Social Media

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reporting that China and Russia are actively amplifying existing election misinformation in an effort to to interfere in the November midterms.

Apple Inc. told iPhone users last year that Facebook could no longer follow Internet activity without consent — but a lawsuit alleges that Facebook's parent, Meta, is still tracking them without asking for approval.

The Pentagon should harness social media and influencers to change young people's perception of the military and entice them to enlist amid a challenging recruiting environment, defense officials told a Senate panel.

A White House listening session this week explored the possible negative impacts related to social media platforms, and the Biden administration offered six core principles to increase accountability moving forward.

The case, which involves prison escapes and the use of an altered identity, was finally solved by investigators recently, in part, using a mixture of old and new technology, police officials said.

The proposed settlement would resolve claims that Meta violated its own privacy policy when it collected, stored and monetized the location data of Facebook users — even after they turned off location services.

California state lawmakers this week revealed that they will not advance a bill that would have allowed prosecutors to sue large social media companies for addicting children to online platforms.

The updated crime blotter replaces a manual process and will share information and tweet out each incident on a new blotter Twitter account after the reports have been reviewed and approved by a supervisor.

California legislators will renew discussion over a bill to penalize Facebook, Snapchat and other large companies for the algorithms and other features they use to keep minors on their platforms for as long as possible.

Witnesses testifying in a recent congressional hearing said domestic sources are playing a strong role in driving online falsehoods that undermine faith in elections and inspire real-world violent attacks.

The official Twitter account for the city of Wichita was hacked Friday evening and steps are being taken to secure the account, according to city officials. The unauthorized access appeared to have come out of Turkey.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has discriminated against users by restricting who can view housing ads based on certain demographics. Now, the company is in the process of fixing it.

Newly reintroduced legislation could soon force social media companies to publicly share their policies related to removing content. Advocacy groups, however, have several concerns regarding the bill.

Election-related disinformation continues to spark real threats. Paying close attention to these online conversations can tip off local governments to serious risks, says Maricopa County, Ariz., CISO Lester Godsey.

The alerts, which notify the public about kidnapped children and are primarily sent as notifications on mobile phones, will now also appear on people’s Instagram feeds as part of a nationwide rollout.

The state plans to hire a full-time misinformation expert to counter online falsehoods as part of a $2 million election security and public information campaign by the Secretary of the State’s Office.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday came down to a 5-4 vote, putting the law back on hold after recently being reinstated by a federal appeals court two weeks ago.

California could soon hold social media companies responsible for harming children who have become addicted to their products, permitting parents to sue platforms like Instagram and TikTok for up to $25,000 per violation.