Category: UNCATEGORIZED

TikTok confirmed today it has taken down videos spreading election misinformation that had been posted to two high-profile Republican-supporting accounts, The Republican Hype House and The Republican Boys. The accounts, popular with young, conservative voters, reach more than a million followers combined, and have the potential to reach even more users who would find their videos through other means — such as hashtags, shares or algorithmic recommendations.

The videos, which had made claims of “election fraud,” were first spotted by Taylor Lorenz, a reporter for The New York Times.

Though TikTok had committed to addressing election misinformation on its network, it was initially unclear to what extent it would challenge video content in cases such as this. However, the company reacted fairly quickly in taking down the disputed videos, as it turned out. It responded to Lorenz’s tweet in less than an hour’s time to confirm the content’s removal.

Reached for comment, TikTok also confirmed to TechCrunch it removed the videos in question for violating its policies against misleading information, but didn’t share any further comment on the decision.

This is not the first time The Republican Hype House has been penalized by TikTok for spreading political misinformation. In August, Media Matters noted it, along with another conservative TikTok account, had published a deceptively edited clip of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Previously, the TikTok account had also been involved in spreading a conspiracy theory related to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

As TechCrunch earlier reported, the close U.S. election results have plunged social media platforms into a battle against misinformation and conspiracies. On platforms like Facebook, Twitter and now TikTok, misinformation can go viral quickly, reaching hundreds, thousands or even millions of users before the platforms react.

Today, Twitter has already hidden behind warning labels multiple tweets from President Trump, due to its policies regarding election-related misinformation, for example. Facebook has labeled Trump’s posts, as well, and displayed in-app notifications to remind users the election results weren’t yet final as votes were still being counted.

Less attention has been given to TikTok, however, despite its power to reach around 100 million monthly active U.S. users of a largely younger demographic, who collectively post some 46 million videos daily.

The U.S. elections have been one of the first big tests of TikTok’s ability to quickly enforce its misinformation policies.

Of note, TikTok’s future in the U.S. may also hinge on whether Trump — who banned the Chinese-owned video app citing national security concerns — continues to remain in power when all the votes are counted.

A ballot measure passed by 75% of voters in Massachusetts has resolved a thorny question that could have widespread implications for the automotive industry: once a person buys a vehicle, they own all of its data.

The measure, listed on the ballot as Question 1, amends and broadens a law that gives consumers in Massachusetts the right to repair the vehicles they own. The measure will require automakers that sell vehicles with telematics systems in Massachusetts to equip them with a standardized open data platform beginning with model year 2022. This standardized open data platform has to give vehicle owners and independent repair facilities direct access and the ability to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application.

Importantly, this measure covers the data that telematics systems collect and wirelessly transmit. And it not only gives access to the mechanical data, it allows owners and independent mechanics to send commands to the vehicle for repair, maintenance and diagnostic testing.

Massachusetts has a record of leading the right-to-repair charge. In 2012, voters approved a law that required automakers to use a nonproprietary standard for its onboard diagnostics port — that physical port used by dealerships to retrieve data. The result meant that car owners no longer had to go to a dealership if their check engine light went on and instead could head over to their local mechanic for a diagnosis. The law exempted wirelessly transmitted data. That exemption has become more pressing for right-to-repair advocates as telematics systems in modern vehicles have become more advanced.

The measure passed Tuesday has been heralded by consumer protection advocates and bitterly opposed by automakers, as well as some data security proponents. “This is a major step forward,” Kyle Wiens, the founder of California-based iFixit said in an email to TechCrunch. “If you can’t fix it, you don’t really own it. As manufacturers add more and more technology to vehicles, they need to take care to protect owner’s right to tinker and local mechanic’s ability to perform repairs.”

It’s also seen as a potentially lucrative opportunity.

“This has big potential of creating a huge ecosystem of apps here like we have on our phones,” Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey said in a recent interview. For instance, it might allow companies with large fleets to better monitor and manage their vehicles.

Industry lobbying group Alliance for Automotive Innovation has argued that it will create security and safety risks. Critics of the ballot measure, which include the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data, has also argued that it is far too expansive. “A less intrusive version of Question 1 failed in California because it was considered unnecessary and risky,” Conor Yunits, a spokesperson with the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data noted in an email sent to TechCrunch. 

“The car companies do have legitimate concerns, which are, ‘hey, if you put new software in the vehicle and it screws up the vehicle, that’s a safety issue,” Ramsey said.

