Shopify to Ban Some Groups Under Rules Against Hate, Violence

Shopify Inc. will ban some right-wing organizations from its service after accusations from activists, such as Canadian non-profit group North99, that it was supporting hate-promoting groups. The Canadian e-commerce company tweaked its rules to allow it to bar anyone who uses Shopify to sell items that support groups that it believes condone hate or violence.

Supreme Court Refuses to Throw Out Net Neutrality Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court refused a request by the Trump administration and the telecommunications industry to wipe away a lower court decision that had upheld Obama-era net neutrality rules aimed at ensuring a free and open internet, though the justices’ action does not undo the 2017 repeal of the policy. The high court decision not to throw out the 2016 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling leaves a legal precedent in place that could help net neutrality supporters in any future legal battle if that policy is ever re-introduced.

Despite Facebook's Removal of Infowars, Alex Jones's NewsWars Thrives

In the three months since Facebook removed four of Jones’s pages over allegations of hate speech, his NewsWars page has remained intact and surged in posts and page views. Videos hosted by the NewsWars Facebook page have totaled 3.9 million views since August, nearly reaching the monthly viewership of Jones’s videos on Infowars and other pages he controlled before they were shut down.

After Report, Facebook Deletes 'White Genocide' as Ad Target

Despite long-running international efforts to debunk the idea of a “white genocide,” Facebook was still selling advertisers the ability to market to those with an interest in that myth just days after the bloodshed. The Intercept was able to select “white genocide conspiracy theory” as a pre-defined “detailed targeting” criterion on the social network to promote two articles to an interest group that Facebook pegged at 168,000 users large and defined as “people who have expressed an interest or like pages related to White genocide conspiracy theory.”

Twitter Apologizes for Trending Topic 'Kill all Jews'

The Twitter trending topic "Kill all Jews" appeared in many New Yorkers' local trending sections. That phrase had been the subject of discussion following the vandalism of Union Temple, a Brooklyn synagogue that was set to host a political event with Broad City star Ilana Glazer. "This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we’re sorry for this mistake," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

Wealthy Moscow Residents Hit by Data Leak from Internet Provider

Thousands of wealthy Moscow residents who subscribed to a regional Internet provider have had personal data including names, home addresses and mobile numbers posted online. People affected by the high-profile data leak are all clients of Moscow-based Internet provider Akado Telecom, a large telecommunications network owned by billionaire businessman Viktor Vekselberg, which said it had opened an inquiry into the incident.

U.S. Indicts Companies in China, Taiwan for Semiconductor Spying

The U.S. Justice Department unveiled an indictment against two companies based in China and Taiwan and three individuals, saying they conspired to steal trade secrets from U.S. semiconductor company Micron Technology Inc. relating to its research and development of memory storage devices. The charges against Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp., China state-owned Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. Ltd. and three individuals who once worked for a unit of Micron mark the fourth case brought by the Justice Department since September as part of a broader crackdown against alleged Chinese espionage on U.S. companies.

India Wants WhatsApp to Share Locations, Identities -- to Stop Violence

The Indian government is pressing WhatsApp to give it the locations and identities of people using the Facebook-owned mobile messaging app to spread fake information that has led to violence. India’s Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked WhatsApp vice president Chris Daniels about the action during a meeting, according to the Indian news service The Hindu.

U.S. Loses a Point in Annual Report on 'Internet Freedoms'

The latest “Internet freedoms” rankings are out, courtesy of Freedom House’s annual report into the state of Internet freedoms and personal liberties, based on rankings of 65 countries that represent the vast majority of the world’s internet users. Although the U.S. remains firmly in the top 10, it dropped a point on the year earlier after a recent rash of changes to Internet regulation and a lack of in the realm of surveillance.

UK, Canadian Parliaments Pushing Zuckerberg to Testify

The UK and Canadian parliaments are joining forces in an attempt to force Mark to answer their questions over Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The House of Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee has announced its intention to hold a highly unusual joint hearing with its Canadian equivalent in an attempt to pressure the social network’s chief executive into appearing in front of parliament.

Twitter Updates Reporting Process for Bots, Fake Accounts

Twitter has updated a portion of its reporting process, specifically when you report a tweet that you think might be coming from a bot or a fake account masquerading as someone or something else. Now, when you tap the “it’s suspicious or spam” option under the report menu, you’ll be able to specify why you think that, including an option to say “the account tweeting this is fake.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Worried About U.K. Taxes on Tech Firms

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is raising concerns about digital services taxes, after the United Kingdom announced plans to move forward with such a tax on large technology companies. "The American business community supports international dialogue on ways to modernize the international taxation system to adapt to changes in the global economy," Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

U.S. Ban on Fujian Jinhua Threatens China's Semiconductor Industry

A U.S. ban on American companies doing business with a Chinese chip maker accused of stealing technology secrets threatens to upend a company backed by $5.7 billion in state funds, damaging China’s ambitions to build a world-class semiconductor industry. Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., founded in 2016, built a factory aimed at ending China’s reliance on foreign semiconductors and was anointed by Beijing as a key player in the latest phase of its three-decade program to build globally competitive chip makers.

As Study Finds Ads in Kids' Apps, Groups Ask FTC for Probe

To accompany the publication of a new study, called “Advertising in Young Children’s Apps: A Content Analysis,” more than a dozen media and children’s health advocacy organizations sent the FTC a letter asking for an investigation. “This is kind of a one-two punch,” said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group the Center for Digital Democracy, which led the effort along with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “Usually these academic studies are published and there’s no consequences,” he said, “but here when we learned of her research it was clear from the beginning that there were public policy implications.”

Britain May Ban Some Financial Products Based on Cryptoassets

Britain may ban some retail financial products based on bitcoin and other cryptoassets and widen its regulatory net to capture potentially “illicit activity” that could harm consumers and markets, a government-backed taskforce reported. The report from the finance ministry, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority begins to thrash out Britain’s policy and regulatory approach to cryptoassets including tokens issued by initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Commerce Department Restricts Exports to Chinese Semiconductor Firm

The U.S. Commerce Department announced that it is restricting U.S. exports to the Chinese semiconductor firm Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company, Ltd. The firm "poses a significant risk of becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States," according to the department's press release.

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.