(WASHINGTON) — The United States, several allies and partners and NATO are joining forces to “expose and criticize” China for a “pattern of malicious cyber activities,” announcing on Monday that China is profiting off some of the cyberattacks it’s supported, and officially saying it was behind the Microsoft Exchange server breach in March.
“We will show how the PRC [People’s Republic of China] MSS, Ministry of State Security, uses criminal contract hackers to conduct unsanctioned cyber operations globally, including for their own personal profit,” senior administration officials said on a call with reporters Sunday night. “Their operations include criminal activities such as cyber-enabled extortion, cryptojacking and theft of victims around the world for financial gain.
Officials said they also know of some “government-affiliated cyber operators conducting ransomware operations against private companies that have included ransom demands of millions of dollars.”
Senior officials said they found the MSS-affiliated ransomware attacks to be “surprising” and gave them “new insights” into how the MSS operates and the “aggressive behavior” coming out of China.
Asked how the tactics from the Chinese differ from similar attacks they see coming out of Russia, senior officials said they sometimes see “some connection” between Russian intelligence services and individuals, but “the MSS use of criminal contract hackers to conduct unsanctioned cyber operations globally is distinct.”
Joining the U.S. in this public announcement is the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and NATO. It’s the first time NATO has condemned Chinese cyber activities.
The FBI, NSA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a list Monday of tactics, procedures and techniques used by Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors.
Among the trends, officials say these actors are “using a revolving series of virtual private servers (VPSs) and common open-source or commercial penetration tools.” They are also accused of looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in major applications, like “Pulse Secure, Apache, F5 Big-IP, and Microsoft products.”
The advisory also states that they are using a “full array of tactics and techniques to exploit computer networks of interest worldwide and to acquire sensitive intellectual property, economic, political, and military information.”
“Countries around the world are making it clear that concerns regarding the PRC malicious cyber activity is bringing them together to call out those activities, promote network defense in cybersecurity, and act to disrupt threat to our economies and national security,” a senior administration official said.
The group will also formally attribute the Microsoft Exchange server cyberattack in March to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) “with high confidence.”
Asked what caused the delay for the U.S. to officially point to China for that attack, a senior administration official said they wanted to work with allies and partners because victims of this attack were not just in the U.S.
Officials said they have raised these incidents with senior Chinese government officials and “are not ruling out further actions to hold the PRC accountable,” adding that their actions “threaten security, confidence and stability in cyberspace.”
(TULSA, Oklahoma) — A woman who was on the run for allegedly being an accessory to a murder in March has been arrested after commenting on the police department’s Facebook post asking about her reward money.
The strange ordeal began last Wednesday when the Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma posted a couple of images of Lorraine Graves on Facebook as part of their “Weekly Most Wanted” campaign.
“The Tulsa Police Department is looking for information about the whereabouts of Lorraine Graves,” the post read. “Lorraine Graves is charged with Accessory to Murder. Detectives say she was involved in the city’s 10th homicide of 2021 where Eric Graves was shot and killed at the St. Thomas Square Apartments.”
Not long after the post went up, authorities saw a familiar name in the comments section: Lorraine Graves.
“Where’s the reward money at,” Lorraine Graves can be seen posting after she saw that she was on the “Weekly Most Wanted” list, on a screen shot shared by the Tulsa Police Department.
Her comment, perhaps unsurprisingly, sparked a lot of reaction on social media.
“Giiiiirl you better stay off social media they can track you !!” one person commented.
“Aint gonna be as funny when you get processed,” said another in an image shared by the Tulsa Police Department.
Graves was subsequently arrested the next day at approximately 4:30 p.m. after detectives with the Tulsa Police Department’s Fugitive Warrant’s unit were able to track her down in a home in north Tulsa.
The two other suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Eric Graves — Jayden and Gabriel Hopson — have been charged with murder and are already being held in police custody.
Authorities did not disclose the relationship between Eric and Lorraine Graves but did confirm that she has now been charged with Accessory to Murder and her bond has been set at $500,000.
(NEW YORK) — More than 609,000 Americans and counting have died from COVID-19.
