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☆ The Department of Justice asks court to force Google to spin off Chrome
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Google has promised to appeal; the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s filing. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote in his opinion. The Microsoft case has been credited with paving the way for Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome browsers, which ultimately allowed Google to promote its search engine to billions of internet users. The Microsoft parallels in the Google case are clear, Mehta wrote in his August opinion. Even as Google fights the Justice Department on remedies in the search case, the company is embroiled in another antitrust battle just across the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia.

Persons: didn’t, Amit Mehta, Mehta, Satya Nadella, Bing, OpenAI, Trump, Joe Biden, – Mehta, Sherman, ” Mehta, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Google, Justice Department, Apple, Samsung, DOJ, Microsoft, Verizon, Court, District, Columbia, Chrome, Windows, Netscape, Department Locations: California, Alexandria , Virginia

☆ How Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to dispute the election results – again
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Election officials warn they’re outmatched and struggling to combat the wave of falsehoods coming from Musk and his platform. Manipulating early voting numbersIn 2020, Trump attacked early voting and mail-in voting, claiming they were used to cheat. Election officials have been inundated with threats of violence since the 2020 election. But Trump and his allies have been laying the groundwork to try to dispute the election should he lose. In Georgia, conservatives sought to allow county election officials to refuse to certify the election results, though the effort was blocked by a state judge.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, He’s, he’s, Kamala Harris, “, ”, Ben Ginsberg, you’re, they’re, Justin Levitt, ” Levitt, hasn’t, Elon Musk, they’re outmatched, Musk, it’s, –, Kathy Boockvar, Boockvar, Athena, doesn’t, Elon, what’s, Jocelyn Benson, ” Musk, Benson, Lara Trump, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Ruth Greenwood, Harris, Michael Morley, ” Trump, Glenn Youngkin, They’ve, Andy Harris, Hurricane Helene, Ginsberg, ” CNN’s Yahya Abou, Ghazala, Sarah Boxer, Pamela Brown, Ethan Cohen, Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohen, Devan Cole, Daniel Dale, Curt Devine, Danny Freeman, John Fritze, Brian Fung, Majlie, Puy, Holmes, Lybrand, Sean Lyngaas, Sara Murray, Paula Reid, Fredreka Schouten, Tierney Sneed, Donie O’Sullivan, Casey Tolan Organizations: CNN, noncitizens, Republican, Loyola Law School, Biden White, Elon, Democrat, Benedictine, Republicans, Republican National Committee, Trump, Harvard Law School, RNC, Democratic, Florida State University College of Law, ” Republicans, Virginia Republican Gov, Justice Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, Maryland GOP, North, GOP, Republican National Locations: American, Florida, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, Allentown , Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie, Bucks, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Allegheny County, Portland , Oregon, Vancouver , Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, Hurricane

☆ Influencers are playing a big role in the 2024 election. There’s no way to tell who’s getting paid for their endorsements
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Angelo was paid by a Democratic political action committee for the post, a fact that’s clearly noted in the caption. Campaigning moves to social mediaIn 2024, political content posted by social media creators has become just as important as traditional celebrity endorsements — if not more. Together, the two organizations paid 15 social media creators to produce content encouraging Latinos to vote. Election advertisements are overseen by a different agency, the Federal Elections Commission, which lacks a similar disclosure rule for individuals who are paid to make endorsements on social media. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has since 2020 allowed paid political content from influencers, so long as the organization paying for it is registered in its ad library.

Persons: ” influencer Mikey Angelo, who’s, Angelo, they’ve, ’, they’re, “, ”, Krysten Stein, Jake Paul, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Paul, Tim Walz, Matt Nelson, Walz, Nelson, Paul, Kamala Harris ’, Harris, “ It’s, Danielle Butterfield, Butterfield, ” Butterfield, Influencers, Trump’s, Axios, Jack Posobiec, Riley Gaines, Tana Mongeau, Mongeau, she’d, ” Mongeau, they’d, Mitchell Katz, Ellen Weintraub, Shana Broussard, George W, Bush, aren’t, TikTok, Somos, Ari Cohn, ” Cohn, Robert Weissman, ” Weissman, Cate Domino, Domino Organizations: New, New York CNN, Democratic, influencers, Commission, Pew Research Center, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, YouTube, Convention, USA, Somos, CNN, NCAA, Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Elections Commission, FEC, Facebook, Public Citizen Locations: New York, Trump

☆ The federal government just made it much easier to cancel your gym membership
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Erika Tulfo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC unveiled its final “click-to-cancel” rule, which requires businesses provide a way for consumers to cancel their subscriptions that is just as easy as it is to sign up. That includes everything from gym memberships to digital streaming and e-commerce to cable TV service. “Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” said Commission Chair Lina Khan in statement by the FTC. Other times they might’ve been able to sign up online, but in order to cancel they had to call and talk to a representative. Other kinds of memberships required them to actually show up in person to cancel their subscription,” Brett said.

