China's disinformation campaign on Western social media is a "far more menacing threat" than Russia's, Mark Grabowski told news outlets.

Earlier this month, Twitter revealed it suspended 175,000 Chinese propaganda accounts — 150x more than Russia. Grabowski, who teaches cyber law and ethics, said China could exploit the anti-government sentiment held by many American academics, journalists, and lawmakers to propel anti-U.S. narratives.

“They provide the appearance of credibility and China simply provides the retweets and makes that narrative go viral,” he said in interviews this month with The Epoch Times and The Millennial Source.

He also warned about risks posed by TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance. The video sharing app, which has about 45 million American users, has seen a surge in popularity during the pandemic.

“By analyzing its treasure trove of data, China can gain all kinds of insights and leverage it to manipulate Americans,” Grabowski said. “With so many Americans practically living online now, especially during the lockdown, China understands American society very well and they know what buttons to push,” he added.

In his latest Washington Examiner column, Mark Grabowski tackled objectivity in journalism.

Newsrooms across the nation have experienced internal conflict as  many journalists have recently called to abolish the long-standing principle of reporting news objectively. They argue that President Trump's presidency coupled with the current tumult in the United States necessitates that journalists take a new approach.

But Grabowski, a former newspaper reporter who now teaches media ethics, warned that abandoning objectivity will only further hurt the press's declining reputation.

"Journalism’s long-standing principles did not fail; rather, journalists failed to adhere to them," he wrote. "As journalists abandoned those core values in favor of an alternative approach, public trust in the press declined."

Read his full column here.

Mark Grabowski discussed with Coin Telegraph a growing cybersecurity risk for Bitcoin investors: SIM swaps.

Instead of hacking your computer, cyber criminals are now targeting your cell phone as it can be the key to your most important financial accounts. Several cryptocurrency investors have been targeted recently and, in some cases, lost millions of dollars.

“In addition to infecting smartphones with malware, criminals are illegally spoofing users’ phone numbers (faking the number that an incoming call is from), porting their numbers (moving the number from a user’s phone to another phone controlled by the criminal) and even cloning SIM cards, the computer chips that identify a phone, to access users’ data and steal money,” he told the crypto news site.

Grabowski, a professor who wrote a book on cryptocurrencies, said the Federal Communications Commission and wireless carriers must provide stronger protections for customers to truly lock down cell phone accounts.

Professor Mark Grabowski, who specializes in cyber law and ethics, was recently cited in several news stories on free speech controversies involving social media platforms.

In a May 21 story and May 26 story, he discussed the erosion of free speech on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. “It’s becoming like Chinese-style censorship where dissident viewpoints and even certain words and phrases are forbidden," Grabowski told Epoch Times, a daily international newspaper with a circulation over 1 million. "And, while such censorship doesn’t violate the First Amendment, it isn’t keeping with the spirit of freedom of speech.”

In a May 27 story, he discussed Twitter's decision to fact-check President Trump's tweets. “I don’t want to see misinformation on social media but … how will Twitter ensure fairness and consistency?” Grabowski told Epoch Times. “Will this new policy apply to other politicians? Which ones? Will all tweets be fact-checked or just some? Who will determine the veracity of a tweet? Twitter has opened itself up for major headaches.”

Finally, in a June 3 story, he explained the impact of Trump's executive order stripping social media sites of legal protections provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

"Trump’s executive order to end Section 230 protections doesn’t have any immediate effect,” Grabowski told financial news site Stash. “The Federal Communications Commission, which promulgates rules for the Telecommunications Act, must decide whether and how to implement Trump’s order in a way that’s compatible with the law. There is, perhaps, enough ambiguity and wiggle room in the law’s requirement that platforms act ‘in good faith’ that the FCC could make some changes to appease Trump.”

However, he added that the FCC appeared unlikely to make any changes and that doing so could jeopardize social media. “Without 230, the Internet we have today wouldn’t exist,” he said.

Should TV networks stop live airing President Trump's briefings on COVID-19?

Mark Grabowski tackled this controversy in his latest Washington Examiner column. He opposes a petition by journalism professors calling on networks to stop airing Trump's briefings over concerns of him spreading misinformation.

"News flash: The public knows Trump lies," he wrote. "But they don’t need to be told that by the media, which ranks 16 points lower than the president in handling the crisis. Many of the same journalists who would filter Trump’s words have exacerbated the infodemic by spreading their share of misinformation about COVID-19.

"A CNN anchor was caught staging fake news about his quarantine. On multiple occasions, journalists have misrepresented Trump's statements related to the virus. No, he didn't call it a hoax or prescribe fish tank cleaner. That's why TV networks should show exactly what the president says, unedited, and let the public evaluate for themselves. In fact, networks have a duty to do so."

Grabowski, who teaches media law and ethics, also had his take cited in Tulsa Beacon column and a blog post by the Oklahoma City of Public Affairs' Center for Independent Journalism.

Mark Grabowski has received a Fulbright award to research Bitcoin in Asia.
 
Grabowski, an associate professor at Adelphi University in New York, will conduct research at Ateneo de Manila University’s blockchain lab during the Spring 2021 semester. The prestigious Fulbright Program provides U.S. government funding for students, professors and professionals to study, teach and research in 125 nations around the world.
 
Grabowski specializes in cyber law and is author of Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money, published by Routledge in 2019. In Philippines, he will conduct research on the impact of cryptocurrency regulations and what the United States — as well as other nations looking to implement cryptocurrency into their economy — can learn from them. The Southeast Asian nation has become a cryptocurrency mecca due to banking services being scarce but Bitcoins readily available in convenience stories.
 
“As U.S. lawmakers begin to develop their own comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, they could learn from the Philippines, a nation that has a similar government structure, shares historical and cultural links, and has been a pioneer in cryptocurrency regulation,” explained Grabowski, who teaches a course on Bitcoin & Blockchain. “Having a shared vision for cryptocurrency regulation could encourage more U.S. investment in Philippines and also help strengthen diplomatic ties between the two English-speaking democracies."
 

In an interview with People Looker Blog, Mark Grabowski offered advice on investing in cryptocurrency, including how to avoid scams

“It takes a special investor who can deal with the extreme price fluctuations, prevalent scams, uncertain legal future and other risks associated with cryptocurrency,” said Grabowski, who teaches a course and wrote a book on Bitcoin and blockchain. “It also takes luck. Yes, there’s potential to make a lot of money quickly. But there’s also a good chance you could lose everything you invest.”

Read the full article here.

Mark Grabowski's new book on Bitcoin and blockchain, Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money, was recently listed as one of the "Best New Cryptocurrency Technology Books To Read In 2019" by Book Authority.

In August, it cracked Amazon's Top 50 Sellers List for books on money.

The book, which serves as a primer on cryptocurrency, was published by Routledge in 2019. Grabowski is an associate professor at Adelphi University, where he teaches courses on cyber law and cryptocurrency.

Mark Grabowski discussed Facebook's controversial new cryptocurrency known as Libra. He was quoted in a news story by CCN, a popular site for tech news, and in LeapRate, a site covering online trading.

A member of the European Central Bank recently warned about Libra, saying it's not decentralized like a bona fide cryptocurrency and would operate like an unregulated nation-state. Grabowski agreed: "Look at the way Libra is structured. It’s a complete contradiction to decentralization. Facebook can use all the cryptocurrency buzzwords they want, but it’s like putting lipstick on a pig."

Grabowski is a professor at Adelphi University, where he teaches courses on Cyber Law and Bitcoin & Blockchain. Additionally, he recently published a textbook on cryptocurrency with Routledge , titled Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money.