New York Police Department Wants Waze to Stop Listing DWI Checkpoints

The NYPD has sent a cease and desist letter to Google, demanding that it remove alerts about DWI checkpoints on the Waze driving app. “This letter serves to put you on notice that the NYPD has become aware that the Waze Mobile application, a community-driven GPS navigation application owned by Google LLC, currently permits the public to report DWI checkpoints throughout New York City and map these locations on the application,” the NYPD wrote.

Alphabet Says Privacy Regulation, Consumer Choices Could Hurt Business

Google parent Alphabet Inc. warned that its business may be damaged by changing data privacy practices, new digital advertising polices and software bugs that leak user information. The company filed its annual report and added language that suggests it is adjusting to stepped up regulatory scrutiny and evolving consumer attitudes toward data and privacy online.

Facebook Bans Four Insurgent Groups Fighting Against Myanmar’s Military

Facebook has banned four insurgent groups fighting against Myanmar’s military from its social network, the company said, saying it wanted to prevent offline harm by removing groups it branded “dangerous organisations”. The U.S.-based social media giant says it has removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups for links to Myanmar’s military, or misrepresentation, since last August.

European Commission Says Tech Firms Taking Down Hate Content More Quickly

In its latest monitoring report of a voluntary Code of Conduct on illegal hate speech, which platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube signed up to in Europe back in 2016, the European Commission has said progress is being made on speeding up takedowns but tech firms are still lagging when it comes to providing feedback and transparency around their decisions. Tech companies are now assessing 89% of flagged content within 24 hours, with 72% of content deemed to be illegal hate speech being removed, according to the Commission — compared to just 40% and 28% respectively when the Code was first launched more than two years ago.

Chinese Embassy Denies Norwegian Intelligence Assessment of Tech Threat

A Norwegian intelligence assessment that China posed a threat to the Nordic country’s security by seeking to steal its secrets was “ridiculous”, the Chinese Embassy said as Norway mulled the future status of China’s Huawei Technologies. While Russian security services posed the biggest threat, China also conducts intelligence operations against Norwegian interests and businesses, including trying to penetrate computer networks, Norwegian intelligence service PST said in its annual threat assessment report.

Facebook Deletes Indonesian Accounts Linked to Hate, Fake News

Facebook Inc. has removed hundreds of Indonesian accounts, pages and groups from its social network after discovering they were linked to an online group accused of spreading hate speech and fake news. Indonesian police uncovered the existence of the group, called Saracen, in 2016 and arrested three of its members on suspicion of being part of a syndicate being paid to spread incendiary material online through social media.

Facebook Faces Seven Data-Protection Lawsuits in Ireland, Official Says

Facebook Inc. faces seven separate data-protection probes in Ireland as the country’s privacy regulator looks to take advantage of new rules that allow it to impose hefty fines. The investigations are among 16 cases targeting big technology companies including Twitter Inc., Apple Inc., LinkedIn Corp., and also Facebook’s WhatsApp and Instagram, Helen Dixon, Ireland’s data protection commissioner, said in an interview.

Cisco Joins Apple in Calling for U.S. Version of EU Data Privacy Law

Cisco has joined Apple in calling for a U.S version of the European General Data Protection regulation, underlining the divisions among big technology companies over how to tackle privacy concerns. The technology hardware group told the Financial Times it wanted US politicians to enact a version of the European legislation in the coming months, despite others in the industry criticizing it as overly broad and punitive.

New York Fed to Assist Bangladesh's Central Bank After Cyber Heist

The Federal Reserve will lend a hand to Bangladesh’s central bank as it sues to recoup losses from one of the world’s largest cyber heists, even while the Philippine bank targeted by the lawsuit called it baseless and beyond U.S. jurisdiction. The New York Fed’s formal agreement to provide “technical assistance” could spell some relief for Bangladesh Bank and sets the stage for its long-promised litigation over the February 2016 heist of $81 million, of which only $15 million has been recovered.

Man Gets 10 Years for Stealing Cryptocurrency Through SIM Swapping

California college student Joel Ortiz has agreed to a plea deal that will have him serve 10 years in prison for stealing over $5 million in cryptocurrency through SIM swapping -- the first time someone has faced a sentence for the crime, authorities told Motherboard. Ortiz admitted to compromising about 40 victims through the technique, which typically involves making phony SIM swap requests and using the newly gained control to obtain logins that require two-factor authentication.

Facebook, Twitter Remove Thousands of Accounts Linked to Disinformation

Facebook and Twitter announced that they have removed thousands of accounts associated with an Iranian disinformation campaign across their platforms. Facebook said it has removed 262 Iranian-linked pages, 356 accounts and three groups from Facebook and 162 accounts from Instagram, which it owns. And Twitter announced a takedown of 2,617 accounts it believed to have originated in Iran, along with thousands more from Russia and Venezuela.

Appeals Court to Hear Arguments on Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules

A federal appeals court will hear arguments over whether the Trump administration acted legally when it repealed landmark net neutrality rules governing Internet providers in December 2017. The panel, which has set aside 2-1/2 hours to hear the case, is made up of Judges Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millett, two appointees of Democratic former President Barack Obama, and Stephen Williams, an appointee of Republican Ronald Reagan.

German Court Dismisses Four Qualcomm Patent Suits Against Apple

A German court dismissed four patent lawsuits from Qualcomm Inc. against Apple Inc., the second victory this month for the tech giant in a continued global legal battle with the chip maker. The regional court in the city of Munich rejected Qualcomm’s claims that Apple had infringed on its patents related to some search capabilities on the iPhone.

Special Counsel Identifies 'Disinformation Campaign' on Twitter

Special counsel Robert Mueller said in filing that materials in his criminal case against a Russian troll farm were released and apparently used in a “disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting his ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The filing cites an Oct. 22, 2018, tweet in which the account claimed, “We’ve got access to the Special Counsel Mueller’s probe database as we hacked Russian server with info from the Russian troll case Concord LLC v. Mueller. You can view all the files Mueller had about the IRA and Russia collusion. Enjoy the reading!”

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.