COVFEFE Act Would Require White House to Preserve Deleted Tweets

The White House has already promised to preserve all of President Donald Trump's tweets — even those he's deleted — but Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois wants to make sure it follows through. Quigley, who represents parts of Chicago, introduced the "Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically For Engagement" Act (COVFEFE), designed to amend the Presidential Records Act to categorize social media posts as official presidential communications that must be preserved for posterity.

SWIFT Bank Messaging System Increases Security After Attacks

Dealing with cyber hacks on banks ate into profit last year at the SWIFT messaging system, which financial institutions use to move trillions of dollars each day. SWIFT, which was criticized by some former staff and customers for failing to have spotted weaknesses in its customers' operating practices, has expanded its security teams and developed new tools to help clients monitor transactions and spot anomalies.

EU Opens Antitrust Probe of Qualcomm's Bid for NXP

EU antitrust authorities opened an investigation into Qualcomm's $38-billion bid for NXP Semiconductors, ratcheting up pressure on the U.S. smartphone chipmaker to offer concessions to address their concerns. Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple, is set to become the leading supplier to the fast growing automotive chip market following the deal, the largest-ever in the semiconductor industry.

White House to Host First Meeting of 'American Technology Council'

Leaders from the largest technology companies are set to visit the White House later this month for an inaugural meeting of President Donald Trump’s group formed to modernize government services, according to three people familiar with the plans. The American Technology Council meeting will include a gathering of top executives followed by smaller sessions on particular topics, including those involving tech sales to government agencies, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

Russian Hackers Blamed for Spreading Malware on Instagram

Hackers associated with the Russian government used Instagram to control malware used in attacks, according to a new report. Researchers at Eset found that Turla, a well-known group believed to be affiliated with Russian intelligence, designed a malicious extension for the Firefox web browser to allow malware on a victim's computer to communicate with the hackers over the photo-sharing social network.

EU Wants to Ease Law Enforcement Access to Electronic Evidence

The European Union wants to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to get electronic evidence directly from tech companies, such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc's Google, even when stored in another European country. In the wake of the deadly Islamist-inspired attacks in Europe over the past two years, tech companies have come under increased pressure to do more to help police investigations, and law enforcement officials have bemoaned the slow process required to access data stored in the cloud in other EU member states.

In Europe, Groups Try to Monitor Online Political Misinformation

As voters head to the polls across Europe, groups in Britain, Germany and elsewhere are creating new ways to track and monitor digital political ads and misinformation on the social network and on other digital services like Twitter and Google. A lack of information has raised hackles about the activities of both Facebook and politicians in a country where campaigns are highly regulated and political financing is tightly capped.

Insurers Offer Libel Coverage for Social Media Posts

Given how much of our lives is spent venting on social media, especially in the age of Trump, the more vociferous might want to consider libel insurance. A longtime necessity for journalists, such policies are now being sold to the average American, bundled with more traditional policies covering homes and cars. For an additional couple of bucks a month, you can buy yourself a little peace of mind, knowing someone else will foot the bill if you’re hit with a defamation lawsuit for what you say online.

As States Launch 'Right to Repair' Laws, Apple Expands Repair Centers

By the end of 2017, Apple will to put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iPhone glass in about 400 authorized third-party repair centers in 25 countries, company executives told Reuters.The change also comes as eight U.S. states have launched "right to repair" bills aimed at prying open the tightly controlled repair networks of Apple and other high-tech manufacturers.

First Amendment Group Wants Trump to Stop Blocking Twitter Users

Some Twitter users say President Trump should not be able to block them on the social network. The Knight First Amendment Institute, founded a year ago by the non-profit John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to preserve the First Amendment in the digital age, is sending a letter to the White House asking Trump to unblock them on his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account.

Kaspersky Files Antitrust Complaints Against Microsoft in Europe

Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab has filed antitrust complaints against Microsoft with the European Commission and the German federal cartel office, it said in a statement. Kaspersky Lab says that Microsoft is abusing its dominance in the PC operating system market, creating obstacles for independent software security vendors by distributing its own Defender anti-virus software with the ubiquitous Windows operating system.

U.S. Voting Software Supplier Targeted by Russia Before Election

Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept. The top-secret National Security Agency document, which was provided anonymously to The Intercept and independently authenticated, analyzes intelligence very recently acquired by the agency about a months-long Russian intelligence cyber effort against elements of the U.S. election and voting infrastructure.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Privacy of Cellphone Location Data

Police officers for the first time could be required to obtain warrants to get data on the past locations of criminal suspects based on cellphone use under a major case on privacy rights in the digital age taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices agreed to hear an appeal by a man convicted in a series of armed robberies in Ohio and Michigan with the help of past cellphone location data who contends that without a warrant from a court such data amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment.

Harvard Revokes Admission for 10 Students Over Offensive Facebook Posts

Harvard University revoked admission offers to at least 10 incoming students after the school discovered the individuals were posting explicit and obscene memes in a Facebook chat group that advocated sexual assault and mocked the death of children. The potential students began sharing posts in a private chat group that splintered off from a larger one of about 100 students who contacted each other through the school's official Class of 2021 Facebook page that was meant for new students to meet each other, the Harvard Crimson first reported.

Facebook Vows to Become 'Hostile Environment' for Terrorists

Facebook said it wanted to make its social media platform a "hostile environment" for terrorists in a statement issued after attackers killed seven people in London and prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to demand action from internet firms. Three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby in Britain's third major militant attack in recent months.

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.