DOJ says TikTok collected US user views on abortion, gun control
In a fresh broadside against one of the world’s most popular technology companies, the Justice Department has accused TikTok of harnessing the capability to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion. Government lawyers say in a brief filed in federal court late Friday that TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used an internal web-suite system called Lark to enable TikTok employees to speak directly with ByteDance engineers in China. One of Lark’s internal search tools, the filing states, permits ByteDance and TikTok employees in the U.S. and China to gather bulk user information based on content.
US sanctions Boeing for sharing information about 737 Max 9 investigation
Boeing is being sanctioned by U.S. investigators for sharing information about the 737 Max 9 door plug investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that Boeing “blatantly violated” the agency’s investigative regulations as well as a signed agreement by providing non-public investigative information to the media and speculating about possible causes of the Jan. 5 door plug blowout on a Boeing passenger jet in Portland, Oregon. During the incident, a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines Max 9. Pilots were able to land safely, and there were no injuries.
DOJ charges nearly 200 people in $2.7B health care fraud crackdown
The Justice Department has charged nearly 200 people in a sweeping crackdown on health care fraud schemes nationwide with false claims topping $2.7 billion. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against doctors, nurse practitioners and others across the U.S. on Thursday. The people are accused of a variety of scams, including a $900 million scheme in Arizona targeting dying patients. Prosecutors accuse two owners of Arizona wound care companies of accepting $330 million in kickbacks in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for wound dressings. Another case alleges a scheme in Florida to distribute misbranded HIV drugs. Garland says anyone profiting off the unlawful distribution of controlled substances "will be held accountable.”
Julian Assange: WikiLeaks founder to plead guilty in deal with US
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will resolve a long-running legal saga over the publication of a trove of classified documents. Assange is scheduled to appear in the U.S. federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge. Prosecutors have agreed to a sentence of the five years Assange has already spent in a high-security British prison while fighting to avoid extradition to the U.S. to face charges. Assange’s U.S. attorney, Barry Pollack, did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday.
Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana
The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent Thursday to the federal register recognizes medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs. The plan signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland wouldn't legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. The Drug Enforcement Administration will take public comment on the proposal to move marijuana from its classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside some anabolic steroids. The U.S. Cannabis Council trade group applauds the proposed change.
Chinese national charged with stealing AI secrets from Google
The Justice Department says a former software engineer at Google has been charged with stealing artificial intelligence technology from the company while secretly working with two companies based in China. Linwei Ding was arrested in Newark, California, on four counts of federal trade secret theft. The case against Ding was announced at an American Bar Association Conference in San Francisco by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who along with other law enforcement leaders has repeatedly warned about the threat of Chinese economic espionage and about the national security concerns posed by advancements in artificial intelligence. It was not immediately clear whether Ding has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Journalist Catherine Herridge held in civil contempt for refusing to divulge source
A federal judge has held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington on Thursday imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge complies, but the fine will not go into effect immediately to give her time to appeal. A lawyer for Herridge, Patrick Philbin, declined to comment.
Tax preparation firms shared 'extraordinarily sensitive' data about taxpayers with Meta over two years
Some congressional Democrats say three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over at least two years. Their Wednesday report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the information H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer shared with Meta. The lawmakers tell the IRS, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog the findings “reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy.” The tax prep companies say they take the privacy of their customers seriously. Meta says its system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it's able to detect.
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