O'Rourke's Gun Plan Would Hold Tech Companies Liable for Hate Speech

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke released a sweeping gun violence prevention plan, proposing a set of changes that he said could "connect the dots" between online radicalization and real-world violence. O'Rourke's proposal makes him the first presidential candidate to officially lay out plans to hold tech companies accountable for the proliferation of hate speech on their platforms.

Ireland's Data Privacy Regulator Appears Close to Ending WhatsApp Probe

Ireland’s data privacy regulator is close to concluding its first probe into a multinational company under the EU’s new privacy laws, likely to involve Facebook’s WhatsApp subsidiary, although a formal decision could take months. The Irish Independent newspaper quoted Ireland’s Data Protection Commission as saying that her office’s first major GDPR decision relating to a multinational firm looked set to be one of two probes it opened into WhatsApp.

Cloudflare Calls Banning 8chan a 'Risk Factor' in Its Planned IPO

Networking and web security giant Cloudflare says the recent 8chan controversy may be an ongoing “risk factor” for its business on the back of its upcoming initial public offering. The San Francisco-based company and former Battlefield finalist, which filed its IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, earlier this month took the rare step of pulling the plug on one of its customers, 8chan, an anonymous message board linked to recent domestic terrorist attacks in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, which killed 31 people.

Judge Says Georgia Can't Keep Using Its Current Electronic Voting Machines

The state of Georgia can't use its current electronic voting machines, election management software or servers after 2019, according to an order from a federal judge. It's the latest decision in a long-running legal fight over the security of voting tech in the state, and effectively requires Georgia to get a new system in place for the 2020 presidential primaries.

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Deepfake Videos Pose Threat to 2020 Election, Security Researchers Warn

Deepfake videos are likely to pose a grave threat to the 2020 election, unless the media adopts stringent policies to distinguish real videos from sophisticated forgeries, experts say. “The press is going to have to resist the urge to get the scoop by talking about something that may not be true before they can validate it," said Amy Zegart, co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

Capital One Employees Raised Concerns Before Data Breach

Before a giant data breach at Capital One Financial Corp., employees raised concerns within the company about what they saw as high turnover in its cybersecurity unit and a failure to promptly install some software to help spot and defend against hacks, according to people familiar with the matter. The cybersecurity unit — responsible for ensuring Capital One’s firewalls were properly configured and scanning the internet for evidence of a data breach — has cycled through senior leaders and staffers in recent years, according to the people.

Apple Sues Corellium for Illegally Selling Copies of iPhone, iPad OS

Apple Inc. accused upstart Corellium LLC of illegally selling virtual copies of the iPhone and iPad operating systems under the guise of helping discover security flaws. In a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed in West Palm Beach, Florida, Apple said the software company Corellium has copied the operating system, graphical user interface and other aspects of the devices without permission, and wants a federal judge to stop the violations.

European Central Bank Shuts Down Website After Hacking, Infection

The European Central Bank (ECB) shut down one of its websites after it was hacked and infected with malicious software. The ECB said no market-sensitive data had been compromised during the attack on its Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary (BIRD), which it uses to provide bankers with information on how to produce statistical and supervisory reports.

Woman Charged in Capital One Data Breach Linked to Other Hackings

Federal prosecutors say a woman charged in a massive data breach at Capital One may have hacked more than 30 other organizations. In a memorandum filed ahead of a court hearing, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said servers found in the woman’s bedroom contained data stolen from more than 30 unnamed companies, educational institutions and other entities.

House Homeland Security Committee Subpoenas Owner of 8chan

The House Homeland Security Committee subpoenaed the owner of 8chan, the internet messaging board linked to three mass shootings this year, to testify before Congress. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) issued the subpoena of Jim Watkins in order to support its ongoing probe into extremist content online.

LGBT Video Creators Accuse YouTube of Suppressing Their Content

A group of LGBT video creators is accusing YouTube of discrimination by suppressing their content, restricting their ability to sell advertising and culling their subscribers, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday evening against the video site and its parent, Google. The suit adds to allegations against the video streaming site — by far the world’s largest, with nearly 2 billion monthly viewers — that it enforces its policies unevenly and gives a pass to producers with large audiences, even when their content is hostile to gay, lesbian or other communities.

India's Internet Shutdown Paralyzes Kashmir, Threatening Healthcare

As the Indian government’s shutdown of internet and phone service in Kashmir enters its 11th day, the contested region has become paralyzed. The information blockade was an integral part of India’s unilateral decision last week to wipe out the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, an area of 12.5 million people that is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has long been a source of tension.

Microsoft's New Privacy Policy Says It Collects Users' Voice Data

Microsoft Corp. said it updated its privacy policy to let customers know that it had been collecting voice data of its users with the help of employees and contractors. A spokesperson for Microsoft said the company collects voice data to provide voice-enabled services for Skype and Cortana and sometimes uses vendors to assist in improving these services.

Chairman Says FTC Prepared to Break Up Tech Firms 'If You Have To'

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is prepared to break up major technology companies if necessary by undoing past mergers, Chairman Joe Simons said in an interview with Bloomberg, as the regulator probes anti-competitive practices in the sector. Simons said in the interview that breaking up a company is challenging, but could be the right remedy to rein in dominant companies and restore competition.

FAA Bans Some MacBook Pro Laptops on Flights, Citing Fire Risk

U.S. airline safety regulators banned select MacBook Pro laptops on flights after Apple Inc. recently said that some units had batteries that posed a fire risk. In a statement, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it was “aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops” and stated that it alerted major U.S. airlines about the recall.

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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.