<div>
Asked whether the Treasury Department urged financial institutions to examine legal purchases for signs of extremism, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dodged the question, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/yellen-dodges-whether-treasury-department-moved-surveil-americans-legal-purchases">reported</a>.
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<div>
In January, the House Judiciary Committee <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-investigating-bank-america-voluntarily-fbi-list-customers-jan-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that federal investigators, as part of an investigation into the events of January 6, 2021, urged banks to search and filter legal purchases with terms like &#8220;MAGA,” “Trump,” “Dick&#8217;s Sporting Goods,” “Cabela&#8217;s,”  and “Bass Pro Shops” while warning that the sale of “religious texts” could indicate &#8220;extremism.&#8221;
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-01-17-jdj-to-bishoff-re-ti-request.pdf">stated in a letter</a> that after Jan. 6, the Treasury Department’s Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), sent banks outlines “typologies” of “various persons of interest” as well as “suggested search terms and Merchant Category Codes for identifying transactions on behalf of federal law enforcement.”
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“According to this analysis, FinCEN warned financial institutions of ‘extremism’ indicators that include ‘transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel areas with no apparent purpose,’ or ‘the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views,’” Jordan wrote to the former director of FinCEN. “In other words, FinCEN used large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression.”
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<div>
On Tuesday, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) <a href="https://katv.com/news/nation-world/treasury-secretary-wont-say-whether-dept-surveils-americans-purchases-concerning-janet-yellen-ann-wagner-fincen-transactions-financial-crimes-enforcement-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “Increasingly, we are hearing the federal government is suggesting banks search private financial transactions using highly partisan political terms or check to see if customers made purchases that could be associated with legal sales of firearms or even religious texts.”
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She asked Yellen, &#8220;Has Treasury — including FinCEN or federal banking agencies like the Fed, FDIC, OCC — instructed financial institutions to search Americans&#8217; legal transactions in attempts to surveil their purchases?”
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“Well, we received the letter from you, I believe, on this topic, and we intend to investigate and to respond,” Yellen dodged. 
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“Have you instructed banks and financial institutions to provide this information?” Wagner pressed.
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&#8220;Well, FinCEN, our job is to work with financial institutions to make sure —&#8221; Yellen replied.
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&#8220;Are they instructing financial institutions to search Americans&#8217; legal transactions in attempts to surveil their purchases?&#8221; Wagner reiterated.
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&#8220;I promise a thorough look into everything,&#8221; Yellen answered.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen On Capitol Hill

Janet Yellen Dodges Questions On Whether Biden Treasury Dept Urged Banks To Search Private Transactions

Banks

Janet Yellen

Privacy

Treasury Department

TikTok was slapped with a $370 million fine by the European Union Friday for mishandling children’s privacy data on the social media app.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission issued the ruling on behalf of the EU, saying that the Chinese-owned video platform didn’t adequately protect children’s privacy or provide transparency on how it handled data of users 17 and younger, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/business/tiktok-european-union-fine.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland Helen Dixon <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66819174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> BBC News that the investigation into TikTok found that the accounts of those ages 13-17 were automatically made public when they registered, which violated the EU&#8217;s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law.
&#8220;That is precisely at the hands of TikTok because of the way they designed the platform, and we say that infringed the data protection by design and by the default requirements of the GDPR,&#8221; Dixon said.
TikTok pushed back and argued that the regulators focused on features that TikTok changed before the investigation began. The investigation focused on the last five months of 2020.
&#8220;The criticisms are focused on features and settings that were in place three years ago, and that we made changes to well before the investigation even began, such as setting all under 16 accounts to private by default,&#8221; a spokesman for the social media giant said.
The large fine isn’t the first TikTok has faced for its handling of children’s privacy. In 2019, the social media platform, then known as Musical.ly, agreed to a $5.7 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for violating U.S. rules relating to data protection for children. Then, earlier this year, TikTok was fined $15.8 million by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-facing-potential-massive-fine-from-u-k-watchdog-over-failure-to-protect-childrens-privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British regulators</a> for allowing children under the age of 13 to sign up, according to the Times. 
TikTok has faced waves of criticism from city, state, and federal government officials in the U.S. and governments around the world that are concerned about the Chinese-owned app’s privacy settings. More than two-thirds of U.S. states have banned the social media platform from being downloaded on government devices. India completely <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/tiktok-ban.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> the app in 2020, and other countries such as the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, and New Zealand have banned the app from government devices. 
Some U.S. lawmakers are pushing for more than just a ban on government-issued devices, pointing to the threat of China and arguing that TikTok needs to be completely banned from app stores. 
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“China’s totalitarian regime hates the United States and is bent on displacing us as the world’s greatest power,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/think-again-rubio-warns-americans-against-tiktok-wants-it-banned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> last month. “If TikTok users believe their sensitive data are safe in Beijing’s hands — that Beijing wouldn’t use those data to influence, coerce, extort or spy on them in the case of a geopolitical conflict­­ — they need to think again.”

