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Lawsuits allege Microsoft, Amazon and Google violated Illinois facial recognition privacy law
In a set of new lawsuits, two Illinois residents argue that three tech giants violated state laws prohibiting the use of personal biometric data without permission. Illinois residents Steven Vance and
Apple, Biden, Musk and other high-profile Twitter accounts hacked in crypto scam
A number of high-profile Twitter accounts were simultaneously hacked on Wednesday by attackers who used the accounts — some with millions of followers — to spread a cryptocurrency scam. Apple, Elo
Facebook and Instagram boot close Trump ally Roger Stone for network of fake accounts
Facebook released today its latest report detailing disinformation campaigns operating on its massive social network, and this one came with a few surprises. In the new report, Facebook disclosed that
Blistering civil rights audit raises alarms about Facebook’s ongoing policy failures
The results of a multiyear investigation into Facebook’s policies and their consequences for the civil liberties of its more than 2.5 billion users are out. The audit, conducted by former ACLU d
Facebook boycott leaders ‘disappointed’ after meeting with Zuckerberg, Sandberg
What began as a relatively small effort by activist organizations to hold Facebook accountable for perceived policy failings has snowballed into a mass corporate backlash — and a rare moment of disc
Facebook bans ‘violent network’ of far-right boogaloo accounts
Facebook took action to remove a network of accounts Tuesday related to the “boogaloo” movement, a firearm-obsessed anti-government ideology that focuses on preparing for and potentially i
With advertiser boycott growing, lawmakers press Facebook on white supremacy
In a new letter to Mark Zuckerberg, three Democratic lawmakers pressed the Facebook chief executive for accountability on his company’s role in amplifying white supremacy and allowing violent ex
YouTube bans David Duke, Richard Spencer and other white nationalist accounts
YouTube just took action against a collection of controversial figures synonymous with race-based hate, kicking the cluster of major channels off its platform on Monday. The company deleted six channe
Animal Crossing’s summer update will let you swim for sea critters
There’s huge news today for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players still devoted to the most pleasantly addictive way to stay kind of sane stuck at home during the pandemic. In the biggest update
Amazon really just renamed a Seattle stadium ‘Climate Pledge Arena’
As perennial front-runner for the title of probably-the-most-evil tech company, Amazon has a long way to go to rehabilitate its image as a take-no-prisoners, industry-consolidating wealth machine. In
Facebook will show users a pop-up warning before they share an outdated story
Facebook announced Thursday that it would introduce a notification screen warning users if they try to share content that’s more than 90 days old. They’ll be given the choice to “go
AI researchers condemn predictive crime software, citing racial bias and flawed methods
A collective of more than 2,000 researchers, academics and experts in artificial intelligence are speaking out against soon-to-be-published research that claims to use neural networks to “predic
Twitter hides Trump tweet threatening protesters with ‘serious force’
Twitter took its latest action on content from President Trump Tuesday, again hiding a threat of state violence behind a warning label and appending it with a notice. Trump’s latest offending tw
Big outdoor brands join #StopHateForProfit campaign, boycott Facebook and Instagram ads
As corporations fall over themselves to perform their mostly abrupt commitments to racial justice, a few companies are seizing the moment to call out Facebook for its own failings. A handful of the bi
Google adds contextual fact-checking for some image search results
Acknowledging the role that misleadingly edited or out-of-context images play in seeding the internet with misinformation, Google is introducing fact-checking labels for some Google image searches. Th
Trump shared a deceptive video blaming ‘fake news.’ Twitter just labeled it as fake
The same day that Facebook removed a set of Trump campaign ads for violating the company’s rules against hate symbols, the president continued to push the envelope with his social media presence
Facebook removes Trump campaign ads featuring Nazi symbol
Facebook removed a cluster of incendiary Trump campaign ads Thursday for violating its rules against hate group imagery. The campaign’s ads attacked antifa, the decentralized anti-fascist moveme
Facebook adds option for US users to turn off political ads, launches voting info hub
Beginning today, Facebook users in the U.S. will have the option to “turn off” all political advertising on the platform. The company made the controversial decision not to fact-check or o
Google kicked ZeroHedge off its ad platform, put The Federalist on notice for racist protest content
Google is booting online far-right website The Federalist from its ad platform for publishing content about the ongoing protests against police brutality that violated the company’s rules around
Chris Cox returns to the fold as Facebook’s chief product officer
After a very high-profile departure and a year away from the company, Facebook’s former chief product officer Chris Cox will return to his long-held position with the company. Cox shared the new