Search results for "elections"

Facebook terminates NYU’s researchers accounts

Facebook suspended on Tuesday New York University research project’s accounts and prevented access to the social networking platform, successfully halting a study involving the platform’s target on political ads. Damian Collins, a British Conservative Party politician, implicated that Facebook is halting research over the Ad Observer tool that could expose the platform’s hidden agenda concerning […]

Cuba's internet cutoff: A go-to tactic to suppress dissent

Cubans facing the country’s worst economic crisis in decades took to the streets over the weekend. In turn, authorities blocked social media sites in an apparent effort to stop the flow of information into, out of and within the beleaguered nation. Restricting internet access has become a tried-and-true method of stifling dissent by authoritarian regimes […]

QAnon has receded from social media -- but it's just hiding

On the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. But that’s not quite the case. True, you’re much less likely to find popular QAnon catchphrases like “great awakening,” “the storm” or “trust the plan” on Facebook these days. Facebook and Twitter have removed tens […]

U.S. authorities seize Iran-linked news websites

The U.S. department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it has blocked various major Iranian state-linked news platforms accused of spreading disinformation. The move comes as a form of retaliation of previous claims made by Washington that the sites have been attempting to influence the American elections, with many pundits arguing that it will intensify […]

EU beefs up disinformation code to prevent digital ad profit

European Union officials unveiled plans Wednesday to beef up the bloc’s code of practice on online disinformation, with the aim of preventing digital ad companies from profiting off of “fake news.” EU officials said they were strengthening the three-year-old voluntary code to make it more effective at fighting the false information flooding tech platforms. “We […]

German watchdog bans Facebook from processing WhatsApp data

A German privacy watchdog banned Facebook on Tuesday from gathering data on users of its WhatsApp chat app, citing an update to its privacy policy that it said breaches stringent European data protection rules. Hamburg’s data protection commissioner, Johannes Caspar, said he issued an emergency three-month order prohibiting the social network from processing WhatsApp personal […]

Facebook says it halts hackers tied to Palestinian security

Facebook said Wednesday it has broken up a hacker network used by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ intelligence service in an attempt to keep tabs on journalists, human rights activists and government critics. The report by the social networking giant threatened to deal another embarrassing blow to Abbas’ Fatah party weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. Fatah, […]

General says attacks by foreign hackers are 'clarion call'

The U.S. Cyber Command conducted more than two dozen operations aimed at thwarting interference in last November’s presidential election, the general who leads the Pentagon’s cyber force said Thursday. Gen. Paul Nakasone did not describe the nature of the operations in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee but said they were designed “to get […]

Biden immediately begins selling virus aid plan to public

The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Joe Biden’s first legislative victory. The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bill’s contents while looking to build momentum for the next, perhaps […]

GOP pushes bills to allow social media 'censorship' lawsuits

Republican state lawmakers are pushing for social media giants to face costly lawsuits for policing content on their websites, taking aim at a federal law that prevents internet companies from being sued for removing posts. GOP politicians in roughly two dozen states have introduced bills that would allow for civil lawsuits against platforms for what […]