TikTok

TikTok Fined $370M For Failure To Protect Children’s Privacy

TikTok Fined $370M For Failure To Protect Children's Privacy

Big Tech

Children

European Union

U.S.

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/meta" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meta</a> was slammed Monday by the European Union with a $1.3 billion fine and ordered to cease transferring user data to the United States over <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">privacy</a> concerns.
The decision, revealed by the Data Protection Commission of Ireland, marks the largest penalty since the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/european-union" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Union</a> created the restrictive General Data Protection Regulation five years ago. Authorities said that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/facebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>, the flagship social media network owned by Meta, breached a <a href="https://gdpr-info.eu/art-46-gdpr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statute</a> that mandates certain safeguards for international data transfers.
Meta was provided with a grace period of five months to implement the suspension, according to the <a href="https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/news-media/press-releases/Data-Protection-Commission-announces-conclusion-of-inquiry-into-Meta-Ireland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a>, which was adopted by the European Data Protection Board last month.
Executives from the firm issued a <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2023/05/our-response-to-the-decision-on-facebooks-eu-us-data-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Monday contending that American and European regulators must resolve the “fundamental conflict of law” with respect to data access and privacy. There will be “no immediate disruption” to Facebook users in Europe as the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, appeals the decision and the fine.
“The ability for data to be transferred across borders is fundamental to how the global open internet works. From finance and telecommunications to critical public services like healthcare or education, the free flow of data supports many of the services that we have come to rely on,” the company said. “Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on.”
Meta added that Ireland&#8217;s Data Protection Commission had acknowledged that Meta continued the transfers between the United States and European Union in “good faith” and that a fine would be “unnecessary and disproportionate.” The firm asserted that the European Data Protection Board overruled the decision, which “also chose to disregard the clear progress that policymakers are making to resolve this underlying issue.”
The decision from European authorities comes as Meta launches significant restructuring efforts to reverse declining profits and reduce managerial complexity: the company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heads-roll-at-meta-as-zuckerberg-announces-massive-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> more than 11,000 employees at the end of last year, announcing a further headcount <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-lays-off-thousands-more-employees-as-zuckerberg-urges-return-to-physical-offices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduction</a> of 10,000 employees two months ago and the conclusion of efforts to fill 5,000 open positions.
“As I’ve talked about efficiency this year, I’ve said that part of our work will involve removing jobs, and that will be in service of both building a leaner, more technical company and improving our business performance to enable our long term vision,” Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees in a memo.
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Meta and other tech behemoths have been the subject of several <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/privacy-win-facebook-settles-decade-old-90-million-lawsuit-alleging-it-tracked-users-data-without-consent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuits</a> and regulatory actions over their handling of user data. Lawmakers have also considered several proposals that would increase privacy standards: the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, for instance, proposed a “data minimization” approach toward the collection of user information last year such that technology companies only <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lauded-federal-data-privacy-bill-has-a-carveout-for-government-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">procure</a> the data points “reasonably necessary and proportionate” to specific applications, including user authentication, fraud prevention, and transaction execution. The bill would have also banned advertising directed toward children or based on “sensitive covered data,” including health information and precise geolocation.

