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Tuesday, April 23, 2024 6:12:25 PM
41 states warn Meta to deal with increase in hacked accounts
"Meta more Aussie hassle -- eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta
to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing
"Google must face video ad company's antitrust lawsuit, judge rules"
New York attorney general's office said there has been a 1,000 percent increase
in hacking complaints in Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram
By Molly Burke
March 6, 2024
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general on Wednesday in calling on Meta to take
action against account takeover scams. Social media users have reported an increase in hacked accounts on platforms
that include Facebook and Instagram. Will Waldron/Times Union
ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James and 40 other attorneys general sent a letter this week to Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, urging the company to reexamine its security measures after a recent increase in account takeovers.
The takeovers — which involve a scammer hacking someone’s social media account and changing the password — have been increasingly reported nationwide, with the New York attorney general’s office receiving 128 reports in January from individuals who had someone gain control of their private account.
Other states also have received similar reports as social media users have “struggled to receive help from Meta,” according to the New York attorney general's office. Between 2019 and 2023, the reports increased by 1,000 percent. Internet-related consumer complaints were the fifth-most common category of reports .. https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/price-gouging-lost-rental-deposits-top-ny-18703222.php .. made to the attorney general's office in 2023.
Having your social media account taken over by a scammer can feel like having someone sneak into your home and change all of the locks,” James said in a statement.
Scammers are able to steal a user’s personal information once they control their account, including viewing any private messages. The scam often involves a perpetrator posing as the original account owner to post messages publicly or communicate with their contacts through a social media platform, giving the hackers access to additional potential targets.
The scams are not new to the social media scene, but there has been a “dramatic increase” in frequency, according to the attorney general's office.
The office noted that social media platforms allow many users to keep in touch with family and friends, and they called on Meta to take action in reviewing their data security practices.
“To have Meta fail to properly protect users from scammers trying to hijack accounts and lock rightful owners out is unacceptable,” James said in a statement. “I thank my fellow attorneys general for joining me to call on Meta to take commonsense user protection measures and dedicate more of their resources to respond to this threat.”
The letter recommended that Meta increase staffing to respond to users’ complaints of account takeovers and invest in mitigation tactics against the scam. The attorneys general also called on the social media company to adopt new procedures for users to protect their accounts from hackers.
The letter also urges Meta to take enforcement actions against scammers and to respond to the issue “more seriously.”
“Scammers use every platform available to them and constantly adapt to evade enforcement. We invest heavily in our trained enforcement and review teams and have specialized detection tools to identify compromised accounts and other fraudulent activity,” Erin McPike, a spokeswoman for Meta, said in a statement. “We regularly share tips and tools people can use to protect themselves, provide a means to report potential violations, work with law enforcement and take legal action.”
If a social media user is experiencing an account takeover, the attorney general’s office recommends they report the issue to Meta and go to the social media platform’s help page.
The other attorneys general who signed the letter, which received bipartisan support, are from: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
James previously joined with 32 other attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta in October .. https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/dozens-states-sue-facebook-instagram-harming-18444534.php .. alleging the social media company’s “addictive” platforms have had a role in the nation’s youth mental health crisis.
“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” James said in a statement at the time. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Meta is “routinely” collecting data from users who are 13 or younger without informing parents, in violation of federal law. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act prevents this collection of data without parental consent.
James has also joined Gov. Kathy Hochul in supporting legislation co-sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic that would limit New York children’s access to “addictive” social media feeds .. https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/new-york-proposes-limiting-addictive-social-18419652.php .. , ban middle-of-the-night notifications and kick kids offline if they spend too much time scrolling.
The “Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act” would apply to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube, as well as any other social media sites that collect data from users and then use that data to recommend material to the user. The bill is pending in the Senate Internet and Technology Committee.