Each week ABC News is spotlighting several Americans who have died from the virus.
Adel Hamdan
Adel Hamdan, a New Jersey veterinarian who was called the “animal whisperer” by his wife, died on Dec. 30, 2020, at the age of 73, NorthJersey.com reported.
Hamdan owned Totowa Animal Hospital, where he performed surgeries on animals and offered free care to those who needed it, the newspaper said.
“He would never let an animal go if it wasn’t taken care of,” his brother, Dean Hamden, told NorthJersey.com. “He gave of his time and he talked to kids about the profession. He was generous with his time, energies and his finance.”
Hamdan is survived by his wife, two children and grandson.
Frederick “Fritz” Holloway died on Jan. 28, 2021, at the age of 92, his obituary said.
The New Jersey resident spent 34 years as a bus operator, retiring in 2007, said New Jersey Transit.
“A proud U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean conflict,” Holloway “enjoyed a good game of cards, a day at the racetrack, and a family cookout,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters in June.
Holloway was predeceased by his wife who died in 2006.
We remember Frederick “Fritz” Holloway.
Fritz was a proud U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean Conflict. He was a bus driver for @NJTRANSIT. Away from work, he enjoyed a good game of cards, a day at the racetrack, and a family cookout.
Juan Llanes, a correctional officer in Miami-Dade, Florida, died on Feb. 1, 2021.
The 57-year-old leaves behind a wife and son.
Llanes had been a member of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department since 1988.
“He was always there for anybody who needed help,” former officer George Hubbard told ABC Miami affiliate WPLG.
“His family came first, and then his friends,” correctional officer Lynette Smith said in a statement. “We helped one another during difficult times . … After working with Juan for the last couple of years, I gained a brother.”
RIP OFFICER LLANES: The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department announced Friday that Correctional Officer Juan Llanes died this week after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was 57 years old. https://t.co/QRWPum38CJ
(LAS VEGAS) — Kataluna Enriquez made history on June 27 by winning the title of Miss Nevada USA and becoming the first openly transgender contestant who will compete in the upcoming Miss USA competition.
Enriquez, who is Filipina American, beat out 21 other contestants to win the crown at the South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. In March, she also became the first transgender woman to represent Miss Silver State USA, an official preliminary for Miss Nevada USA.
“I am so happy and grateful to be Miss Nevada USA 2021 and represent our state Nevada in this year’s Miss USA,” Enriquez told “Good Morning America.” “This has been one of my longest dreams and I am happy to share it with my community, especially the LGBTQ+ youth.”
“When I was young, I always said, ‘I wish I could see someone like me on that stage,’” Enriquez continued. “That’s something that I always didn’t have growing up and to be able to give that to other people, that’s one of my hopes in life to just be able to represent and create a positive change for those who haven’t always had those moments in life.”
Her historic win was met with an outpouring of support on social media, including a congratulatory post from the Miss Nevada USA organization.
“Good Morning WORLD! The Universe rather,” read the Instagram post. “Congratulations to @mskataluna for her historical win!!!”
Winning the crown was not always an easy feat for Enriquez. She got her start competing in transgender pageants in 2015 and later began competing in cisgender pageants where she had to overcome several challenges.
“When I started competing with cisgender women or the Miss USA organization, there was one competition where I was asked to provide documents that I think were invasive and were singling me out,” Enriquez revealed. “Also, I was not provided roommates, regardless of my identity.”
She said that despite providing all required documentation for a pageant in another state, she still had to undergo a stricter vetting process. Enriquez said she had to provide pageant organizers with legal orders, doctor’s notes and her identification card verifying that she is a female.
“It was basically just refusing me to be there, so that’s one of the experiences I’ve experienced,” she said.
“There’s a lot of backlash that I’m receiving and I think I want to use this time to really educate people on what it means to be trans, on what it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Enriquez continued. “And I think there’s still lack of representation in being a trans woman of color and being a Southeast Asian American.”
Now, she plans to use her life experiences “as a trans woman of color, and as a woman who is a survivor of physical and sexual abuse” to shape her platform called #BEVISIBLE, which aims to combat hate through vulnerability.
