At a glance.
- US Supreme Court puts a hold on enforcement of Texas social media law.
- INTERPOL issues warning about various forms of online extortion.
- US Commerce Department will restrict cyber exports to China.
Supreme Court puts the brakes on HB20.
The US Supreme Court has blocked HB20, a Texas law aimed at prohibiting social-media platforms from suppressing users’ posts based on the content of their speech. The Wall Street Journal explains that the split-decision ruling came in response to an emergency request from two leading tech-industry trade groups expressing concern that HB20, which came into effect last month, could lead to unbridled hate speech and misinformation on social media. The Supreme Court has put the measure on hold while a constitutional challenge goes forward in a lower court. Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, one of the groups pressing the case, told Bloomberg Law that the decision “means that private American companies will have an opportunity to be heard in court before they are forced to disseminate vile, abusive or extremist content under this Texas law.” The case raises important questions about the First Amendment and how social media test the limits of freedom of speech. It may also serve to resolve the ambiguous status of online platforms: are they more like publishers, or more like common carriers?
You May Be Next, INTERPOL warns.
INTERPOL has announced the launch of a new informational campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about cyber-extortion. The two-week #YouMayBeNext campaign aims to spread the word about cybercrimes like sextortion, ransomware, and distributed denial of service attacks, as well as offer tips for spotting and defending against such operations. Over sixty countries, private-sector partners, and non-governmental organizations will support the campaign by disseminating information about these cybercrimes and offering advice on how users can protect themselves from becoming victims. Craig Jones, INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, explains, “People often do not think or believe that they will fall prey to cybercrime until it is too late. Unfortunately, cybercriminals exploit every opportunity and vulnerability that they see in networks, systems and programmes. By taking advantage of these vulnerabilities they can cause severe financial loss, distress and harm to millions.”
US Commerce goes against Microsoft over cyber export rule.
The US Commerce Department has finalized a rule regulating China’s access to cyber vulnerabilities that could impact US national security, despite Microsoft’s request for a major change. Nextgov.com explains, the rule requires entities to obtain a license if sending potential cyber exploits across borders when conducting business with another entity associated with China or other governments in the same category, called Country Group D. (Activity related to legitimate cybersecurity purposes, such as public vulnerability disclosure or incident response, is excluded from the license requirement.) Microsoft expressed concerns that the new requirement would hamper cross-border collaboration on cybersecurity research and recommended the measure be modified. “This will inhibit Microsoft and other companies’ ability to deploy routine cybersecurity activities across multiple markets given uncertainty as to whether individuals or entities that participate in those activities are restricted for acting on behalf of a government entity,” Microsoft stated. However, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) disagreed, feeling that any lost research is worth upholding national security. “The license requirement for people acting on behalf of a government is necessary to prevent people who are acting on behalf of a Country Group D government from obtaining ‘cybersecurity items’ for activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” BIS explained. “Removing this requirement would risk allowing Country Group D governments access to those items.”
