from the always-think-of-how-your-worst-enemy-will-use-this-law dept
For a while, we’ve been pointing out how terrible KOSA (the Kids Online Safety Act) is. Our main concern is that the bill would fundamentally lead to the suppression of all kinds of speech. That’s because the “duty of care” provision, while limited, would allow officials (mostly at the FTC, which can get partisan) to argue that certain types of results were due to a design failure, and companies would seek to suppress content, rather than face the potential liability.
Republicans Pump Brakes on KOSA After Realizing It Could Censor Them Too
Tag: FTC
Social Media Physician Endorsements Raise Prickly Ethical Questions
In 2022, 28 U.S. physicians endorsing drugs or devices on X (previously Twitter) made nearly $1.5 million from companies who make these products, a cross-sectional study found.
Social Media Physician Endorsements Raise Prickly Ethical Questions
Auto Makers Are Selling Data On Your Driving Habits To Your Insurer Without Properly Informing You
from the I-can’t-drive-55 dept
Last September, Mozilla came out with a privacy study indicating that the auto industry was the worst tech industry the organization tracked. Mozilla found that not only does the industry hoover up a ton of data from your use of vehicles, it collects and monetizes most of the data on your phone. Often without transparency or adequate safeguards:
“All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label — making cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed.“
Auto Makers Are Selling Data On Your Driving Habits To Your Insurer Without Properly Informing You
Someone tell Rep. Mike Gallagher that China is buying our data! /s
Related:
Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies
Well, That’s Everyone: Senator Wyden Letter Confirms The NSA Is Buying US Persons’ Data From Data Brokers
Buying domestic data from data brokers is just something the government does all the time. Bypassing restraints enacted by the Supreme Court, federal agencies (along with local law enforcement agencies) are hoovering up whatever domestic data they can from private companies all too happy to be part of the problem.
Well, That’s Everyone: Senator Wyden Letter Confirms The NSA Is Buying US Persons’ Data From Data Brokers
Report: Unregulated Data Brokers Sell Military Family Info For Pennies
Report: Unregulated Data Brokers Sell Military Family Info For Pennies
“It is not difficult to obtain sensitive data about active-duty members of the military, their families, and veterans, including non-public, individually identified, and sensitive data, such as health data, financial data, and information about religious practices. The team bought this and other data from U.S. data brokers via a .org and a .asia domain for as low as $0.12 per record. Location data is also available, though the team did not purchase it.”
Senators Warren & Graham Want To Create New Online Speech Police Commission
The regulation will continue until internet freedom improves, apparently. Last year we wrote about Senator Michael Bennet pushing a terrible “Digital Platform Commission” to be the new internet speech police, and now we have the bipartisan free speech hating duo of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham with their proposal for a Digital Consumer Protection Commission.
Senators Warren & Graham Want To Create New Online Speech Police Commission
DOD Developing AI Weapons? Beware the Frankenstein Chatbots
Big Tech is rushing ahead of any legal framework for artificial intelligence, or AI, in the quest for big profits, while pushing for self-regulation instead of the constraints imposed by the rule of law.
DOD Developing AI Weapons? Beware the Frankenstein Chatbots
The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online
Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information in the name of protecting children online. KOSA was introduced in 2022 but failed to gain traction, and today its authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), have reintroduced it with slight modifications. Though some of these changes were made in response to over 100 civil society organizations and LGBTQ+ rights groups’ criticisms of the bill, its latest version is still troubling. Today’s version of KOSA would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under. It would put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online. And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill.
The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online
Privacy: STOP CSAM Act + EARN IT Act
EARN IT Act Is Back, And It’s Still Terribly Destructive
Related:
The STOP CSAM Act Is An Anti-Encryption Stalking Horse
So: In addition to opening the door to civil and/or criminal liability for E2EE services without ever mentioning the word “encryption” (as explained above), STOP CSAM is trying to lay the groundwork for justifying a later bill to more overtly ban providers from offering E2EE at all.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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