“I’ve learned that people just take advantage of our vulnerable moments and use it to kind of belittle us and dehumanize us but in reality it’s what makes us connect as humans,” said Enriquez. “My goal this time is to expand my platform for other people and have them share their stories so we can create a world where everyone is aware of things and we can have positive conversations and not let anyone who is experiencing difficultness or different situations in life to feel like they are less than.”
In addition to being a titleholder, Enriquez also works as a healthcare admin specializing in LGBTQ+ care, a model and is the owner of her own clothing line called Kataluna Kouture.
“I started my design company because I didn’t have money growing up,” Enriquez said. “I didn’t have money to be able to afford clothes and gowns and I couldn’t find anything that fit my body type and so that was very important for me,”
She attended school for fashion design, and says that when she first started competing in her own designs, parts of the evening gown would fall off. Her skills improved over time and she even designed the rainbow sequined evening gown she wore during the state competition in honor of pride month.
“My win is hope for a lot of people, hope that they can have a better chance in life, better opportunities, different outcomes,” she said. “I hope that my win gives them hope and a chance that lets them know they can also have a successful path in life regardless of what they’ve experienced and what they’re going through.”
Enriquez will compete for the national title of Miss USA in November. If she wins, she will advance to the Miss Universe competition and would become only the second transgender woman to compete in the pageant. In 2018, Spain’s Angela Ponce made history and became the first transgender woman to compete at Miss Universe.
“I’d love to be the first Asian woman to win a title of Miss USA and the first trans woman,” said Enriquez. “I think that will be a great example for moving forward to create a better future in our country.”
“My win is visibility and representation of hope and an example to love and celebrate diversity and your differences,” she added. “We cannot wait to spread our colors on the Miss USA stage.”
At least two people are dead and several others are wounded after a driver of an SUV allegedly shot at several people Sunday in Tucson, Arizona, including multiple first responders.
The shootings unfolded at three locations where emergency personnel were responding to separate incidents.
Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the incident began as the Tucson Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 3:45 p.m. local time in the 2100 block of Irene Vista. At “pretty much” the same time, EMTs were responding to an unrelated medical emergency in a nearby park. That’s when, according to Magnus, a suspect got out of his silver SUV, approached the ambulance and opened fire, striking the driver in the head and the passenger in the arm and chest.
The 20-year-old EMT driver is in “extremely critical condition,” while the EMT in the passenger seat, a 21-year-old woman, is listed in stable condition.
Then, as firetrucks arrived to the call at the residence, neighbors were also at the scene trying to help.
That’s when the suspect “arrives on the scene and starts firing at both the fire department personnel and the neighbors,” Magnus said during a press briefing Sunday night.
At this point, firefighters called police to say they are being shot at. One fire captain was shot in the arm at the residence and is in good condition, while a neighbor died after being shot in the head, police said. A second neighbor was grazed by a bullet and is in good condition.
Then as a responding police officer arrives at the scene, he sees the suspect’s vehicle in the area. The SUV then rams the officer’s car, disabling it, Magnus said. The officer then exited the car and exchanged gunfire with the alleged suspect, striking him. The 35-year-old alleged suspect is in critical condition at a local hospital.
Magnus said making the incident more complex is the fact a dead body was found inside the burning residence. At this time, that victim’s identity is not known and police said they are unsure if that person’s death is directly related to the suspect.
Adding to the suspicions around these incidents, authorities said the whereabouts of “two or three” children “associated” with the burning residence are unknown. Anyone with information about these children, of which a description was not immediately available, was asked to call 911.
This is a “highly tragic, really horrific incident with many unknowns,” Magnus said Sunday night. The investigation, he said, will be “lengthy and complex.”
“I ask our entire Tucson community to join me in thinking about and praying for the victims of this afternoon’s fire and shooting by Silverlake Park, including first responders from AMR and the Tucson Fire Department. This was a horrific and senseless act of violence,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement Monday.
(SPRING, TX.) — A chemical spill at a water park in Texas sent dozens of people to the hospital, according to officials.
