Russian Lawyers Winning Some Fights for Fewer Internet Restrictions

As Vladimir Putin ’s Russia increasingly cracks down on Internet freedoms, a band of self-styled pirates is fighting back. The group of fewer than a dozen lawyers and techies calling themselves Roskomsvoboda — or Russian Communications Freedom — has unblocked banned websites, mounted legal cases and recently revealed that Moscow had ordered dating app Tinder to share user information with security services, setting off fresh debate over Moscow’s tightening grip on the Internet.

More Than 40 U.S. Municipalities Hit By Ransomware Attacks This Year

More than 40 municipalities have been the victims of cyberattacks this year, from major cities such as Baltimore, Albany and Laredo, Tex., to smaller towns including Lake City, Fla. Intelligence officials, using data collected by the National Security Agency and others in an effort to identify the sources of the hacking, say many have come from Eastern Europe, Iran and, in some cases, the United States.

Justice Department Indicts People Linked to Nigeria-Based Email Scam

The Justice Department has indicted dozens of individuals accused of involvement in a massive business email scam and money laundering scheme. Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California, confirmed more than a dozen individuals had been arrested during raids — mostly in the Los Angeles area.

Facebook Shuts Accounts in Myanmar That Tried to 'Corrupt Public Debate'

Facebook Inc. said it had shut 216 social media pages, groups and accounts in Myanmar, some tied to the army, to stymie efforts to “manipulate or corrupt public debate”. The company closed 89 Facebook accounts, 107 pages, 15 groups and five Instagram accounts, some of which had hundreds of thousands of followers, it said in a blogpost.

Eminem's Publisher Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Spotify

Eminem's publisher Eight Mile Style has filed a major new lawsuit claiming Spotify has infringed hundreds of song copyrights and challenging the constitutionality of a recently passed music licensing law. In a suit filed in federal court in Nashville, Eight Mile accuses Spotify of willful copyright infringement by reproducing "Lose Yourself" and about 250 of the rapper's songs on its service to the tune of potentially billions of dollars in alleged damages.

Actors, Musicians, Energy Secretary Fall for Instagram Copyright Hoax

Famous actors and musicians, the head of the U.S. Department of Energy, and regular Instagram users have been spreading a hoax memo that claims the company will soon have permission to make deleted photos and messages public and use those posts against them in court. The claims are fake and the assertions don’t make a lot of sense, but that hasn’t stopped it from being spread by some major names concerned about the implications.

China Says Twitter, Facebook Users 'Have Rights to Express Their Opinions'

China’s government pushed back against moves by Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. to curb accounts the companies said were part of a state-sponsored disinformation campaign against Hong Kong protesters, saying the posts were simply Chinese citizens overseas expressing their views. These citizens, including students, “have the rights to express their opinions and viewpoints,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said a regularly schedule press conference in Beijing.

Despite Ban, Facebook Users Find Tricks to Sell Guns on Marketplace

Gun sellers are using a simple trick to do business on Facebook Inc.’s Marketplace at a time when more mass shootings in the U.S. have renewed the debate in Washington over access to firearms, despite Facebook’s policy forbidding the private sale of many items, including guns. To dodge the prohibition, sellers simply list gun cases or boxes at inflated prices, which have become code for actual guns.

LinkedIn Takes Action Against 21.6 Million Fake Accounts in 6 Months

LinkedIn said that it took action against 21.6 million fake accounts during the first six months of 2019. Paul Rockwell, LinkedIn’s head of trust and safety, said in a blog post that the company’s actions were part of an effort aimed at “proactively finding fake profiles, then removing them and any content they share.” The company’s actions included preventing 19.5 million fake accounts from making it past the registration phase.

Apple Changing Rules for Kids Apps to Ban External Analytics Software

Apple plans to change the rules it has for kids apps, raising concerns among some app developers about the way the tech giant wields power unilaterally over an App Store that has become an industry unto itself. Under the new rules, which Apple had planned to implement next month, kids apps on Apple’s App Store will be banned from using external analytics software — invisible lines of code that collect extremely detailed information about who is using an app and how.

EU's Antitrust Watchdog Investigating Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency

The new Libra digital currency hasn’t even launched yet, but barely two months after the Facebook Inc.-led association announced its plans, it’s already facing a number of stumbling blocks. In the latest example of rising regulatory scrutiny into Mark Zuckerberg’s cryptocurrency project, Bloomberg reported that the European Union’s antitrust watchdog is investigating Libra, raising questions about the prospects of success for the digital coin.

Facebook to Let Users See, Control More Data Shared with Other Sites

Facebook Inc. said it was tweaking its policies to allow users to see and control the data that other websites and apps share with the social network to improve targeted advertising. The company defines the data, for example when a clothing website shares information with Facebook on browsing activity of a user, as “Off-Facebook Activity”.

Google Denies Trump's Accusations of 'Manipulation' During 2016 Election

Google denied accusations made by President Donald Trump that the search giant "manipulated" millions of voters against him in the 2016 election. Google said Trump seemed to be referring to an old report claiming to prove that it generated at least 2.6 million votes for Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, but said the report has been "debunked since it was made."

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States Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Big Technology Companies

A group of states is preparing to move forward with a joint antitrust investigation of big technology companies, according to people familiar with the situation, adding another layer of scrutiny to an industry already under a federal spotlight. The effort involving state attorneys general is expected to be formally launched as soon as next month, the people said.

Tech Firms, Industry Groups Criticize France's New Digital Services Tax

Major tech firms and U.S. tech industry groups said that France’s new digital services tax undermines the global tax regime and multilateral efforts to reform it. Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and major trade associations testified against the tax at a hearing before the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and other government officials.

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.