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FBI Examines Snapchat’s Role in Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths
Federal agencies are questioning Snapchat’s role in the spread and sale of fentanyl-laced pills in the U.S. as part of a broader probe into the deadly counterfeit drugs crisis.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and attorneys with the U.S. Justice Department are zeroing in on fentanyl poisoning cases where the sales were arranged via Snapchat, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. The agents have interviewed parents of children who died and are working to access their social media accounts to trace the suppliers of the lethal drugs, according to the people.
In many cases, subpoenaed records from Snapchat show the teenagers thought they were buying prescription painkillers, but the pill they swallowed was pure fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than morphine. An FBI spokesperson said the agency would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment.
On Wednesday, the involvement of technology companies in the ongoing fentanyl crisis will be discussed on Capitol Hill at a House Energy and Commerce Committee roundtable. One of the listed speakers, Laura Marquez-Garrett, an attorney with the Social Media Victims Law Center, said Snapchat will be the focus.
New York Attorney General Probing Madison Square Garden’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology
The Wall Street Journal reported:
New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. MSGE for information related to its alleged use of facial recognition technology to prevent certain ticket holders from entering its venues.
The state attorney general’s office said Wednesday the company, which operates Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in New York City, has reportedly used the technology to bar lawyers from firms who are suing the company over unrelated matters from seeing sporting events or concerts.
The company’s actions appear to have affected attorneys at more than 90 law firms, and may violate New York’s civil- and human rights laws, the office said.
In the letter, the attorney general’s office said it was looking into whether the facial recognition software at issue is reliable and has safeguards to prevent bias. It asked the company to explain what efforts it is making to ensure its facial-recognition technology won’t lead to discrimination. It gave the company until Feb. 13 to respond.
Social Media Is a Defective Product, Lawsuit Contends
A California court could soon decide whether social media firms need to pay — and change their ways — for the damage they’ve allegedly done to Americans’ mental health.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to file a consolidated complaint in the Northern District of California next month, accusing the tech giants of making products that can cause eating disorders, anxiety and depression.
If the case is allowed to proceed, it will test a novel legal theory, that social media algorithms are defective products that encourage addictive behavior and are governed by existing product liability law. That could have far-reaching consequences for how software is developed and regulated, and how the next generation of users experiences social media.
It also could upstage members of Congress from both parties and President Joe Biden, who have called for regulation since former Facebook Product Manager Frances Haugen released documents revealing that Meta — Facebook and Instagram’s parent company — knew users of Instagram were suffering ill health effects, but have failed to act in the 15 months since.
SKADOW: Vaccine Mandates Deserve Justification
On Oct. 27, 2022, the University administration announced that the COVID-19 bivalent booster would be required for all students, but not faculty or staff, by the spring semester. The news took me by surprise.
Unlike Yale’s previous COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the bivalent booster requirement preceded any evidence supporting its clinical benefit. Moreover, while the benefits of boosting were unknown, the potential harms, including the elevated risk of myocarditis in young men, were clear. The University should rescind their bivalent booster requirement and provide a transparent and logical explanation of how mandate decisions are made.
In the months since Yale’s bivalent booster requirement was announced, the administration has attempted to retroactively cite a rationale for their decision. A recent email directs readers to a FAQ page to support the efficacy of the new bivalent vaccine. The page references two observational case-control studies published by the CDC in December (two months after Yale’s mandate was announced).
Neither study provides sufficient evidence to support that the updated booster provides additional protection to a young student population that has received at least three previous doses and many of whom contracted COVID-19 last semester.
Nationwide Ban on TikTok Inches Closer to Reality
The White House is facing mounting pressure from Congress to ban the widely popular TikTok app nationwide after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) introduced a piece of legislation on Wednesday to curb its use. A similar bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. was filed during the last Congressional session, but it was not considered in either chamber.
The No TikTok on the United States Devices Act would ban access to the app on all devices, but it may face pushback from a divided Congress in the coming weeks.
DirecTV Boots Conservative Newsmax, Which Alleges ‘Censorship’
DirecTV said it dropped conservative television network Newsmax on Tuesday night after a dispute over so-called carriage fees — a move the broadcaster characterized as “censorship.”
Newsmax described DirecTV’s decision as a “censorship move” to silence the conservative network. The media outlet also pointed to DirecTV’s decision a year earlier to drop another conservative network from its lineup, One America News Network, or OAN.
In response to the dispute, 41 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to DirecTV warning that they might open hearings on the issue, according to a copy of the letter viewed by CBS MoneyWatch.
White House Engaged in ‘Vast Censorship Enterprise’ Against Conservatives, COVID Critics: Missouri AG
One of two state attorneys general filing a civil suit against the Biden administration claimed in a Fox Business exclusive he uncovered a “vast censorship enterprise” and produced purported evidence the White House’s social media team leadership tried to censor or suppress conservative voices and critics of its COVID policy — including a member of a prominent Democratic family.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who along with Louisiana Attorney General Jeffrey Landry, first filed suit last May. However, Bailey told “The Bottom Line” Tuesday the web of purported censorship continues to grow.
“I’m proud to have partnered with the Louisiana attorney general on this case because it’s the most important First Amendment case in a generation. We’ve uncovered a vast censorship enterprise, coercion and collusion between officials at the White House and across federal bureaucratic agencies and their cronies in Big Tech/social media to target and censor free speech in America.”
He underlined that the case is preeminently a First Amendment defense rather than any type of political attack.
North Korea Locks Down Pyongyang Due to ‘Respiratory Illness’
North Korean authorities have ordered a lockdown in the nation’s capital city Pyongyang because of the spread of an unspecified respiratory illness, according to a statement released by the Russian embassy in North Korea on Facebook.
The lockdown will last for five days, and could be extended another three days, according to the post, which called for a “special anti-epidemic period” and urged foreign diplomats to remain inside.
The notice also stated that individuals should take their temperature four times a day and report the results daily to a hospital in Pyongyang. If an individual has a high temperature, they should immediately report to the hospital.
While the notice does not mention any particular illness, such as COVID-19, it does say the city has seen a rise in patients with “recurrent influenza in winter and other respiratory diseases.”
Spain to Scrap Mandatory Masks on Public Transport on Feb. 7
Spain, one of the last countries in Europe to still require people to wear masks on public transport to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will likely lift the obligation on Feb. 7, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Thursday.
She said the epidemiological situation in the country was stable and health emergency services had proposed lifting the restriction. Masks will remain mandatory in health facilities.
“I’ll bring the proposal to scrap the obligation to wear masks in public transportation to the cabinet meeting to be held on Feb. 7,” she told reporters.
Three years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Europe, masks are only mandatory on all, or some types of public transport, in Spain, Germany, Austria and Greece.
Mexico Issues Alert Over Social Media Tranquilizer Craze
Health authorities in Mexico issued an alert Wednesday over an internet “challenge” in which groups of students at three schools in Mexico have taken tranquilizers vying to see who can stay awake longer.
The Health Department called on the public to report any store selling clonazepam, a tranquilizer, without a prescription.
The alert came one week after eight students at a Mexico City middle school were treated after taking a “controlled medication.” Some were hospitalized.
The department warned about the social media challenge “the last one to fall asleep wins,” calling it dangerous.
