Judge Dismisses Suits Against Google, Twitter, Facebook for Mass Shooting

A federal judge in California dismissed two lawsuits that sought to hold Google and social media giants Twitter and Facebook liable for the December 2015 mass shooting that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others in San Bernadino, California. The companies were accused of aiding and abetting international terrorism and providing material support to international terrorists by allowing supported terrorist groups to use their platforms.

Government Shutdown to Force FCC to Cease Most of Its Operations

The Federal Communications Commission will wind down most of its operations if the partial federal government shutdown isn’t resolved. Should its lapsed funding not be restored, the commission says “all FCC activities will cease” as of mid-day January 3, 2019, “other than those immediately necessary for the protection of life or property, performing other excepted activities, or those funded through a source other than lapsed appropriations.”

Questions Linger As Newspaper Operations Resume Following Cyberattack

News operations are returning to normal for the Los Angeles Times and outlets owned by Tribune Publishing, but significant questions remain about a cyberattack that disrupted computer systems for a host of publications around the country and hampered newspaper deliveries over the weekend. Tribune did not say whether the suspected hackers may have ties to a foreign government, how they infiltrated the company’s network or what their motives may be.

In Saudi Arabia, Netflix Blocks Episode of Show Critical of Government

Netflix has blocked an episode of its show “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” from streaming in Saudi Arabia after the Saudi government complained that the episode — which is critical of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman — violated its cybercrime laws. In the episode, first shown in October, Mr. Minhaj critiques the United States’ longstanding relationship with Saudi Arabia after the murder of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Judge Dismisses Privacy Suit Against Google Over Photo Sharing, Storage

A lawsuit filed against Google by consumers who claimed the search engine’s photo sharing and storage service violated their privacy was dismissed by a U.S. judge who cited a lack of “concrete injuries.” U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang in Chicago granted a Google motion for summary judgment, saying the court lacked “subject matter jurisdiction because plaintiffs have not suffered concrete injuries.”

Malware Attack at Tribune Publishing Delays Newspaper Deliveries

What first arose as a server outage was identified as a malware attack, which appears to have originated from outside the United States and hobbled computer systems and delayed weekend deliveries of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers across the country. Technology teams worked feverishly to quarantine the computer virus, but it spread through Tribune Publishing’s network and reinfected systems crucial to the news production and printing process.

Hackers Steal Personal Information from North Koreans Living in South Korea

Unidentified hackers swiped the personal information of nearly 1,000 North Koreans living in South Korea, following a breach last month of a government-funded resettlement agency’s database, Seoul officials said. Hackers obtained the names, addresses and dates of birth of some 997 North Koreans who have fled to the South, a Unification Ministry spokeswoman said.

Trump Considers National Emergency Executive Order Barring Huawei, ZTE

President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China's Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. It would be the latest step by the Trump administration to cut Huawei Technologies and ZTE, two of China's biggest network equipment companies, out of the U.S. market.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Federal Complaint Ends Agreement for Free Wi-Fi At Redskins Games

An offer from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to provide free Wi-Fi at Washington Redskins football games sparked a federal complaint that ultimately led to the end of the partnership, according to a Wall Street Journal article. In 2014, Huawei and Redskins officials struck a deal that would have allowed Huawei to provide Wi-Fi to suites at the team's home, FedEx Field. In exchange, Huawei would advertise during broadcasts and in the stadium, the Journal reported.

Spotify Settles Licensing Lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing

Spotify and Wixen Music Publishing — which sued the streaming giant late last year for a headline-grabbing $1.6 billion — announced that they have settled the lawsuit. According to the announcement, “The conclusion of that litigation is a part of a broader business partnership between the parties, which fairly and reasonably resolves the legal claims asserted by Wixen Music Publishing relating to past licensing of Wixen’s catalog and establishes a mutually-advantageous relationship for the future.”

FBI Seizes 15 Websites Offering Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks

The FBI has seized the domains of 15 high-profile distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) websites after a coordinated effort by law enforcement and several tech companies. Several seizure warrants granted by a California federal judge went into effect, removing several of these “booter” or “stresser” sites off the Internet “as part of coordinated law enforcement action taken against illegal DDoS-for-hire services.”

Citing Sanctions, Slack Deactivates Accounts for Users with Ties to Iran

Many Slack users with ties to Iran discovered their accounts had been abruptly deactivated. The bans affected users living as far as Finland, Canada and the United States, many with few remaining ties to Iran in either citizenship or physical presence. “In order to comply with export control and economic sanctions laws… Slack prohibits unauthorized use of its products and services in certain sanctioned countries,” the notice from Slack read.

Amazon Error Sends 1,700 Audio Files from Stranger to Alexa User

A user of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in Germany got access to more than a thousand recordings from another user because of “a human error” by the company. The customer had asked to listen back to recordings of his own activities made by Alexa but he was also able to access 1,700 audio files from a stranger when Amazon sent him a link, German trade publication c’t reported.

U.S. Indicts Two Chinese Hackers for Stealing Government, Corporate Data

The Justice Department unveiled indictments of two Chinese hackers who allegedly pilfered vast amounts of valuable confidential data from U.S. government agencies and corporate computers in 12 countries. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions in a more than decade-long campaign to gain access to corporate and government secrets to aid China’s rise to global prominence.

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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.