Facebook Bans Advertising from Falun Gong-Related Publication Epoch Times

Facebook has banned advertising from The Epoch Times, the Falun Gong-related publication and conservative news outlet, as the social network struggles to implement a consistent political advertising policy. Facebook issued the ban after NBC News published a report that said The Epoch Times had obscured its connection to recent Facebook ads promoting President Trump and conspiracy content.

Judge Denies Bail for Woman Accused in Capital One Hacking

The woman accused of hacking into Capital One Financial Corp.’s cloud and stealing personal information on more than 100 million people was denied bail after prosecutors portrayed her as a loose cannon with violent tendencies. Paige A. Thompson, 33, who has been jailed since her arrest in July, is a danger to herself and others and must stay locked up while the case proceeds, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson ruled after a bail hearing.

France Expects Social Media Platforms to Sign Pledge to Fight Hate

France said it was optimistic that U.S.-based social media platforms including Facebook and Snapchat would still sign a pledge to fight online hate speech despite a last-minute delay. France, which is hosting the G7 summit in Biarritz, was initially hoping to make social media giants sign a so-called “Charter for an Open, Free, and Safe Internet”, according to the official program.

U.S. Semiconductor Companies Hurt by Trump's Comments About China

Shares of Apple and Silicon Valley's semiconductor companies were pummeled as President Trump responded to new tariffs from China with a tweet saying he's demanding that American companies "immediately start looking for an alternative to China." Trump's comments were "a clear shot across the bow at Apple and the semi space," Wedbush analysts Daniel Ives and Strecker Backe wrote in a note to investors.

Trump Seeks New Ruling on Court's Decision on Twitter Blocking

President Donald Trump is challenging a federal appeals court decision that ruled he violated the U.S. Constitution by blocking people whose views he disliked from his Twitter account. In court papers filed by the U.S. Justice Department, Trump sought a rehearing by the full 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, calling the 3-0 decision “fundamentally misconceived.”

Thousands of Unsafe, Banned Items Found for Sale on Amazon

Amazon exercises limited oversight over items listed by millions of third-party sellers, many of them anonymous, many in China, some offering scant information. A Wall Street Journal investigation found 4,152 items for sale on Amazon.com Inc. ’s site that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators — items that big-box retailers’ policies would bar from their shelves.

Publishers File Copyright Suit Against Audible Over Use of Captions

Amazon.com Inc.’s Audible was sued by some of the top U.S. publishers for copyright infringement, aiming to block a planned rollout of a feature called ‘Audible Captions’ that shows the text on screen as a book is narrated. The lawsuit was filed by seven members of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), including HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan Publishers.

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.

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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.