Lawsuits Over Website Access for Blind Users Reach Record Number

Businesses with websites that can’t be navigated by the blind are getting pummeled with lawsuits. The new frontier in federal disability litigation has accelerated dramatically in recent years, with some companies now getting hit by lawsuits for the second or third time even after they’ve reached settlements to upgrade their sites.

GAO Report Recommends Congress Create Internet Data Privacy Law

An independent report authored by a U.S. government auditing agency has recommended that Congress develop Internet data privacy legislation to enhance consumer protections, similar to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The 56-page report was put together by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a bi-partisan government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for Congress.

Twitter Removes Tweet Against Salman Rushdie, Citing 'Threats of Violence'

Twitter removed a tweet from an account that reportedly belongs to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei for appearing to call for the execution of noted novelist Salman Rushdie. A Twitter spokesperson said: “It's against our rules to make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people."

Facebook Negotiating Record Multi-Billion Dollar Privacy Fine with FTC

The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are negotiating over a multi-billion dollar fine that would settle the agency’s investigation into the social media giant’s privacy practices, according to two people familiar with the probe. The fine would be the largest the agency has ever imposed on a technology company, but the two sides have not yet agreed on an exact amount.

Proposed Rules Would Let India Demand Removal of Online Content

India’s government has proposed giving itself vast new powers to suppress internet content, igniting a heated battle with global technology giants and prompting comparisons to censorship in China. Under the proposed rules, Indian officials could demand that Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and others remove posts or videos that they deem libelous, invasive of privacy, hateful or deceptive.

Pirates Using Apple-Designed Technology to Distribute Hacked Apps

Software pirates have hijacked technology designed by Apple Inc. to distribute hacked versions of Spotify, Angry Birds, Pokemon Go, Minecraft and other popular apps on iPhones, Reuters has found. Illicit software distributors such as TutuApp, Panda Helper, AppValley and TweakBox have found ways to use digital certificates to get access to a program Apple introduced to let corporations distribute business apps to their employees without going through Apple’s tightly controlled App Store.

EU Negotiators Reach Agreement on Copyright Changes for Tech Era

The European Union is set to rewrite its two decades-old copyright rules to ensure a level playing field between its creative industries and tech giants such as Google and Facebook, after striking a deal on the issue. While the revamp is likely to result in more compensation for publishers, broadcasters and artists from online platforms, it could burden small start-ups with additional costs as they will be required to install upload filters.

India Pressing WhatsApp to Give Government Access to Encrypted Messages

Frustrated that Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp, the popular messaging service, has been used to incite violence and spread pornography, the Indian government is pressing WhatsApp to allow more official oversight of online discussions, even if that means giving officials access to protected, or encrypted, messages. Facebook has refused, risking punitive measures or even the possibility of a shutdown in its biggest market.

Groups Urge Congress to Prioritize Civil Rights in Data Privacy Legislation

A coalition of more than 40 advocacy groups is urging Congress to prioritize civil rights as lawmakers launch into a long debate over potential data privacy legislation. The open letter from the 43 groups was released shortly after the House and Senate Commerce committees announced hearings later this month on establishing federal internet privacy regulations.

Experts Suspect Data Stolen from Equifax Used by Governments to Recruit Spies

As investigations continue, a consensus is starting to emerge to explain why sensitive personal information from more than 140 million people stolen from Equifax has disappeared from sight. Most experts familiar with the case now believe that the thieves were working for a foreign government, and are using the information not for financial gain, but to try and identify and recruit spies.

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Senator Wants Apple, Google to Ban App Allowing Saudis to Track Women

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is asking the chief executives of Apple and Google to immediately stop offering a Saudi e-government app that allows men in Saudi Arabia to track and control the movement of women. In a letter sent to the tech giants, Wyden urged them to prevent their app stores from being used by the Saudi government to continue the “abhorrent surveillance and control of women.”

Judge Refuses to Release Documents in Facebook Decryption Case

A U.S. judge rejected a bid by two civil rights groups that had sought to force the release of documents describing a secret U.S. government effort to compel Facebook to decrypt voice conversations between users on its Messenger app. The issue arose in a joint federal and state investigation into activities of the MS-13 gang in Fresno, revolving around the end-to-end encryption Facebook uses to protect calls on its Messenger service from interception.

Porn, Gambling Apps Evade Apple's App Store Screening Process

A TechCrunch investigation uncovered a dozen hardcore pornography apps and a dozen real-money gambling apps that escaped Apple’s oversight. The developers passed Apple’s weak Enterprise Certificate screening process or piggybacked on a legitimate approval, allowing them to sidestep the App Store and Cupertino’s traditional safeguards designed to keep iOS family-friendly.

Canadian Writer Sues Twitter for Criticism of Transgender Rights

A Canadian writer filed a lawsuit against Twitter Inc., saying the social-media platform unfairly banned her because her criticism of transgender rights doesn’t line up with the company’s politics. Meghan Murphy, a gender-politics blogger, alleges that Twitter violated unfair-competition law when it changed its hateful-conduct policy late last year.

Trump Signs Executive Order to Encourage AI Development, Regulation

President Trump signed an executive order meant to spur the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, technology that many experts believe will define the future of everything from consumer products to health care to warfare. A.I. experts across industry, academia and government have long called on the Trump administration to make the development of artificial intelligence a major priority.

Pompeo Cautions U.S. Allies Against Using Equipment from Huawei

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cautioned U.S. allies against deploying equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on their soil, saying it would make it more difficult for Washington to “partner alongside them”. The United States and its Western allies believe Huawei Technologies’ apparatus could be used for espionage, and see its expansion into central Europe as a way to gain a foothold in the EU market.

Lobbying Could Water Down Landmark California Privacy Law

A landmark law adopted in California last year to rein in the data-collection practices of Facebook, Google and other tech giants has touched off a lobbying blitz that could water it down, potentially undermining new protections that might apply to Internet users across the country. The fight between regulation-wary businesses and privacy watchdogs centers on the Golden State’s first-in-the-nation online privacy rules, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act.

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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.