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta Hit With Massive Fine Over Data Privacy

Meta Hit With Massive Fine In Europe

Business

Facebook

1st Week of Gastronomy of Italy in the World – Rio de Janeiro

Italy Bans ChatGPT Over Data Privacy, Child Safety Concerns

Artificial Intelligence

Europe

Italy

World

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-platform-should-be-banned-congresswoman-rips-into-tiktok-ceo-for-targeting-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cathy McMorris Rodgers</a> (R-WA) said Sunday that Congress should pass a ban on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> and a federal data privacy law.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; Sunday, McMorris Rodgers said that TikTok&#8217;s relationship with the Chinese company ByteDance is a threat to the privacy and safety of American citizens but added that the U.S. needs a national data privacy law to stop other tech giants from stealing Americans&#8217; data.
&#8220;What we are seeing is that TikTok and Mr. Chew have repeatedly been caught in this lie that there&#8217;s not a connection to ByteDance and ultimately the [Chinese Communist Party],&#8221; McMorris Rodgers said. &#8220;So they cannot be trusted to protect our data. They cannot be trusted to ensure that our children&#8217;s mental health is a priority.&#8221;
&#8220;We need a national data privacy standard also,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And that&#8217;s what Ranking Member [Frank] Pallone (D-NJ) and I have worked on and we&#8217;re going to introduce this Congress, because we need to take action, whether it&#8217;s TikTok, big tech, or other data brokers, to restrict the amount of data that they&#8217;re collecting to begin with.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to ensure that individuals have the right to know what their profile might be or it &#8212; or to be alerted if their information, their personal data is being accessed or transferred to another country like China. We need to protect kids, and we have the strongest protections for kids in the privacy proposal that we have been working on to protect anyone under the age of 17. And we need to stop this listening on devices of people.&#8221;
McMorris Rodgers said that a ban on TikTok should take priority.
&#8220;I would say there&#8217;s an immediate threat via TikTok from the Chinese Communist Party, that is the reason that I believe we need to ban TikTok immediately.&#8221;
New York Democratic Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-takes-to-tiktok-to-defend-chinese-owned-app-from-possible-nationwide-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> called for a national data privacy law on Saturday while at the same time defending TikTok from a bipartisan effort to ban the Chinese-owned app.
AOC said that banning TikTok “doesn’t really address the core of the issue, which is the fact that major social media companies are allowed to collect troves of deeply personal data about you that you don’t know about, without really any significant regulation whatsoever.”
“In fact, the United States is one of the only developed nations in the world that has no significant data or privacy protection laws on the books,” she said. Instead of banning TikTok, which has 150 million users, outright, the answer is to “actually protect Americans from this kind of egregious data harvesting that companies can do without your significant ability to say no,” she added.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew Testifies At U.S. House Hearing

Top GOP Rep. Says Congress Should Pass A TikTok Ban And A Federal Data Privacy Law

