European leaders condemned the forced landing of a Ryanair plane that was carrying a dissident journalist in Belarus, likening the act to “state piracy.”

As Reuters reports, foreign ministers from multiple nations came out strongly against the actions of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who deployed a fighter jet to intercept the plane carrying Roman Protasevich.

“This was effectively aviation piracy, state sponsored,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said, echoing the sentiments of several of his counterparts in Europe.

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“It is dangerous, reckless, and naturally the EU is going to act,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, according to Reuters.

Protasevich, 26, who founded a channel on the Telegram messaging app to spread information for opponents of Lukashenko, was arrested after his plane was diverted on a flight between Athens and Vilnius, Lithuania to Belarus’s capital city of Minsk.

In response to this diversion, European leaders threatened to limit air traffic over Belarus as well as target its ground transport. Reuters notes that Belarus lies along the path of some important north-south European routes as well important routes to Asia.

The French presidency said a request had been sent to the Montreal-based United Nations group, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to suspend international flights over Belarusian air space. However, Reuters notes that the ICAO does not have regulatory powers and the European Union does not have authority over flights landing and taking off from Belarus.

“ICAO is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair flight and its passengers, which could be in contravention of the Chicago Convention,” the ICAO said in a statement to Reuters. “We look forward to more information being officially confirmed by the countries and operators concerned.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenBlinken condemns ‘shocking act’ of Belarus forcing plane carrying opposition journalist to land Blinken: It’s ‘up to Russia to decide’ what relationship it will have with US Blinken does not foresee ‘grand bargain’ on North Korea MORE also condemned the forced landing on Sunday.

“The United States once again condemns the Lukashenka regime’s ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists. We stand with the Belarusian people in their aspirations for a free, democratic, and prosperous future and support their call for the regime to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Blinken said in a statement, calling for the “immediate release” of Protasevich.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that as the U.S. reduces its military footprint in the Middle East, competing world powers Russia and China would seek to expand their influence in the region.

“The Middle East writ broadly is an area of intense competition between the great powers. And I think that as we adjust our posture in the region, Russia and China will be looking very closely to see if a vacuum opens that they can exploit,” McKenzie told reporters, according to The Associated Press.

“I think they see the United States shifting posture to look at other parts of the world and they sense there may be an opportunity there,” the general added.

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President BidenJoe BidenHarris to 2021 grads: Pandemic prepared you for ‘pretty much anything’ Senate Armed Services chair throws support behind changing roles of military commanders in sexual assault prosecutions Biden adviser says reducing red meat isn’t sole climate change solution MORE announced in Aril that he had ordered a full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The withdrawal is expected to be completed by Sept. 11. The Pentagon announced last week that a fifth of the withdrawal had been completed.

After meeting with Saudi officials, McKenzie said Sunday that one area that Russia and China could exploit in the absence of the U.S. could be arms sales. According to McKenzie, Russia is willing to sell air defense systems to anyone and China has long-term goals of establishing military bases in the area.

The AP notes the Biden administration sees China’s expanding influence in East Asia as the U.S.’s main security concern but military leaders like McKenzie say China’s influence is not limited to that one region.

“I agree completely that China needs to be the pacing threat we orient on,” McKenzie told AP and ABC News reporters. “At the same time, we are a global power and we need to have a global outlook. And that means that you have the ability to consider the globe as a whole.”

A Hill-HarrisX poll conducted in April found that an overwhelming majority of people approved of the withdrawal. However some have criticized the move as having the potential to result in the Taliban retaking control in the region.

Former Secretary of State Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonTop general: Russia, China will look to expand influence in Middle East as US pulls back We have a chance to halt climate change if we stop destroying carbon sinks and cut methane Trump won’t move on, but most Americans want to MORE earlier in May warned there could be “huge consequences” of pulling troops out of Afghanistan. Apart from a potential takeover by the Taliban, Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, “There will also be, I fear, a huge refugee outflow.”

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Chevron shareholders on Wednesday backed a proposal for the company to cut its emissions. 

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to The Hill that a preliminary total for the measure calling for cuts to the company’s “Scope 3” emissions showed 61 percent support. 

Scope 3 emissions are those that aren’t directly tied to the company’s fuel production, but rather those that come from activities like consumer use of such fuel. 

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The support for such a measure shows that shareholders see climate change as a growing concern. 

In a statement on the company’s annual meeting, chairman and CEO Michael Wirth also mentioned emissions reductions. 

