Alibaba to Pay $250 Million to Settle Suit Over Counterfeit Goods Disclosure

Alibaba Group Holding, China’s largest e-commerce services provider, has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit over the company’s failure to disclose that its executives met with Chinese regulators to discuss counterfeit goods sold on its largest retail platform, several months before the firm went public in 2014. New York-traded Alibaba and its senior executives deny any wrongdoing in the settlement, which “does not constitute an admission or finding that the claims asserted has any merit”, according to the company’s filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

ACLU Says CBP, ICE Have 'Near-Unfettered Authority' to Search Devices

United States officials have largely unchecked power to search electronic devices at the border, and can share the resulting data widely, the American Civil Liberties Union said. The organization, which is suing both Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agencies had released new information on how they conduct border searches.

Pompeo Expects Russian Interference Efforts in U.S. Elections for Decades

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he expects Russia will try to interfere in U.S. elections for decades to come, describing Moscow as having long presented a threat to American elections — not just in 2016. Pompeo told The Hill’s editor-in-chief Bob Cusack that “of course” the Russians continue to represent a threat to U.S. elections.

Supreme Court Asks Trump Administration About Google-Oracle Copyright Case

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Trump administration to offer its views on whether it should hear Google’s bid to end Oracle Corp’s copyright infringement lawsuit involving the Android operating system that runs most of the world’s smartphones. The justices are considering whether to take up Google’s appeal of a lower court ruling reviving the lawsuit.

SEC, Musk Agree to Settlement Over Tesla CEO's Tweeting Practices

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has reached a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a dispute over his use of Twitter, agreeing to submit his public statements about the company’s finances and other topics to vetting by its legal counsel, according to a court filing. If it is approved by a judge, the deal means the Tesla founder no longer faces the prospect of being held in contempt for violating an earlier settlement with the agency, which had required him to submit statements “material” to investors for prior review.

Facebook Bans Some Apps That Collect User Info Without Consent

Facebook is cracking down on third-party apps on its platform, announcing that it will no longer allow programs like the one that enabled political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to obtain the information of millions of users without their consent. The company said in a blog post that it will no longer allow apps with “minimal utility,” like personality quizzes, and will no longer allow apps to “ask for data that doesn't enrich the in-app, user experience.”

Twitter CEO Calls Rep. Omar After Trump's Tweet Prompts Death Threats

Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey phoned Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and stood by the company’s decision to permit a tweet from President Trump that later resulted in a flood of death threats targeting the congresswoman. The previously unreported call focused on an incendiary video that Trump shared on April 12, which depicts Omar discussing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks interspersed with footage of the Twin Towers burning.

U.S. Trade Officials Keep Alibaba's Taobao on List of 'Notorious Markets'

U.S. trade officials acknowledged steps by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to curb the sale of counterfeit goods on the Chinese company’s Taobao.com platform but left the e-commerce site on the list of “notorious markets” that the U.S. deems deficient in preventing intellectual-property violations. According to the annual piracy report, Alibaba has “taken some steps to curb the offer and sale of infringing products” but small and medium-size businesses say problems remain with the procedures for flagging and removing counterfeit goods from Taobao.

New York to Probe Facebook's Unauthorized Collection of Users' Address Books

The New York State attorney general’s office plans to open an investigation into Facebook’s unauthorized collection of more than 1.5 million users’ email address books, according to two people briefed on the matter. The inquiry concerns a practice unearthed in April in which Facebook harvested the email contact lists of a portion of new users who signed up for the network after 2016, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiry had not been officially announced.

Canadian Privacy Watchdog Accuses Facebook of Failing to Protect User Data

Canada’s main privacy watchdog said a year-long probe found Facebook Inc. broke the country’s privacy laws and failed to protect Canadians’ personal information, and will go to court to force the social-media company to fix the deficiencies it uncovered. A report released by the privacy commissioner of Canada and privacy commissioner for the province of British Columbia said the company disputes the watchdogs’ findings and has refused to act on the report’s recommendations.

Hacker Claims Ability to Turn Off Cars by Accessing GPS Tracking Apps

A hacker broke into thousands of accounts belonging to users of two GPS tracker apps, giving him the ability to monitor the locations of tens of thousands of vehicles and even turn off the engines for some of them while they were in motion, Motherboard has learned. The hacker, who goes by the name L&M, told Motherboard he hacked into more than 7,000 iTrack accounts and more than 20,000 ProTrack accounts, two apps that companies use monitor and manage fleets of vehicles through GPS tracking devices.

Twitter Introduces Tool to Report Misleading Information About Elections

Twitter introduced a new reporting tool designed to prevent deliberate attempts to misinform voters. As part of the social media company’s efforts to curb election manipulation and interference, the tool allows users to flag posts with misleading information about, for example, how to register to vote or cast a ballot; voter identification requirements; or the date and time of an election.

Facebook Expects Privacy Fine from FTC for Up to $5 Billion

Facebook said that it expected to be fined up to $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission for privacy violations, in what would be a record penalty by the agency against a technology company. The social network disclosed the amount in its quarterly financial results, saying it estimated a one-time charge of $3 billion to $5 billion in connection with an “ongoing inquiry” by the FTC.

Business Email Scams Increase, Ransomware Complaints Drop, FBI Says

Losses due to BEC (Business Email Compromise) scams have doubled in 2018, compared to 2017 figures, and have reached a whopping $1.3 billion, according to the yearly FBI internet crime report. On the other hand, the number of ransomware victim complaints has gone down to 2014 levels, when ransomware attacks first started to become popular across the world; however, financial losses caused by ransomware attacks are now higher than ever, suggesting that crooks are now carefully selecting their victims in order to inflict the greatest damage and obtain the highest payouts.

Twitter Deletes 5,000 Pro-Trump Bots Criticizing 'Russiagate Hoax'

A network of more than 5,000 pro-Trump Twitter bots railed against the “Russiagate hoax” shortly after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report last week, according to data gathered by a prominent disinformation researcher and analyzed by NBC News. The bots, which were created last November and December, were pulled down by Twitter for breaking the social network’s rules against “manipulation,” the company said.

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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.