Friday News Brief - 05.20.22

Tech Policy Leaders

NY Attorney General Opens Twitch Probe in Buffalo Shooting Aftermath

New York State Attorney General Letitia James opened a new probe in. to Twitch, 4chan, 8chan, and Discord in the aftermath of the mass hate-motivated shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that left 10 Black people dead. The probe is geared towards determining how the shooter used these platforms to plan, discuss, stream or promote the mass murder to which the defendant, who was apprehended at the scene of the shooting, has pled “not guilty.”

Federal Trade Commission Votes to Hold EdTech Companies Accountable for Kids’ Privacy

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously yesterday to adopt a policy statement cracking down on how EdTech companies use kids’ data beyond enabling their ability to do homework or attend class remotely. The statement warns EdTech Companies that it is against the law for these companies to require parents and schools to give up their childrens’ privacy rights in order for them to access these critical apps. The FTC told EdTech companies that they should also expect fines for using kids’ data for marketing purposes, keeping kids’ information for longer than necessary, or not having proper safeguards in place to maintain kids’ privacy while they’re using these apps. President Biden commended the FTC in a statement.

Twitter Adds New Content Moderation Rules Despite Elon Musk’s $44 Billion Bid

Twitter actually expanded its content moderation rules despite Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform. The move came the same day Twitter GC Vijaya Gadde said “there’s no such thing as a deal being on hold,” after Musk’s statement that he was reconsidering his hostile takeover. The new content moderation rules target misinformation about wars and natural disasters by preventing users from retweeting misinformation about things like the war in Ukraine, and preventing misinformation from appearing in search results.

Texas AG Sues Google Over ‘Incognito Mode’

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton added another allegation to the lawsuit it filed against Google back in January, along with the States of Washington, Indiana, and the District of Columbia, over Google’s location settings. Paxton says that Google’s incognito mode isn’t actually private at all, and that it risks exposing a users political leanings or sexual orientation. Google is disputing the claims.

Instagram Removes Summer Walker’s Post Criticizing KKK

Instagram left a lot of folks scratching their heads after it removed R&B singer Summer Walker’s post criticizing the KKK. Walker’s post simply said “why the KKK never got a RICO,” RICO, of course, being the Racketeer INfluenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which used to target the mafia, but now targets street gangs, according to VICE. Asking why the KKK never got a RICO charge seems like a damned good question, and it’s interesting that Meta took that down as so much white supremacist hate speech stays up. We need more intel on who exactly within these companies is making the last call on these takedowns.

MIT Finds Medical AI Can Predict Patients’ Race

A new MIT study reviewed several medical imaging technologies and found they did a better job identifying the race of patients than humans. But the researchers have no idea how this was possible. They looked at chest X-rays, chest CT scans, and mammograms and the AI identified the patients’ race, even though the patients hadn’t identified what their race actually was.