“We’re optimistic about the future as we work to deliver higher returns and lower carbon,” he said. 

It’s not the only major oil company to face shareholder pushback on climate on Wednesday.

At ExxonMobil, at least two climate advocate candidates were elected to the company’s board. They were tied to a firm called  Engine No. 1 which called for Exxon to make more significant investments in clean energy, using stricter approval criteria for new expenditures and an “overhaul” of management compensation. 

Meanwhile, a Dutch court required Shell to cut its emissions by 45 percent compared to 2019 levels by 2030, though the ruling is only enforceable in the Netherlands.

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Russia and Iran are the biggest sources of fake Facebook accounts and pages used to mislead users, the company said in a report released Wednesday.

A third of the 150 networks that the company shut down between 2017 and 2020 for “coordinated inauthentic behavior” came from Iran or Russia. Inauthentic networks involve accounts, pages and groups that use fake accounts to mislead users. 

The United States was the most popular target of networks removed during the period. Ukraine was the second most targeted country, with 11 networks targeting it as opposed to 28 aimed at the U.S.

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“Influence operations are not new, but over the past several years they have burst into global public consciousness,” the report reads.

“These campaigns attempt to undermine trust in civic institutions and corrupt public debate by exploiting the same digital tools that have diversified the online public square and empowered critical discussions from Me Too to the Black Lives Matter movements.”

Wednesday’s report summarized and analyzed previously public disclosures from Facebook, which started sharing info about takedowns after the 2016 election.

Facebook says it has improved at detecting and handling coordinated disinformation during that time.

Large-scale campaigns “are now harder to pull off, more expensive, and less likely to succeed,” the report concludes, before warning that those peddling disinformation are growing more sophisticated.

“As threat actors evade enforcement by co-opting witting and unwitting people to blur the lines between authentic domestic discourse and manipulation, it will get harder to discern what is and isn’t part of a deceptive influence campaign,” it reads.

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The number of U.S. military assets that may need to be renamed as part of an effort to scrub Confederate names could reach into the hundreds, the retired admiral leading the renaming effort said Friday.

“I think once we get down to looking at buildings and street names, this potentially could run into the hundreds,” retired Adm. Michelle Howard told reporters on a conference call.

Howard, a former vice chief of naval operations and the first African American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, is the chairwoman of the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorates the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America, also known as the Naming Commission.

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The commission was created in last year’s defense policy bill over the veto of then-President TrumpDonald TrumpJudge agrees to unseal 2020 ballots in Georgia county for audit Biden: ‘Simply wrong’ for Trump DOJ to seek journalists’ phone records Biden dismisses question on UFOs MORE. The panel has eight members, four appointed by the Pentagon and four by the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees. Howard’s vice chairman on the commission is retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, professor emeritus of history at West Point.

Trump argued the effort was among “politically motivated attempts … to wash away history,” but lawmakers in both parties held that it’s far past time for the military to remove names honoring traitors who fought against the United States.

During debate on the bill, focus largely fell on 10 Army bases named after Confederate leaders. 

But the legislation requires renaming any “base, installation, street, building, facility, aircraft, ship, plane, weapon, equipment or any other property owned or controlled by the Department of Defense.”

In her update on the commission’s efforts Friday, Howard said its initial focus will be on nine bases owned by the Department of Defense named after Confederate leaders: Forts Lee, Hood, Benning, Gordon, Bragg, Polk, Pickett, A.P. Hill and Rucker.

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The tenth base named after a Confederate military officer, Camp Beauregard, does not fall within the commission’s authority because it is owned by the Louisiana National Guard, Howard said. But, she added, the commission has “started to coordinate with the National Guard just to get an understanding.”

Over the summer and fall, commissioners will visit the nine installations with Confederate names, as well as Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Belvoir was originally named after a Union general, but had its name changed in the 1930s to that of the plantation that originally sat at the site, so Howard said the commission wants to “dig more deeply into the historical context and understand the shift.”

The Navy, meanwhile, has identified at least one ship so far to look at for renaming, Howard said: the USNS Maury, an oceanographic survey ship named after a commander who resigned from the U.S. Navy to sail for the Confederacy.

The number of Navy ships identified for the renaming effort is expected to grow, with Howard suggesting the USS Antietam guided missile cruiser as a possibility. The Battle of Antietam is considered a strategic victory for the Union in the Civil War, but a tactical stalemate.

