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Incoming Senate Bill Would Set Age Limit for Kids on Social Media
A soon-to-be-unveiled Senate bill would set an age minimum for kids on social media, marking one of the first major bipartisan federal efforts to restrict access to the platforms altogether for younger users.
The bill, led by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), would also set restrictions for how companies use algorithms to serve minors, according to a Senate aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
The measure will add to a growing body of legislation seeking to expand protections for children online. The bill would bar children under 13 from accessing social media and require parental consent for those aged 13 to 17, the aide said.
It was not immediately clear how the proposal may verify users’ ages. The effort reflects mounting bipartisan concern from policymakers over the effect digital platforms may have on the mental health of kids and teens.
Cybersecurity Expert: Banning a Chinese App Like TikTok Is a Red Herring That Ignores a Greater Danger
Unfortunately, the current focus on TikTok as the symbolic representative of the risks to U.S. national security emanating from Chinese technology may be more dangerous than TikTok itself.
In my experience in cybersecurity, Chinese hardware — not software — poses, by far, the greatest risk to American national security. While software is certainly a concern, the reality is that, for multiple reasons, rogue hardware threatens to undermine security and inflict related damage in a far more dramatic fashion than software. All the while, problematic hardware is simultaneously far harder to detect, identify, and remove once deployed than is software.
Proposed bans of particular apps, as well as on the use of VPNs to circumvent government controls, are not only ineffective at addressing such risks but are clearly reminiscent of the reprehensible censorship and controls implemented by oppressive regimes. It was not that long ago, that we, the taxpayers of the United States, paid to create and distribute the anonymizing system known as Tor precisely to help people worldwide overcome such government oppression.
And, because preserving freedom of communication is so important, we left that system in place even as it was abused to distribute drugs, guns and stolen data. In the name of preserving our freedoms, we must not now open a Pandora’s box that not only fails to protect rights that we cherish but threatens to do the opposite.
Thousands of Fake Facebook Profiles Could Be Trying to Steal Your Data
Experts have warned of an ongoing cybercriminal campaign leveraging thousands of fake Facebook accounts and phishing pages in an attempt to obtain login data to financial service platform accounts belonging to public figures, celebrities, businesses and sports teams.
Cybersecurity researchers from Group-IB’s Digital Risk Protection (DRP) team claim to have identified more than 3,200 fake Facebook accounts, some of which are impersonating Facebook and its parent company, Meta.
Through these accounts, the attackers would target legitimate users of the social platform to try and get them to visit fraudulent Facebook login pages.
There, they’d get them to enter their login credentials, and effectively grant them access to their accounts. The premise is that many people use the same username/password combination across a wide variety of accounts and that their Facebook login credentials might work on more serious platforms, such as financial services.
Landmark Supreme Court Case Could Have ‘Far-Reaching Implications’ for Artificial Intelligence, Experts Say
An impending Supreme Court ruling focusing on whether legal protections given to Big Tech extend to their algorithms and recommendation features could have significant implications for future cases surrounding artificial intelligence, according to experts.
In late February, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments examining the extent of legal immunity given to tech companies that allow third-party users to publish content on their platforms. One of two cases, Gonzalez v. Google, focuses on recommendations and algorithms used by sites like YouTube, allowing accounts to arrange and promote content to users.
Marcus Fernandez, an attorney and co-owner of KFB Law, said the outcome of the case could have “far-reaching implications” for tech companies, noting it remains to be seen whether the decision will establish new legal protections for content or if it will open up more avenues for lawsuits against tech companies.
He added that it is important to remember that the ruling could determine the level of protection given to companies and how courts could interpret such protections when it comes to AI-generated content and algorithmic recommendations.
Chinese Censorship Is Quietly Rewriting the COVID Story
The New York Times via Yahoo!News reported:
Early in 2020, on the same day that a frightening new illness officially got the name COVID-19, a team of scientists from the United States and China released critical data showing how quickly the virus was spreading, and who was dying.
Within days, though, the researchers quietly withdrew the paper, which was replaced online by a message telling scientists not to cite it. A few observers took note of the peculiar move, but the whole episode quickly faded amid the frenzy of the coronavirus pandemic.
What is now clear is that the study was not removed because of faulty research. Instead, it was withdrawn at the direction of Chinese health officials amid a crackdown on science. That effort kicked up a cloud of dust around the dates of early COVID cases, like those reported in the study.
That the Chinese government muzzled scientists, hindered international investigations and censored online discussion of the pandemic is well documented. But Beijing’s stranglehold on information goes far deeper than even many pandemic researchers are aware of. Its censorship campaign has targeted international journals and scientific databases, shaking the foundations of shared scientific knowledge, a New York Times investigation found.
Under pressure from their government, Chinese scientists have withheld data, withdrawn genetic sequences from public databases and altered crucial details in journal submissions. Western journal editors enabled those efforts by agreeing to those edits or withdrawing papers for murky reasons, a review by the Times of over a dozen retracted papers found.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Earned $226 Million Last Year, Making Him One of the World’s Best-Paid Bosses
Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai was paid a total of $226 million last year after he was awarded a big tranche of shares, making him one of America’s best-paid CEOs.
The chief executive of Google‘s owner was given more than $218 million, according to filings published on Friday. His base annual salary of $2 million hasn’t changed since 2020.
Alphabet also spent almost $6 million on personal security for Pichai, according to the filing.
Apple Cannot Ban Links to Outside App Store Payments, U.S. Appeals Court Says
A U.S. appeals court on Monday upheld a federal court’s order that could force Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) to change payment practices in its App Store. Apple said it may appeal the decision.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a 2021 order in an antitrust case brought by “Fortnite” creator Epic Games that could require Apple to allow developers to provide links and buttons for third-party in-app payment options and avoid paying sales commissions to the iPhone maker.
EU Singles Out 19 Tech Giants for Online Content Rules
Five Alphabet (GOOGL.O) subsidiaries, two Meta Platforms (META.O) units, two Microsoft (MSFT.O) businesses, Twitter and Alibaba’s (9988.HK) AliExpress are among 19 companies subject to landmark EU online content rules, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Tuesday.
The rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) require the companies to do risk management, conduct external and independent auditing, share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct by August.
The 19 companies include Alphabet’s Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping and YouTube, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Amazon‘s (AMZN.O) Marketplace and Apple‘s App Store.
The others are Microsoft’s two units Linkedin and Bing, booking.com (BKNG.O), Pinterest (PINS.N), Snap Inc’s (SNAP.N) Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, Zalando (ZALG.DE) and Alibaba’s (9988.HK) AliExpress.
