, from their perspective,” said Justin Sherman, the CEO of Global Cyber Strategies, D.C.-based research and advisory firm, who was among the researchers TikTok invited to be briefed on “Project Texas,” the company’s $1.5 billion initiative to address lawmakers’ security concerns. But for some lawmakers with security concerns, the latest push “may be too little too late.”In his TikTok video on Tuesday, Chew appealed directly to users of the app.

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