Information that is published or distributed in a digital form, including text, data, sound recordings, photographs and images, motion pictures, and software.
Digital Content
US to Seek Social Media Details From All Visa Applicants
The State Department wants to require all US visa applicants to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers, vastly expanding the Trump Administration's enhanced vetting of potential immigrants and visitors. In documents to be published in March 30's Federal Register, the department said it wants the public to comment on the proposed new requirements, which will affect nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the US each year.
Facebook, longtime friend of data brokers, becomes their stiffest competition
Facebook was for years a best friend to the data brokers who make hundreds of millions of dollars a year gathering and selling Americans' personal information. Now, the world's largest social network is souring that relationship — a sign that the company believes it has overshadowed their data-gathering machine.
Apple Revamps Privacy Controls to Comply With New European Law
Apple is revamping privacy controls for its devices and cloud services to comply with strict new European rules as Facebook faces a user privacy backlash. The iPhone maker said it will update its web page for managing Apple IDs in coming months to let users download a copy of all their data stored with the company. The site will also let customers correct personal information, temporarily deactivate their account, and completely delete it.
Facebook’s self-defense plan for the 2018 midterm elections
Facebook has a four-part plan to protect its platform from malicious attacks during the 2018 US midterm elections:
The first of a series of panels on the Nuts and Bolts of User Generated Content.
You’ve probably heard a lot about intermediary liability and how filtering algorithms can remove content from Internet platforms. But do you understand how platforms, large and small, help curate user experiences?
We will explore the rules of road for who is liable for content online. Our panelists will address how and why those rules differ from what happens in a physical world and what tech is doing to address anti-social content.
Panelists include:
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“Google’s use of the Java API packages was not fair,” appeals court rules
On March 27, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Oracle, finding that Google may owe billions in damages. Nearly 7.5 years after the original lawsuit was filed, the case will now be sent back down to federal court in San Francisco to figure out how much Google should pay. "Google’s use of the Java API packages was not fair," the court ruled. In October 2016 when the case was appealed, after Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems and acquired the rights to Java, it sued Google in 2010. Oracle claimed that Google had infringed copyrights and patents related to Java.
Americans’ complicated feelings about social media in an era of privacy concerns
Amid public concerns over Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data and a subsequent movement to encourage users to abandon Facebook, there is a renewed focus on how social media companies collect personal information and make it available to marketers. While there is evidence that social media works in some important ways for people, Pew Research Center studies have shown that people are anxious about all the personal information that is collected and shared and the security of their data.
How Amazon Helped Cambridge Analytica Harvest Americans’ Facebook Data
Facebook has been rocked by reports of a massive data scrape carried out by Cambridge Analytica and one of its then-contractors, a Cambridge University academic named Aleksandr Kogan. Kogan claims that the data he collected from thousands of Facebook users and their friends—amounting to data on over 50 million users—abided by Facebook’s terms; Cambridge Analytica promises it deleted the data; and Facebook is auditing everyone it can for signs of the data. But while Facebook provided the original data, it wasn’t the only vehicle for Kogan’s app.
State AGs press Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal
A coalition of 37 state attorneys general are urging Facebook to provide more answers on how Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained the data of 50 million Facebook users. “These revelations raise many serious questions concerning Facebook’s policies and practices, and the processes in place to ensure they are followed,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general wrote. “We need to know that users can trust Facebook. With the information we have now, our trust has been broken.”
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FTC confirms it's investigating Facebook, and Facebook stock drops
The Federal Trade Commission confirmed that it has an opened a "non-public" investigation into Facebook Inc.'s privacy practices. The social media giant's stock quickly dropped more than 5 percent. It's now down more than 20 percent from its Feb. 1 high.