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Congress

House Republicans

Social Media

State of the Union

South Dakota Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kristi-noem">Kristi Noem</a> (R) is looking for answers after the federal government leaked her social security number — and those of her family members — in the public release of records from the January 6 House committee.
Noem publicly shared the letter that her lawyers sent to federal agencies to demand a response over the publicly disclosed information in a Twitter post on Friday.
&#8220;My lawyers have asked the @WhiteHouse, the @USNatArchives, and @BennieGThompson which of them is responsible for leaking the Social Security Numbers of me, my husband, my 3 kids, and my son-in-law,&#8221; she tweeted. &#8220;What specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect our identities?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
My lawyers have asked the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/USNatArchives?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USNatArchives</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/BennieGThompson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BennieGThompson</a> which of them is responsible for leaking the Social Security Numbers of me, my husband, my 3 kids, and my son-in-law.
What specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect our identities? <a href="https://t.co/HWBu5ukWPP">pic.twitter.com/HWBu5ukWPP</a>
&mdash; Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) <a href="https://twitter.com/KristiNoem/status/1611500140971413504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Noem&#8217;s leaked social security numbers were posted alongside the private information of nearly 2,000 others in a file of high-profile visitors to the White House in December 2020.
&#8220;The National Archives produced these visitors logs, which then became exhibits during the January 6 Committee hearing. Prior to being published as exhibits, the law required that Protected Personal Information be redacted from the visitor logs, but that was not done,&#8221; the letter from Noem&#8217;s lawyers read.
The letter argued that the publication of the governor&#8217;s and of her family&#8217;s private information is a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and could lead to further legal action. The lawyers are requesting a response by January 13 from those involved.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/january-6-committee-releases-social-security-numbers-of-top-trump-officials-republican-governors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Friday that after the committee’s last public meeting last month, it released a trove of official records, testimonies, transcripts, and other information that it collected as part of its investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. One of those documents was a spreadsheet containing nearly 2,000 Social Security numbers of White House guests in December 2020.
Among the Social Security numbers on the list, since removed from the files, was information associated with at least three Trump cabinet members, several Republican governors, and numerous officials and allies, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/06/social-security-numbers-jan-6-committee-documents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>. Some of the other leaders whose personal information was leaked included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
On November 30, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wrote a letter to committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) demanding that the January 6 committee preserve all records from its investigation.
&#8220;You have spent a year and a half and millions of taxpayers&#8217; dollars conducting this investigation. It is imperative that all information be preserved not just for institutional prerogatives but for transparency to the American people,&#8221; McCarthy <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mccarthy-instructs-jan-6-committee-preserve-documents-gop-house-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;The official Congressional Records do not belong to you or any member, but to the American people, and they are owed all the information you gathered – not merely the information that comports with your political agenda.&#8221;
Noem&#8217;s letter from her lawyers also came one day ahead of the <a href="https://twitter.com/KristiNoem/status/1611835847485128704" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inauguration</a> of her second term as governor of South Dakota.

Kristi Noem

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Seeks Answers After Federal Government Leaks Social Security Numbers Of Her Family

January 6 Committee

South Dakota

Reno, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nevada">Nevada</a>, Mayor Hillary Schieve, an independent, sued a private investigator after discovering a GPS tracking device on her vehicle.
The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges that the investigator trespassed onto her property to install the device without the mayor&#8217;s consent. She claims she was unaware it was attached to her vehicle until it was discovered by a mechanic.
“The tracking and surveillance of Schieve caused her, as it would cause any reasonable person, significant fear and distress,” the <a href="https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/2news.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/d3/bd3684ac-7cc4-11ed-b57a-9f8d91fe3f65/639b9a9405d37.pdf.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> reads.
“In a time of heightened political tumult, the recent revelation of Defendants’ actions still managed to shock the conscience,” the complaint added.
The lawsuit named David McNeely as the private investigator and 5 Alpha Industries as the company involved. McNeely reportedly worked on behalf of an unnamed third party.
The suit was filed in Washoe County’s Second Judicial Court. The mayor is seeking restitution for invasion of privacy, trespassing, civil conspiracy, negligence, and attorneys’ costs to the amount of $15,000. It also aims to discover the identity of the third party that allegedly hired the company to track her.
Schieve was re-elected last month to her third term as mayor, leading the city since 2014.
In a <a href="https://www.2news.com/news/lawsuit-alleges-investigator-tracked-reno-mayor-schieves-personal-car/article_f7892576-7cc2-11ed-b29b-73b0b716dc5d.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> released to 2 News Reno, the mayor noted that the discovery was made before the November election.
&#8220;Before the election, I found out that someone had been stalking me. A high-end GPS tracker was discovered on my personal vehicle. I went immediately to Sparks PD to investigate,&#8221; Schieve wrote.
&#8220;I am publicly announcing this now, and did not make any public statements at the time when it was discovered, to make clear that this is about one thing, and one thing only: it is not ok to stalk people. We have good reason to believe that other members of our community were stalked with this same GPS device. This is about standing up to the rampant harassment of our civil servants and community leaders, and saying, this is NOT ok,&#8221; she added.
The statement also vowed to fight back against those involved.
&#8220;I truly cannot believe how ugly certain people have made our public discourse, and I will do everything in my power to push back. I am proud to have run a Clean Campaign, and I am also proud to be the one to take a stand with this lawsuit to say that stalking people is wrong.&#8221;
Schieve, who <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/schieve-on-track-to-win-third-term-as-reno-mayor-other-northern-nevada-incumbents-ahead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> her re-election by about 16,000 votes over independent Eddie Lorton, secured 59% of the votes. She previously served as an at-large council member before becoming mayor eight years ago.

