Amazon Among Retailers Sued for Infringing Patents on LED Light Bulbs

Five major retailers, including Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc., were sued by the University of California over what it called the “existential threat” when foreign manufacturers infringe schools’ patents. Amazon, Walmart, Target Corp., Ikea AB and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. were accused of infringing four patents related to “filament” LED light bulbs, which use 90% less energy and last many years longer than traditional light bulbs.

Senate Bill Would Limit Social Media Use by Banning Infinite Scrolling

The youngest senator in Congress, and one of its toughest crusaders against Big Tech, proposed a bill meant to curb social media addiction by regulating the techniques that prolong engagement on the platforms. Freshman Sen. Josh Hawley’s bill, the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act, would make it illegal for social media companies such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to use infinite scroll, autoplay video or techniques like Snapchat’s “streaks,” which reward a user with badges for repeated use.

Hacker Accesses 100 Million Credit Card Applications at Capital One

Capital One, the Virginia-based bank with a popular credit card business, announced that a hacker had accessed about 100 million credit card applications, and investigators say thousands of Social Security and bank account numbers were also taken. The FBI has arrested a Seattle area woman, Paige A. Thompson, on a charge of computer fraud and abuse, according to court records.

GitHub Blocks Users in Iran, Syria, Crimea from Accessing Parts of Service

GitHub, the world’s largest host of source code, is preventing users in Iran, Syria, Crimea and potentially other sanctioned nations from accessing portions of the service, chief executive of the Microsoft-owned firm said. GitHub CEO Nat Friedman wrote on Twitter that like any other “company that does business in the US,” GitHub is required to comply with the U.S. export law.

U.S. Businesses Fret Over China's Proposed Cybersecurity Regulations

Proposed cybersecurity regulations by China are vexing U.S. businesses, who see the rules as new barriers to the Chinese market, and loom as a potential sticking point in coming U.S.-China trade talks. The new draft rules and standards, released over the past two months with little fanfare, flesh out an existing cybersecurity law that the U.S. and many foreign businesses already consider draconian.

Companies Using Facebook's 'Like' Button Must Get Users' Consent, EU Court Says

Companies that embed Facebook’s “Like” button on their websites must seek users’ consent to transfer their personal data to the U.S. social network, in line with the bloc’s data privacy laws, Europe’s top court said. Website plugins such as Facebook’s “Like” button are a common feature of online retail as companies seek to promote their products on popular social networks, but critics fear the data transfer may breach privacy laws.

Hacker Who Stopped 'WannaCry' Virus Sentenced to Time Served for Malware

The British surfer who saved the world from a devastating cyberattack in 2017 was sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to building and selling malware to hackers in the years before his self-taught computer-security skills gained him fame worldwide. Marcus Hutchins pleaded guilty in April to two counts related to his marketing and distribution of malware called Kronos and UPAS, which his customers used to steal the bank details of unsuspecting victims around the world.

Consumer Privacy Group Challenges Facebook's $5 Billion Settlement

A consumer privacy group has filed a challenge to Facebook’s $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, saying it is not “adequate, reasonable or appropriate” and lets the social media giant off the hook for years of violations. The Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center asked a federal district court in Washington D.C. to intervene in finalizing the settlement, which was approved 3-to-2 by the FTC.

IRS Sends Warning Letters to Cryptocurrency Holders About Reporting Income

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sending letters to more than 10,000 cryptocurrency holders, warning about penalties for failing to report income and pay tax on transactions involving virtual currencies. The agency expects its mailing to be completed by the end of August. It is sending three variations of one letter, depending on the information it has about the recipient.

Russian Hackers Targeted Election Systems in 50 States, Senate Committee Says

The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016, largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time, but at the demand of American intelligence agencies the committee was forced to redact its findings so heavily that key lessons for the 2020 election are blacked out. It concluded that while there is no evidence that any votes were changed in actual voting machines, “Russian cyberactors were in a position to delete or change voter data” in the Illinois voter database.

Barr Meets with State Attorneys General to Discuss Concerns About Big Tech

Eight state attorneys general met with U.S. Attorney General William Barr to discuss concerns about big tech companies, according to a statement from the Texas attorney general’s office. The statement did not identify the other participants but said the group was bipartisan and discussions centered on “big tech companies stifling competition on the internet.”

Presidential Candidate Sues Google for Suspending Her Ads After Debate

Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the long-shot presidential candidate from Hawaii, said in a federal lawsuit that Google infringed on her free speech when it briefly suspended her campaign’s advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, is believed to be the first time a presidential candidate has sued a major technology firm.

Bill Requires Disclosure for Third-Party Hotel Booking Websites

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers has reintroduced legislation aimed at combating online hotel booking scams. The Stopping Online Booking Scams Act, which accrued over 40 co-sponsors in the Senate during the last Congress before it stalled, would make it illegal for scammers to fool customers into thinking they are paying for hotel services when they are not.

Treasury Secretary Says No National Security Concerns About Google in China

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he and President Trump have found no national security concerns about work that Google is doing in China, a rebuke of claims made by billionaire investor and Facebook Inc. board member Peter Thiel. In an interview with CNBC, Mr. Mnuchin said he and the president looked into the matter and recently met with Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai to address Mr. Thiel’s concerns.

Facebook Agrees to $5 Billion Settlement, Agrees to Federal Oversight

The U.S. government issued an unprecedented rebuke of Facebook after a year of massive privacy mishaps, charging that the company deceived its users and “undermined” choices they made to protect their data as part of a settlement that requires the tech giant to pay $5 billion and submit to significant federal oversight of its business practices. Sixteen months after opening its investigation, the Federal Trade Commission alleged that Facebook had repeatedly misled its 2.2 billion users.

New York Legislation Would Ban Sale of Geolocation Data to Third Parties

Telecommunications firms and mobile-based apps make billions of dollars per year by selling customer location data to marketers and other businesses, offering a vast window into the whereabouts of cellphone and app users, often without their knowledge. That practice, which has come under increasing scrutiny and criticism in recent years, is now the subject of a proposed ban in New York. If the legislation is approved, it is believed that the city would become the first to forbid the sale of geolocation data to third parties.

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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.