European Court's Counsel Says Data Pact May Be Illegal

A 15-year-old pact that allows the transfer of data between the United States and European Union may be illegal, according to an opinion from the European Court of Justice's top legal counsel . The decision could have far-reaching consequences for Facebook, Google, Twitter and thousands of other U.S. companies. Countries should be able to prevent data about their citizens from being sent to the U.S. if that data will be used in ways that violate citizens' rights, Advocate General Yves Bot said in his recommendation to the ECJ.

Chinese President Vows to Work with U.S. on Cybercrime

President Xi Jinping pledged in a speech in Seattle to work with the United States on fighting cybercrime, saying that the Chinese government was a staunch defender of cybersecurity. “The Chinese government will not in whatever form engage in commercial theft, and hacking against government networks are crimes that must be punished in accordance with the law and relevant international treaties,” Mr. Xi said in an address to American business executives.

5.6 Million Fingerprint Records Stolen in U.S. Gov't Data Breach

Hackers who stole security clearance data on millions of Defense Department and other U.S. government employees got away with about 5.6 million fingerprint records, some 4.5 million more than initially reported, the government said. The additional stolen fingerprint records were identified as part of an ongoing analysis of the data breach by the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Defense, OPM said in a statement.

Jeb Bush Wants to 'Repeal or Reform' Net Neutrality

In a broadside against federal regulators, GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush says he'd overturn the government's sweeping net neutrality rules that currently prohibit Internet providers from favoring some Web sites over others. Arguing that Washington is in the midst of a "regulatory crisis" spurred by President Obama and the Federal Communications Commission, Bush said that, if elected to the White House, he'd "repeal or reform" a number of regulations, beginning with net neutrality.

Apple Working with Chinese App Developers to Avoid Attacks

A senior Apple Inc. executive said the company would make it easier for Chinese app developers to download its tools for building mobile apps in a bid to prevent further attacks on its App Store. In the wake of the first major breach on its outlet for distributing iPhone and iPad software, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller told Chinese news site Sina.com that it will offer domestic downloads within China of its software for developing apps.

Startup Receives First BitLicense from New York State

Circle Internet Financial, a Boston-based bitcoin startup backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, has received New York's first BitLicense, allowing it to offer digital currency services in the state. The BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services is based on the first set of U.S. state guidelines for companies that operate in virtual currencies such as bitcoin, which is created and exchanged independent of banks.

Senators Drop Effort for Social Media to Report Terrorism

Leaders of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee have abandoned an effort to force social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to report instances of “terrorist activity” to the federal government. The decision from committee leaders comes after deep opposition from tech companies who had protested the measure as well as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who blocked it from moving to the Senate floor.

High-Tech Trade Groups Defend FCC on Net Neutrality

A top Washington trade group for Internet companies such as Dropbox, Facebook and Netflix is now defending federal regulators in a major court battle over net neutrality, adding a legal brief to the flurry from both sides of the debate. Arguing that the FCC acted legally when it rolled out strong new rules for broadband companies this year, the Internet Association said that the regulations help protect consumers from Internet providers who control access to the Web.

Pandora Wins Ruling at Copyright Royalty Board

Pandora Media Inc. said it was pleased that the U.S. Copyright Office agreed that the company's pact with Merlin Network, a global rights agency for independent musicians, was admissible as a benchmark in royalty proceedings. A three-judge panel called the Copyright Royalty Board has been working on setting royalties for Internet radio, companies like Pandora and Jango, and is due to come to a decision in mid-December.

U.S. Agencies Revise Plans for Broadband Access

Twenty federal agencies are overhauling their policies to promote the deployment of broadband Internet across the U.S. The changes range from allowing community recreation centers to tap into a $2.3 billion program to pay for high-speed internet, to collecting more data on who is and who isn't able to access broadband, to making it easier for service providers to lay cables beneath federal lands.

Kim Dotcom Fights U.S. Extradition in New Zealand Court

Flamboyant German tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom appeared in a New Zealand court, after nearly four years of legal wrangling, at a hearing to determine whether he will face copyright infringement and other charges in the United States. The case will decide whether Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, and three other executives can be extradited to the United States.

France Denies Google's Appeal of 'Right to be Forgotten'

Google’s appeal against the global enforcement of “right to be forgotten” removals has been rejected by the French data regulator. The Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) ordered Google in May to apply RTBF removals not only to the company’s European domains such as google.co.uk or google.fr, but to the search engine’s global domain google.com.

EU Digital Chief Denies Plans to Discriminate Against U.S. Firms

The European Union has no intention of discriminating against U.S. technology giants like Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. when designing its regulatory framework for online platforms, the EU’s digital chief said. “I’m still certain that we’ll find rules [for platforms] that don’t smell of protection and discrimination, but are reasonable for European, American and for Asian players,” Günther Oettinger, the EU commissioner in charge of digital affairs, said in a telephone interview ahead of a trip to the U.S.

U.S., China Negotiating Cyberspace Arms Control Pact

The United States and China are negotiating what could become the first arms control accord for cyberspace, embracing a commitment by each country that it will not be the first to use cyberweapons to cripple the other’s critical infrastructure during peacetime, according to officials involved in the talks. While such an agreement could address attacks on power stations, banking systems, cellphone networks and hospitals, it would not, at least in its first version, protect against most of the attacks that China has been accused of conducting in the United States, including the widespread poaching of intellectual property and the theft of millions of government employees’ personal data.

AT&T Sues Ex-Employees, IT Firm for Installing Malware

AT&T has brought a lawsuit against three of its former employees and an Anaheim-based IT company, alleging that the group conspired to install malware on company computers that would illicitly generate unlock codes for customer phones. According to the suit, Anaheim's Swift Locks company worked with customer service reps in AT&T's Bothell, Washington center to nab unlock codes for phones that were still under contract (and therefore not eligible to be moved to another carrier's network) and then sell them for a profit.

Defense Department Evaluating Its Computer Vulnerabilities

The U.S. Defense Department is building a massive, electronic system to provide an overview of the vulnerabilities of the military's computer networks, weapons systems, and installations, and help officials prioritize how to fix them, the deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command said. Air Force Lieutenant General Kevin McLaughlin told Reuters officials should reach agreement on a framework within months, with a goal of turning the system into an automated "scorecard" in coming years.

Bitcoin Processor Loses $1.8 Million in Phishing Scam

Atlanta's Bitpay Inc. got hacked for more than $1.8 million in bitcoins. According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in federal court in Atlanta, in December 2014, Bryan Krohn, Bitpay's chief financial officer, got an email from someone purporting to be with a digital currency publication asking Krohn to comment on a bitcoin industry document.

Apple Wants Supreme Court to Review E-Books Pricing Case

Defying the expectations and desires of some -- who thought it might be time to move on -- Apple will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s finding that it conspired to fix the prices of ebooks when it launched its original iPad and iBook store in January 2010. “This case... presents issues of surpassing importance to the United States economy,” the company argues in papers filed with the high court.

Subscribe

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.