WASHINGTON When the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism released screenshots of Twitter locking several accounts that displayed the Star of David which could be unlocked if users removed the hateful imagery Twitter admitted it had made a mistake.

We categorically do not consider the Star of David as a hateful symbol or hateful image, the social media giant tweeted on July 22.

In two tweets that followed news reports, Twitter explained, We have for some time seen the yellow star or yellow badge being used by those seeking to target Jewish people. While the majority of cases were correctly actioned, some accounts highlighted recently were mistakes and have now been restored.

Meanwhile, in Henderson, Parler, a start-up platform pronounced like the word for a sitting room in a bygone era, acted on the truism that when one door closes, another opens.

Aware that critics allege Twitter exercises a heavy hand censoring Jewish users, which Twitter denies, Parler sent out a news release with links to stories about the locked accounts under the heading, Anti-Semitism at Twitter?

The release included a statement by Parler strategic investor Jeffrey Wernick, who said that for him, as a Jew, the Star of David symbolizes my love for Judaism, which does not conflict in any way with my love for my nation and my love for humanity. To designate it, if the allegations are true, as a hateful image, is not only an act of hate, but also likely libelous and slanderous.

Alternative to Twitter

Parler, with its nearly 3 million users signing on since its start in 2018, offers an outside-Silicon Valley alternative for conservatives and activists who feel targeted by Twitter policies to check hate speech and inaccuracies.

Its a suspicion shared by President Donald Trump, who this year found himself on the receiving end of Twitter warnings and fact-checking.

On its homepage, Parler bills itself as an unbiased social platform focused on open dialogue and user engagement. We allow free speech and do not censor ideas, political parties or ideologies. When a reporter created an account, Parler displayed the accounts of famous customers, including a Trump son, GOP members of Congress and Fox News personalities.

Ubiquitous Fox News figure Dan Bongino not only joined Parler, he took an ownership stake in the platform, which he dubs the hottest social media alternative in the market right now. Bongino frequently pops up on where else? Twitter to tell followers to ditch the tech tyrants and sign up with Parler.

Roger Stone, the one-time Trump whisperer, convicted felon and presidential commutation recipient, has an account. Ditto Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and second son Eric Trump.

Parler CEO John Matze recently told C-SPAN that the platforms requirement that users submit a phone number and limits the number of bot accounts and restricts users to one handle, which should cut down on social-media mischief. In an apparent homage to Twitter CEO Jack Dorseys Twitter handle, @Jack, Matze signs on as @John.

Matze says his platform welcomes users from all political persuasions. Some liberals have complained that they tried to join Parler, if only to spar with Trump voters, only to find themselves kicked off. Matze told C-SPAN that his platform has blocked users who posted pornography or images of fecal matter.

Otherwise, Matze said, Parler tries to stay out of ideological pursuits. Weve had these censorship platforms for ten years now, he told C-SPAN, and Id say the countrys only gotten more divided.

Wernick said that he invested in Parler because, I felt that we were going to lose free speech rights in the country. As for Parlers conservative bent, he observed, I like to say, its not a conservative platform by design. Its a conservative platform by consequence.

Anti-Semitism or no?

Wernick told the Review-Journal he did not know for certain that Twitter showed bad faith in locking the Star of David accounts reported by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, but he said he is sure Twitter has a double standard that shortchanges Jewish expression.

Campaign Against anti-Semitism Director of Investigations Stephen Silverman didnt buy Twitters explanation. Only one of the accounts locked featured a yellow star, and it very clearly did so as a means of reclaiming the yellow stars used by the Nazis, Silverman said. This is precisely the kind of inept response to anti-Semitism that we have come to expect from Twitter, which just last week tried to convince us that the viral anti-Semitic #JewishPrivilege hashtag was legitimate.

Silverman was referring to an anti-Semitic hashtag campaign which some Jewish users slyly turned into an opportunity to discuss hardships their families had endured.

It seems that Twitter prefers to go after Jewish users who proudly display their identity but not after anti-Semitic users who unabashedly promote anti-Jewish vitriol, Silverman concluded.

In 2018, the Anti-Defamation League found an estimated 4.2 million tweets with anti-Semitic expressions, stereotypes, code words, symbols and conspiracy theories within the previous year.

Boston University Professor Marshall Van Alstyne, who specializes in communications markets, laid out a scenario where Twitter, which claims 330 million active users, could have made an honest mistake made by a programmer that did not anticipate the consequences of picking up patterns.

Purveyors of hate speech might have exhibited a pattern of sharing this content independent of honest, noble and caring citizens also sharing this content, Van Alstyne explained. One was bad, the other was good, and the machine that flagged it wasnt smart enough to distinguish the two. By contrast, if a human made the decision to flag it, then I would be seriously concerned.

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, sees a pattern of Twitter accounts that remain active despite a history of anti-Semitic remarks, including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who tweeted that congressional support for Israel was all about the Benjamins.

Cancel culture fight

The fact that they find that people who want to showcase the Star of David in terms of their Jewish heritage and pride as hate speech is ridiculous and its really a crystal ball into the future where if this cancel culture and political correctness run amok is allowed to continue, Brooks said.

For that reason, Brooks added, 2020 will be a contest that pits the right against the progressive left who want to cancel everything and take down the Star of David and take down statues of (George) Washington and Mount Rushmore.

Brooks has been a key player in Trumps effort to increase his share of the Jewish vote which was 24 percent in 2016 even though Jewish support for Republicans fell to 17 percent in 2018.

