The Daily Populous

Monday May 22nd, 2023 evening edition

image for Meta hit with record-breaking $1.3 billion fine over Facebook data transfers to the US

Meta has been hit with a record-breaking $1.3 billion fine (€1.2 billion) by EU data regulators, and ordered to stop transferring the Facebook data of EU citizens to the US.

The fine exceeds the previous EU record of €746 million levied against Amazon in 2021 for similar privacy violations.

Transferring data to the US is critical for Meta’s vast ad-targeting operation, which relies on processing multiple streams of personal data from its users.

“Meta cannot just blackmail the EU into giving up its data protection standards,” replied EU lawmaker Axel Voss to the news.

Although Meta has now been ordered to stop these data transfers, there are a number of caveats that benefit the US social media giant.

First, the ruling only applies to data from Facebook, not other Meta companies like Instagram and WhatsApp.

“Unless US surveillance laws gets fixed, Meta will likely have to keep EU data in the EU. »

Dianne Feinstein Resign Calls Grow Louder From Democrats: 'We Need Change'

Authored by newsweek.com
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Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips has renewed his calls for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign from office amid continuing concerns about her mental and physical well-being.

Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips has once again called for the 89-year-old to resign for the good of the country.

Khanna also renewed his calls for Feinstein to step down after news of her encephalitis and Ramsay Hunt syndrome diagnosis. »

White supremacists sentenced for plan to attack US electric substations

Authored by jpost.com

Two men were sentenced on Friday for conspiring to attack US electric substations in a plot motivated by white supremacy and intended to sow civil unrest and economic distress, the US Justice Department said.

How did they plan to attack the electric substations?.

Their plan was to attack substations with powerful rifles, which they believed would result in millions of dollars in damages while causing civil unrest, the department said. »