Daily Beast: “A new social media network led by Trump adviser Jason Miller is backed by a fugitive Chinese billionaire who once invited Steve Bannon to live on his yacht.
Team Trump Quietly Launches Social Media Platform
Quote of the Day
“I’ve told Mark Zuckerberg directly that when we gather groups of people who are not vaccinated, and we ask them, ‘Why aren’t you vaccinated?’ and they tell us things that are wrong, tell us things that are untrue, and we ask them where they’ve heard that. The most common answer is Facebook.”
— White House chief of Staff Ron Klain, on Kara Swisher’s Sway podcast.
Judge Blocks Florida Law to Penalize Social Media
“A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law that would penalize social media companies for blocking a politician’s posts, a blow to conservatives’ efforts to respond to Facebook and other websites’ suspension of former President Donald Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“The law was due to go into effect Thursday.”
Lawmakers Can’t Rely on Courts to Regulate Facebook
First Read: “For years now, both Democrats and Republicans have relied on the courts to settle tough political issues — whether it’s abortion, immigration or Obamacare.”
“But we’re about to find out what happens when the courts decide not to take action on what appears to be a bipartisan target: regulating the social media giant Facebook.”
“Forget infrastructure. If you want to talk about a truly bipartisan issue — or target — it’s Facebook.”
Big Tech Antitrust Measures Advance In House
Wall Street Journal: “A House committee approved far-reaching legislation to curb the market dominance of tech giants, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. … In a package of six bills, the most significant measure to pass by late Wednesday requires that the largest internet platforms make it easier for users to transport their data to other platforms and even communicate with users on other platforms.”
“The bills must still pass the full House, where the timetable for bringing them to the floor for final votes remains unclear.”
Trump Bypasses Facebook Ban
Despite Facebook’s assertion that Donald Trump is banned from their platform for at least two years, the former President’s official campaign page, “Team Trump,” began running new political advertising on June 18th, FWIW reports.
“The official Team Trump page is now owned by the former President’s political action committee, Save America. Save America is an entity directly controlled by Donald Trump, and Team Trump has not posted on Facebook since March 17th. These ads are in clear violation of Facebook’s policy blocking Donald Trump’s use of their platform.”
Officials Offer Unhelpful Advice on Ransomware
Associated Press: “If your business falls victim to ransomware and you want simple advice on whether to pay the criminals, don’t expect much help from the U.S. government. The answer is apt to be: it depends.”
Said one official at Homeland Security: “It is the position of the U.S. government that we strongly discourage the payment of ransoms. But paying carries no penalties and refusing would be almost suicidal for many companies, especially the small and medium-sized.”
Tech Industry’s Glory Days In Washington Are Over
Wall Street Journal: “In Congress, Democrats and some Republicans are working to rein in the largest tech companies with proposals aimed at curbing their market power. Lawmakers are cheering antitrust probes by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission that could force these companies to shed acquisitions that were rubber-stamped by the government.”
“In the White House, Mr. Biden has shunned job applicants with ties to large technology companies. His decision to appoint Lina Kahn as FTC chairwoman Wednesday made one thing clear: There is to be no sequel to the tech industry’s glory days during Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House.”
The GOP’s Pretend Hatred of Facebook
Hayes Brown: “The Facebook that conservatives love to rail against is a fiction, a literary device invented to channel their opprobrium into even as conservatives benefit from the platform’s dominance of internet life.”
“In reality, Facebook is the best thing that ever happened to the conservative movement. Its algorithm effortlessly magnifies and amplifies the exact pitch and tone of fear that the Republican Party has harnessed for decades.”
“The irony is that posts from conservatives accusing Facebook of censorship are more likely to go viral on Facebook than reporting about the platform’s actual overreaches.”
Justice Department Sought Info on 73 Email Addresses
The Justice Department under former President Trump demanded metadata on 73 phone numbers and 36 email addresses from Apple as part of its investigation into members of Congress, CNN reports.
Microsoft received a similar subpoena for data on a congressional staffer’s personal email.
Miller Heads Start Up That Could Become Trump ‘Platform’
“Longtime senior Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller is taking over as chief executive officer of a tech startup company that could be used by the former president,” Politico reports.
“Miller’s company is currently developing a social media platform that is being considered for use by Trump. People familiar with the discussions stress that no final decision has been made by the former president about which platform he will use.”
Biden Reverses Trump’s Effort to Ban TikTok, WeChat
“President Biden is revoking the Trump administration orders that sought to ban TikTok, WeChat and other Chinese apps and replacing it with a new security review that could prompt fresh steps to restrict those or other apps,” the Washington Post reports.
Ransomware Attacks Impact Congressional Offices
“A tech vendor that provides constituent outreach services to dozens of House offices was the target of a ransomware attack,” Punchbowl News reports.
“House offices — nearly 60 from both parties — have been unable to retrieve some constituent information for several weeks while the vendor, iConstituent, tries to deal with the attack.”
Twitter Suspends Florida Whistleblower
“Twitter on Monday suspended Rebekah Jones, a former Department of Health data curator who made national headlines after being fired from the department for insubordination, from its platform,” Florida Politics reports.
Trump’s Social Network Ban Isn’t About Free Speech
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Ransomware Attacks Are Derailing Everyday Life
Washington Post: “It can feel abstract: A group of organized but faceless criminals hijacking corporate computer systems and demanding millions of dollars in exchange for their safe return. But the impact of these ransomware attacks is increasingly, unavoidably, real for everyday people.”
Facebook Will Suspend Trump for Two Years
Facebook said that it plans to suspend Donald Trump from its platform until at least January 2023 following his comments in the wake of the Capitol insurrection on January 6th, and will only reinstate him “if the risk to public safety has receded,” the Washington Post reports.
As Facebook points out: “Of course, this penalty only applies to our services — Mr. Trump is and will remain free to express himself publicly via other means.”
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