Persons: ”, Lina Khan, Laura Brett, Brett, you’ve, ” Brett, Natnan, ABCmouse, Brian Fung, Nathaniel Meyersohn Organizations: CNN, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Federal, National Advertising Division, BBB

☆ US government considers a breakup of Google
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The US Department of Justice in a court filing Tuesday night said it may recommend dismantling Google’s core businesses, separating Google’s search business from Android, Chrome and the Google Play app store. “That would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features — including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants,” the government said in its court filing. The case had been described as the biggest tech antitrust case since the US government’s antitrust showdown with Microsoft at the turn of the millennium. Whatever ultimately happens to Google could set the stage for potential remedies in other, ongoing antitrust cases against tech giants. Google faces a separate case brought by DOJ attorneys, along with 17 states, who allege that its advertising business is anticompetitive.

Persons: ”, Amit Mehta, ” Kent Walker Organizations: CNN, Baby, Google, US Department of Justice, Android, Apple, Microsoft, DOJ, Meta, Ticketmaster

☆ TikTok has 15 minutes to fight for its life
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The law Biden signed seeks to ban TikTok on Americans’ personal devices unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, quickly sells TikTok to someone else — which may effectively end the app as we currently know it. TikTok will not get the luxury of a full trial to argue for its continued existence in its current form. But it won’t be alone: A group of TikTok creators also suing the Biden administration will go next, with 10 minutes to speak. Court filings show that TikTok and US national security officials had hammered out a draft proposal to address the security concerns. The question is whether all that amounts to enough influence over ByteDance and TikTok to gain access to US TikTok users’ data, in spite of the guardrails promised by Project Texas.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, TikTok, Sri Srinivasan, Judge Neomi Rao, Donald Trump, Douglas Ginsburg, Reagan, ’ TikTok, “, ”, Chris Inglis Organizations: CNN, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Oracle, Justice Department, Independent, Project Texas, Federal Communications Commission Locations: China, United States, ByteDance, U.S, Beijing

☆ Google’s search business was declared to be a monopoly. Now its ad business is on trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The long-awaited Google-DOJ showdown focuses on the $31 billion portion of Google’s ad business that matches website publishers with advertisers. “One monopoly is bad enough, but a trifecta of monopolies is what we have here,” said Wood, the DOJ attorney, referring to Google’s publisher ad server business, its advertising exchange AdX, and its advertiser ad network. Authorities have called for that group of businesses within Google — which is distinct from Google’s search or search ads business — to be broken up. Factoring in those other sources of competition drops Google’s share of the ad exchange market from 34% to 17%, said Dunn, Google’s attorney. Still, a breakup of Google’s ad tech business could potentially trigger a shakeup of the digital advertising industry and Google’s role within it.

Persons: —, ” Julia Tarver Wood, Leonie Brinkema, “, ”, Karen Dunn, Google’s, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Albert V, Alex Wong, Tim Wolfe, DOJ’s, Wood, ” Wood, Trump, Dunn, Google, Clinton, Brinkema, Neal Mohan, ” It’s Organizations: CNN, Google, US Department of Justice, DOJ, Biden, Blockbuster, Justice Department, Bryan United, Courthouse, The Justice, Gannett, USA, Army, Authorities, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Big Tech, Court, Eastern, of, Justice, Comcast, Disney, The New York Times, YouTube Locations: Virginia, Google’s, Alexandria , Virginia, of Virginia

☆ ‘From the River to the Sea’ is not hate speech, Meta’s Oversight Board rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-04 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Meta’s Oversight Board has found that the phrase “From the River to the Sea,” used to express Palestinian support, did not break the company’s hate speech policies. The Board said it reviewed three cases involving the use of “From the River to the Sea” on Facebook and said that all appeals to remove the content were closed without human review. Those users then appealed to the Board, which exists for users to challenge Meta’s appeals process on Facebook, Instagram or Threads. In Germany, using the slogan “From the river to the sea” is now a criminal offense. The slogan used in the cases had wide reach through Meta’s platforms.

