Also on today’s menu:
Granite Staters Gain Control Over Their Personal Data
Attorneys-General Ask Meta To Prevent Account Takeovers
Next week, WMUR’s NH Chronicle, which airs each day at 7 p.m., will be profiling Kathleen’s Irish Pub of Bristol, which Channel 9 viewers have voted as their top spot to experience a taste of Ireland for the past decade. Hosts Erin Fehlau and Audrey Cox, along with their crew, visited the pub last week, with local residents invited to a private party for the recording of several segments focusing on the authentic touches invoking Ireland that the restaurant provides.
Owner David McMullen brought in a troupe of young dancers from the Flying Irish Dance School, known as Corned Beef, along with an Irish band, to play before the crowd and the cameras. Hosts Erin and Audrey examined some of the instruments the musicians were playing.
Kathleen’s Irish Pub is preparing for St. Patrick’s Day and will be celebrating all week with plenty of Guinness and the restaurant’s famous corned beef and cabbage on the menu. Doors will open at 6 a.m. on March 17 for a St. Patrick’s Day toast and a full day of festivities.
Discussion: Kathleen’s Irish Pub is located at 90 Lake Street, Bristol.
Granite Staters Gain Control Over Their Personal Data
Governor Chris Sununu has signed Senate Bill 255 into law, giving Granite Staters greater control over the personal data collected by companies. Passage of the law gives New Hampshire residents a say over how such data is held and the ability to have it deleted.
SB 255 makes New Hampshire the 14th state to enact comprehensive consumer privacy protections. “New Hampshire is living up to our motto as the Live Free or Die State by ensuring that Granite Staters have control over their personal information,” Sununu said. “This law provides transparency about what information is collected, why, and confidence that, in the age of AI, steps are taken to protect that data.”
Congress has taken no action to establish national consumer data protections, so the New Hampshire legislation assigns a responsibility and framework to businesses in the handling, control, and protection of personal data.
Commentary: The bill provides essential rights over the control of personnel data, but there is no guarantee that such data stored on servers or on “the cloud” cannot be hacked, or that it can be deleted once it resides there. (See below.)
Attorneys-General Ask Meta To Prevent Account Takeovers
New Hampshire Attorney-General John M. Formella has joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys-general in calling on Meta Platforms, Inc., to immediately address the increase in takeovers of user accounts by scammers on both Facebook and Instagram. In a letter sent to Meta, the multi-state coalition called on Meta to do a better job of responding to users whose accounts are compromised and to “substantially increase” its efforts to mitigate account takeovers.
“Scammers on social media platforms pose a real threat to public safety daily by engaging in fraudulent schemes such as identity theft and other criminal activities that we often see, resulting in financial losses for individuals, families, and businesses,” Formella said. “Meta must do more to protect its users’ accounts from being compromised and locked out. Meta must also provide better assistance to those who are victimized and who seek the company’s help in regaining access to their accounts.”
Scammers may change an account-holder’s password, giving them access in order to steal personal information, read private messages, pose as the user to scam contacts, and post message that seem to be from the rightful user. There has been a dramatic increase in such schemes over the past year, including in New Hampshire where consumer complaints involving account takeovers on Meta platforms have increased.
Their letter to Meta suggests increased staffing to respond to account takeover complaints and greater investment mitigation tactics, as well as adopting new procedures for users to protect themselves from account takeovers, such as multi-step authentication measures. They urge Meta to take stronger enforcement actions against scammers.
Discussion: Users who experience an account takeover should contact Meta immediately, and if they are unable to get in touch with the company or have the issue resolved, they can refer to the Facebook page with information on how to address an account takeover situation.