“It depends on whether or not you see Antietam as a Union victory,” Howard said. “So that needs more exploration behind what the ship was named. And we’ll work with — for any of these where there’s battles — the intention at the time of the naming, what the purpose and thought process was, the historical context behind that naming.”

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The commission has so far met five times on a biweekly basis since being sworn in in March, a pace Howard said is likely to continue. In addition to the base visits, Howard said the commission will soon visit the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later the U.S. Naval Academy.

One of the issues opponents of renaming the military bases has raised are local attachments to the existing names, arguing the communities were not being given a say.

Howard said commissioners will work with installation leadership to identify local stakeholders to get their input.

“One of the reasons we know we need to visit the installations in person is, we need an opportunity to meet with local civic leaders, as well as, for example, have discussions with the elected leaders,” she said. “We’ll be able to reach out to elected leaders, for example the local district congressmen, and they can help us identify community leaders that we need to speak to so that we can account for their perspectives as we go forward and develop the process for new names.”

U.S. security assistance to Israel is coming under increasing scrutiny from progressive lawmakers in Congress after this month’s bloody conflict in Gaza.

A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, appears to be holding after more than 10 days of fighting that killed more than 240 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis.

But progressives are expected to keep pressing the concerns they voiced during the conflict, including questioning the once sacred cow of U.S. funding for Israel.

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“A ceasefire is necessary, but will not alone achieve freedom, justice, and equality for all who live under Israel’s apartheid government,” Rep. Rashida TlaibRashida Harbi TlaibProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel Biden says ‘no shift’ in commitment to Israel Progressives see ‘historic’ moment to shift US relations with Israel MORE (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian American woman in Congress, tweeted after the cease-fire was announced Thursday evening. “The U.S. must condition funding to uphold human rights, and end the funding entirely if those conditions are not met.”

Rep. Betty McCollumBetty Louise McCollumProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel Overnight Defense: Groups use Afghanistan withdrawal to push for defense budget cuts | Confederate renaming effort could affect ‘hundreds’ of military assets | Progressives see ‘historic’ moment to shift US-Israel relations Groups urge Congress to use Afghanistan withdrawal to cut defense budget MORE (D-Minn.) similarly tweeted that “a ceasefire temporarily halts Hamas rockets and Israeli missile strikes, but this isn’t peace.”

“@POTUS: The Palestinian people deserve rights and freedom, not the daily repression of Israel’s ongoing military occupation,” she added.

In her tweet, McCollum included a hashtag promoting a bill she is sponsoring that would bar U.S. funding to Israel from being used to support “military detention, interrogation, abuse or ill-treatment” of Palestinian children, property seizures and forcible evictions in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the deployment of personnel or equipment to annex territory in the West Bank.

The legislation has just 22 co-sponsors, but McCollum chairs the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, giving her a powerful lever to pull as she and progressives seek conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.

Those efforts, however, are likely to clash with influential Democratic leaders who continue to support U.S. aid to Israel. And Republicans are likely to use any effort to curtail or condition funding as an attack line, making the push by progressives unlikely to succeed.

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President BidenJoe BidenHarris to 2021 grads: Pandemic prepared you for ‘pretty much anything’ Senate Armed Services chair throws support behind changing roles of military commanders in sexual assault prosecutions Biden adviser says reducing red meat isn’t sole climate change solution MORE even took a moment during remarks touting the cease-fire to note his support for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which receives U.S. funding. The system intercepted most of the rockets Hamas fired during the recent conflict, keeping Israel’s death toll relatively low despite the thousands of incoming rockets.

“The prime minister also shared with me his appreciation for the Iron Dome system, which our nations developed together and which has saved lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew,” Biden said Thursday about a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE. “I assured him of my full support to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome system to ensure its defenses and security in the future.”

White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel Biden’s plan for cyber is a day late and a dollar short What you need to know about options to pay for infrastructure MORE added that Biden believes the Iron Dome “saved hundreds of lives, maybe more than that.”

“We have no plans to change our security assistance that we’re providing to Israel,” she said at a press briefing Friday. “But I will say that the president’s view is that we need to move forward on a couple of fronts. Certainly, supporting the security of Israel is one of them. But another front is rebuilding, playing a constructive role in rebuilding Gaza, providing assistance and funding through the U.N. efforts to do exactly that, ensuring that it is not Hamas but it is the Palestinian people who benefit from that assistance.”

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Israeli-Palestinian tensions first boiled over earlier this month when Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Islam, leaving hundreds of Palestinians wounded.