Persons: ”, Sean Gallup, Andy Stone, Meta, Rashida Tlaib, Brian Fung, Alaa Elassar, Jennifer Henderson Organizations: New, New York CNN, Defamation League, West Bank, Facebook, Meta, Getty, CNN, Islamic Relations, Muslim Locations: New York, Jordan, Gaza, Jerusalem, Palestine, Berlin, Germany, Palestinian, Israel, Muslim Arab American, Maryland

☆ UK riots show how social media can fuel real-life harm. It’s only getting worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For nearly a decade, governments and civil rights groups have increasingly argued that online platforms have created enormous societal costs. Many social media companies have invested heavily in content moderation over the years. In the European Union, officials are looking to hold social media companies accountable for spreading misinformation under the new Digital Services Act. In the UK, the Online Safety Act could take effect as soon as this year, requiring, among other things, social media platforms to remove illegal content. “We’re going to have to look more broadly at social media after this disorder,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a video distributed to media Friday.

Persons: “ We’re, Keir Starmer, Jordan, Olesya Dmitracova, Kara Fox Organizations: CNN, stoke, Capitol, European Union, Digital Services, Facebook, United Locations: United Kingdom, unaddressed, Leeds, England, United States

☆ Google loses massive antitrust lawsuit over its search dominance
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Google has violated US antitrust law with its search business, a federal judge ruled Monday, handing the tech giant a staggering court defeat with the potential to reshape how millions of Americans get information online and to upend decades of dominance. The decision by the US District Court for the District of Columbia is a stunning rebuke of Google’s oldest and most important business. The company has spent tens of billions of dollars on exclusive contracts to secure a dominant position as the world’s default search provider on smartphones and web browsers. Now, said US District Judge Amit Mehta, that powerful position has led to anticompetitive behavior that must be stopped. “It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: Microsoft’s Bing, Trump, Amit Mehta, “, ” Mehta, Sherman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Google, US, Court, District of Columbia Locations: New York

☆ Elon Musk files new lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman Monday, re-opening a legal battle in his fights over artificial intelligence. He then dropped the lawsuit in June, without explanation, after OpenAI published old emails from Musk that revolved around OpenAI’s creation. The new lawsuit, filed against OpenAI, Altman and co-founder Gregory Brockman, made the same claims. The new lawsuit claims Altman and Brockman “manipulated” Musk into co-founding OpenAI. “Elon Musk’s case against Sam Altman and OpenAI is a textbook tale of altruism versus greed.

Persons: New York CNN — Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Musk —, —, OpenAI, Altman, Gregory Brockman, ”, Marc Toberoff, Musk, Microsoft “, Musk’s, Brockman “, “ Elon, ’, ” CNN’s Clare Duffy, Brian Fung Organizations: New, New York CNN, OpenAI, Microsoft, Inc, CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Securities, Exchange Commission, Reuters Locations: New York, California, Northern California, AGI, OpenAI, Europe, Britain, United States

☆ LinkedIn billionaire is going all-in on Kamala Harris. But he wants her to make a big change
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is throwing his financial firepower behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the GOP nominee for vice president, is a fan. Harris campaign: No discussions on replacing KhanHoffman told CNN he “certainly” hasn’t directly pushed Harris to replace Khan. A Harris campaign aide told CNN that there have been “no policy discussions” about replacing Khan at the current time. That was a mistake,” Hoffman told CNN.

Persons: Reid Hoffman, Kamala Harris, Hoffman, CNN he’s, Harris, United States ’, Lina Khan, “ Lina Khan, ” Hoffman, Joe Biden, “, Khan, ”, Bernie Sanders, Hoffman Khan, Sen, Mr, Hoffman ”, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Khan . Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vance, Biden, Khan Hoffman, hasn’t, Brian Fung, Douglas Farrar, Biden Harris, Harris team’s, ” Farrar, Farrar, “ Trump, Donald Trump, Trump, Steven Cheung, George Soros ”, Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel, Thiel, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro, Gretchen Whitmer, Gina Raimondo Organizations: New, New York CNN, LinkedIn, Biden, Harris, PAC, CNN, Federal Trade, Democratic, Microsoft, FTC, “, Big Oil, Big Tech, Forward PAC, GOP, Republican, Activision Blizzard, Mattress, Trump, US Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Locations: New York, United States, America, Vermont, Massachusetts, Khan . Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan

