EU Probing Data Privacy Compliance in Agreements with Microsoft

EU data protection authorities are investigating whether the European Commission and other EU institutions comply with the bloc’s strict data privacy rules in their software deals with Microsoft. The 28-country European Union adopted the landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) about a year ago, giving Europeans more control over their online information and privacy enforcers the power to impose hefty fines.

White House Says Trump Would Likely Veto Net Neutrality Bill

If the Democrats’ net neutrality bill were to pass through Congress, it’s likely that President Donald Trump would veto it, according to a new statement from the White House. It’s not surprising that Trump is expected to veto the Democrat-led net neutrality initiative, but the statement is one of the first direct comments from the White House on the legislation that is expected to easily pass through the House of Representatives.

Facing Criticism, Facebook Bans Canadian White Nationalist Groups

Facebook banned a batch of Canadian white nationalist groups from its platform after facing criticism for declining to remove a post by white nationalist commentator Faith Goldy. HuffPost reported that Facebook declined to take down a video in which Goldy accused people of color and Jews of "replacing" white populations in Europe, the United States and Canada.

Hackers Get $498,000 from City of Tallahassee’s Employee Payroll

Nearly half a million dollars was diverted out of the city of Tallahassee’s employee payroll after a suspected foreign cyberattack of the city's human resources management application. The out-of-state, third-party vendor that hosts the city's payroll services was hacked and as a result the direct deposit paychecks were redirected. Employees throughout the city’s workforce were affected.

ITU Secretary General Says U.S. Concerns About Huawei Driven by Politics

U.S. security concerns about 5G mobile networks built by Chinese telecoms giant Huawei appear to be driven by politics and trade rather than any evidence, the head of the U.N. internet and telecoms agency said. Houlin Zhao, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), told reporters in Geneva that security of 5G networks was in everybody’s interest but so far he had not seen anything to substantiate claims about Huawei.

British Authority Investigating Online Game Services' Subscription Practices

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox amid fears that the way subscriptions to their online games services are renewed is unfair. The competition watchdog said that its consumer law investigation will seek to determine if the companies’ business practices are legal.

Australia Passes Law Criminalizing 'Abhorrent Violent Material' Online

Australia passed sweeping legislation that threatens huge fines for social media companies and jail for their executives if they fail to rapidly remove “abhorrent violent material” from their platforms. The law — strongly opposed by the tech industry — puts Australia at the forefront of a global movement to hold companies like Facebook and YouTube accountable for the content they host.

Proposed British Law Would Hold Social Media Executives Personally Liable

Social media executives could be held personally liable for harmful content distributed on their platforms, leaked plans for a long-awaited government crackdown obtained by the Guardian reveal. Under plans expected to be published soon, the government will legislate for a new statutory duty of care, to be policed by an independent regulator and likely to be funded through a levy on media companies.

Twitter Stops Blocking French Government Ads Encouraging Voting

Twitter said it has stopped blocking French government ads calling on people to vote after it came under fire from authorities for being overzealous in applying a law aimed at banning fake news. The social media company modified its policy after executives met with French government officials, saying it has now decided to authorize such ads “after many exchanges.”

House Hearing to Focus on Facebook, Google, White Nationalist Groups

House Democrats plan to grill Facebook and Google on their efforts to stop the spread of white nationalism and hate speech online, a hearing that comes in response to a series of violent, racially motivated attacks around the world, including a mass shooting in New Zealand last month. The scheduled April 9 hearing by the House Judiciary Committee seeks to probe “the impact white nationalist groups have on American communities and the spread of white identity ideology,” the panel announced, along with “what social media companies can do” to stop the spread of extremist content on the web.

SEC Issues Guidelines on Initial Coin Offerings as Securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidelines to help market participants determine whether a digital asset qualifies as a security under federal securities laws and needs to be registered with the regulator. The SEC has ramped up enforcement actions related to digital assets and initial coin offerings, which work much like initial public offerings for companies, but instead of selling shares, they raise capital by selling digital tokens or cryptocurrencies.

Apple Employee Files Complaint Against Customs Agents Over Device Search

Andreas Gal, the former CTO of Mozilla and a current employee of Apple, is filing a complaint against U.S. customs agents who allegedly tried to intimidate him into handing over his phone and laptop passcodes. Gal and the American Civil Liberties Union are asking the Department of Homeland Security for an investigation of an incident last year, which Gal recounted in a blog post titled “No one should have to travel in fear.”

Singapore Laws Would Hold Internet Outlets Responsible for Fake News

Singapore plans to introduce tough new laws to hold online outlets accountable for the spread of fake news, joining countries around the world in putting pressure on companies like Facebook Inc. to address the issue. The new measures will require online sites to show corrections to false or misleading claims and take down falsehoods, according to a bill put forward in Parliament by the government.

Justice Department Issues Antitrust Warning Over Oscars, Streaming Services

The Justice Department has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that its potential rule changes limiting the eligibility of Netflix and other streaming services for the Oscars could raise antitrust concerns and violate competition law. According to a letter obtained by Variety, the chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, wrote to AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson on March 21 to express concerns that new rules would be written “in a way that tends to suppress competition.”

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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.