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Technology 19 August 2019

The Week in Internet News: White House Proposes Social Media Monitoring

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

We’re watching you: A leaked proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration would put the Federal Communications Commission in charge of regulating how social media platforms and other websites decide what appears on their pages, CNN reports. Critics said the proposal amounts to censorship.

We’re watching you, part 2: In other U.S. government news, the Trump administration has asked a court to reauthorized a suspended National Security Agency surveillance program, targeting the telephone records of U.S. residents, the New York Times reports. The Trump administration wants to make the controversial phone records collection program permanent.

Not just the U.S. government: The Indian government wants Twitter to block what it deems is fake news by suspending eight Kashmir-based accounts for allegedly spreading rumors, India Today reports. Indian security forces have alleged that groups in Pakistan have attempted to divide the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, areas controlled by India but claimed by Pakistan.

Even more watching: Technicians from Chinese networking vendor Huawei have reportedly helped government officials in Uganda and Zambia spy on political opponents, TechCrunch reports. News reports have Huawei technicians helping the officials spy on the use of apps like WhatsApp and Skype and cellular data.

Secure the route: The Internet Society’s MANRS Observatory aims to improve Internet routing security and the stability of the Internet, The Daily Swig says. The new tool aggregates data from several third-party sources into an online dashboard, giving network operators the opportunity to identify problematic areas.

Nationalism vs. the Internet: Rising nationalism across the globe may threaten the Internet, Wolfgang Kleinwächter, professor emeritus for Internet policy and regulation at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, writes at Brink. “The new wave of national legislation on cybersecurity, surveillance, content filtering, data localization, taxation and many other issues has added new controversies,” he adds. “Many governments no longer believe in global solutions to fight cyberterrorism, cross-border cybercrime or digital dominance.”

I’d rather throw up than lose Wi-Fi: More U.S. vacationers would rather get food poisoning or misplace their credit card than lose their Internet connection during their time off, the New York Post says. The numbers are based on a survey commissioned by streaming TV vendor Roku.

Join MANRS and take simple, concrete steps to improve Internet security and reliability!

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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