In Safety Move, YouTube Change Boosts 'Quality' Children's Content

In early July, YouTube made a significant change to its software to boost what it deems “quality” children’s content, sending waves of traffic to certain video producers and burying other channels. The change came as the company tries to convince parents its service is safe for kids, and convince regulators that it isn’t violating the law.

Senate Bill Would Increase Penalties for Antitrust Cases Against Tech Firms

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal introduced legislation to allow harsher penalties for companies that violate antitrust law, following a Justice Department probe into alleged anticompetitive behavior by big tech. The “Monopolization Deterrence Act” by the Democratic senators would allow the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to seek civil penalties for monopolization offenses under U.S. antitrust law, Klobuchar’s office said in a statement.

Man Arrested in Scam for Sending Packages of Dirt to Amazon as Returns

A 22-year-old has been arrested in an alleged scam of the largest internet retailer that totaled nearly $370,000 by sending return packages filled with dirt. James Gilbert Kwarteng, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, allegedly swindled Amazon Opens a New Window. by filling up the ordered items’ boxes with dirt and registering with the exact weight of the product.

FTC Investigating Facebook's Acquisition Practices as Part of Antitrust Probe

The Federal Trade Commission is examining Facebook Inc.’s acquisitions as part of its antitrust investigation into the social-media giant — to determine if they were part of a campaign to snap up potential rivals before they could become a threat, according to people familiar with the matter. The company’s acquisition practices are a central component of the FTC probe, the people said.

Google Blacklists Sites Approved by UAE Security Company After Hacking Reports

Alphabet’s Google has blacklisted websites approved by a United Arab Emirates-based security company after Reuters reports tied the firm to a state hacking operation. Google said last week on a public discussion board that its Chrome and Android browsers would mark as unsafe all websites that had been certified by the UAE security firm DarkMatter.

Facebook Finds Covert Campaigns Linked to Support for Saudi Arabia

Facebook said it had found evidence of something cyber security and national security experts have long suspected: people tied to the government of Saudi Arabia have been running covert campaigns on Facebook and Instagram in a bid to prop up support for the kingdom and attack its enemies. The people behind the campaign — who Facebook did not name but said were linked to the Saudi government — ran an expansive operation involving hundreds of Facebook pages and accounts.

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Artist Rights Alliance Encourages Congress to Probe Tech Companies

A trade group representing musicians and other content creators wants Congress to take in their perspectives as it investigates the effects of large tech companies’ market power. The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) sent a letter to lawmakers leading an antitrust probe into Silicon Valley’s giants, raising concerns about how large internet platforms impact the music business.

Cisco Settles False Claims Act Case for Failing to Meet Cybersecurity Standards

Cisco Systems Inc. has agreed to settle a whistleblower’s claim that it improperly sold video surveillance software with known vulnerabilities to U.S. federal and state governments, marking the first payout on a False Claims Act case brought over failure to meet cybersecurity standards. Cisco paid $8.6 million to resolve the case, with most of that going to the federal government and 15 state buyers and more than $1 million going to the whistleblower, James Glenn.

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.

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.