Apple said it plans new features to help parents control how children use its smartphones, responding to criticism from two shareholders about the entrancing qualities and potential mental health impact of the company’s iPhone. “Apple has always looked out for kids, and we work hard to create powerful products that inspire, entertain, and educate children while also helping parents protect them online,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
U.S. Senate Democrats said they will force a vote later this year on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s reversal of landmark Obama administration net neutrality rules and will try to make it a key issue in the 2018 congressional elections. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the issue will be a major motivating factor for young voters the party is courting.
J.P. Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon is backpedaling a bit on his earlier criticisms on cryptocurrencies. In September, Dimon called bitcoin a fraud. "I regret making" that comment, he said on Fox Business.
Twitter’s advertising platform allowed a fraudulent website to purchase promoted tweets that directed users to what appears to be a phishing scam. The tweet, which is being promoted on users' Twitter feeds, claims to offer users "verified" blue checkmarks, which some see as a sign of status on the site.
A French prosecutor has launched an investigation of U.S. tech giant Apple over alleged deception and planned obsolescence of its products following a complaint by a consumer organization, a judicial source said.
VTech, the maker of smart toys whose poor security practices exposed data from millions of parents and children, has been slapped on the wrist by the FTC to the tune of $650,000 and probation. The Hong Kong company makes a variety of “smart” toys, like watches and cameras, and parents and children were encouraged to set up profiles on VTech’s site with pictures and personal details. In November of 2015 a security researcher found that millions of those profiles could be accessed via one of the company’s websites.
Intel has been hit with at least three class-action lawsuits over the major processor vulnerabilities revealed last week. The flaws, called Meltdown and Spectre, exist within virtually all modern processors and could allow hackers to steal sensitive data although no data breaches have been reported yet.
The Internet Association, a trade group representing companies such as Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc., said that it intends to join an expected lawsuit against a decision to roll back net neutrality rules. One of the group’s members, e-commerce site Etsy Inc. said that it would separately also join the legal effort.
Twitter doesn't want to get in the way of elected officials and political leaders communicating via the platform — no matter how "controversial" their tweets may be. "Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets, would hide important information people should be able to see and debate," the company wrote in a blog post. "It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions."
Border officers dramatically increased their searches last year of photos, social media messages, emails and private files kept on cellphones and other electronic devices carried by international travelers, including U.S. citizens, according to statistics. Although fewer than 1% of travelers have their devices screened, the increase alarmed privacy advocates who say U.S. citizens should not lose their protections against warrantless searches when crossing the border.
A data breach at the Department of Homeland Security exposed the personally identifiable information on more than 240,000 current and former DHS employees, the department said. The breach at the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) Case Management System affected 247,167 people employed by DHS in 2014, as well as subjects, witnesses and complainants associated with DHS OIG investigations from 2002 through 2014, the department said in a statement.
Emmanuel Macron has vowed to introduce a law to ban fake news on the internet during French election campaigns. The French president, who beat the far-right Marine Le Pen to win 2017’s election, said he wanted new legislation for social media platforms during election periods "in order to protect democracy."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned that investors should “exercise caution” with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, noting state and federal regulators may not be able to recoup any lost investments from illegal actors. Many promoters of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other cryptocurrency investments are not following federal and state securities laws, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and Commissioners Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar said in a statement.
States are moving to write their own net neutrality regulations after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December decided to scrap the Obama-era Internet rules. California, New York and Washington are pushing their own versions of net neutrality rules and more state governments are expected to do the same, according to a report from Fast Company.
Computer security experts have discovered two major security flaws in the microprocessors inside nearly all of the world’s computers. The two problems, called Meltdown and Spectre, could allow hackers to steal the entire memory contents of a computer.
Read the article: The New York Times
The National Security Agency is losing its top talent at a worrisome rate as highly skilled personnel, some disillusioned with the spy service’s leadership and an unpopular reorganization, take higher-paying, more flexible jobs in the private sector. Since 2015, the NSA has lost several hundred hackers, engineers and data scientists, according to current and former U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
Trump’s tweet raising the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea isn’t in violation of Twitter’s guidelines, the company says, and will remain online. In the tweet, Trump boasted that his “Nuclear Button” is “much bigger” and “more powerful” than the one belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- a combative and childish taunt that raises serious questions about Trump’s fitness for office, as well as to what extent Twitter is complicit in allowing him to publish threats of this nature to its platform.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a settlement with computer manufacturer Lenovo over charges that it had violated user privacy with software that came preloaded on its computers. “Lenovo compromised consumers’ privacy when it preloaded software that could access consumers’ sensitive information without adequate notice or consent to its use,” acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen said in a statement when it reached the settlement in September.
Wixen Music Publishing filed a lawsuit in California federal court that alleges that Spotify is using Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," the Doors' "Light My Fire" and tens of thousands of other songs without a license and compensation. The plaintiff is seeking a damages award worth at least $1.6 billion plus injunctive relief.
A bipartisan group of six senators has introduced legislation that would take a huge step toward securing elections in the United States. Called the Secure Elections Act, the bill aims to eliminate insecure paperless voting machines from American elections while promoting routine audits that would dramatically reduce the danger of interference from foreign governments.
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