Over the course of 11 days, Hamas then fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, at times overwhelming the Iron Dome. Israel responded with airstrikes it said were targeting Hamas fighters and their infrastructure that destroyed roads and buildings, including one that housed The Associated Press, other media outlets and several floors of apartments.

Throughout the conflict, progressives urged Biden to take a firmer hand with Netanyahu, frequently calling out the security assistance the United States provides Israel.

“We continue to provide the Israeli government with over $3 billion in military aid every year—with no conditions or accountability for wanton human rights abuses and continuing illegal seizures of Palestinian land,” Reps. Ilhan OmarIlhan OmarProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel The practical and political implications of Democrats pressuring Israel Progressives see ‘historic’ moment to shift US relations with Israel MORE (D-Minn.), André Carson (D-Ind.) and Tlaib said in a joint statement on the day the tensions spiraled into a shooting war.

U.S. security assistance to Israel is set in a 10-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed by the Obama administration in 2016 and entered into force in 2018. Under the agreement, the United States is supposed to provide $3.8 billion in security assistance annually, though the funding is still subject to the congressional appropriations process.

The funding includes $3.3 billion in foreign military financing funds, which are essentially grants to buy U.S.-made weapons, and $500 million in missile defense assistance, including for the Iron Dome.

Since 2001, Israel has received $63 billion in U.S. security assistance, most of which was foreign military financing, according to the Center for International Policy’s Security Assistance Monitor.

Supporters of U.S. funding for Israel are likely to use the MOU to bolster their case as they push back on progressive efforts to curtail the aid.

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In an April letter, more than 300 House members urged the Appropriations Committee to “fulfill our commitments as agreed to in the 2016 MOU,” arguing that “security aid to Israel is a specific investment in the peace and prosperity of the entire Middle East.”

More than 100 House Republicans also pointed to the MOU in a letter to Biden on Wednesday.

Rocket attacks from Hamas “clearly demonstrate the critical importance of our security assistance to Israel, as agreed to in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding,” said the letter, organized by House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Michael McCaulMichael Thomas McCaulProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel Overnight Defense: Israeli Security Cabinet votes for cease-fire | Senators urge expedited visas for Afghans who helped US troops | Pentagon pushes for more military vaccinations Senators press Defense officials on expediting visas for Afghans who helped US troops MORE (R-Texas).

“You previously stated, ‘I’m not going to place conditions for the security assistance given the serious threats that Israel is facing, and this would be, I think, irresponsible,’” the Wednesday letter continued, referring to comments Biden made during the 2020 presidential campaign.

“We urge you to uphold this commitment, and we continue to oppose any reductions in funding or added conditions on security assistance, which would be detrimental to Israel’s ability to defend itself against all threats, including the current assault,” the GOP lawmakers wrote.

The first test in progressives’ push to reexamine U.S. military aid to Israel could be a $735 million precision-guided munitions sale. The Biden administration notified Congress it approved the sale before the Gaza conflict started, but it became a flashpoint over the past week after news reports publicly revealed the sale.

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A group of progressives led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel The practical and political implications of Democrats pressuring Israel Cruz planning resolution to support arms sales to Israel MORE (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution in the House to block the sale, while Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersProgressives ramp up scrutiny of US funding for Israel Sunday shows – Infrastructure, Jan. 6 commission dominate Sanders: US must bring people together instead of ‘supplying weapons to kill children’ MORE (I-Vt.) introduced the Senate version.

Sanders insists he will be able to force a Senate vote, but it’s unclear whether he will since the congressional review period for the sale has ended. But even if the resolutions get floor votes, they are not expected to muster the support needed to pass.

Still, progressives see the effort as a tool to pressure Biden to shift policies on Israel, crediting their push with the president’s sharper messages to Netanyahu as the Gaza conflict escalated. And it could prove to be a microcosm of fights to come over U.S. military aid to Israel more generally.

“Our government is directly complicit in the human rights atrocities being inflicted by the Israeli military on Palestinians, and it is our job as members of Congress to make sure that we stop funding these abuses,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), a co-sponsor of Ocasio-Cortez’s arms sale resolution, said in a statement on the measure.

“These atrocities are being funded by billions of our own American tax dollars while communities like mine in St. Louis are hurting and are in need of life-affirming investment here at home. As a country, we must stand up for the human rights of all people while insisting that our country prioritizes funding life, not destruction,” she added.

Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking HERE.

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills) and Rebecca Klar (@rebeccaklar_), for more coverage.

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Amazon found itself in hot water on Tuesday, with the Washington, D.C. attorney general filing an antitrust lawsuit against it, and over 600 Amazon tech workers separately calling on the company to address pollution levels concentrated in communities of color. Meanwhile, two branches of the Department of Homeland will soon issue guidance requiring pipeline companies to report cybersecurity incidents to federal authorities following the Colonial Pipeline hack, and thousands of activists and parents are calling on Facebook to drop its plans for an Instagram for kids. 

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ANTITRUST NEWS: Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine (D) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon Tuesday, alleging that the e-commerce giant has unfairly raised prices and hurt innovation.

The lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court claims that Amazon has engaged in anti-competitive business practices including not allowing third-party sellers to offer their products at lower prices elsewhere and imposing excessive fees.

The suit alleges that those practices pass on fees to consumers in the form of higher prices, prevent other platforms from competing and take away choices from consumers.

“Amazon has used its dominant position in the online retail market to win at all costs,” Racine said in a statement. “It maximizes its profits at the expense of third-party sellers and consumers, while harming competition, stifling innovation, and illegally tilting the playing field in its favor.”

Amazon claimed in 2019 to end the pricing policy that barred retailers from selling their products at a lower price or on better terms. However, according to the lawsuit, the company quickly replaced it with another policy that allows the platform to sanction or remove sellers that partake in this activity. 

Read more here.

DHS TAKES ACTION: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will issue a directive later this week requiring all pipeline companies to report cyber incidents to federal authorities after a devastating ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline forced a shutdown of operations.

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The Washington Post first reported that DHS’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is responsible for securing critical pipelines, will issue the directive this week following concerns that pipeline operators are not required to report cyber incidents, unlike other critical infrastructure sectors.

A spokesperson for DHS told The Hill in an emailed statement Tuesday that “the Biden administration is taking further action to better secure our nation’s critical infrastructure,” with TSA and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) working together on the issue.

“TSA, in close collaboration with CISA, is coordinating with companies in the pipeline sector to ensure they are taking all necessary steps to increase their resilience to cyber threats and secure their systems. We will release additional details in the days ahead,” the spokesperson said.

Read more about the upcoming directive here.

A GREEN PUSH: More than 600 Amazon tech workers have signed onto a statement calling for the e-commerce giant to address pollution that is disproportionately concentrated in communities of color, an employee-organized climate group said Tuesday. 

The Amazon Employees for Climate Justice statement calls for the company to commit to zero emissions by 2030 and deploy zero-emission technologies in communities most impacted by its pollution first. 

“We want to be proud of where we work. A company that lives up to its statements about racial equity and closes the racial equity gaps in its operations is a critical part of that,” the statement reads. 

The push comes a day ahead of Amazon’s annual shareholders meeting, where a number of proposals will get votes.

Read more about the effort.

PARENTS JOIN IN: More than 150,000 activists and parents have signed a series of petitions urging Facebook to drop its plans to create an Instagram platform for children, the organizations behind the petitions said Tuesday. 

The signatories join a growing chorus of advocates and bipartisan lawmakers who have criticized Facebook’s plans, which would create an Instagram platform for kids under 13. 

The three petitions, launched by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), SumOfUs and the Juggernaut Project, slam the plan over concerns about skewing children’s self image, harvesting their data and feeding the addictive nature of social media apps. 

Read more about the petitions. 

GERMAN PRESSURE: Germany’s antitrust watchdog announced Tuesday that it has launched two investigations into Google’s market power and handling of user data.

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The agency will analyze whether Google and its parent company, Alphabet, have dominance in multiple markets.

“An ecosystem which extends across various markets may be an indication that a company holds such a market position,” Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, said in a statement. 

“Due to the large number of digital services offered by Google, such as the Google search engine, YouTube, Google Maps, the Android operating system or the Chrome browser, the company could be considered to be of paramount significance for competition across markets,” Mundt continued. 

The second investigation will focus on Google’s data processing terms and whether users have “sufficient choice” over how their information is managed. The Federal Cartel Office launched a similar investigation into Facebook in 2019 that is pending in court. 

Google spokesperson Ralf Bremer told The Hill the company will “cooperate fully” with the investigations.

Read more.

LAWMAKERS GOING POSTAL: The bipartisan leaders of the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday requested an investigation into a branch of the U.S. Postal Service in the wake of reports that it carried out online surveillance of Americans’ social media posts. 

