Oath Agrees to $5 Million Settlement for Violating Children's Privacy Law

Oath, the owner of AOL and Yahoo, has agreed to pay about $5 million to settle charges from the New York attorney general that the media company’s online advertising business was violating a federal children’s privacy law. AOL, through its ad exchange, helped place targeted display ads on hundreds of websites that it knew were directed to children under 13, such as Roblox.com and Sweetyhigh.com, according to a settlement that the attorney general’s office planned to announce.

Tech Giants Prepare for 'Platform-to-Business Regulation' from EU

Google, Amazon, Apple and other tech giants face one of their biggest challenges this week as a key EU lawmaking committee prepares to take a tough stance on legislation designed to curb their power and boost the rights of businesses. In a bid to ensure a level playing field between the tech companies and bricks-and-mortar businesses, the European Commission in April drafted rules to prevent unfair business practices by app stores, search engines, e-commerce sites and hotel booking websites.

EU Finance Ministers Fail to Agree on Tax on Digital Revenues

European Union finance ministers failed to agree a tax on digital revenues, despite a last minute Franco-German plan to salvage the proposal by narrowing its focus to companies like Google and Facebook. The European Union’s executive arm proposed a 3 percent tax on big digital firms’ online revenues in March, alleging the companies funnelled profit through states with the lowest tax rates.

Marriott Hack May Have Exposed Customers' Passport Information

The hack that engulfed Marriott — and 500 million of its customers — has added a new step: Your passport might be at risk, too. Whether those customers should go get a new passport is perhaps the most complicated consumer question hanging out there in the wake of the news that millions of Starwood Hotels customers had their data stolen in a breach that began as early as 2014.

Quora Says Hackers May Have Stolen Data on 100 Million Users

Hackers may have stolen the personal data of around 100 million users of the question-and-answer website Quora, the company announced. Quora said it discovered that hackers may have compromised account information such as email addresses, passwords and private direct messages, as well as questions and answers posted on the platform by users, the company wrote on its site.

Apple CEO Says White Supremacists Have 'No Place on Our Platforms'

Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed white supremacists and “dangerous conspiracy theorists”, reiterating that hateful content will not have a home on Apple platforms. Cook received the first “Courage Against Hate” award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and he used his time onstage to talk about the company’s commitment to preventing hate speech from spreading.

New York City Lawmakers Want to Make 'Cyber Flashing' a Crime

Two lawmakers introduced a New York City Council bill to explicitly make cyber flashing — a growing trend of technology-enabled sexual harassment — a crime, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail. One of the first news reports of cyber flashing was in London in 2015, when a female commuter told the British Transport Police that she had received lewd photos on her phone via AirDrop as she traveled to work.

House Judiciary Committee to Delay Google CEO's Testimony

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will likely put off until next week a hearing with Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on the Alphabet Inc unit’s social media practices because of the state funeral of former President George H.W. Bush, Chairman Bob Goodlatte said. Pichai had agreed to testify before the panel over Republican concerns that the company is biased against conservatives after it skipped a high-profile Senate hearing. Google has denied it is biased toward conservatives.

Tumblr Says, 'Adult Content Will No Longer be Allowed Here'

Tumblr will permanently ban adult content from its platform on December 17 in a move that will eradicate porn-related communities on the platform and fundamentally alter how the service is used. The new policy’s announcement comes just days after Tumblr was removed from Apple’s iOS App Store over a child pornography incident, but it extends far beyond that matter alone.

China Increases Cyberespionage Efforts Amid U.S. Trade Tensions

Soon after President Trump took office, China’s cyberespionage picked up and, according to intelligence officials and analysts, accelerated in the last year as trade conflicts and other tensions began to poison relations between the world’s two largest economies. The hackers of the People’s Liberation Army — whose famed Unit 61398 tore through American companies until its operations from a base in Shanghai were exposed in 2013 — have begun to be replaced by stealthier operatives in the country’s intelligence agencies.

EU Antitrust Regulators Ask Google's Rivals About Search Competition

EU antitrust regulators have asked Google’s rivals if the Internet search giant unfairly demotes local search competitors, according to a questionnaire seen by Reuters, a move which could lead to a fourth case against the Alphabet unit. Google has been fined a total 6.76 billion euros ($7.7 billion) in the last 17 months for favoring its comparison shopping service and for using its dominant Android mobile operating system to reinforce its search engine market power.

European Countries Reject Compromise on Digital Revenue Tax

A group of European Union countries rejected a new compromise plan for the introduction of an EU-wide tax on digital revenues of large companies, diplomats said, making it increasingly difficult to meet a year-end deadline for a deal. Under a proposal from the EU’s executive Commission in March, EU states would charge a 3 percent levy on the digital turnover of large firms that are accused of averting tax by routing their profits to the bloc’s low-tax states.

Lawmakers Call for Data Privacy Protections After Marriott Breach

Just hours after Marriott announced a massive data breach, lawmakers on Capitol Hill called on Congress to pass data privacy and security protections to safeguard sensitive consumer information. The hack affected as many as 500 million guests who had made reservations at its Sheraton, W Hotels, Westin, Le Meridien, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft and St. Regis branded hotels up until Sept. 10 of this year.

  • Read the article: CNET

Facebook Considered Giving Advertisers Access to User Data

Facebook executives in recent years appeared to discuss giving access to their valuable user data to some companies that bought advertising when it was struggling to launch its mobile-ad business, according to internal emails quoted in newly unredacted court filings. In an ongoing federal court case against Facebook, the plaintiffs claim that the social media giant doled out people’s data secretly and selectively in exchange for advertising purchases or other concessions, even as others were cut off, ruining their businesses.

Judge Sets April Trial Date in Qualcomm's Case Against Apple

A jury trial in Qualcomm’s wide-ranging legal war with Apple has been set to begin April 15 in San Diego federal court, with a settlement looking unlikely at this point. Qualcomm had sought to begin the trial in February, but U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said the April date was needed to accommodate the court’s schedule.

Marriott Says Information on Up to 500 Million Guests Breached

The information of as many as 500 million people staying at Starwood hotels has been compromised and Marriott says it's uncovered unauthorized access that's been taking place within its Starwood network since 2014. For about 327 million people, the information exposed includes some combination of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date and communication preferences.

Italian Party Considers Creating State-Controlled Broadband Network

Italy’s ruling League party is working to create a single broadband network that would be put under state control, one of its senior lawmakers, Alessandro Morelli, said. The far-right League and its coalition partner, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, want to create a company that combines the networks of former monopoly Telecom Italia and smaller, state-controlled Open Fiber to help Italy catch up with the broadband services of European rivals.

SEC Settles with Promoters Who Didn't Disclose Their ICO Fees

Pro boxer Floyd Mayweather and music producer DJ Khaled pumped up initial coin offerings without telling investors they were getting paid a promotional fee, according to a settlement announced. The Securities and Exchange Commission said they are the first cases to charge touting violations regarding ICOs, a relatively new phenomenon that has attracted billions of investor dollars to new cryptocurrencies, often with little to back them up.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Trump Administration Plans Roundtable with Technology Executives

The Trump administration, which has had sometimes strained relations with high-technology companies, will meet with top tech executives next week for a roundtable discussion on innovation, several companies attending said. Chief executives expected to participate include Microsoft Corp’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet Inc’s Sundar Pichai and Oracle Corp’s Safra Catz. Microsoft and Oracle confirmed they would take part.

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.