China's Central Bank Says Facebook's Cryptocurrency Must Be Supervised

Facebook Inc.’s push to create its own cryptocurrency, called Libra, must be put under the oversight of monetary authorities, according to a senior official from China’s central bank. As a convertible crypto asset or a type of stablecoin, Libra can flow freely across borders, and it “won’t be sustainable without the support and supervision of central banks,” Mu Changchun, deputy director of the People’s Bank of China’s payments department, wrote in comments provided to Bloomberg.

White House Excludes Facebook, Twitter from Social Media Summit

The White House has not extended invitations to Facebook and Twitter to attend its social media summit, people familiar with the matter said. The people, who spoke to CNN Business on the condition of anonymity, suggested it was not surprising. They said they believe the summit would amount to a right-wing grievance session and was not aimed at seriously discussing some of the issues facing large technology companies.

  • Read the article: CNN

EU Effort to Combat Election Interference Risks Becoming Defunct Quickly

The European Union launched an ambitious effort earlier this year to combat election interference: an early-warning system that would sound alarms about Russian propaganda. Despite high expectations, however, records show that the system has become a repository for a mishmash of information, produced no alerts and is already at risk of becoming defunct.

Google Suspends Email Alert System in New Zealand After Murder Case Disclosure

Google has suspended an email alerting system in New Zealand following criticism by the government for publishing suppressed details of a murder case, the company said. The suspension of the service comes as the Alphabet-owned giant and its peers, such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, as well as governments around the world, wrestle with the question of responsibility for the content published on the platforms.

U.K. Competition Watchdog Probes Amazon's Purchase of Deliveroo

The U.K. competition watchdog launched an investigation into Amazon’s purchase of a large stake in food delivery service Deliveroo, a move that suggests authorities are taking a harder line on the expansion of Big Tech. While the deal had not been billed as a takeover by Amazon, the Competition and Markets Authority said it has “reasonable grounds for suspecting” that the agreement could “result in Amazon and Deliveroo ceasing to be distinct.”

Appeals Court Says Amazon Can Face Liability for Defective Products

A federal appeals court ruled against Amazon.com Inc. in a case that could expose the online retailer to lawsuits from customers who buy defective products from third-party vendors through its website. Numerous other courts, including two federal appeals courts, have held that Amazon cannot be held liable as a seller of products from third-party vendors.

Foreigners in Parts of China Forced to Install Malware on Their Phones

Foreigners crossing certain Chinese borders into the Xinjiang region, where authorities are conducting a massive campaign of surveillance and oppression against the local Muslim population, are being forced to install a piece of malware on their phones that gives all of their text messages as well as other pieces of data to the authorities, a collaboration by Motherboard, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Guardian, the New York Times, and the German public broadcaster NDR has found.

  • Read the article: Vice

After Hacking, Maker of License-Plate Scanners Suspended by Customs

The longtime maker of license-plate scanners and other surveillance equipment used along the U.S. border was suspended from federal contracting by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who cited “evidence of conduct indicating a lack of business honesty or integrity,” federal records show. The rare punishment temporarily prevents the longtime contractor, Perceptics, from doing business with the federal government and could land the company on a years-long government blacklist.

House Democrats Want Facebook to Stop Work on Libra Cryptocurrency

House Democrats are requesting Facebook halt development of its proposed cryptocurrency project Libra, as well as its digital wallet Calibra, until Congress and regulators have time to investigate the possible risks it poses to the global financial system. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, hinted at a move like this last month shortly after the project was announced.

Amazon Says It Keeps Alexa Recordings, Transcripts Unless Deleted by Users

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in May, demanding answers on Alexa and how long it kept voice recordings and transcripts, as well as what the data gets used for. Amazon's vice president of public policy, Brian Huseman, sent a response telling Coons that Amazon keeps transcripts and voice recordings indefinitely, and only removes them if they're manually deleted by users.

  • Read the article: CNET

Despite Trump's Statement, Commerce Dep't Says Huawei Still Blacklisted

A senior U.S. official told the Commerce Department’s enforcement staff that China’s Huawei should still be treated as blacklisted, days after U.S. President Donald Trump sowed confusion with a vow to ease a ban on sales to the firm. Trump had surprised markets by promising Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan that he would allow U.S. companies to sell products to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

D-Link Settles FTC Complaint, Agrees to Implement New Security Program

Router and webcam maker D-Link has agreed to implement a new security program to settle charges it failed to safeguard its hardware against well-known and preventable hacks and misrepresented its existing security regimen. The agreement settles a 2017 complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that alleged D-Link left thousands of customers open to potentially costly hack attacks.

UK Competition Watchdog Investigates Google, Facebook for User Data

The UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the way Google and Facebook collect and exploit personal data and have used their power to dominate the £13bn UK digital advertising market. The Competition and Markets Authority’s wide-ranging investigation into online advertising will focus on the sector’s two biggest players, Google and Facebook, and look at whether “consumers are able and willing to control how data about them is used and collected.”

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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.