News Roundup from the Cyber Policy Center | March 2022

News Roundup from the Cyber Policy Center | March 2022

News, highlights, publications, events and opportunities from our programs and scholars

On Thursday April 21st, the Cyber Policy Center (CPC) and the Obama Foundation will co-host Challenges to Democracy in the Digital Information Realm. The all-day event will bring together experts from around the world, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council and current Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator Eileen Donahoe, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson, Substack Co-founder and CEO Chris Best, International Policy Director at the CPC and former member of the European Parliament Marietje Schaake, Research Manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory Renée DiResta, along with other researchers and industry professionals in the field.

The event will include three panel discussions and a keynote by President Barack Obama. Both the panels and the keynote will be livestreamed.

Renée DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) spoke with NPR for That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake, a look at a chance message that spurred an investigation that uncovered more than 1,000 LinkedIn profiles using faces created by artificial intelligence.

Riana Pfefferkorn of SIO spoke with CNN for Why WhatsApp wants to convince Americans to stop sending text messages.

Eileen Donahoe of the Global Digital Policy Incubator (GDPi) spoke with TechCrunch for Digital diplomacy gets a reboot, and to the New York Times for In Brazil, Firms Sought Black Workers. Then LinkedIn Got Involved.

Charles Mok of GDPi authored China’s Choice for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Reveals Its Own Insecurity for The Diplomat.

Alex Stamos of SIO talked with the Washington Post for China is Russia’s most powerful weapon for information warfare on how despite tech giants and governments crippling Russian state media, Chinese outlets are pushing the same talking points.

Stanford News published What Stanford research reveals about disinformation and how to address it, highlighting the work and expertise of Eileen Donahoe.

Andy Grotto of the Program on Geopolitics, Technology and Governance (GTG), hosted Cybersecurity Law: A View from the Front Lines a panel discussion on recent developments in cybersecurity law with Travis LeBlanc, Alicia Lowery Rosenbaum, and Jim Dempsey, senior policy advisor for GTG.

Jim Dempsey authored Key data security insights from FTC CafePress settlement for International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Marietje Schaake authored Privacy concerns should not block EU’s attempts to curb big tech power for the Financial Times.

Alex Stamos of SIO spoke with Wired for This Is How Twitter’s Edit Button Can Actually Work, and to The Verge for Security experts say new EU rules will damage WhatsApp encryption.

Daphne Keller of the Program on Platform Regulation (PPR) spoke with Bloomberg for The Future of Twitter With Musk on Board.

On September 29th and 30th, the Stanford Internet Observatory and the Trust and Safety Foundation will host a two-day conference focusing on cutting-edge research in trust and safety for those in academia, industry, civil society and government. Those interested in presenting or attending must apply by May 31st

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Blogs

Final Projects from the Stanford Internet Observatory's Online Open Source Investigation Course

Research on inauthentic behavior on TikTok, misinformation on Stanford's campus, Telegram activity in Belarus, health insurance scams that run advertisements on Google, and QAnon content on Tumblr.
cover link Final Projects from the Stanford Internet Observatory's Online Open Source Investigation Course
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News

New Report Provides Inside Look and Lessons from Monitoring COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Narratives

The Virality Project final report finds recycled anti-vaccine narratives and viral content driven by recurring actors.
cover link New Report Provides Inside Look and Lessons from Monitoring COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Narratives
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Blogs

Accessibility for Trust and Safety Flows

How well do platform reporting flows and context labels work with screen readers for the visually impaired?
cover link Accessibility for Trust and Safety Flows