Spotify Files Antitrust Complaint Against Apple with European Commission

Music streaming giant Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission’s antitrust regulators, saying Apple Music has an “unfair advantage” over rivals. In a blog post published Wednesday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said Apple’s control of its App Store deprives consumers of choices and puts unfair restrictions, including fees, on competitors.

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Researchers Find Critical Flaw in Switzerland's Planned Voting System

An international group of researchers who have been examining the source code for an Internet voting system Switzerland plans to roll out this year have found a critical flaw in the code that would allow someone to alter votes without detection. The cryptographic backdoor exists in a part of the system that is supposed to verify that all of the ballots and votes counted in an election are the same ones that voters cast.

Germany Defining Own Security Standards Despite U.S. Threat, Merkel Says

Germany will define its own security standards for a new 5G mobile network, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, after Washington said it would scale back data-sharing with Berlin if China’s Huawei was allowed to participate. Merkel’s conservatives chafed at what some saw as a threat by Washington, although Germany’s transatlantic coordinator emphasized that Berlin shared U.S. concerns about Huawei’s ability to meet high security standards for the new network.

Amazon to Stop Banning Third-Party Merchants from Offering Lower Prices

Amazon will no longer tell third-party merchants that sell products on its platform in the United States that they cannot offer the same goods for a lower price on another website, according to a person with direct knowledge of the company's decision. Why it matters: Critics have said the so-called "most favored nation," or "price parity," provisions could violate antitrust law.

OECD Sees Less Corporate Resistance to New International Tax Rules

A global effort to revamp international tax rules for the digital era is receiving less corporate push-back than past attempts, the OECD’s head of tax policy said. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is sounding out businesses and interest groups at a public consultation before it begins drafting much-anticipated reform proposals.

Facebook Takes Down, Then Restores, Senator's 'Break Up Facebook' Ads

Facebook said it has restored the “break up Facebook” ads that it took down — but not before Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed they proved her point about the social networking giant’s dominance. The Massachusetts Democrat and presidential candidate called for a breakup of Facebook, Google and Amazon, outlining how her administration would lay out an antitrust case against the companies and pursue reversing their acquisitions of Instagram, Waze, Whole Foods and more.

White House to Limit Intelligence with Germany Over Huawei Dispute

The Trump administration has told the German government it would limit intelligence sharing with Berlin if Huawei Technologies Co. is allowed to build Germany’s next-generation mobile-internet infrastructure. In a letter to the country’s economics minister, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell said allowing the participation of Huawei or other Chinese equipment vendors in the 5G project would mean the U.S. won’t be able to maintain the same level of cooperation with German security agencies.

Up to 600,000 Exposed in Cyberattack on Michigan Healthcare Companies

The personal information and medical data of more than 600,000 people in Michigan may have been compromised in a cyberattack, the state’s attorney general said. Hackers may have accessed the names, addresses, social security numbers and medical information of customers of several Michigan healthcare companies, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Health Alliance Plan and McLaren Health Care, Dana Nessel said.

Leaders of 'OneCoin' Accused of Operating Multibillion-Dollar Pyramid Scheme

U.S. authorities announced criminal charges against the alleged leaders of an multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme involving the sale of a fraudulent cryptocurrency, OneCoin. Konstantin Ignatov, who runs OneCoin Ltd, and his older sister Ruja Ignatova, who co-founded OneCoin and is known as “Cryptoqueen,” were accused of swindling investors coveting big returns and low risk, in a scheme conceived as a fraud.

Thousands Rally in Moscow Against Proposal for Tighter Internet Restrictions

Thousands of people took to the streets of Moscow and two other cities to rally against tighter Internet restrictions, in some of the biggest protests in the Russian capital in years. Lawmakers last month backed tighter Internet controls contained in legislation they say is necessary to prevent foreign meddling in Russia’s affairs. But some Russian media likened it to an online “iron curtain” and critics say it can be used to stifle dissent.

Warren Says Breaking Up Tech Giants Would 'Keep Marketplace Competitive'

Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren said breaking up giant tech companies would “keep the marketplace competitive,” during an appearance at one of the biggest technology events in the U.S. The Massachusetts senator spoke Saturday at the annual South by Southwest cultural festival in Austin, Texas, a day after proposing to take steps to break up companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Co.’s Google if she’s elected.

Hackers Breach System Used by Three Colleges for Tracking Applicants

Hackers breached the system that houses applicant information for three U.S. colleges in recent days and demanded thousands of dollars in ransom from prospective students for personal information they claimed to have stolen. The schools include Oberlin College in Ohio, Grinnell College in Iowa and Hamilton College in New York. All three use a system called Slate to track information about students who have applied for admission.

Spotify, Google, Pandora, Amazon Appeal Copyright Song Fee Ruling

Spotify, Google, Pandora and Amazon have teamed up to appeal a controversial ruling by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board that, if it goes through, would increase payouts to songwriters by 44%, Variety has learned. A joint statement from the first three of those companies reads: “The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), in a split decision, recently issued the U.S. mechanical statutory rates in a manner that raises serious procedural and substantive concerns.”

Facebook Removes Fake Accounts for Engaging in Hate Speech

Facebook Inc. said it had removed 137 fake pages, groups and Instagram accounts in the United Kingdom and a further 31 in Romania for engaging in hate speech and making divisive comments. The individuals behind these accounts represented themselves as far-right and anti-far-right activists in the UK, Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Facebook's cybersecurity policy, wrote here in a blog post.

Zuckerberg Says Facebook to Emphasize 'Privacy-Focused Communications'

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced a sweeping reorientation toward privacy, explaining in a lengthy essay posted to his account that he would spend the coming years focusing the company’s distinct apps — WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook — on content that is encrypted, meaning data is scrambled so that outsiders, and even Facebook, cannot read it. But the shift, which shows how the embattled company is positioning itself for an uncertain future marked by consumer distrust, declining growth on its core social network and ongoing fights with regulators around the world, could cause an upheaval in Facebook’s business model of mining people’s information to show them ads.

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