The Internet Governance Forum USA conference will be held virtually July 22-23, IGF-USA said Wednesday. Originally planned to be in Washington, the now two-day conference will cover topics including 5G security, IoT, COVID-19 response, education technology, network security, encryption, privacy, content moderation and artificial intelligence.
A Canadian company falsely claimed its smart locks were secure and failed to follow industry best practices to protect data, the FTC alleged Wednesday in a settlement. Contrary to representations to consumers, Tapplock “failed to take reasonable precautions or follow industry best practices to protect the consumer data it collected through its app,” the agency said. With 5-0 commissioner approval, the settlement requires the company to “implement a comprehensive security program and obtain independent biennial assessments.”
T-Mobile is launching the 5G Open Innovation Lab, partnering with Intel and NASA and working with Amazon Web Services, Google and other companies, T-Mobile President-Technology Neville Ray blogged Tuesday. The lab will focus on “emerging applications for edge computing, artificial intelligence and more, developing groundbreaking applications and services that unleash the potential of 5G networks,” he said.
Members of Facebook’s oversight board defended the body Monday as politically neutral and free from undue company influence (see 2005120056). Board members wouldn't have taken the position if they thought they were “providing cover” for Facebook, said University of Oklahoma College of Law professor Evelyn Aswad during an Aspen Institute webcast: The goal is to be as neutral as possible and look at every issue from various angles. Members will be paid, and individual payment amounts aren’t publicly available, said Stanford Law School professor Michael McConnell. Pay is based on what each member could command with alternative use of their time, he noted, saying he expects to spend about 15-20 hours monthly. The board will make binding decisions on content moderation, and can advise on content moderation policies, said Columbia Law School professor Jamal Greene. “We’re not front lines internet cops,” said McConnell, calling it a deliberative body for appeals. Facebook will refer policy questions to the board for nonbinding guidance, McConnell added, noting the company must respond publicly with its decisions on whether it agrees with the guidance. Cato Institute Vice President John Samples said his understanding is that decisions about advertising content will be within the remit of the panel. He called the body an attempt to challenge the content moderation status quo, which people are unhappy with. It’s better than the alternative of having a stronger government role, he said.
Facebook acquired GIPHY and will integrate the GIF database into Instagram and other apps, said Facebook Vice President-Product Vishal Shah Friday. The platform uses the GIPHY application programming interface in Instagram, the Facebook app, Messenger and WhatsApp. The deal shouldn’t be allowed because it will strengthen Facebook’s social media monopoly, said Freedom From Facebook & Google co-Chairs Sarah Miller and David Segal in a statement. The acquisition shows how little the company regards antitrust scrutiny from Congress, state attorneys general, the FTC and DOJ, they added: “They couldn’t care less and are moving full speed ahead with new acquisitions.” A Facebook spokesperson emailed that the “vast majority” of GIPHY users are Instagram users: “Of all the GIPHY API integrations, Instagram is the largest and most engaged with ~50% of traffic coming from FB properties. We will continue to invest in the GIPHY library, including its global content collection and GIPHY's API partners will retain access.”
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security allowed more time for comments on an information collection about technology letters of explanation, until June 15, said Friday's Federal Register. The letters provide assurance to BIS and require the “consignee” to certify an export involving controlled technical data won't be released to blocked countries. BIS requested comment in February.
TikTok is still collecting children’s personal data without parental consent, privacy advocates wrote the FTC Thursday, demanding an investigation. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy and some 20 organizations said TikTok is violating its 2019 order with the agency, which included a $5.7 million fine due to apparent Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act violations (see 1902270059). The company failed to delete data collected before the 2019 order and hasn’t given parents access to review or delete personal information, the groups alleged. The FTC confirmed receiving the complaint. “We take privacy seriously and are committed to helping ensure that TikTok continues to be a safe and entertaining community for our users,” emailed a spokesperson for the platform.
Weakening encryption would jeopardize the health and security of billions around the world, some 30 advocacy groups said Wednesday, launching the Global Encryption Coalition. The Center for Democracy & Technology, Internet Society and Global Partners Digital will lead the steering committee. Members include the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation and New America’s Open Technology Institute. The coalition will “alert technologists to encryption threats around the world, and create mechanisms through which they can deliver expert analysis to mitigate those threats,” said CDT Chief Technology Officer Mallory Knodel.
ICANN's rejection of the Public Internet Registry deal won't affect the .org community, a PIR spokesperson emailed us. "PIR will continue to be an exemplary registry" that supports the work of the mission-driven .org community, he said. Internet Society President Andrew Sullivan said he expects PIR to continue running its registries "in an exemplary fashion and in strict conformance" with its agreements with ICANN. The domain name industry has changed in recent years, so registries need to adapt, Sullivan emailed us. ISOC, which had hoped to sell PIR to private equity firm Ethos Capital, "believed that a specialist investor would be in a better position to support" PIR's stability, but since ICANN "has refused its consent (see 2005010003) that avenue is not open to PIR." Ethos Capital didn't comment Wednesday. The registry "did not ask to be sold and it was far from fun to be constantly attacked for it, but the work we did supporting the .ORG Community in spite of it was phenomenal," blogged CEO Jon Nevett. PIR plans to expand the .org community to underserved regions in Africa, Latin and Central America and Southeast Asia, he said. Regardless of what ISOC and ICANN do, the matter highlighted the extent to which the current domain name ecosystem "depends on informal understandings of what the various actors are going to do," rather than formal commitments, said Firefox Chief Technology Officer Eric Rescorla. Many who opposed the sale expected ISOC would continue to manage .org in the public interest even though PIR's registry agreement doesn't include such an obligation. The deal's opponents and supporters seemed to have "radically different expectations" about ICANN's role, said Rescorla: "It remains to be seen whether this is an isolated incident or whether this is a sign of a deeper disconnect that will cause increasing friction."
Cisco clarified its privacy policy for Webex videoconferencing after a Consumer Reports study on data protection (see 2005010059), CR said Tuesday. The clarification makes it easy to determine what data is collected and how it’s used, CR said. Cisco didn’t comment.