☆ CrowdStrike outage: We finally know what caused it - and how much it cost
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Insurers have begun calculating the financial damage caused by last week’s devastating CrowdStrike software glitch that crashed computers, canceled flights and disrupted hospitals all around the globe — and the picture isn’t pretty. The estimates come the same day that CrowdStrike issued a preliminary report on how it inadvertently caused the widespread IT meltdown. Numerous Fortune 500 companies use CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software to detect and block hacking threats. Only a small portion, around 10% to 20%, may be covered by cybersecurity insurance policies, Parametrix added. The company routinely tests its software updates before pushing them out to customers, CrowdStrike said in the report.

Persons: What’s, CrowdStrike, Parametrix, ” Fitch, —, Asia “, ” CrowdStrike, “, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: CNN, Fortune, Delta Air Lines, The Department of Transportation, Microsoft, Windows, United, Fitch, CrowdStrike Locations: Europe, Asia

☆ CrowdStrike to vendors: Sorry for the global tech outage. Here’s a $10 Uber Eats voucher
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Third-party agents selling and supporting CrowdStrike software and the complicated repairs for customers have been a miserably busy bunch over the past week. CrowdStrike’s token of appreciation for those vendors: a $10 Uber Eats voucher. But a $10 Uber Eats voucher should make it all better, right? The ironic part is, at least where I’m located, I can’t even get a pizza for $10 on Uber Eats after taxes and fees. But the software giant has yet to dole out a nickel to them for their troubles — not even a $10 Uber Eats voucher.

Persons: CNN Business ’, There’s, Uber, Coke, cybercriminals, Brian Fung, Sean Lyngaas, CrowdStrike, hasn’t, Chris Isidore, — Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN Locations: New York

☆ The global tech outage showed how we’re just one mistake away from chaos
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“So this is going to be incredibly painful for CrowdStrike customers.”And even if your business had nothing to do with CrowdStrike, the outage still might have ruined your day. You didn’t have to be a CrowdStrike customer to get screwed by the company’s mistake, and that’s what made Friday’s outage so frustrating. But the scale of the CrowdStrike outage is once again underscoring just how interconnected the world has become through a network almost none of us understands and which is largely self-regulating. Microsoft estimated the CrowdStrike outage affected some 8.5 million Windows devices. “Our tech platforms have a mix of legacy systems coupled with modern systems, which means that the weakest link determines the overall system performance.

Persons: CNN Business ’, — didn’t, you’ve, CrowdStrike, Brian Fung, ”, Kevin Beaumont, underscoring, Stuart Madnick, Anil Khurana, ” Khurana, Khurana, Madnick, it’s Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Blue, Microsoft, MIT Sloan School of Management, Airlines, Baratta Center, Global Business, Georgetown’s McDonough Business School, Boeing, JPMorgan Locations: New York

☆ Hackers are already taking advantage of the CrowdStrike outage chaos
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Brian Fung | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CrowdStrike has issued its own guidance on what affected organizations can do in response to the issue. One example of that has been targeting Spanish-speaking CrowdStrike customers, the company said in a separate blog post. When opened, the file installs malicious software that phones home to a server the hackers control and may use to give additional instructions to the malware. “CrowdStrike Intelligence recommends that organizations ensure they are communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels and they adhere to technical guidance the CrowdStrike support teams have provided,” the company said. “Bad actors routinely try to take advantage of current events, so it’s not all surprising to see them attempting to take advantage of this one,” Callow said.

Persons: CNN —, ”, CrowdStrike, Kenn White, “, cybercriminals, Lina Khan, Azim Khodjibaev, Brett Callow, ” Callow Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland Security, Infrastructure Security Agency, CrowdStrike Intelligence, Federal Trade Commission, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, FTC, Cisco, FTI Consulting

☆ Recovering from the global tech outage could be a long, arduous process
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The CrowdStrike software at fault operates at what’s called the kernel level of a computer, a much deeper level than what more ordinary applications such as browsers or video games do. For businesses with hundreds or thousands of laptops, desktops and servers running CrowdStrike’s security software, an individual human may have to perform that process over and over and over again. Because CrowdStrike’s security software is running on countless individual computers all around the globe, the update that got pushed to those devices caused them all to shut down, virtually simultaneously. The CrowdStrike bug may have initially been conflated with the Microsoft issue because CrowdStrike’s error affected only Windows machines. As of Friday morning, Microsoft said the issue with Microsoft 365 had been resolved and that the situation was improving.

