Far-Right Figure Tommy Robinson Permanently Banned from Facebook, Instagram

Tommy Robinson, the far-right founder of the English Defence League, has been permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram for repeatedly breaking policies on hate speech, Facebook said. The company said Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, broke rules that ban public calls for violence against people based on protected characteristics; rules that ban supporting or appearing with organised hate groups; and policies that prevent people from using the site to bully others.

FTC Plans Task Force to Monitor Competition in Technology Markets

The Federal Trade Commission will be launching a task force to monitor competition in the U.S.’s technology markets, commissioners announced. The task force will include current officials working in the agency’s Bureau of Competition in order to “enhance the Bureau’s focus on technology-related sectors of the economy, including markets in which online platforms compete.”

U.S. Military Blocks Russia's Internet Research Agency During Midterm Elections

The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the Kremlin’s operations against the United States are not cost-free. The strike on the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to President Vladi­mir Putin, was part of the first offensive cyber campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, the officials said.

Swatch Sues Samsung for Trademark Infringement on Smart Watch Faces

Swatch Group has filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung Electronics America Inc., saying the two companies infringed its trademark on designs for downloadable smart watch faces. The Swiss watchmaker said the Korean companies’ watch faces that “bear identical or virtually identical marks,” to the trademarks it owns and uses on its brands which include Longines, Omega, Swatch, and Tissot.

Facebook to Lift Suspension on Pages Linked to Russian-Backed Media Outlet

Facebook said that it would allow a network of millennial-focused pages tied to the Russian state-backed media outlet RT back on its platform after having previously suspended them following inquiries by CNN. Facebook had suspended the pages, run by a company called Maffick Media, as CNN was preparing a report on Maffick's ties to RT, which is funded by the Russian government.

  • Read the article: CNN

Microsoft Workers Want Augmented-Reality Agreement with Army Canceled

Employees at Microsoft demanded that the company cancel a contract to supply its augmented-reality headsets to the U.S. Army, warning in a letter that putting HoloLens in the military’s hands could “help people kill.” Writing to chief executive Satya Nadella, more than 50 workers said the devices would be “turning warfare into a simulated ‘video game.’”

Draft Policy Would Let India 'Retain Control of Data to Ensure Job Creation'

India outlined a new draft policy for its burgeoning e-commerce sector, focusing on data localization, improved privacy safeguards and measures to combat the sale of counterfeit products. The proposed overhaul, which would likely increase operating costs for the sector, comes two months after the country modified regulations governing foreign direct investment in e-commerce.

YouTube Deletes Millions of Comments Following Pedophile Report

YouTube cracked down on pedophilic content on the site by purging tens of millions comments, which serve as a kind of powerful but overlooked social network. A video blogger published a report on YouTube documenting how comments and recommendations on the platform direct users to potentially sexual videos of children, allowing them to participate in a “soft-core pedophile ring,” according to the report.

Huawei Chairman Says Company Would Deny 'Back Doors' to Chinese Government

Huawei Technologies Co. would deny any Chinese government request to open up “back doors” in foreign telecommunications networks because they aren’t legally obliged to do so, the company’s chairman says. Liang Hua, speaking to reporters in Toronto, said the company had received an independent legal opinion about its obligations under Chinese law and said there is nothing forcing companies to create what he called “back doors” in networks.

N.Y. Governor Orders Probes of Facebook's Collection of Smartphone Info

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered two state agencies to investigate a report that Facebook Inc. may be accessing far more personal information from smartphone users, including health and other sensitive data, than had previously been known. The directive to New York’s Department of State and Department of Financial Services came after The Wall Street Journal said testing showed that Facebook collected personal information from many smartphone apps within seconds of users entering it, even if the users had no connection to the social media company.

Privacy Group Asks FTC to Investigate Google Over Nest Microphones

After revelations that Google failed to let consumers know of a microphone in its Nest security devices, a longtime privacy advocacy group is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sent a letter to the FTC, alerting the commission of the potential consumer risk and requesting it take swift action against Google.

California Bill Would Close Loopholes in Data Breach Notification Law

California’s attorney general Xavier Becerra announced a new bill that aims to close loopholes in its existing data breach notification laws by expanding the requirements for companies to notify users or customers if their passport and government ID numbers, along with biometric data, such as fingerprints, and iris and facial recognition scans, have been stolen.

The updated draft legislation lands a few months after the Starwood hack, which Becerra and Democratic state assembly member Marc Levine, who introduced the bill, said prompted the law change.

Facebook Lets Advertisers Target Users Interested in Holocaust, Neo-Nazis

Despite promises of greater oversight following past advertising scandals, a Los Angeles Times review shows that Facebook has continued to allow advertisers to target hundreds of thousands of users the social media firm believes are curious about perpetrators of the Holocaust or explicitly neo-Nazi music topics such as “Joseph Goebbels,” “Josef Mengele,” “Heinrich Himmler,” the neo-nazi punk band Skrewdriver and Benito Mussolini’s long-defunct National Fascist Party. Experts say that this practice runs counter to the company’s stated principles and can help fuel radicalization online.

Groups File FTC Complaint Accusing Facebook Over Children's Games

Public interest groups are accusing Facebook of deceiving children as young as 5 into unknowingly spending their parents’ money on in-game purchases on the social network’s platform. A coalition of child and privacy advocates filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after court documents that were unsealed last month revealed employees were aware that young children were playing games on the Facebook app and that the company was making it harder for their parents to obtain refunds.

More Companies Stop Advertising on YouTube Amid Pedophile Report

AT&T and Hasbro are the latest companies to pull its ads from Google's YouTube following reports that pedophiles have latched onto videos of young children, often girls, marking time stamps that show child nudity and objectifying the children in YouTube's comments section. "Until Google can protect our brand from offensive content of any kind, we are removing all advertising from YouTube," an AT&T spokesperson said.

  • Read the article: CNBC

EU Countries Endorse Copyright Changes Affecting News Snippets Online

European Union countries endorsed an overhaul of the bloc’s copyright rules which would force Google and Facebook Inc. to pay publishers for news snippets and filter out copyright-protected content on YouTube or Instagram. A majority of EU diplomats agreed to the revamp while Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland refused to back the deal and two other EU countries abstained.

Pinterest Blocks Vaccine-Related Searches to Stop 'Misleading Content'

Pinterest has blocked all vaccine-related searches on the social media platform in an effort to combat the “misleading content” of the anti-vaccination movement, a spokesperson said. Speaking in an appearance on CNBC, a spokesman for the online pinboard said it implemented the ban on the searches until it can come up with a more permanent strategy to tackle content attempting to discredit vaccinations.

Microsoft Discovers Cyber Attacks Directed at Democratic Institutions in Europe

Microsoft Corp. said it had discovered cyber attacks directed at democratic institutions, think tanks and non-profit organizations in Europe and would offer a cyber security service to several countries to close security gaps. The hacks occurred between September and December 2018, targeting employees of the German Council on Foreign Relations and European offices of The Aspen Institute and The German Marshall Fund, the company said here in a blog post.

Publishers Pause Some Ads on YouTube Amid Report of Child Exposures

Videos of children showing their exposed buttocks, underwear and genitals are racking up millions of views on YouTube – with the site displaying advertising from major cosmetics and car brands alongside the content. Comments beneath scores of videos appear to show pedophiles sharing timestamps for parts of the videos where exposed genitals can be seen, or when a child does the splits or lifts up their top to show their nipples.

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.