Hamza Shaban

Apple prevents Facebook from offering research app that could monitor online activity

Apple announced that Facebook violated an agreement by distributing a data-collecting app to consumers, bypassing Apple’s normal review for an app intended for the public. Apple said it is cutting off Facebook’s ability to offer the app to consumers. The announcement comes after the revelation that Facebook has been paying some users (aged 13-35) $20 per month to install a research app on their phones that can collect intimate information about their online behavior and communications.

Trump’s new attorney general had charged Justice Department’s antitrust chief with giving an ‘inaccurate’ account of meeting with Time Warner

President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice previously challenged the integrity and motivation of the agency’s current antitrust chief, according to recently published court documents, offering a conflicting account of a meeting the two attended about the merger of AT&T and Time Warner. Before the companies merged, Time Warner board member William Barr attended a meeting with the company’s general counsel and officials from the Justice Department’s antitrust division to discuss the mega-merger.

It is not looking great for the Justice Department appeal of the AT&T-Time Warner merger

The Justice Department urged a federal appeals court to reconsider AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, arguing that the judge who approved the deal in June misunderstood fundamental economic principles and ignored how AT&T could unfairly extract higher fees from rivals by threatening to black out popular TV channels. The Department of Justice delivered oral arguments in its appeal of a lower court decision that handed the agency a major defeat in one of the most closely followed antitrust trials in decades.

Google employees go public to protest China search engine Dragonfly

More than 30 Google employees have joined a petition protesting the company’s plans to build a search engine that complies with China’s online censorship regime. An employee-led backlash against the project has been churning for months at the company, but Nov 27’s petition marks the first time workers at Google have used their names in a public document objecting to the plans. The existence of the project, code-named Dragonfly, was confirmed by chief executive Sundar Pichai in Oct.

Facebook’s Sandberg now says the company’s work with the political consultancy Definers crossed her desk

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg admitted that she had received information about the company’s work with Definers, the Republican-affiliated consultancy that conducted opposition research into Facebook’s critics. Her comments, written in a blog post the night before Thanksgiving, appeared to walk back her statements from the week of Nov 12 in which she said she did “not know” Facebook had hired Definers.

Facebook expands its fact-checking tools but says its work ‘will never be finished’

Facebook announced an expansion of several initiatives to combat the spread of misinformation on the social network used by more than 2 billion people. Facebook acknowledged that fake news reports and doctored content have increasingly become image-based in some countries, making it harder for readers to discern whether a photo or video related to a news event is authentic. The company said it has expanded its fact-checking of traditional links posted on Facebook to photos and videos.

Are any encrypted messaging apps fail-safe? Subjects of Mueller’s investigation are about to find out.

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team is reportedly reviewing the encrypted messaging apps of witnesses in the Russia investigation. The team is looking at what experts say are some of the best apps at keeping messages private. Not all encrypted messaging apps disclose their user numbers, so it's hard to pinpoint just how prolific they have become. But the most popular among them, WhatsApp, claims 1.5 billion users around the world.

Thousands of Android apps may be illegally tracking children, study finds

Thousands of free, popular children's apps available on the Google Play Store could be violating child privacy laws. Seven researchers analyzed nearly 6,000 apps for children and found that the majority of them may be in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.  Thousands of the tested apps collected the personal data of children under age 13 without their parent's permission, the study found.

Google announces plan to combat spread of misinformation

Google plans to spend $300 million over the next three years to help combat the spread of misinformation online and help journalism outlets. The company has adjusted its systems and rankings to lead people to “more authoritative content” on Google search and YouTube, especially when it comes to breaking news events. Google said that bad actors often exploit these situations, seeking to surface inaccurate content on Google's platforms.

Why Sinclair’s latest plan to sell major TV stations has critics crying foul

Sinclair Broadcast Group's new plan to help it win federal approval to become the nation's largest broadcaster is pretty brazen, critics say. The Maryland-based company recently proposed selling two major TV stations to satisfy the government's ownership limit and secure its deal to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion. The problem with the arrangement, critics say, is that the stations' prospective buyers have close ties to Sinclair's executive chairman.

Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, threatens to pull its ads from Facebook and Google over toxic content

Unilever, one of the world's largest advertisers, is threatening to pull its ads from social sites such as Facebook and YouTube if the tech companies don't do more to minimize divisive content on their platforms.  Unilever’s Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed will call on Silicon Valley Feb 12 to better police what he describes as a toxic online environment where propaganda, hate speech and disturbing content that exploits children thrives.

How public media could become a casualty of YouTube’s war on propaganda

If YouTube was looking for a little love from British lawmakers for its new initiative to label videos from news outlets that receive state funds, the company was in for a surprise.

Google and Twitter face more questions in Washington over Russian interference

Twitter is planning to notify users who may have been exposed to Russian propaganda during the 2016 presidential election, the company's head of public policy said during the Senate Commerce Committee hearing, "Terrorism and Social Media: #IsBigTechDoingEnough?". While the hearing was ostensibly about how social media companies can better combat terrorism, it veered onto other topics, primarily Russia.

4 crazy things that happened as the FCC voted to undo its net neutrality rules

Just take a survey of the past 48 hours:

  1. The Federal Communications Commission got an anonymous bomb threat
  2. Hackers threatened FCC staff: In an email claiming to be from the hacking group Anonymous, hackers said they had obtained the personal information of many FCC staff, including all of the commissioners.
  3. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made a video for the Daily Caller
  4. Late night roasted Pai

FCC chairman says social media platforms lack transparency in how they restrict conservative content

In an interview Dec 11 about the coming Federal Communications Commission vote over whether to repeal landmark network neutrality rules, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took aim at a different group — the Web platforms themselves.

Federal Communications Bar Association Dinner: Ajit Pai roasts himself

As attendees of the telecom industry's premier social gathering were escaping the 44-degree chill and entering the Washington Hilton, several dozen net-neutrality protesters chanted outside. Across the street, on an exterior wall of the Courtyard Marriott, the activists projected in giant lettering, "No Slow Lanes. Open & Equal Internet For All."

Commissioner Rosenworcel, NY AG Call for Delay of Net Neutrality Vote Over Fake Comments

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission said that widespread irregularities tied to network neutrality feedback, including at least 1 million phony comments, have tainted the public commenting process. The allegations are buttressing a campaign by online activists and government officials who oppose the FCC's plan to dismantle net neutrality rules.

Facebook and Google’s enormous profits may buoy Wall Street. But it’s a different story in Washington.

The tech industry’s ongoing strong financial performance reflects a soaring economic outlook. But it is increasingly at odds with worsening political winds in Washington as policymakers worry that Silicon Valley has become too dominant, too invasive and too out-of-control. “There is a looming coalition of conservatives skeptical of liberal West Coast companies, and progressives who worry about bigness in any form,” said Darrell West, director of the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation.

Election officials move closer to placing new rules on Facebook and Google

The Federal Election Commission moved a step closer to placing tighter regulations on Internet ads published on major Web platforms, marking a significant shift for an agency beset by partisan dysfunction and another sign that regulators are seeking to thwart foreign meddling in U.S. elections. All five members of the commission voted to start a rulemaking process to require disclaimers for small, character-limited political ads that run online on places such as Facebook, Google and Twitter.

After Russian meddling, Google and Facebook shift their stance on a crucial issue for voters

Facebook and Google told federal election officials they are open to greater oversight over the lucrative business of online political advertising, a shift for the tech giants who acknowledged recently that their ad platforms were exploited by Russian operatives during and after the 2016 election. Google even took a step further than its rivals telling regulators that they should create a broad rule that would ban foreign entities from buying any kind of political ad aimed at influencing voters, not just the ones that mention candidates.

Missouri launches investigation into Google’s handling of consumer data

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into whether Google has mishandled private customer data and manipulated its search results to favor its own products and stifle competitors.