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A 16-Year-Old Girl Is Suing Snap, Google and Apple After a Marine Sexually Exploited Her on Snapchat Starting at Age 12
A 16-year-old girl and her mother filed a class-action lawsuit in a California federal court this week against Snap, Apple and Google, claiming the platforms fail to protect teen users from “egregious harm” and the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).
In the lawsuit, lawyers for the girl, who is identified as L.W., argue that Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, takes a reactive approach to protect teens from abuse, requiring children to report their own abuse after it has occurred.
“The claims alleged in this case are not against the adult perpetrator — they are against three major technology companies who enable him and others to commit these crimes,” the lawyers wrote in the suit, which Insider viewed.
Her lawyers argued that the “tools and policies” of Snap, Apple, and Google, are designed to increase their wealth rather than protect the minors who use their products and apps.
Clearview AI to Stop Selling Facial Recognition Tool to Private Firms
The facial recognition company Clearview AI will be banned from working with private companies in the United States as part of a landmark settlement reining in a technology criticized as threatening Americans’ privacy rights.
The settlement, filed Monday in federal court in Illinois, marks the most significant court action yet against a company known for downloading billions of people’s photos from social networks and other websites to build a face-search database sold to law enforcement.
It also highlights how a single state privacy law can have nationwide ramifications for Americans’ civil rights protections. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2020, accused Clearview of violating an Illinois law banning companies from sharing people’s face photos, fingerprints and other biometric information without their consent.
COVID Mask Mandates and Vaccine Checks Won’t Fly Anymore in NYC
Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan has said that New York City could once again institute mask mandates and vaccine checks if we go to high alert on COVID-19.
Good luck. Fewer and fewer New Yorkers are likely to comply. Mayor Eric Adams should know as much and tell Vasan to stand down.
The COVID-19 infection numbers have been climbing recently, leading the city to raise its alert level from low to medium. Whatever that means in real terms. But despite the increasing numbers, hospitalizations and deaths have not followed suit. Those are the key metrics.
Even Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, has finally acknowledged that keeping students home to learn remotely for two years was detrimental to kids.
FCC Commissioner Says Biden’s ‘Disinformation Board’ Is ‘Unconstitutional’
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr blasted the Department of Homeland Security’s new Disinformation Governance Board to combat online disinformation on Monday, calling it “Orwellian,” “un-American” and “unconstitutional.”
Carr made the argument on “Mornings with Maria” on Monday, stressing that the disinformation board should be shut down. He also argued that “there is a broader game afoot.”
Carr provided an example: “You have [White House press secretary] Jen Psaki from the White House podium saying they are coordinating with Big Tech to take down posts, flagging posts for them.”
Federal and state lawmakers, constitutional scholars and other experts are expressing concerns with the Department of Homeland Security’s new misinformation board, which they argue is the Biden administration’s attempt to stifle free speech.
Committee Passes Bill to Block Social Media From ‘Censoring’ Users
Ohio Capital Journal reported:
An Ohio House committee passed legislation prohibiting social media companies like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube from “censoring” their users.
The legislation would block the companies from removing posts or expelling people from their platforms based on the “viewpoint” of users or ideas expressed in their posts. It wouldn’t apply to speech already illegal under federal law like harassment or inciting violence.
The Ohio legislation, House Bill 441, would allow private citizens to sue social media companies and win judgments if their views are “censored.” This includes blocking, banning, de-monetizing, de-platforming, removing, denying “equal access or visibility to” or otherwise “discriminating” against the user based on what they post.
The bill prohibits the companies from creating any kind of waiver for users to sign to circumvent the censorship law. It only applies to companies with at least 50 million users.
Sweeping, Limited or No Powers at All? What’s at Stake in the Mask Mandate Appeal
The definition of “sanitation.” An old court case that involves an underwear manufacturer. Whether people had a fair chance to express their opinions about wearing masks on planes.
These disparate factors are in the spotlight as the Biden administration challenges a U.S. District Court ruling that overturned a federal mask mandate on public transportation. The outcome could determine the limits of federal public health officials’ power not only during the COVID-19 crisis but also when the next pandemic hits.
Sound complicated? It is.
About the only thing that’s clear so far is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask requirement for people traveling on planes, trains, and buses is not likely to make a comeback anytime soon. The Department of Justice’s appeal of the Florida judge’s decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could take weeks or months.
