Twitter Mistakenly Labeled Factual Information About Covid-19 as False

Over the past week, Twitter has flagged dozens of tweets with factual information about covid-19 as misinformation and in some cases has suspended the accounts of doctors, scientists, and patient advocates in response to their posts warning people about the illness’s dangers. Many of the tweets have since had the misinformation labels removed, and the suspended accounts have been restored.

Twitter Executives Call Accusations in Security Complaint 'Inaccurate'

Executives at Twitter pushed back against what they said was a “false” narrative being created around a former executive’s allegations about the company’s security practices. At its weekly companywide meeting, Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief executive, addressed a whistle-blower complaint made by Peiter Zatko, the former head of security, who was fired in January.

Dell Says It Has Ceased All Russian Operations Following Ukraine Invasion

Dell Technologies Inc. said it had ceased all Russian operations after closing its offices in mid-August, the latest in a growing list of Western firms to exit Russia. The U.S. computer firm, a vital supplier of servers in Russia, has joined others in curtailing operations since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

FBI Says It 'Routinely Notifies' Social Media, Others About Potential Threats

The FBI said that it “routinely notifies” private sector entities, including social media companies, of information related to potential threats after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook limited the distribution of a controversial story leading up to the 2020 presidential election because of an FBI warning. The statement followed Zuckerberg’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast on Thursday in which Zuckerberg said Facebook limited stories on the news feed related to the New York Post’s article about President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his laptop after the FBI warned the company to be aware of potentially polarizing content.

Google Maps to Label Abortion Providers After Misleading Complaints

Google will begin specifically labeling medical clinics and hospitals that provide abortion care in its Maps app and websites. The move comes in response to years of complaints from users and abortion advocates that its search results for abortion care often return links to crisis pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions and sometimes actively try to dissuade people from getting them.

Social Media Remove Operation Promoting U.S. Foreign Policy Interests Abroad

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter have removed an influence operation from their networks that promoted U.S. foreign policy interests abroad, according to a report by researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory and the research company Graphika. It was the first time that an influence campaign pushing U.S. interests abroad had been discovered and taken down from the social media platforms.

Facebook Gave 13 Newsworthiness Exemptions to Content-Moderation Rules

Facebook gave politicians 13 exemptions to its content-moderation rules over a one-year period because their offending posts were determined to be newsworthy, the company revealed Thursday in a series of quarterly reports on its moderation practices. The company also said it had applied the newsworthiness exception to 55 other cases between June 2021 and June 2022.

Meta Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Prompted by Cambridge Analytica Disclosures

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the social-media platform of allowing third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, to access private user data, according to a court filing. The suit followed revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct British consulting firm that worked on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, had improperly obtained and exploited Facebook user data.

TikTok's Web Browser Can Track Keystrokes, Privacy Researcher Says

The web browser used within the TikTok app can track every keystroke made by its users, according to new research that is surfacing as the Chinese-owned video app grapples with U.S. lawmakers’ concerns over its data practices. The research from Felix Krause, a privacy researcher and former Google engineer, did not show how TikTok used the capability, which is embedded within the in-app browser that pops up when someone clicks an outside link.

UK's Home Secretary Urges Meta to Consider Child Safety in Encryption Plan

Facebook’s parent company Meta is heading into another political battle over the planned introduction of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in its Messenger chat platform. The UK’s home secretary, Priti Patel, makes this clear in an op-ed for Tory mouthpiece The Telegraph, saying it would be a “grotesque betrayal” if the company didn’t consider issues of child safety while introducing E2EE. Similar arguments are likely to be raised in the U.S., too.

Facebook, Instagram Remove Accounts for RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vaccine Group

Facebook and Instagram removed the accounts of Children’s Health Defense, an organization led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that is one of the largest U.S. anti-vaccine groups, for spreading medical misinformation. In an emailed newsletter, Children’s Health Defense said Facebook and Instagram had taken down its accounts after a 30-day ban by the social networks.

YouTube Takes Down Videos of Children Testing Tesla's Self-Driving Feature

YouTube removed two videos from its platform showing Tesla drivers using their own children to conduct vehicle safety tests. The tests were meant to prove that Tesla’s Autopilot and “full self-driving” (FSD) beta software — the automaker’s advanced driver assistance systems which have automated driving features but do not enable the cars to drive themselves — would automatically detect pedestrians, and children, that are walking or standing in the road and avoid hitting them.

Two Users Sue Twitter for Allegedly Disclosing Info to Advertisers

Twitter is facing more legal woes for allegedly providing advertisers user phone numbers and email addresses without their consent. In 2019, the company disclosed that personal information users handed over for a security feature may have been used for targeted advertising. Two Twitter users sued the social media company in a proposed class action lawsuit filed in a federal court in Northern California.

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Indonesia Probes Alleged Data Breaches at State-Owned Telecoms Firm

Indonesia is investigating alleged personal data breaches at state-owned telecoms firm PT Telkom Indonesia's internet service IndiHome and state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), its communications ministry said. Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a senior communications ministry official, said in a statement the ministry had summoned representatives from Telkom and PLN and had sent recommendations on data protection to both firms.

Lawmakers Ask Social Media Companies to Address Law Enforcement Threats

House Oversight Committee leaders are demanding social media companies take “immediate action” to address a flood of violent online threats against law enforcement, following the FBI’s search of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The lawmakers sent letters to the executives of eight social media companies, including Facebook parent company Meta and the fringe right-wing platform Gab, demanding details about the number of threats against law enforcement.

'Black Cat' Ransomware Group Begins Posting Stolen Data Publicly

A ransomware group known as Black Cat is waging an aggressive campaign against scores of companies in the US and Europe, adopting a novel technique to pressure victims into paying expensive extortion fees. The group began making stolen data searchable on its website. The result is that victim data is easier to view online, which maximizes the reputational damage that a company could face and gives the hackers more leverage as they seek to extort a large payout.

Russian Court Fines Twitch for Hosting Video About 'Fake' War Crimes

A court in Russia has fined streaming service Twitch 2 million roubles ($33,000) for hosting a short video containing what it calls "fake" information about alleged war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Russian news agencies reported. Russia has repeatedly threatened to fine sites — including Google, Twitter and Wikipedia — it accuses of hosting "fake" content related to its military campaign in Ukraine.

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