Chinese Official Defends Anti-Terrorism Law

China's proposed anti-terrorism law will not affect the legitimate interests of technology firms, a top Chinese spokeswoman said after U.S. President Barack Obama warned of its impact and demanded amendments. China's proposals, which would require tech firms to provide encryption keys and install backdoors granting law enforcement access for counterterrorism investigations, drew criticism from Obama, who told Reuters in an interview China would have to change the draft law if it were "to do business with the United States."

Viacom Sues Website That Streams TV Shows

Media company Viacom has filed a trademark and copyright infringement claim against a website that allows people to stream TV shows featured on children’s entertainment channel Nickelodeon. In court documents filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Viacom has alleged that the website nickreboot.com infringes Nickelodeon trademarks and copyright, which are owned by Viacom.

Wheeler Calls FCC 'Referee' Over Net Neutrality

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler defended the commission's recent vote in support of net neutrality, saying it isn't regulation as some critics contend it is, but instead sets up the Federal Communication Commission as a kind of referee. Wheeler spoke during an onstage appearance at Mobile World Congress and was interviewed by Anne Bouverot, director general of the MWC's governing organization, GSMA.

European Policy Makers Debate Net Neutrality

European policy makers are set to debate new proposals laying out the concept of net neutrality, which in their present form, could allow telecommunications companies serving Europe more leeway in striking deals over Internet service than their U.S. counterparts. The latest proposals by Latvia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the council of the European Union, outline net neutrality in Europe should ensure similar traffic across networks is treated equally by telecoms operators.

Judge Close to Approving High-Tech Hiring Lawsuit

Aside from a few "nits," a federal judge appeared poised to sign off on a $415 million settlement that would end a five-year legal battle over alleged illegal hiring practices in Silicon Valley. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has set a July 9 hearing for final approval of the pact, which would resolve antitrust claims against Apple, Adobe, Google and Intel over allegations that they entered into secret agreements not to raid each others' workforces.

Judge Stops Mississippi's Google Investigation, For Now

The Mississippi attorney general's attempt to investigate Google is on hold for at least four more months. U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate granted Google's request for a preliminary injunction, preventing Attorney General Jim Hood from going through with a subpoena meant to examine whether Google is facilitating others' illegal activities on its sites.

U.S. Waiting for Chinese Response on Tech Trade Rules

The Obama administration is waiting for China to respond to concerns raised about planned new rules pushing Chinese banks to purchase high-tech products from domestic vendors, a senior State Department official said. U.S. business groups have complained about the regulations, and senior officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, have written to their Chinese counterparts about them.

Google Pays Record $25M for '.app' Top-Level Domain

Google paid $25 million to control the “.app” top-level domain, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit group which maintains much of the technical plumbing of the Internet. The price is more than three times as much as the previous record for a new top-level domain, the $6.8 million paid by Dot Tech LLC in September for the “.tech” top-level domain.

Uber Says Breach May Have Disclosed Drivers' Info

Thousands of Uber driver names and driver's license numbers may be in the hands of an unauthorized third party due to a data breach that occurred last year, the ride-hailing company said. In a statement, Uber’s managing counsel of data privacy, Katherine Tassi, said the company discovered on Sept. 17, 2014, that one of its many databases could have potentially been accessed because one of the encryption keys required to unlock it had been compromised.

Chinese Law Would Require Disclosure of Encryption Keys

China is weighing a far-reaching counterterrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over encryption keys and install security "backdoors", a potential escalation of what some firms view as the increasingly onerous terms of doing business in the world's second largest economy. A parliamentary body read a second draft of the country's first anti-terrorism law this week and is expected to adopt the legislation in the coming weeks or months.

Chinese Internet Companies Delete 60,000 Accounts

Some of China's largest Internet companies deleted more than 60,000 online accounts because their names did not conform to regulations, the top Internet regulator said. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Baidu Inc, Sina Corp affiliate Weibo Corp and other companies deleted the accounts in a cull aimed at "rectifying" online names, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said.

Ericsson Sues Apple Over 41 Mobile Patents

Ericsson, a pioneer in mobile phones that transformed itself into the world’s largest maker of wireless networks, said  it’s filing seven new lawsuits in a U.S. court and is asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to block Apple products from the U.S. market. Together, the complaints accuse Apple of infringing as many as 41 patents for some of the fundamental ways mobile devices communicate and for related technology such as user interfaces, battery saving and the operating system.

Smartflash Files Another Patent Suit Against Apple

Fresh off a $532.9 million jury win against Apple Inc, a Texas company is again suing the tech giant, this time over the same patents' use in devices introduced after the original case was underway. Smartflash LLC aims to make Apple pay for using the patent licensing firm's technology without permission in devices not be included in the previous case, such as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the iPad Air 2.

FCC Votes to Regulate Internet as Public Utility

The Federal Communications Commission voted to regulate broadband Internet service as a public utility, a milestone in regulating high-speed Internet service into American homes. The new rules, approved 3 to 2 along party lines, are intended to ensure that no content is blocked and that the Internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast lanes for Internet and media companies that can afford it and slow lanes for everyone else.

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The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.