Molly Burke is a Hearst fellow covering state politics for the Times Union. She is from Davis, Calif., and previously covered breaking news for the Sacramento Bee and the Denver Post. She previously worked as a data reporter for the Bay City News through the Dow Jones News Fund. Molly graduated from Northwestern University in 2023 with a major in journalism. Reach Molly at Molly.Burke@hearst.com.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/41-states-warn-meta-deal-increase-hacked-accounts-18705956.php
"Meta more Aussie hassle -- eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta
to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing
"Google must face video ad company's antitrust lawsuit, judge rules"
New York attorney general's office said there has been a 1,000 percent increase
in hacking complaints in Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram
By Molly Burke
March 6, 2024
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general on Wednesday in calling on Meta to take
action against account takeover scams. Social media users have reported an increase in hacked accounts on platforms
that include Facebook and Instagram. Will Waldron/Times Union
ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James and 40 other attorneys general sent a letter this week to Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, urging the company to reexamine its security measures after a recent increase in account takeovers.
The takeovers — which involve a scammer hacking someone’s social media account and changing the password — have been increasingly reported nationwide, with the New York attorney general’s office receiving 128 reports in January from individuals who had someone gain control of their private account.
Other states also have received similar reports as social media users have “struggled to receive help from Meta,” according to the New York attorney general's office. Between 2019 and 2023, the reports increased by 1,000 percent. Internet-related consumer complaints were the fifth-most common category of reports .. https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/price-gouging-lost-rental-deposits-top-ny-18703222.php .. made to the attorney general's office in 2023.
Having your social media account taken over by a scammer can feel like having someone sneak into your home and change all of the locks,” James said in a statement.
Scammers are able to steal a user’s personal information once they control their account, including viewing any private messages. The scam often involves a perpetrator posing as the original account owner to post messages publicly or communicate with their contacts through a social media platform, giving the hackers access to additional potential targets.
The scams are not new to the social media scene, but there has been a “dramatic increase” in frequency, according to the attorney general's office.
The office noted that social media platforms allow many users to keep in touch with family and friends, and they called on Meta to take action in reviewing their data security practices.
“To have Meta fail to properly protect users from scammers trying to hijack accounts and lock rightful owners out is unacceptable,” James said in a statement. “I thank my fellow attorneys general for joining me to call on Meta to take commonsense user protection measures and dedicate more of their resources to respond to this threat.”
The letter recommended that Meta increase staffing to respond to users’ complaints of account takeovers and invest in mitigation tactics against the scam. The attorneys general also called on the social media company to adopt new procedures for users to protect their accounts from hackers.
The letter also urges Meta to take enforcement actions against scammers and to respond to the issue “more seriously.”
“Scammers use every platform available to them and constantly adapt to evade enforcement. We invest heavily in our trained enforcement and review teams and have specialized detection tools to identify compromised accounts and other fraudulent activity,” Erin McPike, a spokeswoman for Meta, said in a statement. “We regularly share tips and tools people can use to protect themselves, provide a means to report potential violations, work with law enforcement and take legal action.”
If a social media user is experiencing an account takeover, the attorney general’s office recommends they report the issue to Meta and go to the social media platform’s help page.
The other attorneys general who signed the letter, which received bipartisan support, are from: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
James previously joined with 32 other attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta in October .. https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/dozens-states-sue-facebook-instagram-harming-18444534.php .. alleging the social media company’s “addictive” platforms have had a role in the nation’s youth mental health crisis.
“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” James said in a statement at the time. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Meta is “routinely” collecting data from users who are 13 or younger without informing parents, in violation of federal law. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act prevents this collection of data without parental consent.
James has also joined Gov. Kathy Hochul in supporting legislation co-sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic that would limit New York children’s access to “addictive” social media feeds .. https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/new-york-proposes-limiting-addictive-social-18419652.php .. , ban middle-of-the-night notifications and kick kids offline if they spend too much time scrolling.
The “Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act” would apply to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube, as well as any other social media sites that collect data from users and then use that data to recommend material to the user. The bill is pending in the Senate Internet and Technology Committee.
Molly Burke is a Hearst fellow covering state politics for the Times Union. She is from Davis, Calif., and previously covered breaking news for the Sacramento Bee and the Denver Post. She previously worked as a data reporter for the Bay City News through the Dow Jones News Fund. Molly graduated from Northwestern University in 2023 with a major in journalism. Reach Molly at Molly.Burke@hearst.com.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/41-states-warn-meta-deal-increase-hacked-accounts-18705956.php
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