Ryan Lovelace

Iranians surveilling phones, locations to target westerners, cyber firm warns

Iran-sponsored hackers used malware to track locations, record phone calls, and extract text messages from targets, according to cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

September 8, 2022

Federal judge orders Fauci, White House spokeswoman to answer for alleged censorship

A federal judge ordered Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other officials to answer for the government's efforts to allegedly censor social media platforms, giving the powerful officials three weeks to comply.

September 7, 2022

China blames U.S. for cyberattack on university’s computer network

Beijing accused the U.S. of infiltrating computers at a university in China believed to conduct military research.

September 6, 2022

Truth Social startup deal in jeopardy of losing business partners’ support

Former President Donald Trump's social media startup is in jeopardy of losing its business partners' support on Tuesday, imperiling Truth Social's longer-term plans.

September 6, 2022

YouTube recommending certain news outlets for election info, limiting ‘borderline’ content

YouTube's crackdown on content for the upcoming midterm elections is underway, as the Google-owned video platform said it has started tearing down videos it dislikes and elevating news coverage it prefers.

September 2, 2022

Biden team worked with social media companies to censor content, records show

A pair of attorneys general said on Thursday that they have unearthed the Biden administration's sprawling effort to censor and suppress content online, which was revealed through the private communications of dozens of government officials with social media companies.

September 1, 2022

House Republicans push bill to stop Biden admin from outsourcing censorship to tech companies

House Republicans are pushing new legislation to restrict the Biden administration from facilitating social media censorship, seeking to undermine federal employees using their positions to influence tech companies' actions.

September 1, 2022

NSA, Cyber Command mobilizing Election Security Group to fight foreign cyberattackers

The National Security Agency and Cyber Command have activated their Election Security Group tasked with disrupting foreign cyberattackers aiming to hack or interfere with the upcoming midterm elections, assembling a team to combat threats coming from China, Iran and Russia.

August 31, 2022

Snapchat cutting its workforce by 20% as pressure grows on social media businesses

Snap Inc. said Wednesday it is reducing its workforce by approximately 20% and overhauling its business to cut costs and compete as American social media companies face challenges from competitors, regulators and users' diverted attention.

August 31, 2022

Google blocks distribution of Trump’s Truth Social, citing content moderation concerns

Former President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is not approved for distribution in Google's app store, as the Big Tech company isn't satisfied with the social media startup's approach to moderating and censoring its users.

August 30, 2022

Abortion-tracking fears spur FTC lawsuit against data broker

The data broker Kochava says the Federal Trade Commission fundamentally misunderstands its business after the regulator sued the company for selling location information that the FTC fears will be used to track people going to abortion clinics and places of worship.

August 30, 2022

Sensitive info on computers isolated from internet vulnerable to new hacks, researcher says

Computers separated from the internet are vulnerable to new hacks using unconnected smartphones to steal data such as passwords and keystrokes, according to Israeli researcher Mordechai Guri.

August 29, 2022

Twitter, Meta crack down on pro-U.S. influence operations aimed at Middle East, Central Asia

Twitter and Meta cracked down on a major pro-U.S. influence operation aimed at the Middle East and Central Asia, according to a new report from the Stanford Internet Observatory.

August 26, 2022

Progressive groups urge Pelosi to hold vote on privacy bill that faces uphill battle in Senate

Leading progressive groups are urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to schedule a vote on bipartisan privacy legislation that lacks crucial support among Senate Democrats.

August 26, 2022

Trump business partners propose to delay social media startup deal, seeking stockholder approval

Former President Donald Trump's business partners are proposing to delay their merger with the team behind the social-media platform Truth Social, telling stockholders they need another year to complete the transaction.

August 25, 2022

Senate Judiciary Committee to review alleged security failures at Twitter

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to probe alleged security failures at Twitter and has subpoenaed a former Twitter executive who claims the social media company was reckless with security.

August 25, 2022

Anti-abortion activists claim Yelp warning labels on crisis pregnancy center reviews discriminatory

Yelp announced this week it is adding a "consumer notice" to crisis pregnancy center reviews on its crowd-sourced website -- a warning label that will explain how the facilities are different from abortion clinics.

August 24, 2022

Copyright complaints spur massive uptick in Reddit ripping down content, analysis shows

Digital censorship is exploding on Reddit not only because of its policies about offensive speech, but also due to a surge in copyright complaints, a study has found.

August 23, 2022

Truth Social sees spike in downloads following FBI search of Mar-a-Lago: Report

Interest in former President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform has risen following the FBI's seizure of records from his Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month, as attention to his digital presence expands despite prominent social media sites maintaining bans on his accounts.