Google opposes laws mandating proactive content filtering and monitoring, “overly rigid timelines for content removal” or other “harsh penalties” for platforms acting in good faith, Senior Vice President-Global Affairs Kent Walker blogged Thursday. Industry, government, society and users should share content moderation responsibility, he said, supporting industry transparency reports. He cited ongoing debate about the best regulatory approaches, including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the EU’s e-Commerce Directive.
The FTC and Facebook are negotiating a multibillion dollar settlement of the agency’s investigation of the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The settlement, which would need judicial OK, could include a more stringent agency order on the company’s privacy practices. The agency and company didn’t comment.
The FTC will continue its competition and consumer protection hearings in March and April, including a March 25 roundtable with state attorneys general, the agency announced Wednesday. The hearings were suspended during the recent partial government shutdown. A March 20 hearing will address broadband markets. The FTC’s “role in a changing world” is set for March 25-26, consumer privacy April 9-10 and merger retrospectives April 12.
Millions of iPhone and MacBook owners “continue to suffer harm” through Apple’s “coercive policies” of requiring “two-factor authentication” cybersecurity protections on their devices, alleged a complaint (in Pacer) seeking class-action status. Once 2FA is enabled on a device either by default or during a software update, Apple requires owners to access their accounts through a laborious “extraneous logging in procedure” that locks them out of their devices after 14 days if they don’t comply, said the complaint Friday in U.S. District Court in San Jose. Apple “does not get user consent” to enable 2FA, a feature that interferes with consumers’ everyday use of their personal devices, in violation of the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other statutes, it said. “When a consumer purchases an Apple device, the purchased Apple device becomes the personal property of the consumer. Apple no longer has any ownership or property rights to the Apple devices after sale.” Yet when the company enables 2FA on “owned devices,” it makes them “inaccessible for intermittent periods of time,” said the complaint. It seeks money damages and an order barring Apple from enabling 2FA without customers’ permission. The tech provider didn’t comment Monday.
Apple released a software fix Thursday for the Group FaceTime glitch (see 1901290037). In the iOS 12.1.4 update, Apple described the flaw's impact, saying the initiator of a Group FaceTime call “may be able to cause the recipient to answer.” In the patch, it said: “A logic issue existed in the handling of Group FaceTime calls. The issue was addressed with improved state management.” The update is available for iPhone 5s and later smartphones, iPad Air and later tablets and the sixth-generation iPod touch. Apple credited Grant Thompson, the 14-year-old Texas student, whose mother, Michele, repeatedly pinged Apple about the flaw. The teenager could be eligible for Apple’s bug bounty program for bringing the hack to light, said reports.
While 28 percent of U.S. broadband households are familiar with time-of-use rate programs, only 18 percent report their utility offers one, said Parks Associates Wednesday. Of those who have been offered a TOU plan, 38 percent signed up, said analyst Brad Russell. Familiarity with these programs hasn’t budged much since 2015, Russell said, but smart home devices such as smart thermostats could open a new line of communication with consumers to boost familiarity and convey benefits. They could also help reduce consumers' fears of loss of control, the top inhibitor to TOU enrollment, said the analyst.
Viacom has cut back the past couple of years on its licensing of content to subscription VOD services, amassing a big library with which to go direct to consumer with its $340 million Pluto TV acquisition (see 1901230029), Viacom CEO Bob Bakish said in a call Tuesday with analysts. He said Pluto will be "a key driver for transforming our company," and the deal should close in March. He said Pluto provides access to more than 12 million monthly users and is a marketing engine for Viacom's own SVOD products like Nick Hits. For Q1 ended Dec. 31, revenue of $3.09 billion was little changed from the year-ago quarter as operating income fell 16 percent to $602 million. Viacom expects single-digit percentage revenue growth the rest of the fiscal year.
Some 23 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart thermostat in 2019, and 24 percent are likely to buy a smart lightbulb, blogged Parks Associates Monday. Data from such devices is a “new and important form of currency in the IoT ecosystem,” said analyst Brad Russell, saying artificial intelligence and machine learning can unlock the value of data for energy providers.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (R) is probing Facebook’s use of consumer data, a spokesperson told us Friday. Rutledge “is investigating the use of consumer data on social media and other internet platforms to ensure appropriate safeguards for consumers and protection against security breaches that could be harmful to Arkansans,” the spokesperson wrote, not saying whether the inquiry is directly related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach or linked to a multistate investigation led by Democratic state AGs (see 1902010049). Facebook previously said it’s in contact with AGs from several states. “More regulation of the internet” is needed, the platform conceded Monday. The company welcomes “smart” legislation and will “work with lawmakers to achieve it,” it said. “Simplicity” is needed in policy discussions, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Sunday: “The average person would have to spend 76 working days to read all the digital privacy policies they agree to in the span of a year ... So much fine print in so many places.” Facebook outlined ways it’s addressing privacy issues, foreign interference, safety issues and other concerns: It removes millions of fake accounts to combat election interference and misinformation; more than 30,000 staffers work on safety and security; and staff now detect 99 percent of terrorist-related content before it’s reported, 97 percent of violence and graphic content, and 96 percent of nudity. The FTC can become the “privacy watchdog that this era so desperately needs” if Congress empowers and properly funds the agency, The New York Times editorial board wrote Saturday: “Uninformed, non-negotiated” consent agreements included in overly complex privacy policies shouldn’t be the requirement for using “services that are often necessary for civic life.”
ICANN's thrice-yearly major meetings return to the U.S. in 2021, with Seattle hosting the 72nd meeting that Oct. 23-28. The 61st meeting was in San Juan last March. Locations for Nos. 70 and 71 will be announced soon," the group said Thursday: No. 72's "location was announced out of sequence due to contractual obligations."