Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: December 16, 2018

New report on Russian disinformation, prepared for the Senate, shows operation’s scale and sweep

Washington Post: “A report prepared for the Senate that provides the most sweeping analysis yet of Russia’s disinformation campaign around the 2016 election found the operation used every major social media platform to deliver words, images and videos tailored to voters’ interests to help elect President Trump — and worked even harder to support him while in office. The report, a draft of which was obtained by The Washington Post, is the first to study the millions of posts provided by major technology firms to the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), its chairman, and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), its ranking Democrat. The bipartisan panel hasn’t said whether it endorses the findings. It plans to release it publicly along with another study later this week.

The research — by Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project and Graphika, a network analysis firm — offers new details of how Russians working at the Internet Research Agency, which U.S. officials have charged with criminal offenses for meddling in the 2016 campaign, sliced Americans into key interest groups for targeted messaging. These efforts shifted over time, peaking at key political moments, such as presidential debates or party conventions, the report found. The data sets used by the researchers were provided by Facebook, Twitter and Google and covered several years up to mid-2017, when the social media companies cracked down on the known Russian accounts. The report, which also analyzed data separately provided to House Intelligence Committee members, contains no information on more recent political moments, such as November’s midterm elections.

“What is clear is that all of the messaging clearly sought to benefit the Republican Party — and specifically Donald Trump,” the report says. “Trump is mentioned most in campaigns targeting conservatives and right-wing voters, where the messaging encouraged these groups to support his campaign. The main groups that could challenge Trump were then provided messaging that sought to confuse, distract and ultimately discourage members from voting.”

U.S. Courts Are Figuring Out if the Government Can Block You On Facebook

NextGov: “In the last two years, there’s been a cascade of lawsuits in the U.S. against public officials who have blocked people on social media and deleted critical comments. The list starts with the highest one in the country, president Donald Trump, and goes all the way down to a county board chair. As officials use social platforms… Continue Reading

International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles

Poynter: Commit to transparency — sign up for the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles. “The code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter is a series of commitments organizations abide by to promote excellence in fact-checking. We believe nonpartisan and transparent fact-checking can be a powerful instrument of accountability journalism…” “…The commitments… Continue Reading

The EFF Gift Guide: What’s Creeping Us Out

EFF doesn’t endorse products. “But as Internet-connected products proliferate, ads for them bombard holiday shoppers with promises of a more streamlined life. And they do so without always divulging that they’re tracking you more than a jolly fat man who sees when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake. So, we are taking a different… Continue Reading

The 20 most popular ethical and eco-friendly holiday gifts of 2018

Good.is: “A growing number of holiday shoppers are using their dollars to support brands that do good for people and the planet. From stylish sunglasses manufactured from recycled ocean plastic to all-natural, toxin-free baby products that fund health services for new mothers—there’s something for everyone. Recently, we partnered withDoneGood — an online shopping platform dedicated… Continue Reading

Almost every part of Trump’s life is under investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Investigations now entangle Donald Trump’s White House, campaign, transition, inauguration, charity and business. For Trump, the political, the personal and the deeply personal are all under examination. Less than two years into Trump’s presidency, his business associates, political advisers and family members are being probed, along with the practices of his late… Continue Reading

From Alexa to Siri and the GDPR: The Gendering of Virtual Personal Assistants and the Role of EU Data Protection Law

Ni Loideain, Nora and Adams, Rachel, From Alexa to Siri and the GDPR: The Gendering of Virtual Personal Assistants and the Role of EU Data Protection Law (November 9, 2018). King’s College London Dickson Poon School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3281807 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3281807 “With female names, voices and characters,… Continue Reading

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Years After Deepwater Horizon, Offshore Drilling Hazards Persist

POGO: This is part one of a three-part investigation into offshore drilling safety. Read part two here. Read part three here. “They are known as the “last line of defense” against an offshore drilling blowout and uncontrolled spill. They are supposed to save the lives of oil workers and protect the environment. But, as the… Continue Reading

‘123456’ Is 2018’s Worst Password, Study Says. But This Year, ‘donald’ Joined the List

Fortune: “Donald” has joined a new list. Not of world leaders, but of “worst passwords.” The password-management firm SplashData released its annual list of the 100 worst character combinations it found among leaks of about five million passwords. “Donald” entered the list at position 23. You’ll also find “qwerty” (#9), password (#2), and baseball (#32).… Continue Reading

Technology has over-saturated us

Axios: “For millennia, technology, in terms of its big-picture impact, was, well, meh. Look at the straight line in the chart — that includes every major invention since the year 1 AD, including the printing press. Then James Watt triggered the Industrial Revolution by reinventing the steam engine, and before you knew it we all… Continue Reading

Nearly all sexual harassment at work goes unreported and those who do report often see zero benefit

The Conversation: “Our new research, released on Dec. 12, analyzed all sexual harassment complaints filed with the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state Fair Employment Practices Agencies between 2012 and 2016. We found that nearly all sexual harassment goes unreported, and those that do report tend to face severe retribution and limited redress. Based… Continue Reading