Facebook and Twitter must do more to fight anti-vaccine misinformation, a dozen state attorneys general demand; The Washington Post, March 24, 2021

 

Cat Zakrzewski and Rachel Lerman, The Washington Post; Facebook and Twitter must do more to fight anti-vaccine misinformation, a dozen state attorneys general demand

"A coalition of 12 state attorneys general on Wednesday sent a letter to Facebook and Twitter, pressing them to do more to ensure online falsehoods aren’t undermining efforts to vaccinate the public against covid-19.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D) and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general called on Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to “take immediate steps” to fully enforce their policies against vaccine misinformation.

The attorneys general say the companies have not cracked down hard enough on prominent anti-vaccine accounts that repeatedly violate the companies’ terms of service. They also say that falsehoods about the safety of coronavirus vaccines from a small pool of individuals has reached over 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, citing data from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which studies online misinformation and disinformation."

FTC, states increase pressure on Facebook on privacy; Associated Press via Chicago Tribune, March 26, 2018

Barbara Ortutay and Andrew Selsky, Associated Press via Chicago Tribune; FTC, states increase pressure on Facebook on privacy

"U.S. regulators and state attorneys general are increasing pressure on Facebook as they probe whether the company's data-collection practices have hurt the people who use its services.

The Federal Trade Commission confirmed news reports on Monday that it was investigating the company. Separately, the attorneys general for 37 U.S. states and territories sought details Monday on how Facebook monitored what app developers did with data collected on Facebook users and whether Facebook had safeguards to prevent misuse...

Facebook is also facing questions about reports that it collected years of contact names, telephone numbers, call lengths and information about text messages from Android users. Facebook says the data is used "to improve people's experience across Facebook" by helping to connect with others. But the company did not spell out exactly what it used the data for or why it needed it."

FCC's Repeal Of Net Neutrality On Track To Go Into Effect In April; NPR, February 22, 2018

Alina Selyukh, NPR; FCC's Repeal Of Net Neutrality On Track To Go Into Effect In April

"The Federal Communications Commission is slated to officially take current net neutrality rules off the books on April 23. The agency took the requisite formal step of publishing the rules on Thursday, and lawsuits are on tap from a number of state attorneys general and advocacy groups.

Senate Democrats have also been pushing for a special congressional vote to block regulations from going into effect, but have so far been one vote short of overcoming the Republican majority. A similar vote would also face a very high hurdle in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives."