social media – Page 19 – Hellbound and Down

Indonesian Government Restores TikTok’s License After Platform Shares User Data

TikTok has handed over a broad collection of user data to Indonesian authorities, a move that cleared the way for the platform’s operations to resume in the country after a brief suspension.

The company acted under pressure from regulators following its failure to cooperate during a volatile stretch of anti-government demonstrations in late August.

According to government officials, the data shared included analytics on traffic behavior and signs of potential online gambling.

The request was triggered by a surge in livestream activity tied to the protests, which erupted after public anger over political perks collided with the fatal police killing of a motorcycle delivery driver.

Currently owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok is deeply embedded in Indonesia’s digital life, with over 100 million users and a rapidly growing e-commerce arm.

Authorities revoked its license last week after the platform did not supply information about user activity during the period from August 25 to 30. Police reported that some TikTok users live-streamed protest scenes and used the broadcasts to solicit digital gifts or payments from viewers.

On Monday, officials confirmed that TikTok submitted data showing the number of such livestreams and how much money they generated.

Alexander Sabar, a director general at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, said in a written message, and as reported by Bloomberg: “The summary data provided is aggregate data, not specific to a particular user, and therefore cannot be used to track or monitor individuals — including accounts broadcasting demonstrations.”

He said the ministry’s primary interest was in activity tied to online gambling and other prohibited uses of the platform.

Technology companies around the world are often cautious when responding to government data requests.

Firms such as Meta and Google typically weigh these demands against potential backlash from users and the risk of exposing proprietary systems.

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Leaked docs expose billionaire network funding pro-Israel ‘digital militias’

Leaked files published by The Grayzone on 6 October show that Israeli officials enlisted US billionaires to bankroll covert “digital militias” run by former intelligence operatives, tasked with undermining and monitoring pro-Palestinian activism across the US.

The Grayzone reported that the plan, code-named “12 Tribes,” was spearheaded by former Israeli army chief and defense minister Benny Gantz.

He was tasked with recruiting western financiers, among them technology magnate Larry Ellison and his son David, now owner of Paramount and CBS News.

The documents reveal a campaign designed to recruit “an exclusive group of the 12 most influential Jewish philanthropists, symbolizing the 12 Jewish tribes; Israel’s government shall act as a 13^th, facilitating ‘tribe.’”

Internal planning papers from Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies described the 12 Tribes as “a non-hierarchical mothership, working for the people and the state” of Israel.

Organizers stressed the need to conceal official involvement.

“Government money is also a political constraint,” one planner wrote, while another added, “In the jungle, we need more guerrillas and less IDF.”

The files also identify other billionaires solicited to fund the operation, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, media mogul Haim Saban, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Westfield Group co-founder Frank Lowy.

Contributors were expected to donate $1 million each to a fund directed by the Israeli government to underwrite surveillance firms such as Black Cube, which planned to use “state-of-the-art cyber technology” against the BDS movement.

After his reported involvement with Israeli officials, David Ellison acquired Paramount Global and installed self-described “Zionist fanatic” Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Larry Ellison’s Oracle, alongside Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, is set to hold a controlling stake in TikTok’s new US entity under a deal backed by Donald Trump.

Oracle will manage user data from Texas, giving Ellison – already named in the 12 Tribes Israeli influence scheme – a powerful position over one of the most influential social platforms, further tightening the overlap between pro-Israel corporate power and US social media infrastructure.

Israel has also contracted US firms to shape online narratives in its favor, including a $6-million deal with Brad Parscale’s Clock Tower X LLC to “train ChatGPT” toward pro-Israel messaging and flood Gen Z social media feeds with state propaganda.

The plan integrates content across TikTok, YouTube, and conservative Christian outlets while Google runs a separate $45-million campaign for Netanyahu’s office to deny famine in Gaza.

Despite these efforts, new US polls show record declines in public support for Israel, especially among young adults.

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California’s Vague ‘Hate Speech’ Bill Would Force Big Tech To Censor Mainstream Conservative Views

alifornia lawmakers are once again leading the charge — not toward progress, but toward repression. Their latest move, Senate Bill 771 (SB-771), is being packaged as a bold stand against “hate” on social media. In reality, it’s a direct assault on the free expression and constitutionally protected speech of ministries, minority groups, and faith-based organizations.

The bill would force Big Tech to remove content that could be interpreted as “harassment” or “intimidation” based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more — or face financially devastating lawsuits.