The most recent statement from Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s president and CEO John Bozzella suggests that the organization will seek some way to lessen that risk. What’s unclear is if the organization will actively fight to narrow the scope of the measure. 

A ballot measure passed by 75% of voters in Massachusetts has resolved a thorny question that could have widespread implications for the automotive industry: once a person buys a vehicle, they own all of its data.

The measure, listed on the ballot as Question 1, amends and broadens a law that gives consumers in Massachusetts the right to repair the vehicles they own. The measure will require automakers that sell vehicles with telematics systems in Massachusetts to equip them with a standardized open data platform beginning with model year 2022. This standardized open data platform has to give vehicle owners and independent repair facilities direct access and the ability to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application.

Importantly, this measure covers the data that telematics systems collect and wirelessly transmit. And it not only gives access to the mechanical data, it allows owners and independent mechanics to send commands to the vehicle for repair, maintenance and diagnostic testing.

Massachusetts has a record of leading the right-to-repair charge. In 2012, voters approved a law that required automakers to use a nonproprietary standard for its onboard diagnostics port — that physical port used by dealerships to retrieve data. The result meant that car owners no longer had to go to a dealership if their check engine light went on and instead could head over to their local mechanic for a diagnosis. The law exempted wirelessly transmitted data. That exemption has become more pressing for right-to-repair advocates as telematics systems in modern vehicles have become more advanced.

The measure passed Tuesday has been heralded by consumer protection advocates and bitterly opposed by automakers, as well as some data security proponents. “This is a major step forward,” Kyle Wiens, the founder of California-based iFixit said in an email to TechCrunch. “If you can’t fix it, you don’t really own it. As manufacturers add more and more technology to vehicles, they need to take care to protect owner’s right to tinker and local mechanic’s ability to perform repairs.”

It’s also seen as a potentially lucrative opportunity.

“This has big potential of creating a huge ecosystem of apps here like we have on our phones,” Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey said in a recent interview. For instance, it might allow companies with large fleets to better monitor and manage their vehicles.

Industry lobbying group Alliance for Automotive Innovation has argued that it will create security and safety risks. Critics of the ballot measure, which include the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data, has also argued that it is far too expansive. “A less intrusive version of Question 1 failed in California because it was considered unnecessary and risky,” Conor Yunits, a spokesperson with the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data noted in an email sent to TechCrunch. 

“The car companies do have legitimate concerns, which are, ‘hey, if you put new software in the vehicle and it screws up the vehicle, that’s a safety issue,” Ramsey said.

The most recent statement from Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s president and CEO John Bozzella suggests that the organization will seek some way to lessen that risk. What’s unclear is if the organization will actively fight to narrow the scope of the measure. 

When Trump spoke early Tuesday morning, it became clear which long-dreaded election scenario an anxious nation was on the cusp of.

“This is a fraud on the American public,” Trump said in remarks delivered from the White House, mixing his campaign with the presidency. “We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.”

Trump’s claim of victory is false — votes are still being counted in a close race — but they heralded his campaign’s intention to work the misinformation ecosystem he’s cultivated over the last four years. His strategy so far is what he’s long signaled: seize on the late tallies for vote-by-mail ballots, which were expected to favor Democrats, to manufacture a conspiracy.

Of course, misinformation also thrives beyond Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube in places it’s more difficult to track, moving from obscure chans to mainstream social media and back again, mutating as it goes.

On Wednesday, Twitter hid three of Trump’s five recent tweets behind warning labels stating that their content was “disputed and might be misleading.” Most recently, the president tweeted “They are working hard to make up 500,000 vote advantage in Pennsylvania disappear — ASAP. Likewise, Michigan and others!”

In another recent missive, he circumvented a restricted tweet’s engagement limits, amplifying it to his own follower base where it was retweeted 32,000 times. The tweet’s author issued a correction on his original conspiratorial claims about Michigan’s Democratic vote count, but by then the horse had already left the barn.

The Trump campaign’s baseless fear mongering about the integrity of vote-by-mail ballots began well before the election. In September, a campaign video showed Donald Trump Jr. rail against Democrats, who he accused of planning to “add millions of fraudulent ballots that can cancel your vote and overturn the election.” There was no evidence of that then, nor is there now. The video, and its calls for an “army for Trump” promoted Facebook to change its rules around voter intimidation.

In the months preceding the election, Trump repeatedly declined to commit to conceding the election in the event that he loses, a stance that Americans may watch play out in realtime in the coming hours and days.

Democrats have been hit with misinformation labels too, though none of their offenders are actively in a contested race (so far). Twitter labeled Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden’s tweet claiming that Biden had reached 270 electoral votes with a warning saying it was “disputed.”

Other warnings popped up as some states were called early last night. After Fox News struck out alone in calling Arizona for Biden, some political reporters tweeting about those results had their tweets paired with a label stating that the race had not yet been called.

Facebook and Twitter’s philosophies differ on how to handle a president prone to sowing political misinformation. Twitter gives rule-breaking election tweets a warning label flagging them as potentially “misleading.” It screens them behind that message and restricts replies, retweets and likes, severely limiting their viral potential.

Twitter also ditched political advertising outright a year ago. While Facebook still allows them, the company implemented a blackout on those ads after polls closed that remains in effect now.

Facebook adds its own set of “labels” to election posts that break the rules, though they are designed to mostly point users to contextual, factual information rather than to offer explicit warnings about false claims. As a direct response to Trump’s premature claims of victory, Facebook also rolled out an eye-catching set of messages across Facebook and Instagram reminding users that votes were still being counted

Early Wednesday, Trump was happy to make his dangerous claim of unearned victory on live television — and so far, many news networks obliged by broadcasting them. That’s cause for concern too.

Both social media companies prepared special policies for a close, ambiguous election night, but their rules will be put to the real test in the coming days as fears of political violence and challenges to the election outcome escalate.

Polls closed in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday without any significant or disruptive cyberattacks, according to cybersecurity officials and experts.

Election Day wasn’t without its problems. Some voting machines in Nevada and Texas went down but were quickly back up and running, some voters in Georgia and Ohio had to use paper ballots after hand sanitizer leaked into the machines, and the FBI said it was aware of robocalls urging Americans in swing states to “stay safe and stay home.” And delays in the postal system and rules that meant no ballots could be counted until Election Day left a backlog of votes still to be counted long after the polls closed.

Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which oversees the security of U.S. elections, said Election Day went by largely without a hitch.

“What we’ve seen today is just another Tuesday on the internet,” said a senior CISA official on a call with reporters later on Tuesday. But the official admitted that “we’re not out of the woods yet,” pointing to the reporting of final vote counts, with many state election results balancing on a knife edge.

Data published by Cloudflare suggested a slight uptick in cyberattacks on government election websites on Election Day, but chief executive Matthew Prince tweeted that the rise was “relatively small” and the attacks “unsophisticated.”

In an email after the polls closed, Prince told TechCrunch: “Both Internet traffic and attack traffic to election websites spiked at times on election day, as anticipated. We don’t see everything, but again, there have been no reports of any cyberattacks that threatened the integrity of election websites or infrastructure.”

It’s a world away from the 2016 election, which saw Russian-backed misinformation actors swamp social media sites with false information and engaging in “hack-and-leak” operations, including documents and emails from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Since then, the government has spent billions in preparedness efforts ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, which Homeland Security saw no evidence of vote hacking or manipulation, as well as the creation of CISA to improve election security and infrastructure across the United States.

NSA director Gen. Paul Nakasone, who also oversees the government’s offensive cyber division Cyber Command, said that the government “will maintain constant vigilance” and stands ready to help Homeland Security and the FBI to “provide information to social media platforms to counteract influence operations.”

“Foreign adversaries continue to see an opportunity to undermine our nation’s elections,” said Nakasone. “However, we have the capability, capacity, and will to prevent any type of interference or influence in our elections. I’m confident the actions we’ve taken against adversaries over the past several weeks and months have ensured they’re not going to interfere in our elections. When it comes to those who threaten our democratic processes, we are equal opportunity disruptors. We’re going to take action against any nation state or actor who attempts to interfere in our elections.”

It was widely anticipated that the vote count would extend into the week, with swing states Pennsylvania and North Carolina still accepting and counting postal votes. But without a clear winner on the day — which Americans have largely become accustomed to — all eyes and efforts are on combating the spread of misinformation, including false claims of a presidential win.

Much of the efforts to filter misinformation has come from the social networks directly. Facebook and Twitter came under fire for failing to curb the spread of wrong and deliberately false information spread on their platforms during the 2016 election.

But this time around, the social networks claim to be better prepared.