Hillary Schieve

Reno Mayor Files Lawsuit After Discovering Tracking Device On Her Vehicle

Crime

Lawsuit

Mayor

Nevada

Politics

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) called on all Americans to delete the popular video-sharing app TikTok from their devices because of its parent company&#8217;s connections to the Chinese government. 
Appearing on CNN’s “State of The Union” with host Jake Tapper, Gallagher expressed concerns over personal information and data that could be shared with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 100 million Americans use the app, including <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/tiktok-algorithm-boosts-posts-about-eating-disorders-self-harm-teens-researchers-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about</a> two-thirds of teenagers. When Tapper asked Gallagher whether they should delete the app, Gallagher replied, “they should.”
“TikTok is owned by ByteDance and ByteDance is effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gallagher said. “The editor-in-chief of ByteDance, for example, is a CCP secretary and has talked about making sure all product lines, all business lines follow appropriate political control,” he added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Should they delete that app?&quot;
&quot;They should.&quot;
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) shares why he believes TikTok should be banned from use in the US. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSotu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNNSotu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/Zhfmz8O9lX">pic.twitter.com/Zhfmz8O9lX</a>
&mdash; CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1604480904268750848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-block-tiktok-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> legislation last week called &#8220;Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act).&#8221; It would ban TikTok in America. Gallagher and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) unveiled the same bill in the House. 
“The question we have to ask is whether we want to give the CCP the ability to track our location, track what websites we visit even when we’re not using the TikTok app itself, and increasingly, since a large percentage of young Americans use TikTok to get their news, whether we want them to have the ability to selectively edit that news,” Gallagher told Tapper. 
“It’s as if in 1958, given that TikTok is on the cusp of becoming the most powerful media company in America, we would have allowed the KGB and Pravda to buy the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post all combined,” he continued. 
Nearly two dozen of ByteDance’s directors previously worked for Chinese state media outlets, and 15 employees currently do, according to LinkedIn profiles reviewed by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/10/bytedance-tiktok-china-state-media-propaganda/?sh=539fd5b1322f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a>. 
In a Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/10/marco-rubio-ban-tiktok-america-china-mike-gallagher/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">op-ed</a> last month, Gallagher and Rubio warned that while TikTok promotes content with hopes of going viral, it could also be used to “subtly indoctrinate American citizens.” Then, in an <a href="https://gallagher.house.gov/media/press-releases/gallagher-ccp-can-use-tiktok-propagandize-young-americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> last week on Fox News, Gallagher took issue with Americans getting their news from the app, saying the Chinese government “can propagandize young Americans.”
The Senate unanimously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-unanimously-votes-to-ban-tiktok-on-government-devices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) No TikTok On Government Devices legislation last week. In addition, many state governments have banned the app on government-issued devices, including Iowa, North Dakota, Alabama, Nebraska, South Dakota, South Carolina, Maryland, Texas, Utah, and Oklahoma. 
FBI Director Christopher Wray <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-do-have-national-security-concerns-fbi-director-warns-chinese-community-party-uses-tiktok-to-compromise-american-privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Homeland Security Committee House members last month that TikTok poses national security threats from the CCP.
 “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users. Or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose. Or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices,” he said. 
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order before leaving office that banned TikTok in the U.S. The order was never implemented following legal hurdles, and Biden revoked it in June 2021, replacing it with his own <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/09/executive-order-on-protecting-americans-sensitive-data-from-foreign-adversaries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directive</a> to protect the data of Americans from foreign adversaries.

