Right-Wing Groups Turn to Chat Apps to Avoid Law Enforcement

Right-wing groups on chat apps like Telegram are swelling with new members after Parler disappeared and a backlash against Facebook and Twitter, making it harder for law enforcement to track where the next attack could come from. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol, major tech companies clamped down on right-wing extremists, kicking thousands of conspiracy theory accounts off Twitter and shutting down the social network Parler.

Parler's Website (But Not Its App) Partially Returns with Russian Backing

Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company. Parler vanished from theIinternet when dropped by Amazon Inc’s hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Twitter Temporarily Suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Account

Twitter said that it had temporarily suspended the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) following "multiple" violations of the platform's content policy. In a statement to The Hill, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that "the account referenced has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy."

Online Misinformation About Election Fraud Dropped After Trump's Bans

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively. The new research by the San Francisco-based analytics firm reported that conversations about election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions to 688,000 mentions across several social media sites in the week after Trump was banned from Twitter.

Lawsuit Accuses Amazon of 'Conspiracy to Fix Retail Price of E-books'

Amazon.com Inc., which originally came up with the idea of charging bargain-basement prices for electronic books, is now being accused of forcing customers on other book sites to pay too much for them. A lawsuit filed in a federal district court in New York alleges that a deal between Amazon and five major book publishers has led to higher e-book prices for all consumers, because it prevents rival retailers from selling any of these publishers’ e-books at a lower price than on Amazon.

Facebook Bans Ads for Military Gear, Gun Accessories Before Inauguration

Facebook is temporarily prohibiting ads for military gear and gun accessories in the US until after the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, the company said. "We are banning ads that promote weapon accessories and protective equipment in the US at least through January 22, out of an abundance of caution," the company said in an update to a Monday blog post about the social network's preparations leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

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Senator Wants Tech Companies to Explain Social Media Bans

The outgoing Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee asked the chief executives of five major U.S. tech firms to answer detailed questions about decisions to restrict or permanently ban accounts of conservative users. Senator Roger Wicker sent letters to Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc and Twitter in which he said “thousands of conservative users’ accounts and content” have been “restricted or permanently removed from platforms.”

WhatsApp Delays New Privacy Policy, Citing 'a Lot of Misinformation'

WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging app, announced it is delaying its new privacy policy by three months, citing confusion and "a lot of misinformation." The update, which was scheduled to go into effect on Feb. 8, aims to refresh the app's terms of use and privacy policy — expanding how the app's business users can store their communications.

Parler Asks Judge to Order Amazon to Restore Its Account

Parler urged a U.S. judge to order Amazon.com Inc to restore the company’s account, saying Amazon had no evidence the social media platform was used to incite last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol. At a hearing in Seattle federal court, Parler’s lawyer David Groesbeck said the company would suffer irreparable harm if forced to close and that keeping it alive served the public interest.

Some Groups Promoting 'Stop the Steal' Remain on Facebook Despite Ban

Ninety groups on Facebook promoting debunked claims about election fraud remained on the platform, after the social media giant said it would remove content containing the phrase “stop the steal,” according to an analysis released Thursday by nonprofit advocacy group Avaaz. Facebook said it would take content down containing the phrase “Stop the Steal” under its Coordinating Harm policy after the deadly riot at the Capitol.

Labor Department's Statistical Arm Breached, But Data Not Stolen

The Labor Department’s statistical arm — which prepares the jobs report and other market-sensitive information about the U.S. economy — was breached in the SolarWinds hack, but data wasn’t lost or corrupted, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said. He added that the intrusion was isolated and that the hack didn’t affect the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, nor did it spread to other agencies within the department.

Human Rights Groups Want Facebook, Twitter to Take Action Outside U.S.

Facebook and Twitter’s decisions to cut off President Trump from their platforms for inciting a crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol have angered human rights groups and activists, who are now urging the companies to apply their policies evenly, particularly in smaller countries where the platforms dominate communications. “When I saw what the platforms did with Trump, I thought, ‘You should have done this before, and you should do this consistently in other countries around the world,’” said Javier Pallero, policy director at Access Now, a human rights group.

Petition Challenges WhatsApp's Privacy Policy Changes in India

WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy verges on user surveillance and threatens India’s security, a petition filed in an Indian court said, presenting another legal challenge for the Facebook Inc-owned messenger. California-based WhatsApp said on Jan. 4 it reserved the right to share some data including location and phone number with Facebook and its units such as Instagram and Messenger.

Snapchat Plans to Permanently Ban Trump After Biden's Inauguration

Snapchat plans to permanently ban President Trump’s account from the social media platform once President-elect Joe Biden takes office later this month, a Snapchat spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. “In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account,” the spokesperson said.

Telegram Messaging App Removes 'Dozens' of Accounts Linked to Violence

With many social networks suddenly reevaluating their policies in light of recent political violence in the U.S., the popular messaging app Telegram is implementing a crackdown of its own. Telegram confirmed to TechCrunch that it has removed “dozens” of public channels over the course of the last 24 hours after those accounts, some of which boasted thousands of followers, issued calls for violent action.

Connecticut Probing Amazon's E-Book Practices, Attorney General Says

Connecticut is actively investigating how Amazon.com Inc. sells and distributes digital books, according to the state’s attorney general, the latest of several state and federal probes into the tech giant’s business practices. The investigation is examining whether Amazon engaged in anticompetitive behavior in the e-book business through its agreements with certain publishers, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement.

CEO Vows Parler Will 'Be Stronger' After It Finds a Way Back Online

Social media platform Parler, which has gone dark after being cut off by major service providers that accused the app of failing to police violent content, may never get back online, said its CEO John Matze. As a procession of business vendors severed ties with the two-year-old site following the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week, Matze said in an interview with Reuters that he does not know when or if it will return.

Dorsey Says Banning Trump 'Was Right Decision for Twitter'

In a lengthy philosophical tweetstorm, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said he took no pride in the decision to remove President Trump’s account from the service last week, describing the decision as a “failure” to ultimately create a service that could sustain civil discourse and healthy conversations. Dorsey’s statements — the first time the CEO spoke about the decision — arrived on the heels of an emotional week in which right-wing figures disavowed the power of Silicon Valley companies, while employees and the public had begged the company for more explanation of its actions in response to the violent Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally at the Capitol.

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