Platforms should share online content moderation responsibilities with their users, said Tarleton Gillespie, a researcher at Microsoft Research, on C-SPAN's The Communicators, recorded earlier but shown for the first time over the weekend. Reddit is an example of a major platform that relies heavily on user content moderation. Given the size of these platforms, it’s basically impossible to moderate content proactively, said Gillespie, author of Custodians of the Internet. One thrust of the book is for platforms to take more ownership of content moderation, with a regime that addresses extreme content. Content moderation has become a major part of what platforms do, commanding a tremendous amount of resources, he said. The websites need to weigh a balance between creating a safe, open forum without committing politically biased censorship, he said. Gillespie regarded claims of anti-conservative bias as a “superficial” scoring of political points.

Hate speech and election interference create problems that “can never fully be solved,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote Friday. But the platform altered its “DNA” to address harmful issues like interference, harmful speech, misinformation and data control, he added. It will be more than a “one-year” challenge, he said, but the transformation is underway. The platform now employs more than 30,000 staffers to focus on safety, and Facebook invests billions in security annually, he said. “In the past we didn't focus as much on these issues as we needed to, but we're now much more proactive.”

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed legislation making cyberbullying a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. Repeat offenders are subject to as many as 10 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, according to the legislation. The law defines cyberbullying as messages or posts on public forums that threaten violence, death and other harmful acts, and show a pattern of harassment.

The administration should promote data-sharing when updating national artificial intelligence strategy (see 1812040056), industry groups and Amazon said in comments to the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program posted last week. Microsoft and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) voiced support for “de-identification” techniques for anonymous data gathering and sharing. Access to large data sets is essential for Al and machine learning research and development, Amazon said. The e-commerce platform also argued against policies and regulations that might “hamper” tech R&D. The Information Technology Industry Council called data the “gasoline that fuels AI engines,” cautioning that data and privacy concerns must be considered. Sharing data would allow industry to better train algorithms, ITI said. In 2018, the U.S. didn’t properly fund AI R&D, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Center for Data Innovation said, citing better-financed competition from China, France and the U.K. Exposing source code for AI technology wouldn’t be useful, ITIF said, arguing “transparency guarantees neither accurate nor unbiased results.” The Software & Information Industry Association highlighted passage of the National Quantum Initiative Act, which President Donald Trump signed last week, authorizing $1.2 billion over five years for quantum activities across the federal government. People have a right to transparency, including data on human decision-making and the identities of groups behind the technology, EPIC said, offering 12 core principles endorsed by more than 200 experts and 50 NGOs. No group should be able to maintain “secret” profiling systems, and groups should be obligated to terminate a system if “human control of the system is no longer possible,” EPIC said. Echoing comments from EPIC, Microsoft backed de-identification data-sharing, or methods that preserve confidentiality, privacy and security. “However, AI systems that are used in contexts that involve people would need access to data about people to make informed decision[s],” Microsoft said.

Eighty-three percent of U.S. households get internet service at home, same as in 2013, with 81 percent getting broadband service, Leichtman Research Group reported. Broadband reaches 98 percent of households with internet service at home, it said. Among households without internet service, 49 percent don't use a computer at home. The most common reason for not getting web service at home is lack of perceived need (cited by 46 percent of survey respondents), followed by cost (17 percent), internet access via smartphone instead (11 percent), and availability issues (9 percent). Just over three-fourths of adults access the internet via smartphone vs. just over half five years ago, and 9 percent of households get internet service only on a smartphone, up from 3 percent in 2013. Some 92 percent of households access the internet either at home or by smartphone. A November-December phone survey included 1,153 U.S. households.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Thursday establishing minimum standards for federal websites, such as mobile-friendly interfaces (see 1811300039). The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act “will modernize the way the federal government delivers services online, increase efficiency, and reduce costs for taxpayers,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, bill co-author, said.

California plans six forums in early 2019 on its privacy law enacted last summer (see 1806280054), Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) announced Wednesday: Jan. 8 in San Francisco, Jan. 14 in San Diego, Jan. 24 in Riverside, Jan. 25 in Los Angeles, Feb. 5 in Sacramento and Feb. 13 in Fresno. The 2018 law requires the AG adopt privacy rules by July 1, 2020. By that Jan. 1, businesses must disclose data collection and sharing practices to consumers and give consumers the right to request their data be deleted and opt out of sale or sharing of personal information. Businesses will be prohibited from selling personal information of consumers under 16 without their explicit consent.

A glitch with an Amazon Echo speaker giving a user access to another user's recordings was an "isolated incident," an Amazon spokesman emailed us about a media report a customer in Germany who asked to listen to Alexa recordings of his activities could access others' 1,700 audio files. “This was an unfortunate case of human error and an isolated incident," Amazon said. "We have resolved the issue with the two customers involved and have taken steps to further improve our processes. We were also in touch on a precautionary basis with the relevant regulatory authorities.”

President Donald Trump is poised to sign three cyber- and computer-related bills into law, and the Senate on Thursday passed a bill meant to improve federal IT acquisition. The House 348-11 passed the National Quantum Initiative Act Thursday (see 1812140037), sending it to Trump’s desk. The Senate passed two bills intended to strengthen Department of Homeland Security cyber defenses (see 1812200051). The Senate Thursday passed legislation creating a council to consult the government on information sharing and supply chain risks early in the IT purchasing cycle. The Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, from Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and James Lankford, R-Okla., responded to national security threats posed by foreign tech companies in government and national security systems like Kaspersky and ZTE. The bill awaits consideration in the House.

Increased cybersecurity threats and rampant hacking attempts “that leverage the power of the IoT against itself” are forcing vendors to bolster cybersecurity efforts with more sophisticated tools based on artificial intelligence, driving a security analytics market estimated to reach $12 billion by 2024, ABI Research reported Wednesday. “Increased frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks are causing the security ecosystem to flourish and push the industry into the hunt for more reliable, in-depth, and high-quality security analytics intelligence,” said analyst Dimitrios Pavlakis. Challenges include understanding the scope of security analytics and how technology should evolve, Pavlakis said, and many organizations are unclear on prerequisites for reliable sources of security intelligence.