Apple CEO Expected to Call EU's GDPR 'Good Policy,' Praise Privacy

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is expected to praise new European privacy rules and to voice the company’s support for strong laws in Europe and the United States to protect the use of data, according to prepared remarks for delivery at a Brussels event. Cook will describe Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, as an example of how “good policy and political will can come together to protect the rights of us all,” according to the remarks, seen by Reuters ahead of a gathering of international privacy regulators.

Senator Wants Tech Companies to Investigate Saudi Propaganda

A Senate Democrat is asking major tech companies to investigate Saudi propaganda efforts on their platforms following reports of social media operations promoting the country’s talking points in the wake of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent letters to Facebook, Google, Reddit and Twitter on Monday asking them to look into the matter as well as asking them to look into whether Saudi Arabia had employed social media tactics to boost then-candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Saudi Investment Conference Website Defaced by Gov't Critics

A high-profile Saudi investment conference that was due to begin this week experienced another setback after its website appeared to be defaced by hackers critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The home page for the conference — which markets itself as “Davos in the Desert” — was overtaken and replaced with a message calling for Saudi officials to be held “responsible for its barbaric and inhuman action, such as killing its own citizen Jamal khashoggi and thousands of innocent people in Yemen.”

Portuguese Court Stops Google from Removing Android Apps

Portuguese app store Aptoide said that a local court had ruled against Alphabet Inc.’s Google in a landmark case, ordering the U.S. giant to stop removing its app from users’ mobile phones without their knowledge. Aptoide’s lawyer Carlos Nestal said it was the first case of an EU national court enforcing separation of the Android operating system and services that run on it, to allow competitors like Aptoide to compete with Google apps.

U.S. Government Woos 'Patriotic Citizens with Technical Expertise'

The White House plans to convene technology giants including Amazon.com, Google, Microsoft and IBM and urge them to make it easier for their workers to leave behind their big paychecks and snazzy office perks and do brief tours of duty in government. For the Trump administration, the hope is that private companies might encourage employees to take leaves of absence to help modernize state and federal agencies — bringing a Silicon Valley sensibility to challenges like improving veterans' health care and combating cybersecurity threats.

Online Trolls, Including Saudi Twitter Employee, Worked Against Khashoggi

Jamal Khashoggi’s online attackers were part of a broad effort dictated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his close advisers to silence critics both inside Saudi Arabia and abroad. Hundreds of people work at a so-called troll farm in Riyadh to smother the voices of dissidents like Mr. Khashoggi. The vigorous push also appears to include the grooming — not previously reported — of a Saudi employee at Twitter whom Western intelligence officials suspected of spying on user accounts to help the Saudi leadership.

Government Healthcare Computer Hacked, Compromising 75,000

A government computer system that interacts with HealthCare.gov was hacked earlier this month, compromising the sensitive personal data of some 75,000 people, officials said. Officials said the hacked system was shut down and technicians are working to restore it before sign-up season starts Nov. 1 for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

DHS Official Promises 2018 Election Will Be 'One of the Most Secure'

Chris Krebs, the under secretary for the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate, says election security is "a race without end." On "The Takeout" podcast this week, Krebs said that while Americans should be reassured that while the 2018 election will be "one of the most secure" elections of the modern era, DHS is constantly on the forefront of battling attempted interference.

Vermont Faces Suit Over Plan to Implement Net Neutrality Rules

Internet, cable and wireless providers are suing Vermont because of the state’s efforts to impose net neutrality rules following the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of its popular national open Internet regulations. The coalition accused the state’s lawmakers of defying federal rules and arguing that their industries can’t navigate competing state laws governing Internet access.

U.S. Semiconductor Companies Accuse Huawei of Stealing Tech

An escalating battle between the U.S. and China for supremacy in semiconductor technology is playing out in federal court between Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. and a Silicon Valley startup backed by Microsoft Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc. CNEX Labs Inc., based in San Jose, Calif., and its co-founder Yiren “Ronnie” Huang alleged in Texas federal court that Huawei and its Futurewei unit have engaged in a multiyear plan to steal CNEX’s technology.

French Finance Minister Wants Decision on Taxing Internet Companies

Europe has talked long enough about whether to make internet giants like Google, Apple and Facebook pay more taxes and it is time for a decision, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. Le Maire said the blockage was purely political and that all technical questions surrounding how to impose a levy on revenues earned on online services in the European Union had been dealt with.

Supreme Court Case Could Impact Social Media, Free Speech Issues

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could determine whether users can challenge social media companies on free speech grounds. The case, Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, No. 17-702, centers on whether a private operator of a public access television network is considered a state actor, which can be sued for First Amendment violations.

  • Read the article: CNBC

EBay Sues Amazon for Illegally Poaching Sellers for Marketplace

EBay.com Inc. filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. accusing the company of illegally poaching sellers on its marketplace via eBay’s internal messaging system. The lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County in California, accuses Amazon of having “perpetrated a scheme to infiltrate and exploit eBay’s internal member email system” over the past few years.

Hackers Said to Infect Energy, Transport Companies in Ukraine, Poland

Hackers have infected three energy and transport companies in Ukraine and Poland with sophisticated new malware and may be planning destructive cyber attacks, a software security firm said. A report by researchers at Slovakia-based ESET did not attribute the hacking activity, recorded between 2015 and mid-2018, to any specific country but blamed it on a group that has been accused by Britain of having links to Russian military intelligence.

Apple Launches Privacy Portal Letting Customers Search Data

Apple is moving forward several privacy upgrades, including launching a portal that allows customers to search and see what kind of data the company has kept on them. The privacy portal was already tested in the European Union in May, coinciding with the EU's launch of restrictive privacy legislation called the General Data Protection Legislation (GDPR).

  • Read the article: CNBC

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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.