The incident began around 2:30 p.m. in a children’s pool at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring, Texas, when a lifeguard and several guests started to get sick, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters.
Children and their parents were experiencing “respiratory issues,” and 28 of them were transported to hospitals, the Harris County Fire Marshal’s office said.
After evacuating the park and conducting preliminary tests of the air and water, investigators found the water had a chemical combination of 35% sulfuric acid and 10-13% bleach, Scott Seifert, the chief of Spring Texas Fire, told reporters. The chemicals are commonly used to clean and treat swimming pools.
Over 65 people were contaminated by the substance, however, no one suffered any chemical burns, according to the fire marshall’s office. The affected persons were decontaminated.
The most serious case involved a 3-year-old child, and as of Sunday, that child was stable at Texas Children’s Hospital, according to Hidalgo.
“Everybody else was in the less urgent position,” she said. “Most people were feeling better afterward.”
A representative from the park said in a statement that it was closing Hurricane Harbor Splashtown indefinitely as they work with health officials to determine what caused the spill.
“The safety of our guests and team members is always our highest priority,” Rosie Shepard, a spokeswoman for the park, said in a statement.
The fire marshal said the last time the park had its fire and safety inspection was June 29 and the Harris County health department conducted health and safety inspections for commercial pools in April.
Hidalgo said that the park is supposed to have systems in place that track the pH level in the water and alert crews quickly, however, she reiterated that the city will make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“If you can have 60-plus people get sick, and your system doesn’t catch it … then clearly something is wrong with the system,” she said.
ABC News’ Timmy Truong contributed to this report.
(CANNES, France) — It was almost a strange sight; packed movie premieres and actors again walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival — maskless- — while throngs of photographers snapped away.
With going to the movies put on hold for more than a year, and the festival canceled last year due to the pandemic, even some of the stars were struck by what felt like a return to normal.
“I was a little overwhelmed last night, and I’m really glad that we’re here this year. Because I think we’ll all look back and remember launching out of COVID — and what a way to do it,” said actor Matt Damon, who teared up after the standing ovation he received at the premiere of his new film, “Stillwater.”
Beyond the glitz and glamour, the Cannes Film Festival is also home to the world’s biggest movie market, the Marché du Film. Set up inside the Palais des Festivals, a convention center behind the main theater where premieres are held, the marché is where thousands of directors, producers, sales agents and distributors from around the world try to get their movies made, bought, sold or distributed.
“The Marché du Film is really the business of film, we’re the less sexy and exciting part of the film festival,” said Monique White, senior vice president of distribution for California Pictures who’s been coming to Cannes for years.
This year, cinema’s power players were eager to get back to work, hoping the deals struck here will serve as evidence the business of film is also back. The industry took a massive hit during the pandemic — global theatrical revenue in the U.S. fell from $42.3 billion in 2019 to just $12 billion in 2020, according to the Motion Picture Association’s Annual Report — leaving film professionals scrambling to adjust.
Some argue perhaps the single biggest change was the streaming boom.
“COVID changed the way we watch anything now. Whether we’re watching on just the internet, on Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Hulu, whatever. We have more eyeballs on our computers and our phones,” said White.
While tensions between traditional theaters and streaming platforms had been growing for a while, the problem really came to a head during the pandemic, with the controversial online release of Universal Pictures’ “Trolls World Tour” movie in April 2020 marking the beginning of a new era and sending shockwaves through Hollywood.
AMC, the country’s largest cinema chain, responded by temporarily refusing to run Universal movies.
“There used to be more of a professional understanding that you would wait a period of time before you released,” said White. “But now it’s really subject to the production and the producer and how they want to release the film domestically.”
The feud between Universal and AMC was eventually resolved, but a number of other studios have since then followed suit. Disney, the parent company of ABC News, decided to release films like “Mulan” and “Luca” online, and WarnerMedia announced the company would release all of its 2021 films on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters.
The shift to digital has even prompted the Oscars to change their eligibility rules — whereas movies first had to be released in theaters to qualify for the awards competition, the Academy is now allowing movies released online to participate.
