| Internet Governance Alvaro Bedoya Confirmed as FTC Commissioner: After Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invoked a discharge petition to advance a vote to the full Senate out of a deadlocked Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Bedoya was confirmed on a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. The confirmation gives Democrats a majority on the Commission, which will likely lead to more aggressive enforcement against tech companies and new privacy regulations. |
| Privacy ICE’s Sweeping Surveillance Capabilities Highlighted in New Report: A report by Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has built “a surveillance system that can investigate the majority of U.S. adults” by acquiring, for example, driver’s license data and data from utilities accounts. Review of ICE contracts reveals that the agency bypasses legal limits on surveillance by purchasing information from data brokers. Clearview AI to Restrict Software Sales to Law Enforcement: As part of a settlement in a 2020 suit alleging that the controversial facial recognition company violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, Clearview will be prohibited from making its product available to private companies or individuals. |
| Information Security and Cyberthreats U.S. Offers $15 Million for Help Identifying and Apprehending Hackers Behind Ransomware Attack on Costa Rica: The country’s president has declared a state of emergency after individuals associated with the Conti hacking group attacked Costa Rican government systems, including those of its treasury and Labor and Social security ministries, and shared pilfered data online. |
| Intellectual Property Google Begins Paying News Publishers for Content in EU: The company announced that, in light of the bloc’s Copyright Directive, it has struck deals with 300 publishers to license their content for use in snippets and thumbnails in search results. Google also released a new tool to help other publishers negotiate licensing agreements with the company. |
| Freedom of Expression and Censorship Texas Social Media Censorship Law Restored: HB 20, which allows social media users to sue platforms if they believe they have been banned for expressing political views, has come back into effect after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a temporary injunction issued late last year. |
| On the Lighter Side Twitter Gamifies Privacy: In conjunction with a new privacy policy, the social media platform introduced an 8-bit game that users can play to learn about its privacy practices. |
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| Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP |