Fast Company: There’s now a chatbot to give refugees instant legal advice. “For a Syrian refugee in Lebanon who is trying to navigate the legal path to resettlement, it can be difficult to find answers—and overstretched humanitarian organizations can take as long as three months to respond to an email when the demand for help is highest. A new chatbot called Mona, designed for Facebook Messenger and Telegram, can help more quickly.”
legal
New Zealand Herald: Annabel Langbein is considering legal action against Facebook and Google to stop scam ads
New Zealand Herald: Annabel Langbein is considering legal action against Facebook and Google to stop scam ads. “Celebrity chef Annabel Langbein is considering legal action against Facebook and Google for allowing scammers to use her image to lure in victims.”
New York Times: Trump Administration Sued Over Social Media Screening for Visa Applicants
New York Times: Trump Administration Sued Over Social Media Screening for Visa Applicants. “A pair of documentary film organizations sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its requirement that foreigners disclose their social media accounts — including pseudonymous ones — when they apply for visas.”
Ars Technica: Justices debate allowing state law to be “hidden behind a pay wall”
Ars Technica: Justices debate allowing state law to be “hidden behind a pay wall”. “The courts have long held that laws can’t be copyrighted. But if the state mixes the text of the law together with supporting information, things get trickier. In Monday oral arguments, the US Supreme Court wrestled with the copyright status of Georgia’s official legal code, which includes annotations written by LexisNexis.”
New York Times: Sex Trafficking via Facebook Sets Off a Lawyer’s Novel Crusade
New York Times: Sex Trafficking via Facebook Sets Off a Lawyer’s Novel Crusade. “Tech has led to a lot of trouble lately: hate speech, financial scams, undermined elections. Yet tech companies have largely avoided legal consequences, thanks to a landmark 1996 law that protects them from lawsuits. Now that federal law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, has a new threat: Annie McAdams, a personal-injury lawyer in Houston.”
CNET: TikTok accused of secretly gathering user data and sending it to China
CNET: TikTok accused of secretly gathering user data and sending it to China. “TikTok, known for its quirky 15-second videos, has been illegally and secretly harvesting vast amounts of personally identifiable user data and sending it to China, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California federal court last week.”
The Verge: Congress is split over your right to sue Facebook
The Verge: Congress is split over your right to sue Facebook. “Should private citizens be able to sue companies like Facebook or Twitter for misusing their data? That’s the question Republicans and Democrats have been ensnared in for months, as they work to craft a new data privacy law. But talks have stalled in recent weeks, and rather than putting out a bipartisan bill, both parties have now opted to introduce their own measures to stake out their positions.”
