CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is moving away from Facebook Workplace to instead make use of more open-source software packages. Phoronix reports: Facebook Workplace is Facebook’s corporate-focused product for internal real-time communication and related communication needs within organizations. CERN had been making use of Facebook Workplace and in addition to data privacy concerns, they were recently confronted with either paying Facebook or losing administrative rights, no more single sign-on access, and Facebook having access to their internal data. But now they have assembled their own set of software packages to fill the void by abandoning Facebook Workplace.

CERN is now using the Mattermost open-source software for online chat and Discourse for further information exchange. CERN’s IT department is working on filling the gaps further left by getting rid of Facebook Workplace. [CERN has published a post with more details about the move.] ZDNet points out that this latest announcement “ends a nearly four-year trial with Facebook Workplace and means CERN will remove its presence from the platform on January 31, 2020.”

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Source: Slashdot – CERN Is Replacing Facebook Workplace With a Set of Open-Source Software Alternatives

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is working on a bill that would reduce legal protections for apps and websites, potentially jeopardizing online encryption. The Verge reports: The draft bill would form a “National Commission on Online Child Exploitation Prevention” to establish rules for finding and removing child exploitation content. If companies don’t follow these rules, they could lose some protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which largely shields companies from liability over users’ posts. Reports from Bloomberg and The Information say that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is behind the bill, currently dubbed the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (or EARN IT) Act. It would amend Section 230 to make companies liable for state prosecution and civil lawsuits over child abuse and exploitation-related material, unless they follow the committee’s best practices. They wouldn’t lose Section 230 protections for other content like defamation and threats.

The bill doesn’t lay out specific rules. But the committee — which would be chaired by the Attorney General — is likely to limit how companies encrypt users’ data. Large web companies have moved toward end-to-end encryption (which keeps data encrypted for anyone outside a conversation, including the companies themselves) in recent years. Facebook has added end-to-end encryption to apps like Messenger and Whatsapp, for example, and it’s reportedly pushing it for other services as well. U.S. Attorney General William Barr has condemned the move, saying it would prevent law enforcement from finding criminals, but Facebook isn’t required to comply. Under the EARN IT Act, though, a committee could require Facebook and other companies to add a backdoor for law enforcement.

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Source: Slashdot – A New Bill Could Punish Web Platforms For Using End-To-End Encryption

The Trump administration on Friday declared a public healthy emergency over the coronavirus outbreak and said any foreign national who has traveled within China in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter the country. The Wall Street Journal reports: The announcement [from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar] came as stock markets tumbled amid concern about how the impact of the virus could slow global growth. At the same time, Mr. Azar sought to minimize fears about the virus spreading further in the U.S. “I hope that people will see that their government is taking responsible steps to protect them,” he said at a White House briefing. “The risk is low… but our job is to keep that risk low.”

There are six confirmed cases in the U.S. and 191 people are under investigation, officials said. Meantime, Americans who were evacuated from the epicenter of the China coronavirus outbreak will be quarantined for 14 days at a U.S. military base to prevent any spread of the infectious disease, federal health authorities said Friday. The quarantine — the first in the U.S. ordered by the federal government in roughly 50 years — came as the U.K. and Russia each reported their first cases of the dangerous virus, while other countries moved to limit air traffic with China as the number of people infected there approached 10,000. The quarantine applies to 195 U.S. citizens evacuated Wednesday from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak, and brought to the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, Calif., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The State Department also on Friday advised Americans in China to consider leaving and requested all nonessential U.S. government personnel to postpone travel there.

The State Department’s “Do Not Travel” advice placed China on the same list as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela. It follows the WHO’s designation Thursday of the coronavirus as a global public-health emergency.

Additionally, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they will suspend all U.S.-China flights for at least several weeks due to the outbreak. Delta’s suspensions will begin Feb. 6 and last through April 30.

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Source: Slashdot – US Declares Public Health Emergency Over Coronavirus