News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

New York City Bans China’s TikTok
on City-Owned Devices over Security Concerns

The Verge reports that New York City has taken a decisive step in the ongoing debate over the security of the Chinese social media app TikTok. The city has issued a directive requiring all city agencies to remove the app from city-owned devices within the next 30 days. The decision comes after a review by the NYC Cyber Command, which found that TikTok posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.

“NYC Cyber Command regularly explores and advances proactive measures to keep New Yorkers’ data safe,” a New York City Hall spokesperson said in a statement. “While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner.”
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In 2020, New York state prohibited the use and download of TikTok on government-owned devices through an internal policy. However, a few public relations platforms in the state were still allowed to use the app for marketing purposes.

Elon Musk’s Twitter/X Seeks Job Applicants
to Fill What Critics Call ‘Censorship Positions’

Twitter/X is looking for job applicants to fill two positions tasked with protecting “information integrity” and “civic conversations” on the social media platform, according to a report by Just the News.

The applicants must be “passionate about protecting users from global disinformation,” as well as “combating threats to online conversational health,” and “helping people find credible information online” regarding elections.

Qualified applicants must also “have a deep understanding of geopolitical, disinformation, and cybersecurity trends,” with fluency in Russian, Mandarin or Cantonese preferred, the report added.

Critics quickly flagged the jobs as “censorship positions,” and social media users pointed out the accounts  team leader Aaron Rodericks follows on rival platform BlueSky, which former State Department cyber official Mike Benz referred to as “every high-level spook & censorship industry heavyweight in the world.”

The accounts Rodericks is following reportedly include leaders of anti-disinformation groups that worked closely with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

In February, social media analyst Kristen Ruby noted that the Musk-owned platform still had its recently renamed civic integrity misleading information policy.

This authorizes Twitter/X to remove, stifle, and label “content that may suppress participation,” as well as “mislead” about civic processes, cause “confusion,” or contain “satirical or humorous elements.”

Elon Musk Announces Removal of Block Feature from Twitter/X
Potentially Breaking App Store Rules

BBC News reports that Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of Twitter/X, has revealed plans to remove the blocking feature from the platform, claiming that the feature “makes no sense.” While users will still be able to block others from directly messaging them, the removal of the blocking feature is expected to make it more challenging for users to remove abusive posts from their timeline.

The decision has been met with criticism from practically everyone beyond fanatical Musk loyalists. Many have voiced concerns that muting an account, which only stops notifications about an account’s posts, would not provide sufficient protection from cases of harassment, abuse, or stalking. An account that is muted can still view the muter’s posts and reply to them, leaving users vulnerable to unwanted interactions. Other critics say the loss of the block button means their replies will be filled with crypto and porn bots. Musk was quick to block critics making such points, including conservative social media powerhouse Catturd.
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If a blocking feature is removed, it may go against the terms and conditions set by app stores such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Both app stores require social media apps to offer users the ability to filter out instances of harassment or bullying. This raises concerns about whether X is meeting these requirements.
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Twitter/X CEO Linda Yaccarino claimed in a tweet that the company was “building something better than the current state of block and mute.”