Hillicon Valley: TikTok faces more data privacy concerns | Parler is back | North Korean hackers target Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine | Amazon acquires Shopify competitor Selz

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A European consumer group is piling on the data privacy concerns facing the widely popular video-sharing app TikTok. Parler is back and looking for new users. North Korean hackers are reportedly targeting and attempting to steal information on Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. And e-commerce giant Amazon is expanding with the company, confirming Tuesday it has quietly acquired Australian-based e-commerce platform Selz. 

 

TIKTOK FACES (MORE) PRIVACY COMPLAINTS: TikTok was hit with European regulatory complaints on Tuesday over the platform’s processing of user data, as well as its efforts to protect children from inappropriate content. 

The European Consumer Organization BEUC filed the complaints with the European Commission, and consumer organizations in 15 countries have alerted their authorities and urged investigations into TikTok’s conduct, according to the group. 

The complaint alleges aspects of TikTok’s terms of service are “unclear, ambiguous and favour TikTok to the detriment of its users,” and that the company “fails to protect children and teenagers from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content on its platform.”

Additionally, the BEUC accused TikTok of breaching European Consumer rights by not clearly informing users about what data is collected and for what purpose, as required under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation Law. 

A TikTok spokesperson said the company welcomes a meeting with the BEUC to “listen to their concerns” and is open to hearing how it can improve. 

Read more about the complaint here. 

 

JOIN THE PARTY: Parler relaunched over the weekend after losing its web host in January. Interim CEO Mark Meckler said Tuesday that President Biden would be welcome to join the platform.

Meckler was responding to a question by Fox News host Neil Cavuto who asked if former President Trump would be welcomed on the social media network after Twitter permanently banned Trump, following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

“What Parler’s really about is being a public square, and a public square is where anybody can come, they can say what they want as long as it’s legal and Donald Trump hasn’t said anything illegal, as far as I’m aware. He certainly didn’t on Twitter, didn’t on Facebook [or] any of the other places that he was banned,” Meckler said.

Read more from Meckler here.

• CNN: Parler’s new web host SkySilk in a statement said it “advocates the right to private judgment.”

 

HACKERS GONNA HACK: North Korean hackers were recently involved in targeting and attempting to steal information on Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. 

The newspaper reported that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service informed South Korean lawmakers of the threat during a closed-door briefing earlier this week.

According to the Post, Ha Tae-keung, a lawmaker and member of the committee briefed on the issue, said the alleged hackers went after the COVID-19 vaccine and other Pfizer technology developed around the pandemic. He noted that South Korea had seen a 32 percent spike over the past year in cyberattacks from North Korea.

The news comes on the heels of both foreign and cyber criminal hackers stepping up efforts over the past year to go after COVID-19 vaccines and related medical research.

Read more about the hacking efforts here. 

 

AMAZON’S LATEST ACQUISITION:  Amazon has quietly acquired Selz, an Australian-based e-commerce platform that helps companies build online shops and add online payment options to existing websites.

Selz CEO and founder Martin Rushe originally announced the acquisition in a blog post last month.

“We have signed an agreement to be acquired by Amazon and are looking forward to working with them as we continue to build easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs,” Rushe wrote in the post.

Amazon confirmed the acquisition to The Hill, but did not provide any details regarding the terms.

Bloomberg News noted that technology news site GeekWire first reported the acquisition on Tuesday.

Read more about the new member of the Amazon family here.

• Wall Street Journal: Selz competitor Shopify has seen a huge surge in use during the pandemic. 
  

CYBER LEADERSHIP UPDATE: Nitin Natarajan on Tuesday was appointed the deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), building back the agency’s leadership months after its top leaders were forced to step down. 

A CISA official confirmed to The Hill that Natarajan would serve as the agency’s deputy director, after Politico first reported the appointment. 

Natarajan’s new position at CISA has been vacant since November, when former CISA Deputy Director Matthew Travis was pressured to step down by the Trump administration. His resignation came the same day Trump fired former CISA Director Christopher Krebs. 

Read more about the new hire here.

 

IBM’S NET ZERO PLEDGE: IBM is pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by the end of the decade.

In a statement released Tuesday, the company pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 65 percent by 2025 compared with 2010 levels. IBM also said it would increase the amount of electricity it consumes from renewable sources to 90 percent by 2030.

The company further vowed to increase the use of carbon capture and other technology to fully offset its residual emissions by 2030 or achieve net negative emissions.

Read more about the pledge here. 

Lighter click: Let the potato rest for at least 10 after a three-day weekend

An op-ed to chew on: SpaceX built a true commercial space line for fun, profit and a good cause

 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

Big Tech’s Next Big Problem Could Come From People Like ‘Mr. Sweepy’ (The New York Times / David McCabe) 

TikTok’s U.S. ad business roars back as Trump’s threats recede (Reuters / Sheila Dang)

People Are Spending Millions on JPEGs, Tweets, And Other Crypto Collectibles (Motherboard / Leigh Cuen)