Hillicon Valley: Facebook removes Trump post | TikTok gets competitor | Lawmakers raise grid safety concerns

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NEW TONIGHT – FACEBOOK REMOVES TRUMP POST: Facebook announced Wednesday evening that it had removed a post from President TrumpDonald John TrumpLincoln Project ad dubs Jared Kushner the ‘Secretary of Failure’ Pence: Chief Justice Roberts ‘has been a disappointment to conservatives’ Twitter bans Trump campaign until it deletes tweet with COVID-19 misinformation MORE because it contained false COVID-19 information.

The post included a video of the president on “Fox & Friends” early Wednesday morning in which he stated that children are “almost immune” to the virus.

Facebook has removed Trump campaign ads before but the action Wednesday marked the first time it has removed a post from the president’s account due to misinformation about the coronavirus.

Read more about the policies here.

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: Senators and other energy sector officials warned Wednesday that foreign adversaries are continuing to target the U.S. electric grid, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has only underscored the dangers.

“The threat of cyberattacks by foreign adversaries and other sophisticated entities is real and it’s growing,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiHillicon Valley: Facebook removes Trump post | TikTok gets competitor | Lawmakers raise grid safety concerns OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Court cancels shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline | US could avoid 4.5M early deaths by fighting climate change, study finds | Officials warn of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure during pandemic Officials warn of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure during pandemic MORE (R-Alaska) said Wednesday during a committee hearing on cyber threats to the grid. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique opportunity for cyber criminals to attack our networks, including critical energy infrastructure.”

Murkowski pointed to concerns over Russian targeting of the Ukrainian power grid in 2015, and to recently announced indictments by the Department of Justice against two Chinese hackers for targeting a wide range of groups including a Department of Energy site.

“We all know the stakes here,” Murkowski said. “A successful hack could shut down power, impacting hospitals, banks, gas pumps, military installations and cell phone service. The consequences would be widespread and devastating, and only more so if we are in the midst of a global pandemic.”

Sen. Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) ManchinHillicon Valley: Facebook removes Trump post | TikTok gets competitor | Lawmakers raise grid safety concerns OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Court cancels shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline | US could avoid 4.5M early deaths by fighting climate change, study finds | Officials warn of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure during pandemic Officials warn of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure during pandemic MORE (D-W.Va.), the ranking member of the committee, warned during the same hearing that “threats to federal infrastructure are serious and increasing daily.”

“The COVID-19 crisis has made our nation and the world acutely aware of the consequences of being underprepared for a catastrophic event,” he said. “The pandemic has forced the energy industry to adapt to new challenges and vulnerabilities with more employees working remotely.”

The senators’ concerns came on the heels of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issuing an alert in July warning that foreign hackers were zeroing in on critical infrastructure through targeting internet-connected operational technology (OT) assets.

Read more about concerns here.

RUSSIA REPORT COMING SOON: The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voted to adopt its fifth and final report on Russia’e election interference efforts in 2016, with committee leaders vowing to keep working towards releasing a declassified version of the report to the public.

The fifth report, the product of a years-long bipartisan investigation by the committee, covers counterintelligence findings, and was recently returned to the committee following a declassification review by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to adopt the classified version of the final volume of the Committee’s bipartisan Russia investigation,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: Facebook removes Trump post | TikTok gets competitor | Lawmakers raise grid safety concerns Skepticism grows over Friday deadline for coronavirus deal ACLU targets Democrats, Republicans with mobile coronavirus billboards MORE (R-Fla.) and Vice Chairman Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerGOP chairmen hit back at accusation they are spreading disinformation with Biden probe Hillicon Valley: Facebook removes Trump post | TikTok gets competitor | Lawmakers raise grid safety concerns Senate Intel panel approves final Russia report, moves toward public release MORE (D-Va.) said in a joint statement.

“In the coming days, the Committee will work to incorporate any additional views, as well as work with the Intelligence Community to formalize a properly redacted, declassified, publicly releasable version of the Volume 5 report,” Warner and Rubio added. “We want to thank the Committee’s Russia investigative staff for their years of diligent, hard work on this critical matter.”

The committee has already released four previous reports on Russian efforts to target election infrastructure in 2016, the use of social media to sway the election, the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference efforts, and a review of the Intelligence Community’s assessment of Russian election interference.

Read more about the pending report here.

DRIVING TO PRISON: Anthony Levandowski, a former Uber executive, was sentenced to 18-months in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to stealing proprietary self-driving car technology from Google, which he had previously worked for.

Levandowski pleaded guilty to the theft of trade secrets in March. In his admission, Levandowski said that he had stolen over 20 files from the tech giant. He was initially charged with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, though the plea deal reduced it to just one count.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in sentencing that Levandowski had stolen the equivalent of a “competitor’s game plan,” Reuters reports.

He will begin his sentence once the coronavirus pandemic had subsided, Alsup added.