As a result, “Nomadland” which was released on Hulu, eventually won best picture, and Netflix won seven awards and 35 nominations, the most of any studio this year.
Recently announced Emmy nominations are reflecting a similar pattern with streaming services winning more nominations in 2021 than those of broadcast and cable combined.
The Cannes Film Festival, for its part, is maintaining requirements that a movie must first air in theaters to be able to qualify.
“Of course, the streaming companies exploded and they needed lot more product which is great because now they’re asking for more,” said Hernan Aguilar, a distributor focused on the Latin American market.
Aguilar said he sees an upside to the shift to streaming.
“In general it’s good this thing is happening, because cause more product is being asked for,” he said. “The demand is going up, so in that sense, that’s good.”
The change is causing a certain uneasiness in the industry, with some fearing streaming services could not only put theaters at risk, but also the likes of producers and distributors. A number of streaming platforms are now producing their own content, instead of buying films made by independent filmmakers.
It’s an issue that’s top of mind in Cannes this year.
“Cinema and screening platforms can coexist. At one time, there was a thinking that TV was going to kill cinema. This stuff is not new. It’s all cycle,” said director Spike Lee, president of the Cannes Film Festival jury this year.
Some argue studios won’t be able to continue bypassing theaters, as there’s just no substitute for box office revenue. The recently released blockbuster “F9” — released exclusively in theaters — raked in $70 million on opening weekend.
White predicts streaming services will eventually have to raise their prices.
“They’re all gonna go up. And before you know it, let’s say in the next couple of years, it’s gonna be like 20 bucks for Netflix, I’m sure. That’s not gonna be sustainable,” she said.
Aguilar thinks it’ll be the opposite.
“I think what’s gonna happen is there’s going to be more and more streaming platforms and with competition the prices will go down but I think it’s really not expensive at all right now compared to tickets in the cinema,” he said.
Another big question: will streaming change the type of content that’s being produced?
“Streaming is definitely … if you see the quality of the content you’re seeing, you’re seeing more lower quality in terms of the story or how things are done,” said Juan Pablo Cadaveira, producer and co-founder of Blue Productions.
It’s unclear what will happen next, but some are hopeful the end of the pandemic will mean a return to theaters, pointing out it was the Great Depression that inspired Hollywood’s Golden Age.
“I just think now though hopefully with things opening up, we’re gonna be less on [streaming platforms] than we were before. No one wants to be in a small apartment. They want to go out and see people and go to the movies,” said White.
“I think as people go to church for religion, you go to the cinema to watch a good film, but it’s true that for me people are going to do it less and less because it’s so much easier to watch a good film in your house,” said Aguilar.
(NEW YORK) — Four people have died and two people have been injured in a terrible single-vehicle accident that ended up splitting their car in half.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:24 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, in Hickory Hills, Illinois, when police say a car with six people inside ended up losing control and striking a tree, according to a report from ABC News’ Chicago station WLS-TV.
None of the victims involved in the accident have currently been identified but authorities told WLS that two people died on the scene and two people died after being taken to the hospital following the accident. The condition of the other two people have not yet been disclosed.
Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident but an eyewitness told WLS that the aftermath of the accident was shocking.
“I have never seen anything like it,” Joanna Proszek told WLS. “It was bad, tragic. I think they just, like, started flying because there is a hill. So I am thinking they just revved up the engine and they just flew into the tree.”
It is unclear if speed was a factor in the accident but authorities say that the investigation into what caused the crash is ongoing.
(NEW YORK) — Local officials have the right to reimplement mitigation strategies to stop the spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in cases fueled by the delta variant, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday.
“Unfortunately we’re seeing rises, particularly among the unvaccinated in many parts of the country now,” Murthy told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
Approximately 97% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. are among the unvaccinated and at least 58% of current reported cases were directly linked to the delta variant. At the end of May, the variant was estimated to account for just over 3% of new cases.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has for the last two months said that vaccinated individuals can enter public, indoor spaces without a mask. Amid a surge in cases, Los Angeles County reinstated its indoor mask mandate in all public places for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status and at least 10 additional counties in California, including the city of Berkeley, have highly recommended all residents wear masks indoors again.
