The Week in Internet News: The Internet of Things and the Domain Name System Thumbnail
Technology 29 July 2019

The Week in Internet News: The Internet of Things and the Domain Name System

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

IoT vs. DNS: As the use of the Internet of Things grows, so do its threats on the Internet’s Domain Name System, Network World says. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and IBM’s X-Force security researchers have both issued reports describing how the insecurity of IoT could lead to more botnets that attack the DNS.

A lot of zeros: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced an expected $5 billion fine against Facebook for privacy breaches, The Verge reports. Still, some critics suggested the fine was too small. Facebook’s revenue in 2018 was 11 times more than the fine, at $55.8 billion.

Not too big to investigate: Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into Google, Amazon, and Facebook, Vox.com reports. The DOJ’s Antitrust Division is reviewing “whether and how market-leading online platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers.” 

Not just the DOJ: And the Federal Trade Commission is also getting into the antitrust investigations act. Facebook has announced that its friends at the FTC, fresh off their $5 billion fine of the social media site, are also investigating it for antitrust violations, TechCrunch says.

Not just the U.S.: If that isn’t enough government investigations, a Australian Consumer and Competition Commission report has recommended major new regulations for Facebook, Google, and other tech companies, a “sign of the alarm government feels over the near-monopoly the two have over social media and online searches respectively,” 10daily reports. A major focus of the report is fake news and disinformation.

How will consolidation impact the Internet? Read the 2019 Global Internet Report: Consolidation in the Internet Economy.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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