U.S. Response to SolarWinds Hack Unlikely to Deter Russia, Official Says

The White House's top official on the response to the massive SolarWinds hack says the sweeping measures announced by the Biden administration against Russia are unlikely on their own to prevent Moscow's malicious cyber activity against the U.S. and did not dispute that the hackers responsible for the massive breach are still lurking on American networks. Expelling Russian hackers from U.S. government networks and getting them to re-consider their malign behavior is going to take time, more comprehensive dialogue and fundamental changes to American cybersecurity, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told CNN in an interview.

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Facebook, YouTube, Twitter Executives to Testify on Social Media Algorithms

Executives from Facebook, YouTube and Twitter will testify at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on social media algorithms and amplification, the panel announced. The hearing will feature Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president of content policy, Alexandra Veitch, YouTube’s director of government affairs and public policy for the Americas and emerging markets, and Lauren Culbertson, Twitter’s head of U.S. public policy.

Internal Facebook Report Says Company Failed to Shut 'Stop the Steal'

Less than a week after Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance in front of a House of Representatives committee, an internal company report concluded that Facebook failed to stop a highly influential movement from using its platform to delegitimize the election, encourage violence, and help incite the Capitol riot. Shared on Facebook’s employee communication platform last month, the report is a blunt assessment of how people connected to “Stop the Steal,” a far-right movement based on the conspiracy theory that former president Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, used the social network to foment an attempted coup.

Fake Claims About George Floyd Still on Facebook, Human Rights Group Says

Fabricated claims targeting George Floyd remain on Facebook despite pledges by the social media giant to take them down, a new investigation by human rights group Avaaz has found. USA Today reported in January that Facebook had not removed racist falsehoods, stereotypes and tropes about Floyd and other victims of police brutality that had been debunked by fact-checkers.

London's High Court Allows Copyright Suit Against Bitcoin Website

London's High Court has paved the way for a case that could force its judges to take a view on who invented bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency which last week soared to all-time highs. The court has allowed Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who alleges he created bitcoin, to serve a copyright infringement lawsuit against the operator and publisher of the bitcoin.org website, which calls itself Cobra, over Twitter or a generic email address.

Senators Want FTC to Probe Google for Child Privacy Violations in App Store

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate if Google’s app store is misleadingly marketing children’s apps as compliant with a law aimed at protecting children’s privacy. The Democrats sent a letter to the FTC calling for the commission to launch an investigation into the Silicon Valley giant’s app store, citing recent studies that suggest apps that infringe on children's privacy, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), are “rampant on the Google Play Store.”

Apple Targeted in $50 Million Ransomware Attack as Leaked Images Posted

Apple has been targeted in a $50 million ransomware attack following the theft of a trove of engineering and manufacturing schematics of current and future products from Quanta, a Taiwan-based company that manufactures MacBooks and other products for Apple. The leak, first reported by The Record, was carried out by REvil, a Russian hacking group that’s also known by the name Sodinokibi.

FTC Nominee Says She'll Take Aggressive Approach to Regulating Tech Giants

Lina Kahn’s unconventional ideas to take on tech companies’ power were decried as “hipster antitrust” by conservatives when her academic paper about Amazon went practically viral just a few years ago. But with anti-Silicon Valley sentiment mounting on both sides of the aisle in Congress, President Biden’s nominee to serve on the Federal Trade Commission received a relatively warm reception from senators as they weighed her nomination to become the youngest-ever commissioner of that body.

Justice Department Forms Task Force to Fight Ransomware Attacks

The Justice Department has formed a task force to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, in a bid to make the popular extortion schemes less lucrative by targeting the entire digital ecosystem that supports them. In an internal memorandum, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said ransomware poses not just an economic threat to businesses but “jeopardizes the safety and health of Americans.”

Seven House Republicans to Refuse Donations from Major Tech Companies

A group of seven House Republicans said that they would no longer take donations from major tech companies or their top executives, a sign of the growing distance between some conservatives and big business. The lawmakers said in a letter that the companies had limited the reach of conservative voices, citing bans on the chat app Parler after it was used by participants in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and had abused their market power.

Senators Question Apple, Google About Dominance of Mobile App Stores

A panel of U.S. Senators questioned officials from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google about the dominance of their mobile app stores and whether the companies abuse their power at the expense of smaller competitors. Amy Klobuchar, the top Senate Democrat on antitrust issues, said Apple and Google can use their power to "exclude or suppress apps that compete with their own products" and "charge excessive fees that affect competition."

Owner of Daily Mail Files Antitrust Suit Against Google Over Search Rankings

The Daily Mail’s owner filed an antitrust suit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google, alleging the tech giant manipulates search results and advertising auctions in ways that harm online publishers. The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that Google punishes publishers in search rankings if they don’t sell enough advertising space through Google’s marketplace.

Competitors Cite Competition Concerns Over Apple's AirTags Tracking Device

Apple launched its long-anticipated AirTags, a quarter-sized tracking device that is a lightning rod for Apple’s critics and competitors who say the tech giant is abusing its power in the smartphone market. The $29 gadget is the type of device that smaller device-makers have been selling for years — and critics say Apple’s entry into the market will make it harder for competitors to operate.

Lawmakers Discuss Changes to Section 230 at Committee Hearing

U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats criticized social media giants like Facebook for the scam artists on their sites, with one prominent Democrat suggesting a legal change to make them more accountable. Senator Richard Blumenthal, in noting the sale of fake COVID vaccine cards online, said he was willing to discuss amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives platforms immunity for what users put on their site.

Geico Says Security Bug Allowed Access to Driver's License Information

Geico, the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S., has fixed a security bug that let fraudsters steal customers’ driver’s license numbers from its website. In a data breach notice filed with the California attorney general’s office, Geico said information gathered from other sources was used to “obtain unauthorized access to your driver’s license number through the online sales system on our website.”

Facebook Plans to Limit Posts with Misinformation About Chauvin Trial

Facebook said it planned to limit posts that contain misinformation and hate speech related to the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd, to keep them from spilling over into real-world harm. As closing arguments began in the trial and Minneapolis braced for a verdict, Facebook said it would identify and remove posts on the social network that urged people to bring arms to the city.

Apple Tells Lawmakers It Will Allow Parler to Return to App Store

Apple Inc. will bring social media app Parler, favored by U.S conservatives, back to its App Store after the iPhone maker pulled it following the deadly Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, according to a letter sent to two Republican lawmakers. The letter, obtained by Reuters, said that after substantial conversations with Parler, the app had proposed updates to its app and content moderation policy that would lead to it being reinstated.

Founder of Project Veritas Sues Twitter After Being Permanently Banned

James O’Keefe, the right-wing founder of Project Veritas, filed a defamation lawsuit against Twitter, claiming the social media giant falsely accused him of operating fake accounts when it permanently banned him from the platform last week. O’Keefe’s lawsuit comes just four days after Twitter suspended O’Keefe’s account and claimed he violated its platform manipulation rules, which bar users from setting up false accounts or using multiple accounts to “artificially amplify or disrupt conversations.”

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