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Committee Chairwoman Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyHillicon Valley: DC attorney general files antitrust lawsuit against Amazon | DHS to require pipeline companies to report cyberattacks | Activists, parents urge Facebook to drop Instagram for kids plan Lawmakers request investigation into Postal Service’s covert operations program Colonial Pipeline CEO to testify on Capitol Hill in June following cyberattack MORE (D-N.Y.) and ranking member James ComerJames (Jamie) R. ComerRepublicans seek vindication amid reemergence of Wuhan lab theory Hillicon Valley: DC attorney general files antitrust lawsuit against Amazon | DHS to require pipeline companies to report cyberattacks | Activists, parents urge Facebook to drop Instagram for kids plan Lawmakers request investigation into Postal Service’s covert operations program MORE (R-Ky.) sent a letter to Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb urging her to open an investigation in the Postal Services’ Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP). 

The request comes a month after Yahoo News reported on a March bulletin sent out by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). The bulletin cited iCOP concerns about potential protests planned for March 20 based on “online inflammatory material” and posts on social media platforms Parler and Telegram, and noted that iCOP was “currently monitoring these social media channels for any potential threats.”

Maloney and Comer on Tuesday expressed “concern” that iCOP was being used to “perform intelligence operations on First Amendment activity.”

“These activities raise serious questions about the scope of the program, the extent of sharing of information among law enforcement agencies, and whether USPIS has the authority to conduct such an operation,” the committee leaders wrote. 

Read more here.

RUSSIAN ROULETTE: A Russian court on Tuesday issued a fine to Google and threatened to slow down its traffic for not removing what it referred to as illegal content.

Google received a fine of 6 million rubles, or approximately $81,600, for administrative offenses, Reuters reports. This fine comes after Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor said it gave Google 24 hours to remove videos containing drugs, violence and extremism.

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According to Reuters, Russia could place a slowdown of internet traffic in Russia, noting that the country has previously placed a slowdown on Twitter for refusing to take down content. Last month, Twitter was also issued three separate fines totaling around $121,000.

Read more here.

Lighter click: That chair is way too small!

An op-ed to chew on: Media safe harbor bill won’t actually help local news 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

Amazon’s relentless pace is injuring warehouse workers and violating the law, Washington state regulator says (Seattle Times and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting / Katherine Anne Long and Will Evans)

The FCC has money for broadband. The hard part? Spreading the word. (Protocol / Issie Lapowsky)

Heat Listed (The Verge / Matt Stroud)

Tech giants’ foes open up their wallets to the House’s top antitrust Republican (Politico / Emily Birnbaum)

Suspected Iranian hackers pose as ransomware operators to target Israeli organizations (CyberScoop / Sean Lyngaas)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will formally issue a security directive Thursday to strengthen federal cybersecurity oversight of pipelines, weeks after a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline led to fuel shortages in multiple states. 

The directive, set to be released two days after the The Washington Post first reported on its existence, will require pipeline companies to report cybersecurity incidents within 12 hours of them occurring to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Both CISA and TSA are part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The directive will also require pipelines owners and operators to designate an individual who is available 24/7 to coordinate with officials at both TSA and CISA in the event of a cyber incident, and for owners and operators to carry out assessments of existing cybersecurity practices to identify potential gaps and report their findings to TSA and CISA within 30 days. 

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“The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving and we must adapt to address new and emerging threats,” DHS Secretary Alejandro MayorkasAlejandro MayorkasBiden official defends Trump-era immigration policy DHS chief expects ‘significant changes’ after ICE review Memorial Day weekend collides with surging travel costs MORE said in a statement on Thursday. “The recent ransomware attack on a major petroleum pipeline demonstrates that the cybersecurity of pipeline systems is critical to our homeland security. DHS will continue to work closely with our private sector partners to support their operations and increase the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”

A DHS official told reporters Wednesday night that the directive applied to around 100 critical pipelines across the nation, and that financial penalties would be imposed, to ramp up on a daily basis, for companies that did not comply with the directive. 

The official stressed that the directive represented “step one” and would be “followed by more” actions from the Biden administration in the future to secure pipelines against cyber threats. 

“These are important steps forward, and they should be understood as part of a broader strategic plan to ensure that the pipeline sector does what’s needed to protect against the kind of cyber incident that we saw with respect to Colonial and enable the Department to better identify, prevent, and respond such kinds of events in the future,” the DHS official said. 