“In areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, where cases are rising, it’s very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules coming out of LA,” Murthy continued. “And I anticipate that will happen in other parts of the country — and that’s not contradictory to the guidance the CDC issued.”
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis told Raddatz in a separate interview on “This Week,” that the new mask mandate was not punishment for the vaccinated, but prevention.
“We still have 4 million people out of 10 million that haven’t been vaccinated — and many of them are young people,” Solis told Raddatz. “And we’re seeing that this transmission is so highly contagious that it will cost more in the long run.”
Murthy reinforced his support for LA County’s decision as an acceptable mitigation approach based on data on the ground. The county reported over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases daily this past week.
“We saw this during the last year of the pandemic, that we have large numbers of people gathering in indoor spaces that is the right setup for COVID-19 to spread,” Murthy said, adding that the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention will provide surge response teams to assist regions experiencing high coronavirus cases.
Raddatz asked Murthy about the World Health Organization’s warning that the delta variant and three additional variants of concern could prolong the pandemic and possibly lead to the emergence of deadlier strains of COVID-19.
“If we don’t get this under control now, what do you anticipate the fall looking like?” Raddatz asked.
“I am deeply concerned,” Murthy responded. “We’ve made so much progress over this past year, but what I worry about are those that we still have — millions of people in our country who are not vaccinated.”
“We have to still protect our children under 12 who don’t have a vaccine available to them.” Murthy added. “Our kids depend on the people around them being protected, being vaccinated in order to shield them from the virus. And that’s why, again, it’s so important for us to get vaccinated.”
“We have to still protect our children under 12 who don’t have a vaccine available to them.” Murthy added. “Our kids depend on the people around them being protected, being vaccinated in order to shield them from the virus. And that’s why, again, it’s so important for us to get vaccinated.”
(NEW YORK) — Misinformation – false information spread regardless of intent – is rampant across popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Most speech, whether true or false, is protected under the U.S. legal system.
But questions about inaccurate information, spread maliciously or not, and its effects on many facets of our lives have led to efforts by social media platforms, fact-checkers and others to try to crack down.
The territory is murky and has ignited an intense debate as technology companies struggle to define the problem and attempt to get a handle on the flood of false and misleading information.
In the U.S., the situation came to a head during the 2020 presidential election cycle when social media platforms decided to fact-check and remove election-related statements from former President Donald Trump and ultimately decided to suspend or ban him in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol for tweets that ran counter to the company’s glorification of violence policy. Facebook later announced the suspension would be lifted in two years under certain conditions.
The move led to an outcry, largely from conservatives as well as civil libertarians about free speech and the rights of social media companies to regulate what has become what many consider the new public square.
Misinformation has become such a crisis, in fact, that the U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, recently issued a warning about false information surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. And President Biden Friday said it was “killing people,” a description Facebook took exception to.
Some governments, however, have taken steps to go even further, and there are fears of using the concept of misinformation broadly to target dissent.
In recent years, Singapore, for example, implemented a law that requires platforms to remove certain posts that go against “public interest” such as security threats or the public’s perception of the government.
Similarly, Russia can legally fine those who show “blatant disrespect” online toward the state.
India takes on misinformation
In February, India, the world’s largest democracy, implemented new rules to regulate online content, allowing the government to censor what it claims to be misinformation.
Under the rules, large social media companies must appoint Indian citizens to a compliance role, remove content within 36 hours of legal notice and also set up system to respond to complaints, according to Reuters.
These restrictions give the government more power, in some cases, to dictate what can and cannot be circulated on digital platforms in the country.
For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the COVID-19 variant “B.1.617,” now known as delta, was first detected in India last year.
According to Reuters, in May 2021, the Indian government sent a letter to social media companies demanding that all content that names or implies “India Variant,” as it became commonly (but not officially) known, be removed from platforms, calling that moniker “FALSE.”
