FTC Hearings Focus on New Antitrust Approach for Tech Companies

The Federal Trade Commission kicked off a series of hearings to discuss whether the agency’s competition and consumer protection policies should change to better reflect new technologies and companies. “The broad antitrust consensus that has existed within the antitrust community, in relatively stable form for the last 25 years, is being challenged,” said Joseph J. Simons, the agency’s chairman.

Facebook Expands Efforts to Identify Manipulated Photos, Videos

Facebook said it would expand its efforts to scan photos and videos uploaded to the social network for evidence that they've been manipulated, as lawmakers sound new alarms that foreign adversaries might try to spread misinformation through fake visual content. In 17 countries, including the United States, Facebook said it has deployed its powerful algorithms to “identify potentially false” images and videos, then send those flagged posts to outside fact-checkers for further review.

Senators Question State Department's Lax Cybersecurity Practices

In a letter sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a bipartisan group of five senators called out the department's poor cybersecurity practices. The agency was required to adopt multifactor authentication for all accounts with "elevated privileges" as part of the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, but an inspection found that only 11 percent of required agency devices actually enabled it, according to the letter.

  • Read the article: CNET

European Proposal Requires Immediate Removal of Terrorist Content

Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and other tech firms could be slapped with fines as high as 4 percent of annual revenue if they fail to remove terror propaganda from their sites quickly enough under new European Union legislative proposals. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, proposed new legislation forcing internet companies to wipe Islamic State videos and other terror content from their services within an hour of notification for removal by national authorities.

European Privacy Complaint Says Websites Violate GDPR

Brave, a privacy-focused web browser set up by Silicon Valley engineering guru Brendan Eich, filed privacy complaints in Britain and Ireland that could become a test case against search company Google and other digital advertising firms. The petitioners say they want to trigger an article in the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requiring an EU-wide investigation, making it a test case for a new European Data Protection Board created to give the privacy regime more teeth.

EU Lawmakers Approve Controversial Internet Copyright Law

European parliamentarians have passed a controversial overhaul of copyright law that could force tech giants to install filters that prevent copyright-protected content from being uploaded. Lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, voted in favor of the European Union's revamped directive, which is aimed at bringing the bloc's rules on copyright into the 21st century.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Blockchain Association Launches as Washington Lobbying Group

Tech veterans and a number of high-profile cryptocurrency companies said they are forming the Blockchain Association, the first fully fledged lobbying group in Washington representing entrepreneurs and investors who are building off the technology behind bitcoin. Joining the initial push are companies such as Coinbase and Circle, which operate some of the world's most popular virtual currency exchanges, as well as the technology start-up Protocol Labs.

Arizona Attorney General Probing Android Location-Tracking Practice

Google's alleged practice of recording location data about Android device owners even when they believe they have opted out of such tracking has sparked an investigation in Arizona, where the state's attorney general could potentially levy a hefty fine against the search giant. The probe, initiated by Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and confirmed by a person familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak on the record, could put pressure on other states and the federal government to follow suit, consumer advocates say — although Google previously insisted it did not deceive consumers about the way it collects and taps data on their whereabouts.

EU Executive Arm Argues Against Expanding 'Right to Be Forgotten'

The European Union’s executive arm joined Google and a group of free-speech advocates to oppose expanding the bloc’s “right to be forgotten” beyond European borders. In arguments before the EU’s top court, the executive arm as well as countries including Ireland and Greece argued that a global application of the EU right would stretch the EU’s privacy laws beyond their intended scope — echoing at least some of Google’s arguments.

Judge Rules Securities Laws Cover Initial Coin Offerings

Federal prosecutors won a key legal victory when a judge ruled that U.S. securities laws cover initial coin offerings. In what is believed to be the first criminal case of its kind, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, refused to dismiss the case of a man charged with promoting digital currencies backed by investments in real estate and diamonds that prosecutors said didn’t exist.

European Parliament Preparing to Vote on Draft Copyright Directive

A new European push to rein in tech giants through copyright legislation is sparking fierce debate and questions about whether the proposed law would accomplish its goals. It is coming to a head because the European Parliament plans to vote on a draft copyright directive that supporters say would bolster media producers against internet platforms and hold those platforms more responsible for paying for content, such as copyrighted music playing in the background of an uploaded home video.

New York Approves Digital Currency Exchange Launched by Winklevosses

New York state approved Gemini Trust Company’s and Paxos Trust Company’s dollar-linked digital currencies, the first stablecoins to get the nod from the region’s regulator. The Gemini dollar by Gemini, the digital asset exchange launched by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is a stablecoin that will allow users to send and receive U.S. dollars on the Ethereum blockchain.

Democratic Attorneys General Missing Invites to DOJ Review of Tech Firms

Democratic attorneys general from key states said they have not yet been invited by the Justice Department to its upcoming review of tech companies, prompting criticism that the Trump administration's inquiry is a politically charged attack on the tech industry. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions first announced that he was gathering state attorneys general to examine whether companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter are “intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas” online.

Apple Removes 'Adware Doctor' After Report It Collected Browsing History

Apple has removed a top Mac app called Adware Doctor, designed to "prevent malware and malicious files from infecting your Mac," which, according to security researchers Patrick Wardle and Privacy 1st, was collecting users' browsing history without their consent, violating Apple's policies. Wardle, who shared his findings with TechCrunch, found that Adware Doctor requested access to users' home directory and files — not unusual for an anti-malware or adware app that scans computers for malicious code — and used that access to collect Chrome, Safari, and Firefox browsing history, and recent App Store searches.

Apple Removes Infowars App, Citing Policy Against 'Offensive' Content

Apple removed the Infowars app from its App Store, eliminating one of the final avenues for Alex Jones, the notorious internet conspiracy theorist to reach a mainstream audience. An Apple spokeswoman said it was removed under company policies that prohibit apps from including content that is “offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust or in exceptionally poor taste.”

British Airways Says Customers' Financial Data Stolen in Data Breach

Financial data has been stolen from potentially hundreds of thousands of British Airways customers who made online bookings in recent weeks, extending a run of embarrassing technological mishaps suffered by the UK flag carrier. The thefts occurred during a data breach that affected bookings made on the airline’s website between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5, parent International Airlines Group said.

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.