Tech Company Leaders Criticize Trump's Order on Immigration

Leaders from across the technology industry criticized President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, ending weeks of cautious engagement with the new president, whom many in Silicon Valley opposed. Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Uber Technologies Inc. and other companies expressed concern about the immigration order’s effect on their employees, with some executives saying the ban violated their personal and company principles.

Twitter Discloses Receipt of FBI National Security Letters

Twitter disclosed that the FBI had issued the tech company two national security letters accompanied by gag orders in the past two years. In a blog post on Twitter’s website, Elizabeth Banker, an associate general counsel for the company, published both national security requests, redacted to hide the identities of the users being probed as well as law enforcement officials.

High-Tech Companies 'Scared' Over Trump's Immigration Changes

American technology companies for years have relied on a steady stream of skilled engineers from overseas to help them create their products. Now many of those companies and their workers are girding for expected changes to immigration policy under President Trump that the companies say could hurt their ability to tap the technical talent they need to stay competitive.

FBI Posts Redacted Report on Gamergate Investigations

The FBI has posted a heavily redacted report of its threat investigations during the Gamergate controversy in 2014 and 2015. The 173-page document (not counting 61 deleted pages) primarily seems to cover harassment of against critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu, including a shooting threat that caused Sarkeesian to cancel a planned talk at Utah State University.

Russia Reports 2016 Cyber Attacks on Commercial Banks

Russia's major commercial banks came under cyber attacks in November last year, the country's Federal Security Service said, Interfax news agency reported. Lenders such as Sberbank, Rosbank, Alfa Bank, Bank of Moscow, as well as the Moscow Exchange and other institutions were the targets of "a massive attack" from hackers between Nov. 8 and Nov. 14, deputy head of the Security Service Dmitry Shalkov said.

Doctors Want FDA to Regulate Internet Devices for Babies

Experts are worried about an emerging market of smart devices that pledge to monitor babies’ vital signs during sleep. In an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, two doctors and a medical researcher warn that relying on these smart baby monitors could actually put infants at risk. The authors call on the Food and Drug Administration to step up its regulation of these devices.

Google Removes 1.7 Billion Ads in 2016 to Fight Scammers

According to a recent report, Google removed 1.7 billion ads from its advertising platform in 2016, more than double the amount compared to the year prior. The online housekeeping included 68 million ads for illegal pharmaceutical products, 80 million for content that misled and deceived consumers, as well as 112 million others that used trick-to-click methods.

Apple Sues Qualcomm in China for $145 Million

Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. in Beijing, alleging the chip supplier abused its clout in the chip industry and seeking 1 billion yuan ($145.32 million) in damages, Beijing's Intellectual Property Court said in a statement. Apple also filed a second lawsuit against Qualcomm which accused it of failing to live up to promises made to license "standard essential patents" broadly and inexpensively.

Amazon Offers E-Book Contract Concessions to Settle EU Probe

Amazon.com Inc. is poised to settle a European Union probe into its e-book deals with publishers by changing controversial clauses, according to regulators. Amazon won’t enforce clauses that required publishers to offer it terms as good as or better than those they sign with other e-book distributors and will avoid them in future contracts, the European Commission said in a e-mailed statement that outlined details of the company’s offer to settle the investigation.

Appeals Court Lets Microsoft Email Server Decision Stand

An equally divided federal appeals court refused to reconsider its landmark decision forbidding the U.S. government from forcing Microsoft Corp and other companies to turn over customer emails stored on servers outside the United States. The 4-4 vote by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan let stand a July 14 decision that was seen as a victory for privacy advocates, and for technology companies offering cloud computing and other services worldwide.

Ninth Circuit Rules Against Perfect 10 in Copyright Case

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed Perfect 10 its latest legal defeat by recognizing that copyright plaintiffs must show "volitional conduct," or causation, when claiming a tech service infringes its copyrighted material. The subject of the 9th Circuit's latest opinion is Perfect 10's battle with Giganews, an online service provider of message exchange Usenet.

EU Considers Testing Banks for Cyber Attack Defenses

The European Union is considering testing banks' defenses against cyber attacks, EU officials and sources said, as concerns grow about the industry's vulnerability to hacking. Cyber attacks against banks have increased in numbers and sophistication in recent years, with criminals finding new ways to target banks beyond trying to illicitly obtain details of their customers' online accounts.

SEC Investigates Timing of Yahoo Data Breach Disclosures

U.S. authorities are investigating whether Yahoo Inc.’s two massive data breaches should have been reported sooner to investors, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could prove to be a major test in defining when a company is required to disclose a hack. The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation, and in December issued requests for documents, as it looks into whether the tech company’s disclosures about the cyberattacks complied with civil securities laws, the people said.

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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.