‘Like a Prison’: Shanghai, Beijing Ratchet up COVID Restrictions
China’s two largest cities tightened COVID-19 curbs on Monday, fuelling public angst and even questions about the legality of its uncompromising battle with the virus that has battered the world’s second-largest economy.
In Shanghai, enduring its sixth week of lockdown, authorities have launched a new push to end infections outside quarantine zones by late May, according to people familiar with the matter.
While there has been no official announcement, residents in at least four of Shanghai’s 16 districts received notices at the weekend saying they wouldn’t be allowed to leave their homes or receive deliveries, prompting a scramble to stock up on food.
“It was like a prison,” said Coco Wang, a Shanghai resident living under the new restrictions. “We are not afraid of the virus. We are afraid of this policy.”
Tim Hortons Faces Boycott Calls Over Requiring Vaccination for Summer Camp
Tim Hortons Foundation Camps in Canada are facing boycott calls online for requiring all of their summer camp attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The #BoycottTimHortons hashtag has been trending on Twitter Saturday in response to the mandatory vaccine policy after a petition was launched late last month against it. The petition was launched by Tamara Ugolini, a parent whose children were not accepted into the camp for not being vaccinated.
Ugolini, who claims to be a rights activist according to her online profile, aims to gather 25,000 signatures to pressure the foundation to drop its mandate. Over 19,000 people signed the petition as of Saturday afternoon.
Sweden Pandemic Deaths Among Lowest in Europe — All While Avoiding Strict Lockdowns
Sweden logged one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in Europe, all while avoiding strict economy-killing lockdowns that led to economic chaos across the world, the Telegraph reports, citing new figures from the World Health Organization.
Sweden, which was criticized in the early stages of the pandemic for resisting a mandatory lockdown, had fewer deaths per capita than much of Europe. As the Telegraph delicately notes, “Experts said the difference demonstrated stringent lockdowns alone did not determine success when battling COVID-19.”
So what’s Sweden’s secret? The Telegraph suggests that things such as lower obesity and better general health played a factor — which is certainly true. “The lesson from Sweden is to invest in your population’s health and have less inequality,” said Prof Devi Sridhar, the chairman of global public health at the University of Edinburgh.
Israel to End Mandatory COVID Tests for Arrivals at Tel Aviv Airport
Israel said on Sunday it was ending mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, but foreigners would still have to test negative overseas before boarding a flight to the country.
As of Tuesday, foreigners can opt to take a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of departure for Israel, rather than a PCR test, within 72 hours of travel, as currently required, the ministry said in a statement.
The government has been under public pressure to end the airport testing, which has added to passengers’ travel costs and limited check-in space, causing long lines.
Face up to It — This Surveillance of Kids in School Is Creepy
Defend Digital Me’s report, The State of Biometrics 2022: A Review of Policy and Practice in UK Education, was published last week, and introduced by Fraser Sampson, the UK’s biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about children.
First, it reminds us that the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which protects children’s biometrics (such as face and fingerprints), applies only in England and Wales. Second, it reveals that the information commissioner’s office has still not ruled on the use of facial recognition technology in nine schools in Ayrshire, which was reported in the media in October 2021, much less the legality of the other 70 schools known to be using the technology across the country.
Third, it notes that the suppliers of the technology are private companies based in the UK, the US, Canada and Israel. The report also highlights some gaping holes in our knowledge about the use of facial recognition technology in British schools.
Elon Musk’s Plan for Twitter: Massive Increase of Users and Revenue
A few days ago, soon-to-be Twitter owner Elon Musk (should the deal go through) casually tweeted about introducing a fee for some users of the service. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” he wrote.
It sounds almost inconsequential, but it appears that Musk’s plans for that future arm of Twitter’s business are bigger than it seems. According to The New York Times, which has obtained Musk’s pitch deck for investors, Musk has an incredibly ambitious plan for Twitter’s next couple of years, and that plan doesn’t rely on advertising revenue.
Here’s the rundown: Musk plans to increase Twitter’s annual revenue to a whopping $26.4 billion by 2028, up from $5 billion in 2021. By then, he also plans to reach 931 million users, up from 217 million at the end of 2021, with average revenue per user also increasing to $30.22, up from $24.83 last year.
Right now, Twitter makes 90% of its money from advertising. But Musk plans to reduce the company’s reliance on ads, and this is where that “slight cost for commercial users” comes in – by 2028, Musk plans to generate $12 billion in revenue from advertising, and $10 billion from subscriptions, with the rest of the revenue coming from payments, data licensing, etc.
