Sign in
A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
with research by Aaron Schaffer
A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
Happy Wednesday folks! I can’t say I expected to be writing about major developments in the data privacy debate this week, but here we are! Scroll for more on that.
Below: Apple pauses product sales in Russia, and a look at Twitter’s Birdwatch project as misinformation swirls around Ukraine. First up:
President Biden called on Congress to boost data privacy protections for children and ban digital advertising targeting them during his State of the Union address Tuesday night — a prominent endorsement that could jolt lawmakers into action after years of stagnation.
It marks the president’s highest-profile boost of any major tech policy legislation to date, and it’s one of the most notable such plugs in recent State of the Union history.
“We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit,” Biden said. “It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
It’s a far more concrete endorsement than Biden has given to other big ticket tech legislation, such as proposals to revamp U.S. antitrust and competition policy. Biden didn’t explicitly reference those efforts in his address, despite calls from some allies for him to do so.
The remarks signal growing consensus in Washington that kids’ safety is a priority tech issue.
In another symbolic gesture underscoring that focus, first lady Jill Biden invited Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen as her guest to the address. Haugen’s disclosures last year of internal Facebook research showing how the company’s products may harm kids and teens galvanized lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“Thank you for the courage you showed,” Biden said in a direct call out to Haugen.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), a top children’s safety advocate, said Biden’s remarks “will breathe life into the effort” to pass kids’ privacy legislation on Capitol Hill.
“Now with this push from the president, I’m more hopeful than I have ever been that we are going to act to protect kids online,” Castor said during an interview Tuesday.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told me that Biden’s address “is going to create a lot of momentum” for legislation he’s introduced to expand protections afforded under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a landmark law he authored over two decades ago.
For years, a federal data privacy law has been the great white whale of tech policy. Lawmakers have universally pined after it — yet it’s remained deeply elusive.
The biggest hurdle has been partisan disagreements over whether a federal law should override state standards, as most Republicans want, and give consumers the right to sue companies for privacy violations, as many Democrats want.
Those hurdles have appeared insurmountable at times, even as outrage in Washington over a barrage of data privacy scandals in Silicon Valley has risen. Lawmakers have introduced an array of proposals to limit companies’ collection and use of data, some with bipartisan support, but none have even advanced out of committee in the House or Senate.
Amid the impasse, some officials have called for passing more targeted proposals focused on protecting children’s privacy. That includes Democratic-led bills to ban targeted advertising and bipartisan bills to update COPPA.
Castor and Markey said that Congress shouldn’t wait on a comprehensive privacy bill to try to pass expanded safeguards for children’s personal information.
“I think the children’s privacy protection piece should go first,” Castor said.
“It’s time for us to say that if we can’t protect everyone, at the minimum, we should protect the children of our country from being exploited for profit by companies,” Markey said.
Others, however, indicated they remain focused on hashing out a broader bill.
Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican on the pivotal Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement that he stands ready to work “to pass bipartisan, comprehensive legislation that protects the data privacy and data security of all Americans, including teens and children.”
Castor said that “we need a comprehensive online privacy bill as well, but something tells me that may be a little more difficult to hammer out in the coming months.”
Republicans also needled Biden for arriving late to the debate. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said in a statement she welcomed Biden “joining our call” for children’s privacy legislation and she urged House Democrats “to stop dragging their feet and prioritize comprehensive privacy legislation.”
While Biden endorsing legislation on kids’ privacy during a prime time address could have a major ripple effect in Congress, it’s not entirely surprising.
One of Biden’s top advisers, Bruce Reed, and some of his closest allies on tech issues have long championed greater data privacy protections and safeguards for children.
Still, with Biden now decisively throwing his support behind privacy legislation, and particularly to protect children’s data — it may finally help clear the logjam on Capitol Hill.
The move came after Ukraine digital transformation minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Apple chief executive Tim Cook to cut off Russia’s access to the App Store and Apple services, Rachel Lerman and Reed Albergotti report. Russian state-backed media outlets RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available to download on its App Store, and the company also disabled traffic and live incidents on its mapping service in Ukraine, citing the safety of Ukrainians.
Google similarly restricted its mapping service’s features this weekend.
“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” Apple said. “We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.”
Satellite provider DirecTV announced that it planned to drop RT America as the National Association of Broadcasters called on television providers to “cease carrying any state-sponsored programming with ties to the Russian government or its agents,” Axios’s Sara Fischer reports. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt called such airings “extremely limited” but said the country “must stand fully united against misinformation and for freedom and democracy across the globe.”
DISH, the other major television company that carries RT America, on Monday declined to say whether it planned to take action against the channel, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reports. A spokesperson for DISH told the outlet that it is “closely monitoring the situation” and supports the people of Ukraine.
Major tech companies have taken steps to restrict RT and Sputnik. They have taken especially strong action in Europe, where the European Commission said this weekend that it would ban Russian state outlets.
The program, Birdwatch, is still a small pilot project more than a year after Twitter launched the crowdsourcing effort to flag misleading tweets, Will Oremus and Jeremy B. Merrill report. Birdwatch contributors were flagging around 43 tweets per day in 2022 before Russia invaded Ukraine, they found. Just 359 contributors have flagged tweets this year, though 10,000 contributors have enrolled in the project. It is only available in the United States.
“We plan to scale up as we’re able to do so safely, and when it can help improve learning,” Twitter spokeswoman Tatiana Britt said. “Our focus is on ensuring that Birdwatch is something people find helpful and can help inform understanding.”
That appears to imply that the company hasn’t figured out how to safely scale Birdwatch or ensure that it’s helpful, Will and Jeremy report. The company “indicated it will have more information to share about it soon,” they write.
Apple notably didn’t cut of Russia’s access to the App Store despite its pause on device sales in the country. But Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov continued to call for Apple chief executive Tim Cook to “kill their access.” Security researcher Runa Sandvik:
Everybody deserves good security, including access to secure messaging apps in the App Store and all their updates. https://t.co/wXplaJbP1R
Alex Stamos, the director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and a former chief security officer at Facebook:
For example, Chinese dissidents are prevented by Apple’s hardware-rooted DRM from installing secure messengers and VPNs, which is exactly the use case we want in Russia. The PRC is conducting a genocide domestically; what more does Apple need to act?
Analyst Benedict Evans:
As others have pointed out, Apple doesn’t have a problem doing business in China. (It’s always easier to stand on your principles when it’s not 20% of your revenue and most of your manufacturing)
German court rules against online hate-speech law (Reuters)
Facebook’s outgoing CTO is giving up almost $50 million as he moves to a new role (Insider)
The ex-news director of Russia’s largest search engine urged his former colleagues to quit, accusing the company of censoring Russia’s invasion into Ukraine (Insider)
U.S. can regulate cryptocurrencies without new law, think tank says (Reuters)
Russia threatens to block Wikipedia for stating facts about its war casualties, editors say (Motherboard)
I am a robot ? (via frc8843ma/TT) pic.twitter.com/hUWJfz2sE9
That’s all for today — thank you so much for joining us! Make sure to tell others to subscribe to The Technology 202 here. Get in touch with tips, feedback or greetings on Twitter or email.
About Author
