| Internet Governance Facebook Under “Government Investigations” Following Release Of Internal Documents By Whistleblower: In an earnings filing this week, the social network acknowledged that it “became subject to government investigations and requests” in September; while Facebook provided no specifics, the Federal Trade Commission is reportedly “looking into” whether the company violated a 2019 settlement agreement, and the company has implemented a legal hold to instruct employees not to delete documents and communications. Biden Finalizes FCC Picks: After a long delay that forced a 2-2 deadlock between Commission democrats and republicans, President Biden named acting chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to permanent chair, and appointed Gigi Sohn as Commissioner. |
| Privacy Users Under 18 May Have Their Photos Removed From Google Search Results: As part of a new safety initiative, minors (or their parents, guardians, or legal representatives) will be allowed to ask Google to remove their photos from search results; exceptions exist for photos concerning “compelling public interest or newsworthiness,” and users must be under 18 at the time a request is made. |
| Information Security and Cyberthreats State Department Readies Cybersecurity Bureau: In what amounts to the latest step by the Biden administration to strengthen national cybersecurity efforts, the State Department will announce a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to “confront global cybersecurity challenges.” Microsoft Warns That SolarWinds Hackers Still Active, Targeting More Companies: The company announced that since July, it has informed more than 140 IT products and solutions providers that Nobelium, the Russian state-sponsored group behind the SolarWinds hack, attempted to compromise their systems; Microsoft believes that 14 of the attempts were successful, but that early detection should “mitigate the fallout.” |
| Intellectual Property U.S. Copyright Office Expands Right To Repair: New exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s “anti-circumvention” provisions create protections for the “diagnosis, maintenance, and repair” of certain consumer devices that “rely on software to function.” |
| Free Expression and Censorship Internal Documents Show That Facebook Struggles With Moderating Misinformation: Internal company documents disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that the social network’s systems for moderating anti-vaccine comments operate poorly, and that in earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, global health organizations turned down free advertising space on the platform over concerns that the ads would instigate more anti-vaccine content. |
| On the Lighter Side Would You Like Fries With Your AI? McDonald’s and IBM announced a partnership designed to automate the fast food chain’s drive-throughs. |
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| Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP |