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Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of Internet Insider.
Today’s top stories include a scam that impersonates a FTC official, a Democratic candidate trolling the haters by starting an OnlyFans account, and a facial recognition company getting attention from lawmakers.
Speaking of the FTC, my tech analysis column down below focuses on how FTC Chair Lina Khan signaled that data privacy moves are on the horizon.
Let’s dive into the news.
— A.W.
SCAMS: Scammers are impersonating a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner and defrauding people, the agency announced. The FTC says that scammers are calling victims saying they are Commissioner Noah Phillips. The fake Phillips then tells the person that a warrant for their arrest has been issued and then demands that they pay up. Read more about the scam here so you don’t fall for it.
ONLYFANS: A Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s third congressional district and former stripper who is running on a platform of social, racial, and economic justice joined OnlyFans to troll the haters that doubted her based on her former profession. When a troll commented “I look forward to you starting an OnlyFans after your election loss,” the candidate responded: “Who says I have to lose an election to start an OnlyFans?”
FACIAL RECOGNITION: Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are probing the facial recognition company ID.me in the wake of revelations that it was being used by numerous government agencies. Lawmakers called on the company to hand over documents regarding its government contracts and how it works to identify potential inaccuracies in the software. Check out our full report here.
FTC Chair Lina Khan signals a crackdown on data privacy
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan recently made it clear that she wants to crack down on the data privacy abuses.
In a keynote speech at the Global Privacy Summit last week, Khan criticized the data collection practices of big tech companies, and the “potentially discriminatory ways” that data is collected via technology like facial recognition.
To combat this, Khan said during her speech, the current “notice and consent” framework that governs data collection needed to be changed. She said that framework, where companies ask people to agree to those lengthy privacy policies that are full of legal-ese, was “outdated and insufficient.”
“Going forward, I believe we should approach data privacy and security protections by considering substantive limits rather than just procedural protections, which tend to create process requirements while sidestepping more fundamental questions about whether certain types of data collection and processing should be permitted in the first place,” Khan said.
She added: “The central role that digital tools will only continue to play invites us to consider whether we want to live in a society where firms can condition access to critical technologies and opportunities on users surrendering to commercial surveillance.”
She also noted that the FTC was considering initiating a rulemaking process to address “commercial surveillance and lax data security practices.”
It has long been assumed that the FTC would look into data privacy once the agency finally had a Democratic majority. President Joe Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to serve as the third Democrat at the commission, but his confirmation process has been dragged out for months.
Once Bedoya is confirmed (something that is getting increasingly closer), the FTC would have a Democratic majority that would allow it to vote on issues that would require party line votes, such as strengthening data privacy protections.
Biden’s choice of Khan to lead the FTC was hailed by progressives and public interest groups, as she’s been a critic of big tech companies. With her helming the FTC, the sense that *something* could be done to address the data privacy and data discrimination space led the Daily Dot’s Debug section to name her our Person of the Year for 2021.
Once Khan has a majority at the FTC, it seems clear that data privacy is going to jump to near the top of the list of what she hopes to accomplish.
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👀 TODAY ONLINE
Here are some key dispatches from across the ‘net.
🔔 Chewy, the pet supplies delivery brand, is under fire after a recent viral TikTok showed employees at work being harassed during their break to “go back to work” with a cowbell.
💸 The U.S. government has linked a cryptocurrency heist to a group of North Korean hackers. The hack, which targeted game company Axie Infinity, resulted in the loss of more than $624 million in cryptocurrency.
🥝 A TikTok scandal threw call-out creators into chaos. Is it over for this community? Sign up for Passionfruit, the Daily Dot’s weekly creator economy newsletter, for more coverage like this.
🤦 A TikToker is claiming that turpentine is a cure-all (yes, even for cancer). Don’t fall be fooled by it.
🏠 A group of Airbnb guests were left in stunned silence when a neighbor barged in at 4 a.m. and told them to “shut the fuck up.” A video of the incident has gone viral online.
📱 A TikToker revealed tat his Gen Z sister’s headstone is made in the image of a cellphone. Many people are lauding its creativity and originality.
🛒 A Target worker went viral for calling out customers who leave items in aisles. Don’t do that.
✨ Get your fix for all things wizardry with the best magic movies that aren’t Fantastic Beasts.*
🗣️ A viral video purports to show a preacher arguing with a queer student on a college campus. The video has sparked discourse about political division.
📜 When you think of the early days of the internet, what does that look like to you? In “The Lost History of the Internet” the Daily Dot explores the online communities and events that shaped us.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
👋 BEFORE YOU GO
A viral TikTok shows an alleged billionaire’s son confessing that he doesn’t tip for UberEats during an “ask me anything.” As you might expect, many people didn’t see eye-to-eye with his response.
Now Playing: 🎶“I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore” by The Menzingers🎶