Persons: ”, Troy Hunt, CrowdStrike, Kevin Beaumont, rebooting, Ira Bailey, Kenn White, ” White, “ It’s, Andrew Peck, ” Peck, Satya Nadella, Beaumont, ” Beaumont, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Machine, ” Microsoft, Fortune, IT, Loughborough University Locations: what’s, America

☆ Chaos on social media platforms after Trump shooting is a mess of their own making
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

None of the country’s largest social media platforms responded to repeated questions from CNN over multiple days this week about what actions they have taken in response to misinformation and conspiracy theories circulating about the Trump rally shooting. And what the public experienced on social media in the moments after the attack on Trump is a sign of what’s to come, said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a social media watchdog group that advocates for tighter regulation of the platforms. “It can’t make a safe social media product that does politics and civic stuff, and so it just got out of that business.”Baybars Orsek, managing director of the fact-checking organization Logically Facts, said these and other changes by social media platforms have made working with them in the last few years more challenging. The decision effectively means the US government can continue to flag misinformation threats to social media companies in the runup to the 2024 election. Mainstream media outlets, taking care to report only credible answers, were initially slower to report what was happening than the breakneck pace of social media speculation.

Persons: Donald Trump, bode, “, Joe Biden, Biden, Snapchat, ”, Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Elon Musk’s, Musk, CCDH, X, TikTok, “ Meta, Laura Edelson, ” Baybars Orsek, ” Orsek, Trump, Edelson, Alicia Wanless, “ I’ve, ” Wanless, Wanless Organizations: CNN, Meta, Twitter, YouTube, Department of Homeland Security, Big Tech, Trump, Google, Center, Social, Northeastern University, Democracy, Supreme, Facebook, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace

At the same time, the social media industry has broadly retreated from efforts to clamp down on misinformation. The ease at which false rumors and conspiracy theories rapidly spread on social media threatens the public’s ability to sort truth from fiction. The deluge of disinformation surrounding the Trump shooting shows, once again, that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester. Others get in on the act for social media clout – viral posts can translate into dollars for some online influencers.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, retrenchment, Trump, “, ”, Evan Vucci, Joe Biden, ” –, Biden, Elon Musk, Musk, Laura Edelson, ” Edelson, TikTok, Edelson, Don’t, ’, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: CNN, Trump, Service, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Associated, Republican, CIA, Social, Meta, YouTube, Facebook, Northeastern University, Democracy, Twitter, FBI Locations: America, Butler , Pennsylvania

☆ Popular app banned from hosting young teens in a groundbreaking settlement
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The regulators wrote that the app billed itself as a “safe space” for teens but, in reality, preyed on them. The app, known as NGL, had been downloaded millions of times, according to the complaint. NGL deceptively hooked teens into subscribing to its premium service by sending them fake, anonymous messages and then promising to reveal the sender after they paid, said the complaint. Highlighting the groundbreaking nature of the NGL settlement, FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson described Tuesday’s action as a “novel” use of the agency’s legal powers. But, he argued, the public should not interpret the lawsuit to mean that it is illegal in general to market any anonymous messaging app to teens.

Persons: ”, Lina Khan, ” NGL, NGL, Joao Figueiredo, ” Figueiredo, “ I’ve, Figueiredo, Khan, Andrew Ferguson, ” Ferguson, Kristin Bride, Bride, Carson, Fairplay Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Los Angeles, Attorney’s, US, Court, Central, Central District of, FTC, Meta, Epic Games, Facebook Locations: Central District, Central District of California, New York, Arkansas, Florida , Louisiana

☆ Meta will now remove some posts attacking ‘Zionists’ as a form of hate speech
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Meta will now remove posts containing the term “Zionist” when used in conjunction with antisemitic tropes or dehumanizing rhetoric, the company said Tuesday, in an expansion of its current hate speech policies. The decision follows what the company described as a months-long inquiry into how the term has historically been used and how it is currently being used on social media, particularly as the war in Gaza continues. “We have determined that the existing policy guidance does not sufficiently address the ways people are using the term ‘Zionist’ online and offline,” Meta said in a blog post. Meta said it met with more than 145 historians, civil rights groups, legal and human rights experts, and free speech advocates from around the world in reaching its decision. The company said it also asked its quasi-judicial oversight board to issue guidance on how it should moderate posts that accuse groups labeled with “proxy terms for nationality (including Zionists)” of war crimes.

