Supreme Court Won't Rule on Microsoft Email Case After Cloud Act

The U.S. Supreme Court dropped Microsoft Corp’s privacy fight with the Justice Department over whether prosecutors can force technology companies to hand over data stored overseas after Congress passed legislation that resolved the dispute. The justices heard arguments in the high-profile case on Feb. 27, but President Donald Trump on March 22 signed legislation into law that makes clear that U.S. judges can issue warrants for such data while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law.

Tech Companies Vow Not to Help Governments Attack 'Innocent Civilians'

More than 30 high-tech companies, led by Microsoft and Facebook, announced a set of principles that included a declaration that they would not help any government — including that of the United States — mount cyberattacks against “innocent civilians and enterprises from anywhere,” reflecting Silicon Valley’s effort to separate itself from government cyberwarfare. The principles, which have been circulating among senior executives in the tech industry for weeks, also commit the companies to come to the aid of any nation on the receiving end of such attacks, whether the motive for the attack is “criminal or geopolitical.”

Up to 400 Australian Businesses Targeted by Russian Cyber-Attacks

Up to 400 Australian businesses may have been targeted by suspected Russian state-sponsored cyber attacks that have affected millions of machines worldwide, the Defence Minister Marise Payne has revealed. The United States, Britain and Australia allege Russian Government-backed hackers infected computer routers around the world in a cyber-espionage campaign targeting government agencies, businesses and critical infrastructure operators.

  • Read the article: ABC

TaskRabbit Goes Offline While It Probes Cybersecurity Incident

TaskRabbit, the handyman-for-hire app that connects workers with people who have a task they'd rather pay someone else to do, sent an alert to its users, informing them that they were "investigating a cybersecurity incident." The company, which Ikea acquired in September, said it it's working with an outside cybersecurity firm and law enforcement to figure out what happened.

  • Read the article: CNET

Commerce Department Bans U.S. Companies from Selling to ZTE

The U.S. Department of Commerce has banned American companies from selling components to leading Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years for violating an agreement in a sanctions violation case, U.S. officials said. The U.S. action could be devastating to ZTE since American companies are estimated to provide 25 percent to 30 percent of the components used in ZTE’s equipment, which includes smartphones and gear to build telecommunications networks.

Pentagon Reports '2,000 Percent Increase in Russian Trolls' After Syria Strike

The Pentagon reported a massive spike in online Russian propaganda efforts in the hours before and after the U.S. missile strike on Syria the night before. “The Russian disinformation campaign has already begun. There has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours," chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a briefing. 

Russian Court Orders Block on Telegram Messenger Service

A Russian court ordered that access to the Telegram messenger service be blocked in Russia, heralding possible communication disruption for millions of users in the latest clash between global technology firms and Russian authorities. The decision came a week after state communication watchdog, Roskomnadzor, filed a lawsuit to limit access to Telegram following the company’s repeated refusal to give Russian state security services access to its users’ secret messages.

Chinese Microblogging Platform Sina Weibo to Remove Gay, Violent Content

China’s Sina Weibo will remove gay and violent content, including pictures, cartoons and text posts, during a three-month clean-up campaign, the microblogging platform said. The announcement comes amid a clampdown targeting content across social media platforms as China’s leaders look to tighten their grip on a huge and diverse cultural scene popular with the young.

Apple Warns Employees Against Leaking, Says 12 Arrested Last Year

Apple Inc. warned employees to stop leaking internal information on future plans and raised the specter of potential legal action and criminal charges, one of the most-aggressive moves by the world’s largest technology company to control information about its activities. The Cupertino, California-based company said in a lengthy memo posted to its internal blog that it "caught 29 leakers," last year and noted that 12 of those were arrested.

EU Justice Commissioner Talks Privacy with Facebook's Sandberg

European Union Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said she had a “constructive and open discussion” with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The call lasted around half an hour and Jourova said the EU would closely monitor Facebook’s implementation of a strict new EU data protection law which enters into force on May 25.

Spotify Buying Loudr.fm to Reduce Risks for Copyright Payments

Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming service, said it is to buy Loudr.fm, a San Francisco-based provider of licensing technology to help it to locate songwriters and pay them royalties they are due. The acquisition helps address a major weakness Spotify has warned exists in its business model, namely locating and ensuring the right artists get paid for their copyrighted work, an issue which, left unaddressed, leaves it open to lawsuits.

CEO of Backpage.com Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

The chief executive officer of sex-solicitation website Backpage.com pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges in California three days after the site, which was also used by human traffickers, was permanently closed. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that Carl Ferrer offered his guilty plea in state court in Sacramento and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against a pair of co-conspirators and controlling shareholders. Ferrer faces a prison sentence of up to five years.

Trump Signs Online Sex Trafficking Act Limiting Websites' Liability

President Trump signed a sex trafficking bill that reduces legal protections for websites that enable sex trafficking. The legislation, called the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), but also referred to as SESTA after the original Senate bill, cuts into the broad protections websites have from legal liability for content posted by their users.

Read the article: The Hill

On Day 2 Before Congress, Zuckerberg Calls Regulation 'Inevitable'

After two days and more than 10 hours of questioning of Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook chief executive, there was widespread consensus among lawmakers that social media technology — and its potential for abuse — had far outpaced Washington and that Congress should step in to close the gap.Mr. Zuckerberg, composed but noncommittal about making any sweeping privacy changes, conceded that it was “inevitable that there will need to be some regulation.”

Alibaba Group in Trademark Fight with Alibabacoin Foundation

The Dubai-based cryptocurrency firm Alibabacoin Foundation said Alibaba Group Holding Ltd cannot monopolize the “magical” Alibaba name, and asked a U.S. judge to dismiss the Chinese e-commerce retailer’s trademark lawsuit. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Alibabacoin rejected the claim that consumers would be confused into thinking Alibaba supported its alleged effort to raise money in the cryptocurrency market.

Jury Orders Apple to Pay $502.6 Million to VirnetX in Patent Case

VirnetX Holding Corp. won $502.6 million against Apple Inc. after a federal jury in Texas said the maker of iPhones was infringing patents for secure communications, the latest twist in a dispute now in its eighth year. VirnetX claimed that Apple’s FaceTime, VPN on Demand and iMessage features infringe four patents related to secure communications, claims that Apple denied.

Zuckerberg Apologizes, Defends, Promises in Senate Testimony

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg endured an hours-long grilling by dozens of U.S. senators during which he repeatedly apologized and promised privacy reforms but also pointedly defended his company against the threat of new legislation. Zuckerberg invoked Facebook’s unlikely journey — from a tiny start-up he co-founded in his Harvard dorm room 14 years ago to a social media behemoth — in explaining Facebook’s frequent privacy missteps and its failure to spot and defeat Russia’s aggressive campaign to manipulate American voters in 2016 and beyond.

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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.