Major internet outage hits northeast U.S., BCPS students affected

NOTTINGHAM, MD—A major internet outage left many East Coast users unable to access many online services on Tuesday. On Twitter, users reported being unable to access Google, Zoom, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, etc. All related Google products, including Google Meet and Gmail, were also down for residents in the northeastern U.S. Down Detector confirmed that Google, Verizon, Comcast, YouTube, Google Classroom, […]

Attorney General Frosh joins bipartisan lawsuit seeking to end Google’s search monopoly

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh on Thursday joined a bipartisan coalition of 37 other attorneys general in suing Google LLC for anti-competitive conduct in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The states allege that Google illegally maintains its monopoly power over general search engines and related advertising markets through a series of anti-competitive exclusionary contracts and […]

Google outage temporarily knocks some BCPS services offline

NOTTINGHAM, MD—Google suffered a worldwide outage on Monday, and the disruption affected some Baltimore County Public Schools services. The tech giant’s services began going down at around 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning, with YouTube, Gmail, Stadia, Google Play, and more all offline. Google search appeared to remain unaffected At just before 7:30 a.m., BCPS announced that the outage was impacting […]

Maryland Department of Health launches MD COVID Alert [VIDEO]

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Health on Tuesday announced the launch of MD COVID Alert, the official COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Express system of Maryland. MD COVID Alert uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to quickly notify users who might have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 with the goal of reducing infections in Maryland. “MD COVID Alert complements […]

Governor Hogan: Maryland to enter Stage Three, all businesses may reopen

UPDATE: Baltimore County officials have announced plans to align with the state and enter Stage Three. Original story below… —— ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on Maryland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At Thursday’s event, Governor Hogan announced that Maryland would enter Stage Three of the Maryland Strong: Roadmap to […]

Attorney General Frosh asks Apple, Google to ensure that contact-tracing apps serve public health purpose

BALTIMORE, MD— Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh this week asked Google and Apple to ensure all contact tracing and exposure notification apps related to COVID-19 adequately protect consumers’ personal information. Joining a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, Attorney General Frosh specifically asked Google and Apple to guarantee that such apps, when available to consumers, are affiliated with a public […]

Governor Hogan announces launch of statewide contact tracing operation to support local health departments

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Thursday announced that Maryland’s statewide contact tracing operation across all 24 of the state’s jurisdictions will be fully operational by next week. To launch this operation, Maryland has more than quintupled its disease investigation capacity, and will have more than 1,400 case investigators statewide. “To support our local health officials, the state has built a […]

CCBC to partner with Baltimore County to offer contact trace investigator training, privacy advocates express concern

ESSEX, MD—The Community College of Baltimore County will be partnering with Baltimore County government to create an online training program for contact trace investigators, but some are concerned about the privacy aspects of such a program. Contact trace investigators work with individuals who have suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, helping to identify others with whom they have had close […]