Rob Lever

People cast their votes for US president, November 8, 2016, at Centreville High School, in Centreville, Virginia. (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards)

September 22, 2019, 8:08 am

Digital threats multiply ahead of 2020 US elections

Next round of elections expected to see more attempts at manipulating voters as well as assaults on aging voting machines, after widespread misinformation on social media in 2016

By Rob Lever

This photo from January 3, 2013, shows Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

June 4, 2019, 8:11 am

US gears up for antitrust battles with Big Tech

Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission carve out investigations of Google, Amazon and Facebook; House Judiciary Committee announces its own probe of digital market

By Rob Lever

A photo from March 22, 2018, shows WhatsApp logos on a screen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP)

May 14, 2019, 11:27 pm

WhatsApp patches security flaw after suspected Israeli spyware injection

Facebook subsidiary urges users to download latest version of app; NSO Group reported to have been behind breach

By Rob Lever

US President Donald Trump, right, gets into a heated exchange with CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, center, during a post-election press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)

November 14, 2018, 10:20 pm

Fox and other media friends back CNN over White House access

Trump administration claims ‘broad discretion’ to restrict admission to the president, with lawyers arguing the US leader could choose to never hold another press briefing again

By Rob Lever

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on August 27, 2018 in Washington,DC (AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN)

August 29, 2018, 12:37 am

Trump warns tech giants to be ‘careful,’ steps up claims of ‘bias’

Comments come after US president complains Google, Facebook suppressing conservative voices

By Rob Lever

This photo taken on July 26, 2018, shows the exterior of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California. Twitter shares took a pounding Friday as a warning of a shrinking user base overshadowed news of a third straight quarterly profit. ( AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

July 28, 2018, 12:48 am

Twitter shares plunge more than 20% in black week for social media

Monthly users fall by one million amid purge of fake accounts; woes come a day after Facebook lost an unprecedented $120 billion in market value

By Rob Lever

Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

July 26, 2018, 11:56 pm

Facebook shares tumble 19% in worst-ever single-day loss for a company

Social network sheds some $100 billion of its value on Wall Street after posting disappointing quarterly earnings

By Rob Lever

April 10, 2018, 11:25 pm

Zuckerberg apologizes to Congress over massive Facebook breach

Insisting protecting community is more important than profit, founder of social media giant says: ‘We didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm’

By Michael Mathes and Rob Lever

In this Nov. 9, 2017 photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg meets with a group of entrepreneurs and innovators. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

April 9, 2018, 6:06 am

Zuckerberg to face angry lawmakers as Facebook firestorm rages

Amid a raft of inquiries of data breaches and hacking, the social media giant’s CEO will be grilled by US lawmakers seeking new regulations for his sprawling platform

By Rob Lever

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, April 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

April 7, 2018, 5:33 am

Facebook to verify identities, require labels for political ads

Under fire for enabling manipulation of its platform in 2016 US elections, social media giant looks to curb outside election interference

By Rob Lever

Illustrative: Logos of US online social media and social networking service Facebook. (AFP Photo/Loic Venance)

January 23, 2018, 4:42 am

Facebook admits social media threat to democracy

Company’s civic engagement chief says it was ‘far too slow’ to respond to spread of misinformation during 2016 US election

By Rob Lever

A sign above the headquarters of Kaspersky Lab in Moscow, January 30, 2017. (AP/Pavel Golovkin)

October 12, 2017, 7:31 am

Kaspersky in focus as US-Russia cyber-tensions rise

Israel reportedly discovered the Russian software company was a vehicle for hackers to steal security secrets from the NSA

By Rob Lever

An exterior view of the Google office in Mountain View, California. (Google office image via Shutterstock)

August 13, 2017, 5:50 am

Silicon Valley’s accidental war with the far right

Mirroring polarization of American politics, online tech-companies find themselves entrenched in battle with extremists over ground rules for the digital world

By Rob Lever

April 7, 2017, 1:54 am

Twitter rejects US effort to unmask anti-Trump officials’ accounts

Social media giant says in lawsuit it received demand last month to reveal identities of those behind account critical of Trump immigration policy

By Rob Lever

A screen capture of the Breitbart website on November 16, 2016.

November 16, 2016, 12:23 pm

After helping capture White House, Breitbart sets sights on Europe

Alt-right website plans move into France and Germany, but chairman Steve Bannon’s White House role could create diplomatic conflicts of interest

By Rob Lever