Judge Gives Preliminary Approval to Facebook's New Biometric Settlement

Facebook Inc. won preliminary approval late from a federal court for settlement of a lawsuit that claimed it illegally collected and stored biometric data of millions of users without their consent. The social media company had in July raised its settlement offer by $100 million to $650 million in relation to the lawsuit, in which Illinois users accused it of violating the U.S. state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Review Twitter-Blocking Case

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that found President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking his critics on Twitter. The lawsuit arose in 2017 after Trump’s social media account blocked seven people who had tweeted criticism of the president in comment threads linked to his @realDonaldTrump Twitter handle.

Premom Fertility App Accused of Sharing Users' Data Without Permission

A fertility app for Android was also collecting a broad swath of data about its users and sharing it without their permission with three Chinese companies focused on advertising, according to research the International Digital Accountability Council provided to The Washington Post. IDAC, a nonprofit that monitors and works with apps and developers to protect consumer privacy, sent letters on Aug. 6 to the Federal Trade Commission and the attorney general of Illinois, where Premom is headquartered, alleging the data-sharing was deceptive and potentially ran afoul of federal and state law.

DOJ Charges Uber's Former Security Chief for Trying to Conceal Hack

The Justice Department (DOJ) has filed charges against Uber’s former security chief for allegedly attempting to conceal a 2016 hack that exposed the email addresses and phone numbers of 57 million drivers and passengers. Prosecutors accuse Joseph Sullivan, who was Uber’s chief security officer from April 2015-November 2017, of not disclosing the 2016 hacking incident to federal investigators who were looking into another data breach that had occurred two years earlier.

Despite Election Win, Twitter Won't Reverse Ban on Florida Candidate

Twitter said it will not reverse its decision to ban far-right activist and self-described "proud Islamophobe" Laura Loomer from its platform after her Republican primary win in Florida. "The account owner... was permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules, and we do not plan to reverse that enforcement action," a Twitter spokesperson told The Hill.

Coronavirus Misinformation Gets Prominence on Facebook, Study Says

As the coronavirus pandemic has raged across the United States, misinformation about vaccines and other health topics has been viewed an estimated 3.8 billion times on Facebook — four times more than authoritative content from institutions such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a study by the left-leaning global human rights group Avaaz. The group also found that Facebook pages promulgating misleading health information got even more traffic during the pandemic than at other times — reaching a one-year peak in April — despite Facebook’s policy of removing dangerous coronavirus-related misinformation and reducing the spread of other questionable health claims.

Facebook, Instagram Remove, Restrict Thousands of QAnon Accounts

Facebook said that it had removed 790 QAnon groups from its site and was restricting another 1,950 groups, 440 pages and more than 10,000 Instagram accounts related to the right-wing conspiracy theory, in the social network’s most sweeping action against the fast-growing movement. Facebook’s takedown followed record growth of QAnon groups on the site, much of it since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. Activity

Indian Lawmakers Want to Question Facebook About Extremist Posts

Indian lawmakers want to question Facebook Inc. about extremist posts on its platform. Opposition members of Parliament are acting following an article Friday in The Wall Street Journal that detailed what current and former Facebook employees said was a pattern of favoritism toward the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu hard-liners.

Apple's Future in China Uncertain as It Removes Apps from Chinese App Store

As tensions rise between the U.S. and China, Apple’s Chinese operations — which include millions of Apple customers and much of the company’s manufacturing operation — could be at risk. A new report in The Information argues that China may already be closing the loopholes exploited by Apple in previous years, starting with the recent removal of thousands of apps from the Chinese App Store. That could potentially spell trouble for the company’s future in the country.

Anti-Vaccination Group Sues Facebook for Rejecting Ads About 5G Networks

A prominent anti-vaccination group filed a lawsuit against Facebook and its fact-checkers for rejecting their ads and “censoring” their posts that carried debunked misinformation on vaccines and 5G networks. Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a group founded by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claimed in a San Francisco federal court that Facebook, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, PolitiFact, Science Feedback and the Poynter Institute have “privatized” the First Amendment by putting warning labels on its page and disabling the organization’s ability to fundraise on the platform.

Justice Department Staffers Concerned About Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Some Justice Department staffers have expressed internal concerns over plans to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google — and what they view as an aggressive timeline favored by Attorney General William Barr, according to people familiar with the matter. The department has been moving toward bringing a lawsuit as soon as this summer, but some lawyers involved in the yearlong investigation have expressed a belief that the department doesn’t have a camera-ready case right now and needs more time to consider whether the millions of pages of documents in the government’s possession yield the kind of evidence needed to win in court, the people said.

U.S. Takes New Steps to Block Huawei's Access to Semiconductor Chips

The Trump administration took its harshest step yet to block Huawei’s access to semiconductor chips, in another sign of the complexity of severing the Chinese technology company from global supply chains. The Commerce Department originally banned the export of U.S. technology to Huawei in May 2019, calling the Chinese company a security threat.

Epic Files Another Suit After Apple Threatens to Remove Its Developer Accounts

Epic Games has filed another lawsuit against Apple, this time alleging that the Cupertino-based company retaliated against it for its other lawsuit. Apple has not only removed the game from the App Store but has told Epic that it will “terminate” all its developer accounts and “cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools” on August 28th.

DHS Announces Successful Completion of Simulated Cyberattack

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the successful completion of a biannual simulated cyberattack aimed at preparing the U.S. and its partners to defend against a real attack on critical systems. The three-day exercise, known as “Cyber Storm,” involved 2,000 participants from the fields of private industry, the federal government and international groups, and was described by CISA as the most extensive cybersecurity exercise in the United States.

Trump Issues New Executive Order Extending Time for TikTok Sale

President Donald Trump issued a new executive order regarding TikTok that extends the time its parent company has to sell the U.S. operations of the popular short-video app, after a government panel recommended the action. The new order gives ByteDance, the Chinese parent, 90 days to conclude a deal to divest the U.S. arm and also orders ByteDance to delete any data obtained from U.S. TikTok users.

  • Read the article: CNET

Facebook Says Apple Refuses to Reduce App Store Fees During Pandemic

Facebook called out Apple for the fees it imposes through its App Store, just a day after Fortnite maker Epic Games filed a suit against the iPhone maker for the same practice. Facebook announced paid live events for businesses, a feature that will allow businesses to host virtual events through the social media app, directly charging participants.

Final Regulations Go Into Effect for California's Digital Privacy Law

Final regulations that guide businesses and consumers under California’s new digital privacy law went into effect, marking a significant step towards giving Americans the right to request their data be deleted from e-commerce websites and social media. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), effective since the start of 2020, oversees the data collection practices of U.S. companies and allows state residents to opt out of having data sold to third parties.

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