Google, Viacom Win Appeal on Children's Privacy Online

Google and Viacom defeated an appeal in a nationwide class action lawsuit by parents who claimed the companies illegally tracked the online activity of children under the age of 13 who watched videos and played video games on Nickelodeon's website. By a 3-0 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, and Viacom Inc were not liable under several federal and state laws for planting "cookies" on boys' and girls' computers, to gather data that advertisers could use to send targeted ads.

China to Require Search Engines to Report Banned Content

Chinese authorities will require Baidu Inc. and other search engines to report banned content and verify advertisers’ qualifications in its latest attempt at Internet regulation. Under rules to take effect Aug. 1, search engines operating in the country will be prohibited from providing banned information in various formats including links, summaries, cached pages, associative words, related searches and relevant recommendations, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement.

EU Planning New Antitrust Charges Against Google

The European Union’s competition watchdog has signaled it is preparing to issue a fresh set of formal antitrust charges, possibly before August, against Alphabet Inc.’s Google over abusing its dominance in advertising, according to people familiar with the matter. The European Commission has asked rival companies to permit disclosure to Google of confidential information they submitted that support allegations that it abuses its dominance in advertising.

German Publishers Appeal Google Decision on News Headlines

German publishers have appealed a Berlin court's rejection of a case in which they accused Google of abusing its market power by refusing to pay them for displaying newspaper articles online, a lawyer for the publishers said. Germany's biggest newspaper publisher, Axel Springer and 40 other publishers had accused Alphabet Inc's Google of unfair treatment.

Facebook Takes Down Troll's Page in Stanford Rape Case

A sardonic Facebook page that defended Brock Turner as the "real victim" in the controversy over the ex-Stanford student's sexual assault of an unconscious woman has been taken down for violating the social media company's community standards. Beginning June 9, the Brock Turner Family Support page published a series of increasingly offensive posts lamenting Turner's 6-month stint in county jail and trivializing the plight of his victim, whom Turner was convicted in March of assaulting outside a campus party in 2015.

YouTube, Facebook Use New Technology to Take Down Extremist Videos

Some of the web’s biggest destinations for watching videos have quietly started using automation to remove extremist content from their sites, according to two people familiar with the process. The move is a major step forward for internet companies that are eager to eradicate violent propaganda from their sites and are under pressure to do so from governments around the world as attacks by extremists proliferate, from Syria to Belgium and the United States.

ITC Issues Rulings For, Against Cisco in Patent Cases with Arista

Networking products company Arista Networks Inc., which has been in a patent dispute with Cisco Systems Inc., said the International Trade Commission issued a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist order against it concerning two features. The ITC ruled in Arista’s favor on two other features, finding that they don’t infringe Cisco’s patents.

Banks Abandoning Passwords for More Secure Technologies

Some of the nation’s largest banks, acknowledging that traditional passwords are either too cumbersome or no longer secure, are increasingly using fingerprints, facial scans and other types of biometrics to safeguard accounts. Millions of customers at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo routinely use fingerprints to log into their bank accounts through their mobile phones.

Big U.S. Tech Firms Anxious About 'Brexit' Vote in EU

Tech firms have clashed with the EU on regulatory issues ranging from privacy to taxes to antitrust law. But ahead of a referendum on the U.K.’s continued membership in the EU, several technology executives and lobbyists said that the U.K.’s leaving the bloc could deepen those battles -- while creating new obstacles for them to do business in the U.K., too.

Clinton Foundation Breached by Russian Hackers

The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation was among the organizations breached by suspected Russian hackers in a dragnet of the U.S. political apparatus ahead of the November election, according to three people familiar with the matter. The attacks on the foundation’s network, as well as those of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, compound concerns about her digital security even as the FBI continues to investigate her use of a personal e-mail server while she was secretary of state.

Senate Blocks Bill Giving FBI Greater Access to Email, Data

The Senate rejected a Republican-led effort to allow the FBI to access a person’s Internet browsing history, email account data and other electronic communications without a court order in terrorism and spy cases. The measure from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) would have also extended the government’s authority to conduct surveillance over potential “lone wolf” attackers.

Chinese Smartphone Makers Seek Patents as Ammunition

China’s smartphone makers increasingly are turning to patents as ammunition as they try to reel in global leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Chinese technology giants from Huawei Technologies Co. to ZTE Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are acquiring patents through licensing deals, acquisitions and hefty spending on research and development -- moves that could signal more legal challenges for Apple and Samsung not just in China, but overseas as well.

OECD Report Warns About Limits on Online Speech

At least a dozen countries are considering or have enacted laws restricting online speech, a trend that is alarming policymakers and others who see the internet as a valuable medium for debate and expression. Such curbs are called out as a threat to the open internet in a report on internet governance set to be released at an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

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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.