India Bans 20 YouTube Channels, Websites Over Anti-India Propaganda

India banned 20 YouTube channels and two websites for allegedly running anti-India propaganda from Pakistan, invoking for the first time the emergency powers under the newly notified intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code in the IT Act. I&B secretary Apurva Chandra wrote to YouTube and the Department of Telecom, directing them to immediately block the content as it affects the sovereignty and integrity of India, people aware of the development told ET on condition of anonymity.

Chinese Consumer Protection Group Summons Online Platforms

A consumer protection organization in China's Zhejiang Province summoned five online platforms including Alibaba Group's Taobao, Pinduoduo and JD.com over livestreaming irregularities during the Singles' Day shopping festival, according to state-owned media. Short video-sharing and livestreaming platforms Kuaishou and ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, were also summoned.

Despite Widespread Use, Many Americans Don't Trust Social Media

Americans of all ages and across the political spectrum largely seem to agree that they don’t trust social media services with their information and they view targeted ads as annoying and invasive, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. Many Americans use social media — and most use Facebook — but 64 percent say the government should do more to rein in big tech companies.

Russian Court Fines Twitter for Failing to Delete Content Deemed Illegal

A Moscow court said it had fined Twitter 3 million roubles ($40,920) for failing to delete content Russia deems illegal, the latest in a string of penalties against foreign technology firms. Moscow has increased pressure on Big Tech this year in a campaign that critics characterise as an attempt by the Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the internet, something they say threatens to stifle individual and corporate freedom.

Chinese Officials Use Private Businesses to Help Create Influence Online

A new set of documents reviewed by The New York Times reveals in stark detail how Chinese officials tap private businesses to generate content on demand, draw followers, track critics and provide other services for information campaigns. That operation increasingly plays out on international platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which the Chinese government blocks at home.

Switzerland Extradites Alleged Russian Hackers to U.S. in Insider Trading Case

Five Russians including a Kremlin-linked businessman now in U.S. custody carried out a vast, $82 million insider trading scheme that allowed them to profit from corporate information stolen through hacking, U.S. authorities said. Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of a Moscow-based information technology company that prosecutors said had extensive ties to the Russian government, was extradited from Switzerland to face conspiracy, securities fraud and other charges in Boston.

U.S. Agency Issues Emergency Directive on Log4j Vulnerability

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive that ordered federal civilian executive branch agencies to address a major security flaw in widely used logging software that could be exploited by cybercriminals. The order requires the agencies to check whether software that accepts "data input from the internet" are affected by the Log4j vulnerability, which was discovered about a week earlier.

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TikTok Removes Warnings About School Violence as Classes Cancelled

TikTok said that it’s working to remove “alarmist warnings” about a supposed day of school violence that was rumored to take place. A supposed threat of a nationwide day of violence at schools across the country, that allegedly started as a TikTok challenge, prompted some districts to cancel classes even as law enforcement mostly determined that the threats were not credible.

Facebook Pays Fine in Russia for Not Deleting Content Deemed Illegal

Facebook has paid 17 million rubles ($229,643) in fines owed in Russia for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal, the Interfax news agency reported, but with the threat of a potentially larger fine looming. Facebook parent Meta, along with Alphabet's Google, faces a court case next week for suspected repeated violations of Russian legislation on content and could be fined a percentage of its annual revenue in Russia.

Biden Administration Adds Chinese Tech Companies to Blacklist

The Biden administration added dozens of Chinese companies and research institutes to blacklists restricting access to U.S. investment and technology for their alleged support for China’s military and the mass surveillance of mainly Muslim ethnic groups. The Commerce and Treasury departments targeted an array of Chinese businesses, from a company that lays undersea fiber-optic cables to developers of facial-recognition technology to the world’s largest commercial drone-maker, DJI Technology Co.

Facebook Notifies 50,000 Users of 'Surveillance-for-Hire' Hacking Attempts

Facebook is notifying nearly 50,000 users in more than 100 countries that they may have been targets of hacking attempts by surveillance companies working for government agencies or private clients, the company said. The notification is the result of a months-long investigation by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, into what Meta officials called “cyber-mercenaries” who engage in “surveillance-for-hire.”

Russia Fines Twitter, Facebook, TikTok for Not Deleting Illegal Content

Russia fined Twitter, Facebook owner Meta Platforms and TikTok for failing to delete content the government deems illegal, a Moscow court said, the latest in a string of penalties against foreign technology firms. Moscow has increased pressure on Big Tech this year in a campaign that critics characterise as an attempt by the Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the internet, something they say threatens to stifle individual and corporate freedom.

Hackers Linked to China Seeking to Exploit Flaw in Log4j Software

Hackers linked to China and other governments are among a growing assortment of cyberattackers seeking to exploit a widespread and severe vulnerability in computer server software, according to cybersecurity firms and Microsoft Corp. The involvement of hackers whom analysts have linked to nation-states underscored the increasing gravity of the flaw in Log4j software, a free bit of code that logs activity in computer networks and applications.

Lawmakers Want U.S. to Sanction Israeli Spyware Firm NSO Group

A group of U.S. lawmakers is asking the Treasury Department and State Department to sanction Israeli spyware firm NSO Group and three other foreign surveillance companies they say helped authoritarian governments commit human rights abuses. Their letter also asks for sanctions on top executives at NSO, the United Arab Emirates cybersecurity company DarkMatter, and European online bulk surveillance companies Nexa Technologies and Trovicor.

Zoom Joins Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism

Video conferencing platform Zoom has joined an independent counterterrorism group that shares information among major tech companies to combat violence and extremism. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) announced that Zoom had joined the group. The forum was founded by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube in 2017 and now has 18 members.

EU Lawmakers Seek to Expand Scope of Draft Rules Aimed at U.S. Tech Giants

EU lawmakers voted to beef up draft rules to rein in U.S. tech giants, including extending the scope to their retailing activities and to their business users outside Europe, as part of their common position in forthcoming talks with EU countries. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), unveiled by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager last December, sets out a list of dos and don'ts for U.S. tech giants designated as online gatekeepers with fines up to 10% of global turnover for violations, a global first.

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