Hobbyist Spies Use Social Media to Impact Ground War in Ukraine

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has unfolded at a blistering pace over social media, it has swollen the ranks of hobbyist spies. Armed with day jobs or coursework, the self-proclaimed open source intelligence — or “OSINT” — community tracks every movement of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries online. Five weeks into the war, their findings are impacting strategy on the ground.

Tech, Children's Health Advocacy Groups Push for Law to Protect Kids Online

Tech and children’s health advocacy groups sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass legislation providing protections for kids and teens online. The letter follows President Biden’s call for social companies to be held accountable for their impact on kids’ safety during his first State of the Union address earlier this month and builds on bipartisan momentum in Congress to add additional regulations.

Report Says Facebook Allowed Ads Calling for Violence Against Rohingya

A new report has found that Facebook failed to detect blatant hate speech and calls to violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority years after such behavior was found to have played a determining role in the genocide against them. The report shared exclusively with The Associated Press showed the rights group Global Witness submitted eight paid ads for approval to Facebook, each including different versions of hate speech against Rohingya.

Authentication Services Provider Investigating Report of Breach

Authentication services provider Okta Inc. is investigating a report of a digital breach, the company said, after hackers posted screenshots showing what they claimed was its internal company environment. A hack at Okta could have major consequences because thousands of other companies, such as FedEx, Moody's and T-Mobile, rely on the San Francisco-based firm to manage access to their own networks and applications.

Biden Warns of Possible Russian Cyberattacks to Retaliate for Sanctions

President Biden warned that Russia is exploring the possibility of waging potential cyberattacks against the United States in retaliation for economic penalties imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. In a statement issued days before he is set to travel to Brussels for a NATO summit, Mr. Biden encouraged private sector companies in the United States to strengthen their cybersecurity against a potential breach by Russia.

Court in Russia Rejects Dismissal of Facebook Extremism Charges

A Moscow court rejected an attempt by Facebook owner Meta Platforms to have extremism charges against it dismissed, Russian news agencies reported, in a case that could force the U.S. tech giant out of the Russian market. The TASS news agency earlier reported that Meta had asked for more time to prepare its legal position and had questioned the court's authority to ban its activities at the request of state prosecutors.

China Requires Microsoft to Suspend Auto-Suggest Function in Bing

Microsoft Corp's Bing, the only major foreign search engine available in China, said a "relevant government agency" has required it to suspend its auto-suggest function in China for seven days. The suspension marks the second of its kind for Bing since December, and arrives amid an ongoing crackdown on technology platforms and algorithms from Beijing.

Court Dismisses District of Columbia's Antitrust Complaint Against Amazon

A court threw out what was thought to have been the first government lawsuit in the United States arguing that Amazon had broken antitrust laws. Judge Hiram E. Puig-Lugo of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia granted Amazon’s motion to dismiss the complaint, which was filed last year by Karl Racine, the district’s attorney general, according to court records.

Court in Brazil Lifts Ban on Telegram After Company Said It Missed Emails

Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, election officials and federal police have been trying to get a response from Telegram, the fast-growing messaging app, for months. It turned out, all they had to do was ban it. Brazil’s Supreme Court had blocked Telegram in the country because the company behind the app had been ignoring the court’s orders but then, suddenly, Telegram’s chief executive responded — with a pedestrian excuse: his company had missed the court’s emails.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Orders Suspension of Telegram App

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, saying it had repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders or comply with the country's laws, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Reuters. Moraes' decision, which is likely to stoke debate about freedom of speech in politically polarized Brazil, represents the latest chapter in the crusading justice's battle with far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies.

Despite Social Media Restrictions, Russia Unable to Shut Down Telegram

Russia’s campaign to restrict access to Twitter, Facebook and other sources of uncensored information on its invasion of Ukraine has skipped one crucial platform: the social media and chat app Telegram. Anyone in Russia who wanted to follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Congress could find it on Telegram, along with images of Russia bombing civilian areas in Ukraine.

Head of New California Online Regulator to Enforce State's Privacy Law

Ashkan Soltani, faces the daunting task of overseeing the first government body in the United States with the sole job of regulating how Google, Facebook, Amazon and other companies collect and use data from millions of people. The office, the California Privacy Protection Agency, will be a more than 30-person group with a $10 million annual budget to help enforce the state’s privacy law, which is among the most stringent in the country.

EU Law Would Direct Apple to Allow App Installations Outside Its Own Store

Apple Inc. is facing one of the biggest challenges yet to how it controls and profits from the App Store as Europe prepares to complete a new competition law in the coming weeks. The new European Union legislation — which could be effectively completed as soon as this month — is set to direct Apple to allow software to be downloaded outside its cash-generating App Store and limit how companies impose their own payment systems on apps, according to people involved in the negotiations.

Australian Competition Watchdog Pursues Facebook Over Crypto Ads

Australian competition watchdog has begun proceedings against Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, alleging the social media company engaged in false or misleading cryptocurrency advertisements in the country, it said. Meta published ads featuring "prominent Australian public figures" promoting cryptocurrency investment or money-making schemes, which according to the regulator were "scams" that were likely to have misled users into believing them.

'Information Warriors' Using Technology to Inform Russians About War

An international resistance of computer programmers and volunteer “information warriors” is racing to pierce Kremlin propaganda and expose ordinary Russians to the uncensored truth of a brutal war. The Internet has sent old information-war efforts into overdrive, allowing everyday people to pitch in on imaginative efforts designed to reach strangers thousands of miles away.

French Cloud-Computing Company Files Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft

A French cloud-computing company has filed an antitrust complaint in Europe against Microsoft Corp., adding to recent criticism of the competitive practices at a company that has largely avoided the recent regulatory scrutiny aimed at rival tech giants. OVHcloud said it filed the complaint with the European Commission, the European Union’s top competition regulator.

Facebook Removes Fake Video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Facebook's parent company, Meta, said that it removed a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for violating the social network's rules against manipulated media. "It appeared on a reportedly compromised website and then started showing across the internet," said Nathaniel Gleicher, who heads security policy at Meta, in a tweet about the video.

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