Will Parler be an influencer in November? Van Alstyne thinks not. For one thing, Parler is just too small with less than four months to go.

And he wonders if Parler eventually could fall into the same trap that ensnared Twitter, which once considered itself the free speech wing of the free speech party.

Its not clear Parler can yet draw the line for less censorship that doesnt cross the line for no censorship when Twitter already tried that. In the future, maybe theyll find a way but in time for the current election, I dont think so.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Adelson is on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.

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Conservative alternative to Twitter based in Henderson - Las Vegas Review-Journal

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The relentless pressure on TikTok ramped up further this week, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again claiming user data is sent to to China. Its not possible to have your personal information flow across a Chinese server, he warned during a British media interview, suggesting that data would end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, which he characterized as an evil empire. TikTok is firmly in the sights of the Trump administration, and theyre not letting up.

But now, as TikTok continues to deny U.S. accusations of data mishandling, of it bowing to pressure from Beijing, a new report from the cyber experts at ProtonMail has called those denials into question. Beware, it warns, the social media giant not only collects troves of personal data on you, but also cooperates with the CCP, extending Chinas surveillance and censorship reach beyond its borders.

TikToks world is now dominated by speculation as to whether the U.S. will find some way to ban the app, cutting access to tens of millions of American users and calling a halt to TikToks soaraway growth. The week had started with confirmation of a ban on federal employees installing the app on government-issued devices, seen by many as a precursor to some form of wider action by the Trump administration. We also now know how such a ban would operateTikTok would be added to a Commerce Department entity list, in the same way Huawei has been sanctioned.

With every week that goes by, it is becoming ever more critical to remind ourselves of what we know and what we dont know. Yes, TikTok is a potential threat to the west, in as much as it is a Chinese-owned app now installed on hundreds of millions of devices. In a world where Facebook data has allegedly facilitated so much damage to political processes, so much manipulation and disinformation, to assume that TikTok doesnt carry any serious threat is woefully naive.

But, that said, allegations of data exfiltration and spying are technical, they are binary, they can be proven one way or the other. And this is where the rhetoric meets a reality test. For all the talk, there is no solid proof that TikTok sends any data to China, there is no solid proof that any information is pulled from users devices over and above the prying data grabs typical of all social media platforms.

When TikTok is asked about claims to the contrary, it stands by the lack of proof, the missing smoking gun. Theres no evidence, it says, its a political campaign steeped in the standoff between Washington and Beijing. There's a lot of misinformation about TikTok out there, the company tells me, pointing to its U.S. CEO and its CISO with decades of U.S. military and law enforcement experience, and a U.S. team that works diligently to develop a best-in-class security infrastructure. The company also reassures that U.S. data never travels to China.

But the warning this week from the cyber security analysts at ProtonMail isnt political point scoringthese are ex-CERN security engineers. TikToks zealous data collection, the company warns, its use of Chinese infrastructure, and its parent companys close ties to the Chinese Communist Party make it a perfect tool for massive surveillance and data collection by the Chinese government.

ProtonMail says that it reviewed TikToks data collection policies, lawsuits, cybersecurity white papers, past security vulnerabilities, and its privacy policy, and concluded that we find TikTok to be a grave privacy threat that likely shares data with the Chinese government.We recommend everyone approach TikTok with great caution, especially if your threat model includes the questionable use of your personal data or Chinese government surveillance.

ProtonMail also cites a white paper published by Penetrum earlier this year, which warned that 37.70% of the known IP addresses linked to TikTok are Chinese, and which described the excessive amount of data harvesting, vulnerabilities in TikToks code, as well as a few things that may make you feel pretty uncomfortable.

TikTok stands by its defense, telling me millions of American families use TikTok for entertainment and creative expression, which we recognize is not what federal government devices are for. Our American CEO, our CISO... our entire and growing U.S. teamwhich has tripled since the start of the yearhave no higher priority than promoting a safe app experience that protects our users' privacy. That's our focus.

ProtonMails conclusion on TikTok is pretty stark: The fact that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, one that has explicitly said it would deepen its cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party, makes this excessive data collection even more concerning. The Chinese government has a history of strong-arming and co-opting Chinese tech companies into sharing their data and then using this data to intimidate, threaten, censor, or engage in human rights abuses.

The Swiss-based company goes on to warn TikTok users that from a security and privacy standpoint,TikTok is an extremely dangerous social media platform. Its potential for mass collection of data from hundreds of millions of adults, teenagers, and children poses a grave risk to privacy. And its advice to those users is to proceed with great caution... and and if this concerns you, you should strongly considerdeleting TikTokand its associated data.

And so another week ends, and TikTok remains caught in this maelstrom of security controversy and Sino-American politics. A ban or sanctions of some sort seem ever more likely with each passing week, and the U.S. rhetoric has found an audience with other hawkish politicians around the world. As things stand, TikTok owner ByeDance has gone from topping the social media world to contemplating a sale of its prize asset to U.S. investors in just a few short weeks.

The real issue for TikTok, though, is that there doesnt need to be a smoking security gun for the U.S. and its allies to have a credible excuse to sanction and restrict the platform. China is an adversarial state to the U.S., the U.K. and their allies. There are reasons to believe Beijing could exert influence over TikTok parent ByteDance. That should be reason enough to actand its looking ever more likely it will be.

See the article here:

Yes, TikTok Really Is Spying On You For ChinaNew Report - Forbes