Apple's Screen Time Feature Blocks Users from Searching 'Asian'

Apple has spent years ensuring its smartphones and tablets can be safely used by kids, but some of its family-friendly content controls are over-zealous — and seemingly prejudiced. According to a report from The Independent today, content controls built into iOS 14’s Screen Time feature meant to limit access to adult websites also block users from searching for the word “Asian” in Safari and other browsers.

Google Delists Chrome Extension 'Great Suspender' for Containing Malware

Google has delisted the popular extension The Great Suspender for containing malware and is proactively disabling the extension for those who have it. The Great Suspender is — or perhaps was — an extension that forced your excess tabs to sleep, helping to keep Chrome from using too much RAM and other resources. Last year, as explained in-depth by TheMageKing, the development of The Great Suspender changed hands and was subsequently sold to an unknown third party.

Google Explores Anti-Tracking Privacy Technology for Android

Google is considering developing an Android alternative to Apple’s upcoming App Tracking Transparency, a new planned opt-in requirement the iPhone maker will impose on developers that demands they ask for permission to track iOS users across apps and websites. The news underscores the increasing pressure on large tech companies, many spurred on by Apple, to take more proactive measures to better protect user privacy.

Homeland Security Committee Chair Warns of Changes for Section 230

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) warned tech companies to take greater action on content moderation or risk changes to a landmark law that provides the companies a legal liability shield over content posted on their platforms by third parties. “If the companies don't assume the interest in policing their own platforms, then you leave government no choice,” Thompson said.

Microsoft Supports Australian Legislation on Revenue Sharing with News Publishers

Microsoft threw its support behind a proposed Australian law that would compel tech companies to share royalties with news publishers. Google and Facebook have fought the draft regulatory code, which would force them into mediated negotiations with publishers. "The code reasonably attempts to address the bargaining power imbalance between digital platforms and Australian news businesses," Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a release.

  • Read the article: CNET

Cybersecurity Agency Reconsiders Role in Fighting Election Misinformation

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the key federal group responsible for election security, is reevaluating its role in countering disinformation and misinformation after the agency stood up a web page to address misleading election claims last year. Acting CISA Director Brandon Wales described decisions made by the agency to address election disinformation and misinformation as having been “controversial” for election officials and said CISA was working to “get back to basics” and focus on cyber and physical security aspects of elections instead.

SolarWinds CEO Says Hackers Accessed Its Office 365 Accounts for Months

The newly appointed chief executive of SolarWinds Corp. is still trying to unravel how his company became a primary vector for hackers in a massive attack revealed last year, but said evidence is emerging that they were lurking in the company’s Office 365 email system for months. The hackers had accessed at least one of the company’s Office 365 accounts by December 2019, and then leapfrogged to other Office 365 accounts used by the company, Sudhakar Ramakrishna said in an interview.

Chinese Hackers Used SolarWinds Flaw to Access Government Computers

Suspected Chinese hackers exploited a flaw in software made by SolarWinds Corp to help break into U.S. government computers last year, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters, marking a new twist in a sprawling cybersecurity breach that U.S. lawmakers have labeled a national security emergency. Two people briefed on the case said FBI investigators recently found that the National Finance Center, a federal payroll agency inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was among the affected organizations, raising fears that data on thousands of government employees may have been compromised.

Facebook Bans Myanmar Military TV Network Page After Coup

Facebook Inc. banned a Myanmar military television network page following a coup, the social media giant’s latest move in a country where its platform has been connected in previous years to physical violence. A page for the television network has since at least early last year posted photos that publicize efforts of the nation’s military, drawing likes from more than 33,000 people, before it was removed.

Amazon to Pay $61.7 Million in Dispute Over Tips for Flex Drivers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that Amazon will be required to pay $61.7 million to settle charges that it withheld some customer tips from its Amazon Flex drivers over a two and a half year period. According to the complaint against Amazon and its subsidiary Amazon Logistics, the company had advertised that it paid 100% of tips to drivers. But in reality, Amazon used the customer tips to cover the difference after it lowered the hourly rate — a change it didn’t inform drivers about, the complaint says.

Facebook to Notify iPhone Users of Privacy Changes Via On-Screen Prompt

Facebook Inc. said in a blog post it will begin rolling out a notification for iPhone users globally about how data is used for personalized ads, in an attempt to get ahead of upcoming Apple Inc. privacy changes that Facebook says will hurt its advertising business. The full-screen prompt will ask Facebook and Instagram users to allow their app and website activity to be used for personalized ads and to “support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.”

Conservative Voices Not Being Censored Online, NYU Report Says

Claims that conservative voices are being censored online by social media platforms are not backed by evidence and are themselves a disinformation narrative, according to a report. The New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights’ report concluded that anti-conservative bias claims, boosted by some top Republican lawmakers including former President Trump, are not based on any tangible evidence.

Number of Hate Groups Declines as Extremists Move Online, SPLC Says

During one of the most politically divisive years in recent memory, the number of active hate groups in the U.S. actually declined as far-right extremists migrated further to online networks, a move that has made adherents of white nationalist and neo-Nazi ideologies more difficult to track. In its annual report, released Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center said many hate groups have moved to social media platforms and use of encrypted apps, while others have been banned altogether from mainstream social media networks.

Facebook's Oversight Board Seeks Public Comments on Banning Trump

Facebook's content oversight board is accepting public comment on the social network's decision to indefinitely bar Donald Trump from posting to his account because of concerns the now-former president could incite violence like the Jan. 6 insurrection at Capitol Hill. The board is asking the public for its views on a host of issues surrounding the suspension, including whether the decision meets with Facebook's "responsibilities to respect freedom of expression and human rights" and how the company should balance potentially dangerous activity off of the social network when making its decisions.

  • Read the article: CNET

Indian Law Would Ban Bitcoin, Other Private Cryptocurrencies

India plans to introduce a law to ban private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in the country and provide a framework for the creation of an official digital currency during the current budget session of parliament. In the agenda published on the lower house website, the legislation seeks to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India,” but allow “for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology [blockchain] of cryptocurrency and its uses.”

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