Online platforms are willing to monitor and flag violence-threatening content for law enforcement, but user reporting is “essential,” Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday during a hearing on the Parkland, Florida, school shooting (see 1803090030). Alleged attacker Nikolas Cruz, who was active on Instagram and YouTube, expressed a desire to become a “professional school shooter.” Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the social media posts prompted the public to contact the FBI, but the agency never contacted IA members Facebook and Google. Grassley asked Beckerman what internet companies are doing to better monitor content and not rely so much on users. Company policies vary, Beckerman said, but there's uniform agreement on prohibiting credible threats of violence, terrorist propaganda and child exploitation images. Artificial intelligence is improving, Beckerman said, but user input is critical: “Internet users understand and welcome this responsibility, as our member companies receive millions of reports of potentially violating content each week.” He said AI is good at flagging content, but it can’t always decipher whether the images and content are actual threats or data included in a news story, for instance. Companies also have teams to review the flagged content; the third component is an active public.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., plans to combine the Music Modernization Act (MMA) (HR-4706) from Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (Classics) Act (HR-3301) and the Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act (HR-881) into one legislative package to be introduced Friday. That’s according to a senior House Republican aide and an industry official.
Autonomous vehicles will make American roads safer and less congested, government officials, industry representatives and academics said Tuesday. Speaking at an event in Washington hosted by Arizona State University, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Assistant Policy Counsel-Chamber Technology Engagement Center Jordan Crenshaw said 94 percent of motor vehicle accidents are caused by human error. Maricopa Association of Governments Transportation Director Eric Anderson said crashes undercut the capacity of the Phoenix area’s transportation system. Anderson said he began “drinking the Kool-Aid” two years ago and is excited about the safety and infrastructure benefits of autonomous vehicles. Phoenix can reduce its need for roadway capacity expansion by planning for the technology, he said.
Tech stakeholders remain divided over anti-sex trafficking legislation the Senate is poised to vote on this week, those on both sides told us. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, author of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) (S-1693) (see 1803020024) plans to pursue the House-approved version of the bill, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) (HR-1865). Facebook and the Internet Association support the House measure, but several tech groups remain concerned about the process in which the bills were combined in the House, and fearful the legislation will result in widespread censorship of content.
Facing potential fines of 20 million euros under the EU general data protection regulation (GDPR), U.S. companies fear significant action against American firms soon after the law takes effect May 25, Venable partner Kelly DeMarchis Bastide said Friday.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act strikes a balance Congress probably couldn’t repeat today, said industry and digital rights representatives Thursday, despite hearing one independent filmmaker’s claim of lack of recourse for piracy. Silicon Flatirons panelists discussed Section 512, a safe harbor that makes certain providers -- like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube -- immune from liability for copyright infringement linked to user-generated content.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has a commitment to bring up the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) (S-1693) (see 1803020024) after consideration of a Senate banking bill and is hopeful for a vote next week, he told us Thursday. A Portman staffer said proponents will pursue the House version of the bill. After the House passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) (HR-1865) with more than 380 votes, the White House announced its support. “We’re looking forward to getting it done,” Portman said, calling House passage and White House support “encouraging.”
House Cybersecurity Subcommittee members hammered Department of Homeland Security officials at a hearing Wednesday for failing to fill cybersecurity vacancies. One DHS official blamed the delay partly on a pay-scale system designed in the 1940s, preventing the agency from hiring top talent.
While convenient for consumers and cost-effective for certain businesses, the rise of e-commerce creates data security and privacy concerns, and it threatens small businesses without an online footprint, the House Digital Commerce Subcommittee heard Wednesday, as expected (see 1803060041). Hel’s Kitchen Catering founder David Borris called Amazon “an existential threat” to millions of small businesses. Small firms lack resources to establish quality online platforms, he said, and sometimes spend the equivalent of 8 to 10 percent of profit to compete. Amazon responded by citing to us that more than 50 percent of Amazon unit sales come from third-party sellers; more than 2 million offer hundreds of millions of unique products through Amazon’s Marketplace; and more than 100,000 have more than $100,000 in sales through Amazon.
The House Digital Commerce Subcommittee expects to hear from e-commerce experts Wednesday on a range of consumer issues, including data security, consumer privacy and IoT technology, said Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and an executive in interviews Tuesday. The hearing is expected to examine how e-commerce altered retail and its impacts on supply chain, delivery and consumer expectations. This e-commerce trend has been made possible by modern payment methods like blockchain technology and convenient delivery options, enabled in part by emerging IoT technologies.