U.S. Loses a Point in Annual Report on 'Internet Freedoms'

The latest “Internet freedoms” rankings are out, courtesy of Freedom House’s annual report into the state of Internet freedoms and personal liberties, based on rankings of 65 countries that represent the vast majority of the world’s internet users. Although the U.S. remains firmly in the top 10, it dropped a point on the year earlier after a recent rash of changes to Internet regulation and a lack of in the realm of surveillance.

UK, Canadian Parliaments Pushing Zuckerberg to Testify

The UK and Canadian parliaments are joining forces in an attempt to force Mark to answer their questions over Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The House of Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee has announced its intention to hold a highly unusual joint hearing with its Canadian equivalent in an attempt to pressure the social network’s chief executive into appearing in front of parliament.

Twitter Updates Reporting Process for Bots, Fake Accounts

Twitter has updated a portion of its reporting process, specifically when you report a tweet that you think might be coming from a bot or a fake account masquerading as someone or something else. Now, when you tap the “it’s suspicious or spam” option under the report menu, you’ll be able to specify why you think that, including an option to say “the account tweeting this is fake.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Worried About U.K. Taxes on Tech Firms

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is raising concerns about digital services taxes, after the United Kingdom announced plans to move forward with such a tax on large technology companies. "The American business community supports international dialogue on ways to modernize the international taxation system to adapt to changes in the global economy," Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

U.S. Ban on Fujian Jinhua Threatens China's Semiconductor Industry

A U.S. ban on American companies doing business with a Chinese chip maker accused of stealing technology secrets threatens to upend a company backed by $5.7 billion in state funds, damaging China’s ambitions to build a world-class semiconductor industry. Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., founded in 2016, built a factory aimed at ending China’s reliance on foreign semiconductors and was anointed by Beijing as a key player in the latest phase of its three-decade program to build globally competitive chip makers.

As Study Finds Ads in Kids' Apps, Groups Ask FTC for Probe

To accompany the publication of a new study, called “Advertising in Young Children’s Apps: A Content Analysis,” more than a dozen media and children’s health advocacy organizations sent the FTC a letter asking for an investigation. “This is kind of a one-two punch,” said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group the Center for Digital Democracy, which led the effort along with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “Usually these academic studies are published and there’s no consequences,” he said, “but here when we learned of her research it was clear from the beginning that there were public policy implications.”

Britain May Ban Some Financial Products Based on Cryptoassets

Britain may ban some retail financial products based on bitcoin and other cryptoassets and widen its regulatory net to capture potentially “illicit activity” that could harm consumers and markets, a government-backed taskforce reported. The report from the finance ministry, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority begins to thrash out Britain’s policy and regulatory approach to cryptoassets including tokens issued by initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Commerce Department Restricts Exports to Chinese Semiconductor Firm

The U.S. Commerce Department announced that it is restricting U.S. exports to the Chinese semiconductor firm Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company, Ltd. The firm "poses a significant risk of becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States," according to the department's press release.

Founder of Gab, Used for Hate Speech, Vows to Keep Site Alive

Before Robert Bowers allegedly opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue, few had heard of Gab.com, the two-year-old social-media site where he apparently posted anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying messages. Now it is at the center of a renewed debate over what online platforms can and should do to act on hate speech, with the site’s founder pledging that it won’t be sidelined. “Gab is not going anywhere,” said Andrew Torba, Gab’s founder, in a post on Gab. “I don’t care what we have to do, I don’t care what it takes.”

Head of Britain's Treasury Proposes Tax on Big High-Tech Companies

The head of Britain’s treasury has proposed a new tax targeting tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon.com, in what he described as a necessary evolution of the corporate tax system in the digital age. Philip Hammond, chancellor of the exchequer, said his proposed “digital services tax” would apply to “established tech giants” rather than start-up companies and would take shape as a narrow tax on revenue generated in Britain for tech-platform business models.

Facebook Removes 82 Accounts in Iran for 'Inauthentic Behavior'

Facebook Inc. removed 82 fake pages, accounts and groups that originated in Iran, the latest effort by the company to clean up its social network ahead of midterm elections in the U.S. The Menlo Park, California-based company said in a blog post that it took action against the accounts for “coordinated inauthentic behavior” that targeted people in the U.S. and U.K.

Studies Find Increase in Anti-Semitic Content on Twitter, Instagram

Two separate studies found a notable increase in anti-Semitic images and other posts on Twitter and Instagram over the past year, despite content policies on both platforms supposedly banning hateful content against minority groups. A study released Friday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that tracks anti-Jewish sentiment, reported the existence of “online propaganda offensives” containing anti-Semitic content designed to intimidate Jewish people and Jewish journalists ahead of the 2018 midterms.

After Synagogue Murders, Gab Suspended by Payment Providers, Web Host

Hours after PayPal confirmed that it had suspended social network platform Gab, two additional companies have informed the site that they plan to suspend their services: payment processing site Stripe, and cloud hosting company Joyent. Gab posted a screenshot of a notification from Joyent, which says that it “received notice of breach of the Joyent Terms of Service,” and that it would suspend the site.

California, U.S. Agree to Delay Net Neutrality Lawsuit

California has struck a temporary agreement with the Justice Department not to move forward with a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new net neutrality law, delaying a pivotal legal battle over the future of the Internet. The Justice Department will postpone its litigation against the state until a separate case directly involving the Federal Communications Commission runs its course, according to court filings.

Mail Bomb Suspect's Threats on Twitter Were Not Taken Down

Two weeks before Cesar Sayoc allegedly mailed pipe bombs to political figures across the country, political commentator Rochelle Ritchie says she complained to Twitter about threats he made against her, including menacing messages and disturbing images such as alligators and human body parts, following one of her appearances on Fox News. One of the tweets from Sayoc's account read: "We will see you 4 sure. Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home." Ritchie says Twitter informed her that Sayoc's tweets did not violate the company's rules.

Uber Hackers Indicted for Stealing Data on 55,000 Lynda Users

Two hackers who stole millions of users’ data from ride-hailing firm Uber have been indicted on separate hacking charges related to a data breach at online learning portal Lynda, two people familiar with the case have told TechCrunch. Vasile Mereacre, a Canadian citizen living in Toronto, and Brandon Glover, a Florida resident, were indicted earlier this month in Florida on federal hacking and extortion charges for stealing data on 55,000 Lynda users’ accounts.

More Fake Retail Websites Phishing for Customer Information

The number of fake retail websites designed to phish for customer information is on the rise, according to a joint report published by e-commerce fraud prevention company Riskified and cyber intelligence company IntSights. Analyzing data from the third quarter of last year to Q3 2018, Riskified and IntSights found a 297 percent increase in retail phishing sites.

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