Parler Reportedly Refused Trump Relationship After Request to Ban Critics

The alternative social network Parler and representatives of former president Donald Trump were reportedly considering an idea to make Trump an active member of the platform after he left office, but Parler apparently pushed back on one key part of the proposed arrangement: the platform did not want to ban Trump’s detractors, according to an excerpt of Michael Wolff’s upcoming book about the last days of Trump’s presidency published in New York Magazine.

YouTube Bans 'Right Wing Watch,' Then Says It Was Mistakenly Suspended

After left-wing media watchdog Right Wing Watch had been informed that its channel had been permanently suspended from YouTube, the online video platform reversed course hours later and reinstated the channel. “Right Wing Watch’s YouTube channel was mistakenly suspended, but upon further review, has now been reinstated,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Daily Beast. The social-media site also suggested that the issue was a mistake due to high volume of content and that they attempted to move quickly to undo the ban.

White House Antitrust Executive Order Would Target More Than Tech Firms

The White House is working on an antitrust executive order that aims to push government agencies to consider how their decisions will impact competition in an industry, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The order goes after corporate monopolies across a broad swath of industries ranging from banking to airlines, one of the sources said.

Judge Dismisses Federal, State Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook

A federal judge dismissed antitrust lawsuits the federal government and most states filed against Facebook Inc., a major win for the company before the cases barely got off the ground. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington granted the social-media giant’s requests to dismiss lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general in December.

Microsoft Says Hackers Linked to Russia Installed Malware on Its Systems

Microsoft Corp. said hackers, linked by U.S. authorities to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, installed malicious information-stealing software on one of its systems and used information gleaned there to attack its customers. The hackers compromised a computer used by a Microsoft customer support employee that could have provided access to different types of information, including ”metadata” of accounts and billing contact information for the organization, a Microsoft spokesman said.

YouTube Removes Videos from Human Rights Group Targeting China

A human rights group that attracted millions of views on YouTube to testimonies from people who say their families have disappeared in China's Xinjiang region is moving its videos to little-known service Odysee after some were taken down by the Google-owned streaming giant, two sources told Reuters. The group, credited by international organizations like Human Rights Watch for drawing attention to human rights violations in Xinjiang, has come under fire from Kazakh authorities since its founding in 2017.

Agreed-Upon Infrastructure Bill Includes $65 Billion for Broadband

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris agreed to a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan that includes building out high-speed universal broadband across the nation. The infrastructure framework will invest two-thirds of the resources from Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan, and also includes provisions for clean transportation, clean water infrastructure, renewable energy infrastructure and climate change resilience.

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House Judiciary Committee Approves All Six Big Tech Antitrust Bills

In a marathon markup meeting that lasted 29 hours, the House Judiciary Committee approved all six of the bills in a sweeping antitrust package that takes aim at Big Tech and attempts to reel in the giants’ power. But the lengthy debate that began Wednesday and did not finish till Thursday afternoon illuminated the fissures within both parties as tech companies continue lobbying lawmakers, and some California delegates — whose districts encompass many tech headquarters — voiced skepticism.

Google Delays Decision to Block Tracking Cookies in Chrome Until 2023

Google's Chrome web browser will not fully block tracking cookies until late 2023, the Alphabet Inc. company said, delaying by nearly two years a move that has drawn antitrust concerns from competitors and regulators. Google had wanted to bar reams of ad-personalization companies from gathering users' browsing interests through cookies from January 2022.

House Lawmakers Begin Considering Antitrust Bills Aimed at Big Tech

House lawmakers began the process of considering a legislative package that would overhaul the nation’s antitrust laws in an attempt to rein in the power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Over the course of the day, members of the House Judiciary Committee are expected to vote on six bills that could block the tech giants from prioritizing their own products online, force them to break off parts of their businesses and generate more resources for the law enforcement agencies that police Silicon Valley. Skeptical lawmakers can propose amendments to the bills or oppose the measures outright.

FBI Director Says Paying Ransomware Hackers Encourages More Attacks

FBI Director Chris Wray pleaded with public companies and other hacking victims to avoid paying ransom, saying he fears it will only embolden cyber criminals to ramp up future attacks. "In general, we would discourage paying the ransom because it encourages more of these attacks, and frankly, there is no guarantee whatsoever that you are going to get your data back," Wray testified before a U.S. Senate appropriations panel.

Supreme Court Says Student's Vulgar Snapchat Message Protected Speech

The Supreme Court ruled that a Pennsylvania school district had violated the First Amendment by punishing a student for a vulgar social media message sent while she was not on school grounds. The decision, on a vote of 8 to 1, did not establish a categorical ban on regulating student speech outside of school, citing the need of school systems to be able to deal with issues like bullying and threats.

State Attorneys General Preparing Antitrust Suit Over Google's App Store

A group of state attorneys general may file a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's Google as early as next week, accusing the search and advertising giant of violating antitrust law in running its mobile app store, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The anticipated lawsuit follows complaints from app developers about Google's management of its Play Store for Android devices, according to one source.

LinkedIn Profiles for Some Researchers, Journalists Blocked in China

The Wall Street Journal identified at least 10 individuals who had their profiles blocked or posts removed from the China version of LinkedIn since May, including researchers in Jerusalem and Tokyo, journalists, a U.S. congressional staffer and an editor based in Beijing who posted state media reports about elephants rampaging across China. A LinkedIn spokeswoman said in a statement that while the company supports freedom of expression, offering a localized version of LinkedIn in China means adherence to censorship requirements of the Chinese government on internet platforms.

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