Anti-Vaccine Advocates, Banned from Some Social Media, Turn to Substack

Shut down by major social media platforms, Joseph Mercola, a leading anti-vaccine advocate whose screeds have been restricted by YouTube and Facebook, has found a new way to spread these debunked claims: on Substack, the subscription-based newsletter platform that is increasingly a hub for controversial and often misleading perspectives about the coronavirus. Substack, which researchers from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate say makes millions of dollars off anti-vaccine misinformation, defended its tolerance for publishing “writers with whom we strongly disagree.”

FCC's Proposed Rule Would Require Standardized Price Data for Broadband

Consumers would be able to easily compare rates for home and mobile broadband service under plans given an initial green light by the Federal Communications Commission. The proposed new rule would require broadband providers such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. to show consumers standardized price data similar to the window stickers on new cars and the nutrition labels on packaged food.

Google Proposes New System for Targeted Online Advertising

Google is overhauling its plans for targeted online advertising after pushback from privacy advocates, aiming to give marketers less-granular information about web users than under the tech giant’s initial proposal. The Alphabet Inc. unit said that the new system it is proposing, Topics, would allow web advertisers to target broad categories of users — those interested in “fitness” or “travel,” for example — instead.

Governments Increase Demands for Twitter to Remove Content

Twitter said governments around the world made requests to remove content from a record number of user accounts between January and June last year, in data to be released by the social media company. The platform said governments made 43,387 legal demands for the removal of content from 196,878 accounts in the six-month period, according to data in its latest transparency report seen by Reuters.

Fashion Clothing Site to Pay $4.2 Million to Settle FTC Reviews Case

The Federal Trade Commission said that Fashion Nova, a popular fast-fashion clothing site, would be required to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations that it had suppressed customer reviews that gave products less than four out of five stars. The agency said the case was its first involving a company’s efforts to conceal negative reviews.

Cybersecurity Researcher Finds Access to Tesla Owners' Email Addresses

The 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher who remotely accessed dozens of Tesla Inc. vehicles through a third-party flaw, has a new trick: hacking the car owners’ email addresses to notify them they’re at risk. Earlier this month, David Colombo discovered a flaw in a piece of third-party open source software that let him remotely hijack some functions on about two dozen Teslas, including opening and closing the doors or honking the horn. In trying to notify the affected car owners, he then found a flaw in Tesla’s software for the digital car key that allowed him to learn their email addresses.

Apple Fined $5.65 Million for Not Complying with Dutch Order on App Store

Apple was fined 5 million euros ($5.65 million) by the Dutch antitrust regulator for failing to comply with an order to open its app store to allow dating app providers in the Netherlands to use alternative payment methods. Apple on Jan. 15 said it had complied with the December order from the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) — but the regulator said Apple had not.

D.C., States Sue Google for Deceiving Customers About Location Data

Attorneys general from D.C. and three states sued Google, arguing that the search giant deceived consumers to gain access to their location data. The lawsuits, filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, allege the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating from at least 2014.

Journalists Covering Chinese Olympics Plan to User 'Burner' Phones, Laptops

Journalists covering the Winter Olympics next month say they’ll do their work in Beijing on brand-new cellphones and laptops simply leave them behind or throw them away when the Games are over. The reason: Reporters are concerned that any devices they use there could become infected with tracking software, enabling Chinese authorities to spy on their contents.

Crypto.com Says 483 Users Affected by $34 Million in Unauthorized Withdrawals

Crypto.com shared new details about a recent hack on its platform in a statement on its website, saying 483 of its users were affected and that unauthorized withdrawals of over $15 million worth of ETH, $19 million worth of BTC and $66,200 in “other currencies” occurred. The total losses, worth over $34 million at current cryptocurrency values, are even higher than what analysts had predicted before Crypto.com released its statement.

Facebook Removes Network of Fake Accounts from Iran Targeting Scotland

Facebook parent Meta Platforms removed a network of fake accounts that originated in Iran and targeted Instagram users in Scotland with content supporting Scottish independence, the company's investigators said. The network used fake accounts to pose as locals in England and Scotland, posting photos and memes about current events and criticism of the United Kingdom's government, Meta said.

EU's Legislative Arm Gives Initial Approval to Digital Services Act

The European Union took a significant step toward passing legislation that could transform the way major technology companies operate, requiring them to police content on their platforms more aggressively and introducing new restrictions on advertising, among other provisions. The legislative arm of the 27-nation bloc voted overwhelmingly to give initial approval to the sprawling regulations set forth in the landmark Digital Services Act.

Red Cross Shuts Down Some IT Systems After Cyberattack on Contractor

A cyberattack on a contractor used by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has compromised the personal data of more than 515,000 "highly vulnerable people," including people separated from their families by conflict and disaster, the organization said. The hack has forced the Red Cross to shut down IT systems that support a program that reunites families separated by conflict, migration or disaster, the humanitarian organization said.

  • Read the article: CNN

Russian Tech Giant Yandex Settles Competition Law Dispute

Russian tech giant Yandex said it had reached a settlement agreement in a competition law dispute over its search engine results with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and a consortium of IT companies. The FAS told Yandex last February that it had created unequal market conditions for general online search services, that it was preferentially promoting its own products and asked it to stop. Yandex at the time said it was ready to defend its position.

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