Select Committee On Coronavirus Republicans Hold Forum On Covid-19 Origins

GOP Congressman Calls On Americans To Delete TikTok, Explains Dangers Of Using The App

China

Communist China

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is calling for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to release its privacy report on social media and streaming services.
Cruz, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a letter to the FTC to demand the report&#8217;s release after more than 22 months.
&#8220;I write urging the expeditious release of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) 6(b) privacy report on social media and video streaming services, no later than November 14, 2022,&#8221; Cruz wrote in the <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/sencruzletterre6bprivacyreport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to FTC Chair Lina Khan.
&#8220;The FTC’s social media investigation has now taken over 22 months, which should be more than enough time for the FTC to complete its work and publish a report on its findings,&#8221; he added.
The letter comes as the FTC is expected to soon announce new privacy rules for online businesses, with the comment period for the new regulations ending on November 21, according to Cruz&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/release-sen-cruz-calls-for-release-of-ftc-privacy-report-on-social-media-and-streaming-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
&#8220;The social media and video streaming investigation was initiated in December 2020,&#8221; Cruz added in the letter. The FTC investigation sought information from tech companies like Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on how they collect and track personal information, how ads are determined, whether the companies apply algorithms or data analytics to privacy information, how user engagement is measured, and how practices impact children and teenagers.
&#8220;Moreover, Congress and state legislatures have considered numerous bipartisan bills related to each of the five 6(b) orders. Certainly, the elected representatives of the people — and more importantly, the American people — would benefit from the findings of this investigation to craft sound public policy,&#8221; Cruz argued.
The letter comes as TikTok has become the subject of allegations regarding child sex abuse material on the social media platform, according to a Forbes investigative <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2022/11/11/tiktok-private-csam-child-sexual-abuse-material/?sh=6ae568313ad9&amp;utm_source=ForbesMainTwitter&amp;utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainTwitter&amp;utm_medium=social">report</a>.
The Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2022/11/11/tiktok-private-csam-child-sexual-abuse-material/?sh=6ae568313ad9&amp;utm_source=ForbesMainTwitter&amp;utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainTwitter&amp;utm_medium=social">report</a> claimed that explicit material can be found in “post-in-private” accounts and is easily accessible using specific phrases to avoid algorithms that would lead to a violation, as the Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-has-a-child-pornography-and-chinese-espionage-problem-report">reported</a>.
Two GOP leaders, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-to-introduce-legislation-banning-tiktok-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introducing legislation</a> to ban TikTok in the U.S., arguing that the social media platform is used by the Chinese Communist Party and poses a national security risk to America.
“Anything short of a complete separation” of TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance “will likely leave significant national security issues regarding operations, data and algorithms unresolved,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Congress needs to act against the TikTok threat before it’s too late,” the lawmakers concluded.
The effort follows a New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/technology/tiktok-national-security-china.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from September that found the Biden administration struck a preliminary deal with TikTok to fix national security issues. The agreement would force TikTok to change its personnel and data storage to address the security concerns, according to the Times.