“You will see in the not-too-distant future this to be followed up with an additional set of rules that would require a range of actions to be taken by the sector,” the official added. 

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The directive comes in the wake of the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline’s IT system, which forced the company to temporarily shut down its pipelines to protect operational controls. The company provides around 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel, and the attack led to gas shortages in several states.

The FBI assessed that the attack involved the use of the “DarkSide” ransomware variant, with President BidenJoe BidenSan Jose shooting victims, shooter identified Romney blasts political extremes in speech accepting JFK award Senate passes bill requiring declassification of information on COVID-19 origins MORE stating publicly that the cyber criminals were likely based in Russia, though not backed by the Russian government. 

Colonial chose to pay the hackers the equivalent of $4.4 million in Bitcoin to regain access to its systems, drawing criticism from officials and experts concerned that other cyber criminals may be tempted to launch ransomware attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure in the future. 

Federal officials cited the need for more cybersecurity standards for the pipeline sector in the wake of the attack, with other sectors such as electricity more highly regulated around cybersecurity issues. 

Mayorkas told reporters at the White House earlier this month that the administration was discussing the idea of some further oversight of pipelines following the Colonial attack. 

Energy Secretary Jennifer GranholmJennifer GranholmHouse Science panel requests briefing with Energy Dept over Colonial hack Hillicon Valley: Colonial Pipeline CEO says company paid hackers .4 million in ransomware attack | Facebook sets up ‘special operations center’ for content on Israeli-Palestinian conflict | Granholm expresses openness to pipeline cyber standards after Granholm expresses openness to pipeline cyber standards after Colonial attack MORE also recently expressed support for more federal oversight of the security of pipelines, while Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick and Commissioner Allison Clements earlier this month called for the establishment of “mandatory pipeline cybersecurity standards.”

“Simply encouraging pipelines to voluntarily adopt best practices is an inadequate response to the ever-increasing number and sophistication of malevolent cyber actors,” Glick and Clements said in a joint statement. “Mandatory pipeline security standards are necessary to protect the infrastructure on which we all depend.”

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reportedly planning to lower Mexico’s aviation safety rating due to falling short of international standards.

Sources close to the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the FAA has determined Mexico’s oversight has dropped below accepted international standards and will be designating the country to a Category 2 from Category 1.

The Journal reports that FAA officials took issue specifically with Mexico’s lacking legal authority as well as its training and compensation for air-safety regulators. The announcement could come as soon as this week.

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The change would bar Mexican carriers from expanding service to U.S. cities, the Journal notes, and restrict marketing agreements with airlines in U.S.

A U.S. official told the Journal that the U.S. would acknowledge that have addressed some of the concerns already and have offered to help in resolving the other issues that have been cited.

The FAA has previously downgraded Mexico’s aviation safety rating in 2010, the Journal notes. A few months later, it was upgraded to Category 1 after American officials said corrections had been made.

The U.S. and Mexico currently have the largest air-traffic market between two nations, the Journal reported, with over 2.3 million passengers flying in between the two in the past month.

Mexican airlines like Volaris and Grupo Aeromexico would be the most affected by a downgrade, the Journal reports. Grupo Aeromexico has a marketing agreement with Delta Air Lines and a downgrade would require Delta passengers to rebook directly with the Mexican airline if they are scheduled to fly on one of its planes.

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Amazon’s new CEO, Andy Jassy, will take over the company’s top executive role on July 5 as Jeff BezosJeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosAmazon’s new CEO to take over for Bezos on July 5 Schumer under pressure from Democrats, GOP on China bill Senate competitiveness bill includes B authorization for Bezos space company MORE transitions to an executive chairman role, Bezos said Wednesday.

Bloomberg reported that Bezos made the announcement during a call with investors. The Hill has reached out to Amazon for comment.

July 5 is the 27th anniversary of the company’s incorporation, according to Bloomberg, and Bezos said Wednesday that the date was “a sentimental one for me.”

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“Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have,” Bezos said. “He is going to be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.”

Jassy was announced as the company’s next CEO in February. He currently runs the company’s web services division.

Bezos is the world’s second-richest man, behind French fashion mogul Bernard Arnault. He and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, divorced in 2019, a split that made her the third-wealthiest woman on the planet.

“Amazon is what it is because of invention,” Bezos said in February upon announcing his retirement as CEO.

“If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive,” he added. “When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”