If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs this bill into law as expected, it will become one of the most dangerous speech-restricting laws in the country. Cloaked in the language of civil rights, SB-771 is built to punish dissent from progressive orthodoxy.

The target is anyone who dares to speak publicly about values or perspectives that conflict with the state’s ever-expanding list of protected identities. In practice, this means community groups sharing discussions on traditional family structures, cultural views on gender roles, or advocacy for certain social issues may find themselves silenced — not by law enforcement, but by tech giants eager to avoid legal risk.

The bills says:

California law prohibits all persons and entities, including corporations, from engaging in, aiding, abetting, or conspiring to commit acts of violence, intimidation, or coercion based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, or other protected characteristics.

3273.73. (a) A social media platform that violates Section 51.7, 51.9, 52, or 52.1 through its algorithms that relay content to users or aids, abets, acts in concert, or conspires in a violation of any of those sections, or is a joint tortfeasor in a violation of any of those sections, shall, in addition to any other remedy, be liable to a prevailing plaintiff for a civil penalty for each violation sufficient to deter future violations but not to exceed the following:

(1) For an intentional, knowing, or willful violation, a civil penalty of up to one million dollars

(2) For a reckless violation, a civil penalty of up to five hundred thousand dollars.

This language may appear just, but its sweeping terms — “intimidation,” “coercion,” even “aiding” — are dangerously vague. In the hands of ideologically motivated actors, they can be weaponized to silence constitutionally protected discourse under the guise of enforcing civil rights.

That’s the chilling brilliance of SB-771: it outsources censorship to the private sector under threat of state-enforced financial ruin. The law doesn’t need to directly ban speech — it just makes the cost of hosting it too high for Big Tech to tolerate. This will especially impact small ministries, minority-led organizations, and faith-based nonprofits with limited legal or technical resources. For them, one flagged post — perhaps a cultural reference taken out of context — could mean being shadow-banned or deplatformed altogether.

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Tunisian Man Sentenced to Death for Facebook Posts Critical of President Kais Saied

A Tunisian court has handed down a death sentence to a man accused of posting critical remarks about President Kais Saied on Facebook, a decision that has sent shockwaves through the country’s already tense political climate.

Lawyer Oussama Bouthalja confirmed that 56-year-old day laborer Saber Chouchane was convicted over social media posts that mocked and denounced the president.

“The judge in the Nabeul court sentenced the man to death over Facebook posts. It is a shocking and unprecedented ruling,” Bouthalja said, describing the decision as both extraordinary and alarming.

Chouchane, who has little formal education, was arrested last year after running a Facebook page titled “Kaïs le misérable” (“Kaïs the Miserable”), a name openly deriding President Saied.

Reuters reported his online activity included satirical cartoons, posts urging protests, and messages that prosecutors described as attempts to “overthrow the state.”

Authorities accused him of spreading “false news” and “insulting the president,” charges that rights advocates argue are being used to silence dissent.

An appeal has been filed, according to Bouthalja, but Tunisia’s justice ministry has not commented on the case.

Although courts in Tunisia sometimes issue death sentences, no executions have been carried out for over 30 years.

Family members expressed disbelief and anguish following the ruling. “We can’t believe it,” said Jamal Chouchane, Saber’s brother. “We are a family suffering from poverty, and now oppression and injustice have been added to poverty.”

The verdict ignited a wave of outrage online, as Tunisians flooded social media with messages of disbelief and defiance.

Many see the ruling as a blatant attempt to intimidate government opponents and restrict free expression even further.

Opposition figures have been jailed on a range of charges, while rights organizations, including the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the CRLDHT, warn that the justice system is being weaponized to punish dissent.

The absence of transparency surrounding Chouchane’s posts has also drawn attention. Authorities have not released screenshots or transcripts, a move many view as an attempt to suppress the very content that challenged the government.

For Tunisians who once celebrated the country’s post-revolution commitment to free speech, this is a chilling new chapter.

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Signal Threatens to Exit Europe Over EU Push for Messaging App Scanning Law

Signal is warning it will walk away from Europe rather than participate in what privacy defenders describe as one of the most dangerous surveillance schemes ever proposed by the EU.

Lawmakers in Brussels are pressing for a law that would compel messaging apps to break their own security by installing scanning systems inside private communications.

Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, said the company will never compromise on encryption to satisfy government demands.

“Unfortunately, if we were given the choice of either undermining the integrity of our encryption and our data protection guarantees or leaving Europe, we would make the decision to leave the market,” she told the dpa news agency.

