Hillicon Valley — Social media platforms take action on Ukraine
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As the Russian incursion into Ukraine escalated Thursday, social media companies began detailing their efforts to control misinformation. And on the domestic front, Amazon called the police on a labor organizer at its Staten Island facility.
Let’s jump into the news.
Facebook boosts efforts in Ukraine
Facebook is ramping up efforts to monitor posts and provide users with an additional security feature in response to the military conflict in Ukraine, the company announced Thursday.
Facebook established a Special Operations Center to respond in “real time” that is stuffed by experts, including native speakers, to monitor and “act as fast as possible,” Facebook head of security Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted.
The platform also launched a new feature in Ukraine that allows users to lock their profile to private, adding “an extra layer of privacy and security,” he said.
The social media giant has deployed the same tool in other situations, including Afghanistan in August.
“This is a one-click tool for people in Ukraine to lock down their account by quickly applying existing privacy settings and new features. When their profile is locked, people who aren’t their friends can’t download or share their profile photo or see posts on their timeline,” Gleicher said.
What about Twitter?: Twitter also shared ways users can better “control” their account and digital information when using the platform in “conflict zones or other high-risk areas” in a thread of posts on Wednesday. The platform, however, did not appear to put in place any additional protocol in response to the ongoing conflict.
The thread includes links to Twitter help pages with information about setting up two-factor authentication, deactivating accounts and removing features that enabled tweet locations in the past.
Amazon union battle escalates
A union organizer and two Amazon workers were arrested by the New York City Police Department outside of a Staten Island warehouse in an escalation of tensions between the facility’s nascent union and the e-commerce giant.
Christian Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and former Amazon employee, was charged with trespassing, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. He tweeted Wednesday evening that he had been released.
Two current Amazon employees, Jason Anthony and Brett Daniels, were also charged with obstructing governmental administration.
The arrests occurred just a week after the ALU and Amazon reached an agreement for a union election to be held at the Staten Island facility, JFK8.
Smalls came to the facility Wednesday to deliver food and union materials, according to the union.
Amazon then called the police on Smalls, who was fired in March of 2020 shortly after leading a protest in support of more COVID-19 protections for warehouse workers.
SWIFT DISCUSSION
President Biden on Thursday defended maintaining Russia’s access to an international messaging system for banks despite pressure from Ukrainian leaders.
The U.S., United Kingdom and European Union announced strict new penalties on the Russian economy, financial institutions and influential elites close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Western allies did not bar Moscow from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), even after Ukrainian government officials urged them to do so Thursday morning.
“It is always an option, but right now that’s not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take,” Biden told reporters after announcing new sanctions Thursday.
Biden announced the U.S. would cut off five Russian banks, including its two largest financial firms, from the U.S. financial system. The president also announced a ban on exporting certain crucial technologies to Russia and sanctions on 10 wealthy Russians with ties to Putin.
BITS AND PIECES
An op-ed to chew on: Artificial intelligence is only as ethical as the people who use it
Lighter click:
Notable links from around the web:
Ukraine internet outages spark concerns of broader blackout (The Verge / Corin Faife)
Social media fuels new type of ‘fog of war’ in Ukraine conflict (The Washington Post / Craig Timberg and Drew Harwell)
On TikTok, livestreams show protests — and attract scams (NBC News / Ben Collins and Kat Tenbarge)
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One last thing: FAA expands no-fly zone
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday that it is extending its no-fly zone in Eastern Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The FAA issued Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) expanding the area in Eastern Europe and Russia where U.S. airlines and U.S. pilots cannot operate. The expanded NOTAMs now cover the entire country of Ukraine, the entire country of Belarus and a western portion of Russia,” the FAA said in a statement. “Prior to today’s restrictions, the FAA prohibited operations in an eastern region of Ukraine. These restrictions do not apply to military operations.”
The development comes less than 24 hours after Russia launched an attack against Ukraine that had long been feared and foretold by Western analysts.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s technology and cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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