U.N. Meeting to Focus on Future of Internet

Government officials from more than 190 counties will meet in New York for a two-day discussion (the United Nations’ 10 Year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society, or WSIS+10 Review) that could, in principle, have a huge influence on how the Internet is governed for the next decade. “There is still an ongoing debate over this question of whether the internet and the policy environment for the Internet should be multilateral or multistakeholder. That continues to be the sticking point for many countries,” the Internet Society‘s VP of Global Policy Sally Wentworth says.

Appeals Court Lets DraftKings, FanDuel Continue in N.Y.

DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc. can continue doing business in New York for now, after an appeals court halted a trial judge’s order to temporarily halt daily fantasy games in the state. An appeals judge granted the companies a reprieve until an appellate panel has a chance to rule on a request to block the temporary ban while the companies challenge it.

'Anonymous' Hacking Group Targets Trump Skyscraper Website

On a day it had previously set aside for trolling ISIS, hacktivist collective Anonymous spared some time to launch an attack on the website for Donald Trump's trademark New York City skyscraper. There is evidence the group has been targeting the site since at least Wednesday, when it posted a YouTube video warning against Trump's plan to halt the immigration of Muslims into the U.S.

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Judge Orders FanDuel, DraftKings to Shut Down in N.Y.

A New York judge ruled that the leading daily fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings must cease operating in the state, in what could be a crippling blow to the fast-growing, multibillion-dollar industry. New York Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez granted an injunction sought by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after hearing arguments last month over whether daily fantasy sports games amounted to illegal games of chance or lawful ones involving skill.

Tech Firms Urge Congress to Avoid Net-Neutrality Changes

Major technology companies are pushing Congress to keep any net neutrality-related measures out of an end-of-year spending bill lawmakers are seeking to wrap-up next week. More than a dozen companies and trade groups representing the largest players in the industry sent a letter to House and Senate leadership calling for a trio of provisions to be kept out of the “chaotic appropriations process.”

Lawmakers Agree on Permanent Ban on Internet Access Taxes

House and Senate negotiators announced that they have reached agreement on bipartisan legislation to make permanent a moratorium that prevents states from taxing access to the Internet. The moratorium was first enacted in 1998. State and local governments that already had Internet taxes were allowed to keep them under the current moratorium, but under the new agreement, jurisdictions with Internet taxes would be required to phase them out by mid-2020.

EU Gets 'Suspension Clause' in New U.S. Data Pact

A new data transfer pact between the European Union and Washington will give the EU the right to pull the plug on the deal if it fears the United States is not safeguarding privacy enough, the EU Justice Commissioner said. A previous transatlantic data transfer framework, Safe Harbour, was struck down on Oct. 6 by the European Union's top court because of worries about mass U.S. surveillance practices.

European Commission Considers Action Against 'News Aggregators'

The European Union is looking into whether services such as Google News and Yahoo News should pay to display snippets of news articles, wading into a bitter debate between the online industry and publishers. The European Commission, the EU's executive, said it will consider whether "any action specific to news aggregators is needed, including intervening on the definition of rights."

Wyndham Settles with FTC After Three Data Breaches

The Federal Trade Commission has settled a lawsuit accusing hotel group Wyndham Worldwide Corp. of failing to properly safeguard customer information, in a case arising from three data breaches affecting more than 619,000 customers. The consent order was filed with the federal court in Newark, New Jersey, 3-1/2 months after a federal appeals court in Philadelphia said the FTC had authority to regulate corporate cyber security.

24% of Consumers Bought Fake Product Online, Survey Says

Nearly one in four consumers has unknowingly bought a counterfeit product online, and the risk of falling into the trap is increased during the Christmas period, research has revealed. A survey commissioned by MarkMonitor, and carried out by market research company Opinium, analysed the habits of more than 3,000 online consumers in nine countries.

Australian Police Raid Home of Alleged Bitcoin Founder

Police have raided the home of an Australian tech entrepreneur identified by two U.S. publications as one of the early developers of the digital currency bitcoin. Police gained entry to a home belonging to Craig Wright, who had hours earlier been identified in investigations by Gizmodo and Wired, based on leaked transcripts of legal interviews and files.

Schmidt Says Governments Can Help Fight Hate Online

In an op-ed in The New York Times, Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt extolled the virtues of the Internet, saying it provides an opportunity for people around the globe to connect, and those in developing countries an opportunity to see all the world has to offer. But his piece quickly turned dark, saying the Internet has also become a place where oppression and harassment are all too common.

CEO of Financial Firm Sues Unknown Hackers for Extortion

Markit Ltd.'s chief executive filed a lawsuit accusing unknown individuals of hacking into his computers, phone and emails to try to intimidate him and extort money. In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, Lance Uggla, the CEO and founder of the financial information service provider, said hackers had been engaging in an "anonymous campaign of extortion."

Senate Bill Would Require Firms to Alert for Terrorism Online

The Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat could soon introduce legislation that would require social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to alert federal officials about online terrorist activity, according to a spokesman. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been pushing for language that would address the growing use by extremist groups of social media to both spread propaganda and plot attacks around the world.

Lawmaker Wants to Examine Extremists' Use of Encryption

Violent extremists’ use of encryption to evade law enforcement in communicating online will be examined by a task force proposed by a Republican lawmaker, adding to pressures on Silicon Valley to do more in fighting militant groups. Citing concerns about violent extremists communicating in potentially undetectable "dark space" online, Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants to set up a commission of members from the technology business, law enforcement and other experts.

French Appeals Court Orders Uber to Pay Fine

A French appeals court ordered Uber Technologies Inc. to pay a €150,000 fine, the latest flare-up in an ongoing conflict between the car-hailing company and the French government. The Paris Court of Appeals rejected Uber’s challenge to a 2014 criminal-court decision that had found the company guilty of deceptive commercial practices in its advertising for a now-shuttered service that used drivers without professional licenses.

French Police Consider Outlawing Free WiFi Services

The French police are reportedly proposing that new laws ban the use of free WiFi services and anonymous browsers such as Tor. The proposals, which are part of an internal document seen by French national newspaper Le Monde, could be enacted in two proposed bills – one on the State of Emergency and the other on combating counter-terrorism in general.

Social Media Companies Quietly Fighting Islamic Militants

Facebook, Google and Twitter are stepping up efforts to combat online propaganda and recruiting by Islamic militants, but the Internet companies are doing it quietly to avoid the perception that they are helping the authorities police the Web. Facebook Inc. said it took down a profile that the company believed belonged to San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik, who with her husband is accused of killing 14 people in a mass shooting that the FBI is investigating as an "act of terrorism."

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