President Trump’s first tweet of the day on Wednesday was blocked by Twitter after the Republican presidential incumbent claimed the Democrats were “trying to steal” the election by fighting efforts by the Trump campaign for states to stop counting ballots after Election Day. Some states, like Michigan and Pennsylvania, weren’t allowed to start counting ballots until Election Day itself. Unsurprisingly, given the pandemic-driven rise in mail-in voting and increased voter turnout, the final results are likely to take time.

Anticipating that there would be no clear winner on Election Day, Twitter put in new rules in September ahead of the election to remove or attach a warning label to any claims of an election victory prior to the results being officially announced.

Facebook and Instagram have also issued warnings advising voters that results may take time and a winner has “not been projected yet,” in an effort to counter unverified claims of a final winner.

The flow of venture capital in 2020 has been surprisingly strong given the year’s general uncertainty, but while investors have showered plenty of dough on growth-stage companies, seed-stage startups are down 32% last quarter compared to the year before.

There have been plenty of recent conversations about alternative funding routes for founders, and one of those oft-overlooked paths has been equity crowdfunding. While crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter push consumers to back unrealized projects in exchange for products or other services, equity crowdfunding allows consumers to actually invest cash and receive a piece of the company. It’s not a conventional path, but it can be a viable option for companies that have a close relationship with an engaged customer base.

The Security and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Crowdfunding guidelines were adopted under Title III of the JOBS Act back in 2016, but because many entrepreneurs were unfamiliar with how to participate, many of the startups that have taken advantage of it haven’t been the highest quality. The tide could be turning: This week, the SEC updated some of its guidance on crowdfunding, eliminating some ambiguities and increasing the amount of capital companies can raise from both accredited and nonaccredited investors. Additionally, companies can now raise $5 million per year using equity crowdfunding, compared to the previous limit of $1.07 million.

But life has gotten easier in other ways as well for founders pursuing this fundraising type and the platforms that seek to simplify it.

Wefunder is one of a handful of equity crowdfunding platforms that have popped up in the last few years. Before a company can raise on its platform, Wefunder vets them before allowing them to tap into their network of amateur investors who can invest as little as $100 with the median investment sitting at $250. Last month, 40 companies launched on Wefunder and collectively raised $12 million, according to Wefunder CEO Nicholas Tommarello.

As we’re currently shifting through all of the national and local votes from last night’s elections, here’s a small but important victory for privacy advocates out of Portland, Maine . Per the Bangor Daily News, the city passed “Referendum Question B,” designed to curb government and police use of facial recognition technology.

According to the initiative:

An Act to Ban Facial Surveillance by Public Officials in Portland will ban the city of Portland and its departments and officials from using or authorizing the use of any facial surveillance software on any groups or member of the public, and provides a right to members of the public to sue if facial surveillance data is illegally gathered and/or used.

It’s one of four progressive measures that passed last night in the city. Other successful measures include a $15/hour minimum wage and a cap on rent increases. It also joins other recent local ordinances. Other cities to pass similar legislation include San Francisco, Boston and the other Portland, which offered a pretty sweeping ban back in September.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, an arrest was made in Washington, DC using facial recognition. The individual was reportedly identified using an image found on Twitter.

As we’re currently shifting through all of the national and local votes from last night’s elections, here’s a small but important victory for privacy advocates out of Portland, Maine . Per the Bangor Daily News, the city passed “Referendum Question B,” designed to curb government and police use of facial recognition technology.

According to the initiative:

An Act to Ban Facial Surveillance by Public Officials in Portland will ban the city of Portland and its departments and officials from using or authorizing the use of any facial surveillance software on any groups or member of the public, and provides a right to members of the public to sue if facial surveillance data is illegally gathered and/or used.

It’s one of four progressive measures that passed last night in the city. Other successful measures include a $15/hour minimum wage and a cap on rent increases. It also joins other recent local ordinances. Other cities to pass similar legislation include San Francisco, Boston and the other Portland, which offered a pretty sweeping ban back in September.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, an arrest was made in Washington, DC using facial recognition. The individual was reportedly identified using an image found on Twitter.

Cannabis legalization was on five state ballots yesterday and ran the table. All the measures passed, making cannabis legal, in some form, in five new states. Voters in Oregon, where cannabis is already legal, also approved a measure addressing street drugs and another that sought to legalize psychedelic mushrooms’ therapeutic use.

Of the five states that voted on cannabis, four states approved legal marijuana for adults age 21 and older. Two other states approved medical use, with South Dakota approving both recreational and medical use at one time.

