Tag: online privacy

Tennessee U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn Thanks Elon Musk, X CEO for Help Updating Kids Online Safety Act

Tom Pappert
Sen Marsha Blackburn, Elon Musk

A new version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), created by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), was announced on Saturday by Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, who said she collaborated with the senators to create legislation that would prioritize youth safety while preserving the First Amendment.

Revealing the new legislation in a post to X, Yaccarino noted the company, which was formerly known as Twitter, vowed it would help Congress establish new laws to protect children during a January appearance in Congress alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

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Exclusive: Sen. Blackburn Releases Kids Online Safety Guide Ahead of New School Year

Peter D'Abrosca
Kid on tablet

After the resounding success of Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, she has exclusively released to The Tennessee Star a guide for parents to keep their children safe online as they head back to school. 

“When children are online, they are the product, and Big Tech is trying every method possible to keep them scrolling, clicking ads, and sharing every detail of their lives,” the guide says. “Social media platforms put children at risk of being exposed to eating disorders, suicidal ideation, sexual exploitation, and advertisements for illegal substances. Now is the perfect time to study up on how you can keep your kids safe online.”

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Blackburn Calls for Support of Bipartisan BROWSER Act to Protect Online Users’ Privacy and Cites Concerns Over FaceApp

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Thursday spoke on the Senate floor asking for support for the bipartisan BROWSER Act and discussed the dangers of FaceApp ahead of the first Senate Judiciary Tech Task Force meeting she led that afternoon. “A quick scroll through an average Instagram feed this morning revealed post after post of artificially-aged faces—all thanks to FaceApp, who now owns those images, and can do whatever they like with them,” Blackburn said in a press release. “Don’t mistake that recklessness for trust. Ask anyone who downloaded that app last night how they feel about it this afternoon.” Video of her speech is available here. Later in the day, Blackburn tweeted, “Thank you @LindseyGrahamSC for asking me to serve as Chair of the @senjudiciary Tech Task Force.” Thank you @LindseyGrahamSC for asking me to serve as Chair of the @senjudiciary Tech Task Force. pic.twitter.com/PxtvZyvMsk — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 18, 2019 The free FaceApp allows users to make themselves look older in photos. Business Insider reported on privacy concerns that have surfaced for the Russian-created app that has more than 12.7 million new users. The terms of service allow the company to license photos for commercial…

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Sen. Blackburn Calls for More Boots of the Southern Border, Closer Look at Big Tech Business Practices

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is gaining attention for her strong stands on border security and “big tech.” On Saturday, she joined Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on “Cavuto Live” to discuss her trip to the border in El Paso, Texas, Friday to meet with Customs and Border Patrol officials. Blackburn also discussed how Congress should assess the size of big tech companies.   ‘Big tech’ Cavuto called it “an odd confluence of events” to have many Republicans and Democrats agreeing on a subject — the need to watch “big tech.” Regarding “big tech,” Blackburn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said “They are big ad companies. They have pretty much built monopolies in their space and it is time to review their practices and see how much we know about what they are doing with, as I call it, your Virtual You – you and your presence online.” Congress needs to “do a deep dive” and examine the companies’ business practices before making any sort of recommendations to the Department of Justice, Blackburn said. In April, Blackburn said tech companies should embrace “the spirit of the First Amendment,” The Tennessee Star reported. She called out media giants to…

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Blackburn Works With Democratic Sen. Baldwin to Introduce Bill to Improve Internet Infrastructure In Rural Areas

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on Thursday introduced SB 1166, the Internet Exchange (IX) Act, which will help to improve internet access for consumers, especially in rural areas. The senators made the announcement on Twitter, available here, and in a press release, which is available here. Today, @SenatorBaldwin and I introduced S. 1166, the Internet Exchange(IX) Act, which will help to improve internet access for consumers, especiallythose in rural areas. More: https://t.co/ieTjwkDcOD pic.twitter.com/mBHnKwHy3W — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 11, 2019 “You can’t have a 21st century education, 21st century healthcare, or a 21st century business without access to 21st century internet,” said Blackburn. “The bipartisan IX Act will make big strides in closing the digital divide in Tennessee by providing internet access to areas with the highest degree of need.” Baldwin said, “We need to strengthen our internet infrastructure to better serve Middle America and rural communities, and improve the online experience for people in all parts of our country. This bipartisan measure will help expand broadband access across our country. By investing in our internet infrastructure and adding more internet exchanges in Wisconsin and throughout the heartland, we can help more rural households and…

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Blackburn, Klobuchar Team Up to Ask FTC Investigate Online Platforms Over Privacy, Antitrust Concerns

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Monday called for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into online platforms over privacy concerns, data security and antitrust violations. Blackburn tweeted, “Today, @SenAmyKlobuchar and I urged the @FTC to hold tech companies like @Google and @Facebook accountable for securing their platforms. Tennesseans are rightly concerned about who owns their #VirtualYou.” Today, @SenAmyKlobuchar and I urged the @FTC to hold tech companies like @Google and @Facebook accountable for securing their platforms. Tennesseans are rightly concerned about who owns their #VirtualYou. pic.twitter.com/rQvvY0ZPce — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 8, 2019 The letter comes a few weeks after U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI-01), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, asked for the FTC to probe whether Facebook has violated antitrust laws, The Hill said. Blackburn said in a press release, “Tennesseans are rightly concerned about who owns their Virtual You. They want to be certain that their privacy is protected in both the physical and virtual space. The FTC has a responsibility to hold technology companies accountable for securing their platforms. My hope is that through this bipartisan effort we will shed light on the need to protect competition and online privacy to keep up…

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Steve Cohen asks Google CEO to Probe ‘Overuse of Conservative News Organizations in Search Results’

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) apparently does not like it when Google shows conservative websites’ coverage of his television appearances. He remarked upon that trend during a House Judiciary Committee grilling of Google CEO Sundar Pichai Tuesday. Cohen accused Google of “overly using conservative news organizations on your news,” PJ Media reported. “This weekend I was on MSNBC four times, and yet the first thing that comes up is The Daily Caller, not exactly a liberal, but I guess well-known group, then Roll Call, then Breitbart News, then the Memphis Business Journal, then Breitbart News, then Breitbart,” Cohen said. “…I’d like you to look into overuse of conservative news organizations to put on liberal people’s news on Google.” Pichai said, “I can assure you we do this in a neutral way. And we do this based on that specific keyword, what we are able to access the most relevant information.” “I’m sure you try to, but it’s hard for me to fathom being on MSNBC for like eight minutes each show, four times, and there’s more content on Breitbart News than MSNBC,” Cohen replied. “That might say something about – well I’m not going to say that. Scary.” Perhaps even…

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Marsha Blackburn Pushes for Universal Privacy Standards after Facebook Data Breach

Admin

Rep. Marsha Blackburn said Tuesday that she wants to ask Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about universal privacy standards. “I would ask him if he would agree to privacy standards that are in statute, in federal statute, that he would agree to one set of privacy standards for the entire ecosystem – both your internet service provider and your edge providers,” Ms. Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, said on Fox News.

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