Persons: Meta, Israel Organizations: Washington CNN Locations: Gaza

CNN —A major Supreme Court ruling Friday that shifted power from the executive branch to the judiciary stands to transform how the federal government works. By overturning a 1984 precedent, the court’s conservative majority has made countless regulations vulnerable to legal challenge. The Supreme Court ruling could boost efforts by conservatives who have taken aim at the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s rules limiting planet-warming pollution from vehicles, oil and gas wells and pipelines, and power plants. The ruling has injected legal uncertainty into regulations of all types, including those on technology, labor, the environment and health care. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide a case heard this term that might gut that limitation.

Persons: ”, Kent Barnett, —, Thomas Berry, John Roberts, Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Joe Biden, Shawn ThewPool, Adam Rust, ” Rust, Andrew Schwartzman, Alexander MacDonald, ” MacDonald, Sharon Block, ” Block, Biden, Andrew Twinamatsiko, ” Twinamatsiko, “, Paul Gallant, TD Cowen, David Vladeck, Chevron —, Ann Carlson, Carlson, David Doniger Organizations: CNN, Biden, University of Georgia School of Law, Chevron, Natural Resources Defense, Republican, Democratic, Cato Institute . Chief, State of, Consumer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Federation of America, “, Supreme, Securities, Exchange Commission, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, Opportunity Commission, Harvard Law School, Center, Labor, American Cancer Society, US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Health, Human Services, Medicare, Services, Medicaid, Human Services Department, HHS, O’Neill Institute for National, Global Health Law, Georgetown University, FDA, Federal Communications Commission, EPA, National, Traffic Safety Administration, University of California, Natural Resources Defense Council Locations: Obamacare, Chevron, State, Washington , DC, Texas, Littler, Los Angeles

Although she did not publicly dissent to the per curium opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was nevertheless highly critical of the court’s order avoiding a final decision in the abortion case. It was particularly wrong, Jackson said, because the court had for months allowed Idaho’s strict abortion law to remain in effect. “It is too little, too late for the Court to take a mulligan and just tell the lower courts to carry on as if none of this has happened,” Jackson wrote. The majority opts, instead, to dismiss these cases,” Jackson wrote. “But storm clouds loom ahead.”The liberal justice said she wanted the court to decide the case in full this term.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, ” Jackson, ” Locations: Idaho, ldaho

☆ Supreme Court allows White House to press social media companies to remove disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( John Fritze | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI may continue to urge social media platforms to take down content the government views as misinformation, handing the Biden administration a technical if important election-year victory. Republican officials in two states – Missouri and Louisiana – and five social media users sued over that practice in 2022, arguing that the White House did far more than “persuade” the tech giants to take down a few deceptive items. That might include, the justices theorized, social media threats targeting public figures or disclosures of sensitive information about US troops. The case arrived at the high court at a time when the government has repeatedly warned of foreign efforts to use social media to influence elections. The jawboning case was one of several high-profile matters the court is deciding at intersection of the First Amendment and social media.

Persons: Biden, Amy Coney Barrett, “, ” Barrett, ” Biden, –, Hunter, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Alito, Samel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, ”, ” Alito, ’, unjustifiably, Vivek Murthy, Roe, Wade, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett Organizations: CNN, White, FBI, Biden, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, Republican, Centers for Disease Control, Infrastructure Security Agency, Supreme, National Intelligence Locations: – Missouri, Louisiana, Florida, Texas

☆ What the Supreme Court ruling on social media means
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What can the US government tell social media companies to do? Republican-led states, including Missouri and Louisiana, along with five social media users, claimed in 2022 that those contacts with social media companies were in fact part of an unconstitutional government campaign to silence free speech. Why is the government talking to social media companies? It avoided ruling on whether the government’s communications with social media companies violated the First Amendment. The FBI resumed sharing some threat information with social media companies earlier this year, prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, CNN has previously reported.

Persons: Laura Edelson, Edelson, we’ve, ” Edelson, “ That’s, – didn’t, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, ” Barrett, ”, James Grimmelmann, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Nora Benavidez, ” Benavidez Organizations: CNN, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Republican, Meta, Twitter, Northeastern University, Democracy, Cornell University, “, Free Press Locations: Murthy v . Missouri, Covid, Missouri, Louisiana, United States, Washington, Silicon

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