Ted Cruz

‘More Than Enough Time’: Ted Cruz Calls For Release Of Big Tech Privacy Report

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ken-paxton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ken Paxton</a>, a Republican, filed suit against <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> last week for alleged violations of state law against collecting biometric <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/big-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> without informed consent.
The Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, which the Lone Star State enacted in 2009, <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.503.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibits</a> technology companies from using data such as retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, or records of hand and face geometry for commercial purposes without permission. The <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/The%20State%20Of%20Texas's%20Petition%20(Google%20Biometrics).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complaint</a>, filed in the District Court of Midland County, Texas, argues that Google has collected such information in “blatant defiance” of the statute since at least 2015.
“Google’s indiscriminate collection of the personal information of Texans, including very sensitive information like biometric identifiers, will not be tolerated,” Paxton remarked in a <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-sues-google-its-unauthorized-capture-and-use-biometric-data-and-violation-texans-privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>.
Among other examples, the lawsuit argues that Google Photos uses facial recognition technology for uploaded pictures, including those with nonconsenting bystanders, to render its algorithm “better at scanning and analyzing faces” through machine learning, thereby enhancing the company’s commercial products. Likewise, Google Assistant allegedly collects voiceprints and uses the information to heighten the accuracy of voice recognition technology.
“Many Texans do not realize that their contributions to the tech giant’s financial growth include offering up for inspection two of the most uniquely personal features any individual has to call their own,” the complaint continued. “The proliferation of the commercialization of Texans’ personal biometric identifiers is as invasive as it is dangerous.”
Paxton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-ag-ken-paxton-sues-facebook-for-using-unauthorized-biometric-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed suit</a> earlier this year against Meta, formerly called Facebook, because the company had allegedly stored millions of biometric identifiers uploaded by users as well as non-users. Facebook ended its facial recognition system last year following a class action lawsuit stemming from violations of Illinois privacy law, which the company settled for $650 million.
Other technology companies have faced scrutiny from lawmakers over user data collection. Earlier this year, Amazon smart doorbell company Ring told Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) that the firm had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazon-handed-over-ring-doorbell-footage-to-authorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided law enforcement</a> with videos from user devices in emergency situations after making a “good-faith determination that there was an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” to someone needing information.
The lawmaker said that the policy justifies passage of the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, which would prohibit state and federal entities from accessing Americans’ biometric data. “As my ongoing investigation into Amazon illustrates, it has become increasingly difficult for the public to move, assemble, and converse in public without being tracked and recorded,” Markey said in a <a href="https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markeys-probe-into-amazon-ring-reveals-new-privacy-problems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “We cannot accept this as inevitable in our country.”
More recently, a report from Forbes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktoks-parent-company-in-china-planned-to-use-platform-to-track-locations-of-specific-americans-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the social media platform TikTok, planned to track the location of specific American citizens. The company’s internal audit and risk department was originally meant to investigate misconduct from current and former employees, yet the team allegedly planned on multiple occasions to collect data about the location of an American who had never been employed by ByteDance.
According to an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-can-sidestep-apple-and-google-privacy-protections-giving-china-based-parent-company-full-access-to-user-data-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from TheWrap released earlier this year, TikTok is sidestepping privacy protections from Apple and Google to collect user data, allowing ByteDance and third parties to access the information.

Texas Capitol

Texas Takes Google To Court For Allegedly Harvesting Biometric Data Without Consent

