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Facebook once again tightens requirements for US political advertisers
Facebook is bracing itself for the 2020 US election by further toughening its requirements for political ads. The social network now requires more information from advertisers before it approves their disclaimers, including a tax-registered organization ID number, a Federal Election Commission ID number and a government website domain (either .gov or .mil). If they're a local politician or business that wants to run ads for social issues, they'll have to provide verifiable address, contact and website info or else accept that they can't use a registered organization's name in disclaimers.
US officials brace for ransomware attacks against election systems
It's no secret that many American officials are worried about hacks targeting the 2020 election, but there's one fear this time around that wasn't present in 2016: ransomware. Reuters has learned that Homeland Security's Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is worried election databases could be targeted by the same kind of ransomware attacks that have plagued cities like Atlanta and Baltimore. Accordingly, it's teaming with election officials and relevant companies to both safeguard their databases and prepare responses for possible attacks.
Kamala Harris sees Facebook as a 'utility' that might need breaking up
Senator Elizabeth Warren isn't the only major presidential candidate eyeing the possibility of breaking up Facebook. Fellow Senator Kamala Harris stated in a CNN interview that she believed the US should "seriously take a look" at splitting the social network. It's effectively an unregulated "utility," she argued -- when "very few people can get by" without using Facebook in some capacity, you have to treat it more like a vital service.
