European Court Asked to Rule on Class-Action Status of Facebook Privacy Suit

Europe’s top court, the CJEU, has been asked to rule on whether a privacy-related legal action brought against Facebook can be treated as a class action or not. The suit kicked off in Austria back in 2014 with European privacy campaigner and lawyer Max Schrems calling for non-commercial Facebook users located outside North America to join the class action — thousands of whom quickly did so.

Justice Dep't Studying Security Threats from 'Internet of Things'

The U.S. Justice Department has formed a threat analysis team to study potential national security challenges posed by self-driving cars, medical devices and other Internet-connected tools, a senior official said. The new group's goal is to secure the so-called "internet of things" from exploitation by “terrorist threats” and by others who might try to hack devices to cause loss of life or achieve political or economic gain, according to Assistant Attorney General John Carlin, head of the Justice Department’s national security division.

Facebook Reinstates Photo from Vietnam War After Criticism

Facebook has reinstated use of a famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a young girl crying as she runs from napalm during the Vietnam War, after accusations of censorship. The editor-in-chief of Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper, penned an open letter on Friday criticizing Facebook for deleting a post from their page with the iconic image.

Two Arrested for Hacking Senior U.S. Government Officials

Two North Carolina men were arrested for allegedly hacking several senior U.S. government officials as part of a group called "Crackas With Attitude," according to documents filed in federal court. Reuters and other media outlets have reported that hackers who broke into CIA Director John Brennan's personal account in 2015 called themselves by that name.

White House Picks First Chief Information Security Officer

The White House announced that Greg Touhill, a top cybersecurity official at the Homeland Security Department, will serve as the first federal chief information security officer. "In his new role as Federal CISO, Greg will leverage his considerable experience in managing a range of complex and diverse technical solutions at scale with his strong knowledge of both civilian and military best practices, capabilities, and human capital training, development and retention strategies," White House cyber czar Michael Daniel and federal chief information officer Tony Scott wrote in a blog post about the new appointment, which will be housed in the Office of Management and Budget.

European Commission to Extend Security Rules to Messaging Apps

The European Union is set to extend some security rules currently only applicable to telecom operators to web services such as WhatsApp, Skype and Apple's FaceTime, according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters. The European Commission, the EU executive, will unveil a proposed reform of its 15-year-old telecom rules next week in which it will extend some provisions to web companies offering calls and messages over the Internet, so-called "over the top players."

European Court Supports Linking to Infringing Content

Hyperlinking to unauthorized content may not be an infringement of copyright, according to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), but conditions do apply. The CJEU ruled that it is not an infringement of copyright to hyperlink to work published online without the copyright owner’s consent, as long as the link was not posted for profit and the linker did not have knowledge that the work was originally published illegally.

Ireland's Parliament Supports Appeal of EU Apple Tax Ruling

Ireland's government won strong backing from parliament for its appeal against a 13-billion-euro back tax bill the European Commission ordered it to collect from Apple, following 12 hours of debate. Ireland's fragile coalition overcame initial misgivings from independent members of cabinet to join Apple in fighting the ruling that Ireland granted state aid to the company through undue and selective tax benefit.

U.S. Tech Firms Spend More Lobbying European Commission

U.S. tech giants Google and Facebook are among multinationals spending more in Brussels as the European Commission eyes new business regulation after last week handing Apple a 13-billion-euro tax demand. A new annual filing by Google to the EU's Transparency Register showed it spent roughly 15-20 percent more on lobbying European Union officials and lawmakers last year than in 2014, itself some three times as much as in the year before that.

Companies Hesitant to Use U.S.-EU 'Privacy Shield'

A survey shows multinational companies remain wary of a new international data-transfer agreement between the U.S. and the European Union, and many are relying on contract provisions that could be invalidated by Europe’s highest court. The survey of 600 privacy professionals, conducted in June and July, found only 34% say they plan to use the agreement, known as Privacy Shield, which allows businesses to transfer personal data on European citizens to the U.S.

John McAfee Sues Intel Over Use of 'McAfee' Name

The creator of the McAfee antivirus computer software, John McAfee, has brought a trademark non-infringement lawsuit against technology company Intel. Filed on September 2 at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, McAfee sued Intel over the right to use his name, claiming that it doesn’t infringe Intel’s trademark rights in the McAfee name.

Companies Support Microsoft in Case Over Gov't Data Practices

Technology, media, pharmaceutical and other companies, along with major corporate lobbying groups, filed legal briefs in support of a Microsoft Corp. lawsuit that aims to strike down a law preventing companies from telling customers the government is seeking their data. The filings show broad support for Microsoft and the technology industry in its latest high-profile clash with the U.S. Justice Department over digital privacy and surveillance.

Florida Man Indicted for 2011 Attack on Linux Kernel

In August 2011, multiple servers used to maintain and distribute the Linux operating system kernel were infected with malware that gave an unknown intruder almost unfettered access. Now, the five-year-old breach investigation got its first big break when federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing a South Florida computer programmer of carrying out the attack.

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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.