This is a critical time for cannabis startups as they look to new markets. Many companies in this space look at each new state as a gold rush as they seek to win over consumers and businesses alike. But it’s going to take time. Each state has different rules and regulations that cannabis companies need to explore and navigate.

Ten years ago, cannabis was illegal across the United States. That changed in 2012 when voters in Colorado and Washington approved recreational marijuana. While it’s still illegal at a national level, with these new states, one in three Americans will soon be able to buy weed legally.

New Jersey

• New Jersey voters approved legalized recreational cannabis, with the effective date of January 1, 2021. The New Jersey Legislature is now tasked with setting up rules and regulations for the consumer marketplace.
• New Jersey becomes the first state in the mid-Atlantic region to pass such a measure.

Montana

• Voters in Montana approved a measure and constitutional amendment to legalize weed and set the adult-use age to 21.
• Montana residents can possess, use, and grow marijuana on January 1, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. Happy New Year!
• Recreational sales are to start in January 2022.

South Dakota

• In a nationwide first, voters in South Dakota voted to legalize medical and recreational cannabis at one time. This came from a constitutional amendment and a ballot initiative.
• Cannabis remains illegal until July 1, 2021, when South Dakota residents can start to possess, consume, and grow up to three plants.
• Medical use will start sales on July 1, 2021.
• The state has until April 1, 2022, to develop rules and regulations for selling recreational cannabis

Arizona

• After failing to pass a legalization bill in 2016, Arizona voters approved a proposition that legalizes recreational cannabis.
• It’s unclear when it will become legal to possess cannabis
• Retail sales could start April 5, 2021, or sooner

Mississippi

• Voters in Mississippi approved medical marijuana through a ballot initiative
• The state has until July 1, 2021, to establish the rules and regulations

Oregon

• Oregon became the first state to legalize the regulated medical use of psilocybin.
• Medical use will come after a two-year development period
• Voters in Oregon also passed a measure that decriminalizes small amounts of street drugs, making offenses similar to traffic violations

Cannabis legalization was on five state ballots yesterday and ran the table. All the measures passed, making cannabis legal, in some form, in five new states. Voters in Oregon, where cannabis is already legal, also approved a measure addressing street drugs and another that sought to legalize psychedelic mushrooms’ therapeutic use.

Of the five states that voted on cannabis, four states approved legal marijuana for adults age 21 and older. Two other states approved medical use, with South Dakota approving both recreational and medical use at one time.

This is a critical time for cannabis startups as they look to new markets. Many companies in this space look at each new state as a gold rush as they seek to win over consumers and businesses alike. But it’s going to take time. Each state has different rules and regulations that cannabis companies need to explore and navigate.

Ten years ago, cannabis was illegal across the United States. That changed in 2012 when voters in Colorado and Washington approved recreational marijuana. While it’s still illegal at a national level, with these new states, one in three Americans will soon be able to buy weed legally.

New Jersey

• New Jersey voters approved legalized recreational cannabis, with the effective date of January 1, 2021. The New Jersey Legislature is now tasked with setting up rules and regulations for the consumer marketplace.
• New Jersey becomes the first state in the mid-Atlantic region to pass such a measure.

Montana

• Voters in Montana approved a measure and constitutional amendment to legalize weed and set the adult-use age to 21.
• Montana residents can possess, use, and grow marijuana on January 1, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. Happy New Year!
• Recreational sales are to start in January 2022.

South Dakota

• In a nationwide first, voters in South Dakota voted to legalize medical and recreational cannabis at one time. This came from a constitutional amendment and a ballot initiative.
• Cannabis remains illegal until July 1, 2021, when South Dakota residents can start to possess, consume, and grow up to three plants.
• Medical use will start sales on July 1, 2021.
• The state has until April 1, 2022, to develop rules and regulations for selling recreational cannabis

Arizona

• After failing to pass a legalization bill in 2016, Arizona voters approved a proposition that legalizes recreational cannabis.
• It’s unclear when it will become legal to possess cannabis
• Retail sales could start April 5, 2021, or sooner

Mississippi

• Voters in Mississippi approved medical marijuana through a ballot initiative
• The state has until July 1, 2021, to establish the rules and regulations

Oregon

• Oregon became the first state to legalize the regulated medical use of psilocybin.
• Medical use will come after a two-year development period
• Voters in Oregon also passed a measure that decriminalizes small amounts of street drugs, making offenses similar to traffic violations