Google Harvests Voice Recordings, Photos Without Consent, Texas Lawsuit Alleges

Google

Ken Paxton

Texas

TikTok is facing a potential 27 million-pound fine ($28.8 million U.S.) from a U.K. data watchdog group over a failure to protect children&#8217;s privacy.
The nation&#8217;s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) alleged on Monday that the video-sharing platform breached data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020.
“We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections,&#8221; IOC Information Commissioner John Edwards <a href="https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2022/09/ico-could-impose-multi-million-pound-fine-on-tiktok-for-failing-to-protect-children-s-privacy/">stated</a>.
“Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement,&#8221; he added.
The investigation found that the China-based app TikTok may have processed the data of children under the age of 13 without appropriate parental consent. The allegations also claim that the platform failed to provide proper information to its users in a concise and transparent manner.
The report further alleged that TikTok reportedly processed special category data without the legal authorization to do so.
The statement shared that the ICO has issued TikTok Inc. and its U.K. division a notice of intent, a legal document that precedes a potential fine.
Edwards also said that the investigation extends far beyond TikTok, with more than 50 online services under investigation.
“I’ve been clear that our work to better protect children online involves working with organisations but will also involve enforcement action where necessary,&#8221; the IOC leader said.
&#8220;In addition to this, we are currently looking into how over 50 different online services are conforming with the Children’s code and have six ongoing investigations looking into companies providing digital services who haven’t, in our initial view, taken their responsibilities around child safety seriously enough,&#8221; he added.
ByteDance is the Beijing-backed parent company of TikTok, a massive platform with 80 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone. The majority of users in the U.S. are under the age of 29.
TikTok has been the target of much controversy over its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-drones-and-huawei-chinas-triangular-digital-war-on-the-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harvesting of user data</a>, including browsing history, geolocation data, keystroke information, financial data, social contacts, draft messages, and more. The information can be aggregated using artificial intelligence tools to develop user profiles to potentially expose individuals to blackmail and coercion.
A June <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by BuzzFeed also revealed that American user data has repeatedly been accessed from China. The platform could serve as a strong national security risk, especially when used by U.S. lawmakers or their family members or associates.
TikTok has been the target of U.S. investigations since 2019. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States launched the first scrutiny into the company, with then-President Donald Trump threatening to ban the app in 2020.
Trump signed an <a href="https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> in August 2020 to address the threat posed by TikTok, stating that &#8220;the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.&#8221;

TikTok logo

TikTok Facing Potential Massive Fine From U.K. Watchdog Over Failure To Protect Children’s Privacy

United Kingdom

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act, a key piece of federal online privacy legislation, appears to have a carveout for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/big-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">organizations</a> gathering data for the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/federal-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government</a>.
The <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20220720/115041/BILLS-117-8152-P000034-Amdt-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> would adopt a “data minimization” approach toward collection of user information such that only the data points “reasonably necessary and proportionate” to specific applications — including user authentication, fraud prevention, and transaction execution — are procured. The bill overwhelmingly advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the end of July.
Although a bipartisan group of lawmakers claimed in a <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/bipartisan-ec-leaders-hail-committee-passage-of-the-american-data-privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the bill “puts people back in control of their online data,” the current version exempts government agencies — as well as any “person” or “entity” involved with “collecting, processing, or transferring” relevant data on behalf of a government agency — from its definition of a “covered entity.”
Indeed, progressive nonprofit Consumer Watchdog provided The Daily Wire with a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) noting that the American Data Privacy and Protection Act is weaker than the California Consumer Privacy Act and could supersede the existing law.
“A major loophole in the ADPPA allows companies who contract with government entities for data collection to avoid its protections,” the group’s letter explained. “In contrast, under California law, companies that contract with the government are covered businesses that must comply with the law. Sensitive personal information residents choose to protect from companies and the government under the CCPA would be exposed under the ADPPA. That means unfettered access by governments to mass data collection by tech companies like Google.”
In one recent example, Amazon smart doorbell company Ring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazon-handed-over-ring-doorbell-footage-to-authorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) that the firm had provided law enforcement with videos from user devices in emergency situations nearly one dozen times since the beginning of 2022. Ring explained that it had made a “good-faith determination that there was an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” to parties needing information on short notice.
“Once data gets into other hands, it goes everywhere and is hard to track,” the letter from Consumer Watchdog added. “Purchasing data is one way governments circumvent the constitutional protections that require them to seek judicial approval through warrants before they violate our Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. But, under California’s law, any resident who exercised their opt-out choice is protected from a government’s extra-judicial purchase of their private information. ADPPA would overturn that protection.”
According to a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-09-06/congress-mulls-data-privacy-bill-that-would-void-california-tougher-protections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Los Angeles Times, Pelosi has committed to ensuring that the Golden State “continues offering and enforcing the nation’s strongest privacy rights” and will work with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), a sponsor of the legislation, to address concerns.
While the American Data Privacy and Protection Act does not entirely ban online targeted advertising — which is often the impetus behind sites’ collection of user data — it bans such advertising directed toward children or based upon “sensitive covered data,” including health information and precise geolocation. President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/01/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called for</a> a similar law in his most recent State of the Union address.
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children,” he said.

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