Students' Medical Records Appearing on Dark Web After L.A. School Breach

Families of students in Los Angeles are learning that their kids’ medical records are appearing on the dark web thanks to a notorious ransomware crew that’s extorting academic institutions. Kids’ medical and mental health records, in addition to 2,000 student assessments, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, were published after a breach last year at the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Jack Kelanic, senior IT infrastructure administrator.

House Committee Approves Bill Giving Biden Authority to Ban TikTok

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines to give President Joe Biden the power to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, in what would be the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app. Lawmakers voted 24 to 16 to approve the measure to grant the administration new powers to ban the ByteDance-owned app — which is used by over 100 million Americans — as well as other apps considered security risks.

White House Requires Federal Agencies to Remove TikTok from Official Devices

The White House has announced it's giving federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. According to the guidance memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget, all executive agencies and their contractors must remove TikTok or any app from its parent company, ByteDance, within 30 days of Monday's notice – with few exceptions for national security, law enforcement and research purposes.

More Countries Instituted Internet Shutdowns in 2022 Than Ever, Researchers Say

More countries shut down the Internet in 2022 than ever before, according to a new report by digital rights researchers, as the threat of “digital authoritarianism” races up the agenda of many governments worldwide. Authorities in 35 countries instituted Internet shutdowns at least 187 times, according to the New York-based digital rights watchdog Access Now.

New 'Take It Down' Tool to Help Remove Explicit Images of People Under 18

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched a tool that allows young people to remove explicit images of themselves that appear online, or block such photos from being shared. The platform, known as Take It Down, allows young adults from anywhere in the world to submit an anonymous report about explicit or intimate images of themselves posted on certain online spaces.

Copyright Office Rejects Protection for AI-Created Images in Graphic Novel

Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters. "Zarya of the Dawn" author Kris Kashtanova is entitled to a copyright for the parts of the book Kashtanova wrote and arranged, but not for the images produced by Midjourney, the office said in its letter.

Judge Rejects Meta's Request to Overturn $175M Verdict Over Walkie-Talkie App

A federal judge in Austin, Texas rejected a request by Meta Platforms Inc's to throw out a $175 million jury patent verdict for walkie-talkie app maker Voxer Inc. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel's decision leaves intact the jury's finding that Meta's Facebook Live and Instagram Live live-streaming technology infringed two Voxer patents related to video streaming and messaging.

Pro-Kremlin Accounts Using Twitter's New Verification System for Prominence

Accounts pushing Kremlin propaganda are using Twitter’s new paid verification system to appear more prominently on the global platform, another sign that Elon Musk’s takeover is accelerating the spread of politically charged misinformation, a nonprofit research group has found. The accounts claim to be based outside of Russia, so they can pay for verification without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

Google Testing Blocks on Access to News for Some Canadian Users

Alphabet Inc's Google is rolling out tests that block access to news content for some Canadian users, the company confirmed, in what it says is a test run of a potential response to the government's online news bill. The "Online News Act," or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April by Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, laid out rules to force platforms like Meta's Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Twitter Case on Aiding Terrorists

The Supreme Court heard arguments over whether internet platforms may be sued for aiding and abetting international terrorism by failing to remove videos supporting the Islamic State. The case, which concerns a federal law allowing suits for “knowingly providing substantial assistance” to terrorists, was linked to one argued that considered the separate question of whether platforms are immune from lawsuits under a 1996 law that shields them from liability for what their users post.

Extortion Payments Drop Significantly in Ransomware Cases

Extortion payments from ransomware, a hacking scourge that has crippled hospitals, schools and public infrastructure, fell significantly last year, according to federal officials, cybersecurity analysts and blockchain firms. After ballooning for years, the amount of money being paid to ransomware criminals dropped in 2022, as did the odds that a victim would pay the criminals who installed the ransomware.

Supreme Court Hears Argument About Scope of Section 230 Protections

In a case with the potential to alter the very structure of the internet, the Supreme Court explored the limits of a federal law that shields social media platforms from legal responsibility for what users post on their sites. The justices seemed to view the positions taken by the two sides as too extreme and expressed doubts about their own competence to find a middle ground.

News Outlets Accuse ChatGPT of Using Articles for Training Without Permission

Major news outlets have begun criticizing OpenAI and its ChatGPT software, saying the lab is using their articles to train its artificial intelligence tool without paying them. “Anyone who wants to use the work of Wall Street Journal journalists to train artificial intelligence should be properly licensing the rights to do so from Dow Jones,” Jason Conti, general counsel for News Corp.’s Dow Jones unit, said in a statement provided to Bloomberg News. “Dow Jones does not have such a deal with OpenAI.”

House Judiciary Chair Subpoenas Tech Companies About Content Moderation

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has sent subpoenas to the chief executives of five large U.S. tech companies, demanding information on how they moderate content on their online platforms. The queries are part of House Republicans’ plan to scrutinize communications between the Biden administration and big technology and social-media companies to probe whether they amounted to the censorship of legitimate viewpoints on issues such as Covid-19 policy that ran counter to White House policy.

Boston Jury Convicts Russian Man for Hacking in $90 Million Inside Trading Scheme

A federal jury in Boston has convicted a prominent Russian businessman for his alleged role in a $90 million insider trading scheme that involved hacking into companies and viewing financial data before it became public. Vladislav Klyushin, whose cybersecurity firm reportedly contracted with the Kremlin, was convicted after a 10-day trial of conspiring to commit wire and securities fraud, and of a hacking-related charge, the Justice Department said in a statement.

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Senate Judiciary Members Pursue New Protections for Children Online

Lawmakers are again seeking to pass legislation protecting children from harmful online content, after failing to reach consensus last year. Members of both parties on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they hoped to advance legislation that would place new requirements on social-media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

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