In another case, late last year, farmers in India clashed with police over new laws that they believe will exploit their practices and reduce income while giving power to large corporations. In February, the Indian government issued an emergency order that demanded Twitter remove posts from the platform that used the hashtag “#farmergenocide.”
The government said in a statement that while India values the freedom of speech, expression “is not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions.”
A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News that when a valid legal request is received, it is reviewed under both Twitter Rules and local law. Should the content violate Twitter’s rules, it may be removed from the platform.
“If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only,” they continued. “In all cases, we notify the account holder directly so they’re aware that we’ve received a legal order pertaining to the account.”
Separately, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has sued the Indian government, which is looking to trace its users, who use encrypted messages. The government wants to have the ability to identify people who “credibly accused of wrong doing,” according to Reuters. Although the Indian government said it will respond to the lawsuit, it hasn’t done so yet.
Krishnesh Bapat, a legal fellow with the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), an Indian digital liberties organization that seeks to ensure technology respects fundamental rights, highlighted the implications of the WhatsApp case.
“This is one of the most problematic consequences of these rules,” Bapat said. “Several experts have suggested that the only way to implement this would be to remove encryption.”
End-to-end encryption is a key feature for WhatsApp users, as it protects private conversations from being accessed by any entity outside the chat. WhatsApp claims the new rules are unconstitutional and a clear breach to user privacy.
“India is a big cautionary tale for how we have to be really careful of the most well-intentioned regulatory power,” said David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). “We used to say, ‘well that’s not a threat to democratic societies.’ I don’t think we can say that anymore, India’s a democratic society.”
ABC News could not immediately reach the IT Ministry for comment.
Difficulty in regulating
Platforms rely heavily on users flagging potentially harmful posts that break community guidelines, and that self-regulatory model may be the best bet for the future of content regulation, Greene said, as opposed to government or institutional regulation.
Similarly, A Yale Law review published earlier this year explains that a self-regulatory model should be considered to combat the spread of misinformation in India. The review says that implementing such a model should “ensure that the ‘outcomes-based’ code is not vague or tilted to serve state interests, and does not incentivize platforms to adopt an overly heavy approach to removing content. The outcomes should be built around common objectives, and should provide flexibility for platforms to develop protocols and technological tools to achieve them.”
The New York State Bar Association recently suggested that government policy and oversight can be just as important as a self-regulatory model when dealing with misinformation. It also mentions that combatting misinformation is not solely for one entity to address, claiming that it will require corporations, governments, educators and journalists to work together in an effort to prevent the continued spread of harmful, inaccurate information.
“Most democratic legal systems have robust free speech,” Greene said. “We find a lot of protection for false statements, and this is supposed to protect people because mistakes are inevitable. False statements have to actually cause a specific and direct harm before they’re actionable.”
This means that there must be a clear intent of defamation, written or spoken, in order for legal action to be taken, which is historically difficult to prove. In the U.S., libel laws in particular differ state to state, which adds an extra layer of complexity to any attempt at content regulation.
Greene also suggested that given the difficulty in casting information as verifiably false as well as the overwhelming number of posts that need to be reviewed, it’s nearly impossible for platforms to regulate content well.
In February 2018, the first Content Moderation & Removal at Scale conference was hosted by the Santa Clara University High Tech Law Institute. Experts and advocates gathered to “explore how internet companies operationalize the moderation and removal” of user-generated content. They developed what’s now known as the Santa Clara Principles.
The model, which is endorsed by EFF among other notable groups, provides three guiding principles for content moderators – being transparent about the numbers of people permanently suspended or banned, proper notice and reason for doing so and a “meaningful” appeals process.
Greene says that the Santa Clara Principles can be utilized as a guideline for companies in an effort to preserve basic human rights in content moderation. Alternatively, regulation that involves prescreening or filtering posts can have serious human rights implications, but although a post may include false information that contains offensive language appearing to hurt certain people or groups, it’s usually not illegal.
“By mandating filters, users are subjected to automated decision making and potentially harmful profiling,” Greene explained. “This has a chilling effect on speech and undermines the freedom to receive impartial information. When knowing to be censored, users change behavior or abstain from communicating freely.”