The draft legislation is framed as a child protection measure, but would require all major messengers, from WhatsApp to Signal to Telegram, to monitor every message before it is encrypted.

This would eliminate true private communication in Europe and create tools that could be abused for mass surveillance.

Privacy advocates have repeatedly warned that once a backdoor exists, there is no way to restrict who uses it or for what purpose.

Whittaker was clear about the stakes. “It guarantees the privacy of millions upon millions of people around the world, often in life-threatening situations as well.”

She added that Signal refuses to enable chat control because “it’s unfortunate that politicians continue to fall prey to a kind of magical thinking that assumes you can create a backdoor that only the good have access to.”

Any such system, she argued, would make everyone less safe.

The European Parliament already rejected the scanning mandate with a strong cross-party majority, recognizing the threat it poses to basic rights.

But within the Council of Member States, the push for chat control remains alive. Denmark’s presidency could renew momentum for the proposal, even though countries like Germany have so far resisted.

Germany’s position is pivotal. The coalition agreement of its current government promises to defend “the confidentiality of private communications and anonymity online.”

Yet the inclusion of the phrase “in principle” raises alarms, suggesting exceptions could open the door to backdoors in messaging apps.

If Germany wavers, Europe could be on the verge of losing secure communication altogether.

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X Urges EU to Reject “Chat Control 2.0” Surveillance Law Threatening End-to-End Encryption

X is urging European governments to reject a major surveillance proposal that the company warns would strip EU citizens of core privacy rights.

In a public statement ahead of a key Council vote scheduled for October 14, the platform called on member states to “vigorously oppose measures to normalize surveillance of its citizens,” condemning the proposed regulation as a direct threat to end-to-end encryption and private communication.

The draft legislation, widely referred to as “Chat Control 2.0,” would require providers of messaging and cloud services to scan users’ content, including messages, photos, and links, for signs of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Central to the proposal is “client-side scanning” (CSS), a method that inspects content directly on a user’s device before it is encrypted.

X stated plainly that it cannot support any policy that would force the creation of “de facto backdoors for government snooping,” even as it reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to fighting child exploitation.

The company has invested heavily in detection and removal systems, but draws a clear line at measures that dismantle secure encryption for everyone.

Privacy experts, researchers, and technologists across Europe have echoed these warnings.

By mandating that scans occur before encryption is applied, the regulation would effectively neutralize end-to-end encryption, opening private conversations to potential access not only by providers but also by governments and malicious third parties.

The implications reach far beyond targeted investigations. Once CSS is implemented, any digital platform subject to the regulation would be forced to scrutinize every message and file sent by its users.

This approach could also override legal protections enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, specifically Articles 7 and 8, which safeguard privacy and the protection of personal data.

A coalition of scientists issued a public letter warning that detection tools of this kind are technically flawed and unreliable at scale.

High error rates could lead to false accusations against innocent users, while actual abuse material could evade detection.

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New York Imposes Law Forcing Social Media to Justify Speech Policies to State Authorities

Social media companies operating in New York are now under fresh legal obligations as the state enforces the so-called “Stop Hiding Hate Act,” a new compelled speech law that forces platforms with annual revenues exceeding $100 million to hand over detailed reports on how they handle various forms of speech, including speech that is legally protected under the First Amendment.

The legislation went into effect on October 1 and has already triggered a constitutional showdown in court.

The law, officially Senate Bill S895B, demands biannual disclosures to the state Attorney General’s office.

These reports must outline how platforms define terms such as “hate speech,” “misinformation,” “harassment,” “disinformation,” and “extremism.”

Companies are also required to explain what moderation practices they apply to those categories and to provide specifics about actions taken against users and content.

Platforms that fail to comply face penalties of up to $15,000 per violation, per day. Injunctive action can also be taken against non-compliant entities.

Attorney General Letitia James declared that the law is about transparency and oversight.

“With violence and polarization on the rise, social media companies must ensure that their platforms don’t fuel hateful rhetoric and disinformation,” she said in a public statement, reinforcing her view that private companies should be accountable to the state for how they manage user expression.

“The Stop Hiding Hate Act requires social media companies to share their content moderation policies publicly and with my office to ensure that these companies are more transparent about how they are addressing harmful content on their platforms.”

Governor Kathy Hochul voiced similar sentiments, saying the legislation “builds on our efforts to improve safety online and marks an important step to increase transparency and accountability.”

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