Huawei Sues FCC Over Vote to Limit Companies' Purchases

Huawei, the Chinese technology powerhouse, is suing the Federal Communications Commission for choking off its sales in the United States, the latest in the besieged company’s widening efforts to hit back at regulators and critics across the globe. “The FCC claims that Huawei is a security threat, but FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has not provided any evidence,” Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, said during a news conference at the company’s headquarters in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Consumer Advocates Urge FTC to Probe Collection of Children's Data Online

Pediatricians and consumer advocates are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate practices for collecting online data about children, amid concerns advertisers might be manipulating children with targeted ads. “Advertising to children is a lucrative, booming business, and not enough is understood about these new methods of surveilling and monetizing children, or the impact that it has on their privacy and wellbeing,” according to a letter to the FTC.

EU Finance Ministers Agree on Delay for Private Digital Currencies

Private digital currencies like Facebook’s Libra should not be allowed in the European Union until the risks they could pose are clearly addressed, EU finance ministers agreed. The move confirms the bloc’s tough line on Libra, which has attracted criticism from global regulators over its possible impact on the financial system since it was announced last June.

Facebook Sues Hong Kong Company for Using Malware to Run Deceptive Ads

Facebook is suing a Hong Kong–based company and two Chinese citizens it says used malware to compromise user accounts in order to run millions of dollars of deceptive Facebook ads that often featured celebrities. The company filed the federal lawsuit in California against ILikeAd Media International Company, Chen Xiao Cong, and Huang Tao.

Filmmakers Sue U.S. for Requiring Social Media Account Details in Visa Applications

A group of filmmakers have sued the U.S. government for making visa applicants hand over details about their social media accounts. The lawsuit argues that the requirement unconstitutionally discourages applicants from speaking online — and, conversely, discourages people who post political speech from trying to enter the U.S.

U.S., British Officials Charge Two Russians in Large Malware Schemes

U.S. and British law enforcement officials announced charges against two Russian nationals they believe responsible for separate global hacking schemes that deployed some of the largest pieces of malware ever seen to swipe tens of millions of dollars from the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims. Officials identified those charged as Maksim Yakubets, of Moscow, and Igor Turashev, of Yoshkar-Ola, Russia. They said a $5 million reward is being offered for information that leads to Yakubets’ capture — which they said was the largest such money offering yet for a cyber criminal.

Pelosi Wants to Remove Legal Protections for Online Content in USMCA

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing to strip out sweeping legal protections for online content in the new trade pact with Mexico and Canada, in what would be a blow for big technology companies. Internet firms lobbied hard to include the immunity language in the trade agreement, seeing it as a way to extend to Mexico and Canada the broad umbrella of legal protection they enjoy in the U.S.

Senators Ask FERC to Combat Telecom Threats Posed by Huawei

Six senators sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging the body to combat threats posed by using technology from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. "As you know, the Intelligence Community has issued repeated warnings to regulators and political leaders about the dangers associated with using Huawei equipment on the nation’s telecommunications network," the senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), wrote in a letter to FERC chair Neil Chatterjee, who oversees the country's electrical grid.

Facebook Considers Options for Labeling Political Ads

Facebook has weighed whether to label political ads to indicate they have not been fact-checked, rather than vetting what candidates say, one of a series of proposals the company has floated to Democratic and Republican operatives as it seeks to head off controversies in the 2020 election campaign. Some of the ideas — described by four people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations — have left campaign strategists in both parties uneasy, fearful that Facebook’s reforms might hamstring their ability to persuade and mobilize voters in a year when the White House is at stake.

Census Bureau's Digital System Plagued by Security Problems

In 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau faced a pivotal choice in its plan to digitize the nation’s once-a-decade population count: build a system for collecting and processing data in-house, or buy one from an outside contractor. The bureau chose Pegasystems Inc, reasoning that outsourcing would be cheaper and more effective. Three years later, the project faces serious reliability and security problems, according to Reuters interviews with six technology professionals currently or formerly involved in the census digitization effort.

Despite Claims, Studies Don't Support Benefits of School Spying Software

Companies that make school-focused surveillance software — popular brands include Securly, Gaggle, and Bark — say that their machine learning detection systems keep students safe from themselves and away from harmful online content. But the few published studies looking into the impacts of these tools indicate that they may have the opposite effect, breaking down trust relationships within schools and discouraging adolescents from reaching out for help — particularly those in minority and LGBTQ communities, who are far more likely to seek help online.

  • Read the article: Vice

FBI Warns Consumers That Smart TVs May 'Silently Cyberstalk You'

Those Black Friday and Cyber Monday super sales are not only a boon for your bank account, but may also reap serious rewards for cyber criminals intent on causing harm, according to the FBI. In a pre-holiday message to consumers, an FBI field office is warning that "smart TVs" -- televisions equipped with internet streaming and facial recognition capabilities -- may be vulnerable to intrusion.

  • Read the article: CNN

College Student Sues TikTok for Transferring Private Data to Chinese Servers

A California college student has accused popular video-sharing app TikTok in a class-action lawsuit of transferring private user data to servers in China, despite the company’s assurances that it does not store personal data there. The allegations may deepen legal troubles in the United States for TikTok, which is owned by Beijing ByteDance Technology Co but operates entirely outside of China and has developed an especially devoted fan base among U.S. teenagers.

Google Says Users Spending Less Time Watching Conspiracy Videos

YouTube said its policies and enforcement helped reduce the length of time viewers watch videos that advance conspiracies and other debunked theories, as the leading video site responds to criticism regarding its failure to police such content. The Google-owned company said it had pared by 70 percent the average time U.S. viewers spend watching videos that it deems “borderline” content, such as those peddling miracle medical cures or flat-earth conspiracy theories.

Lawyer Fights Section 230 of Communications Decency Act in Sex-Trafficking Cases

Annie McAdams, a personal-injury lawyer in Houston, is waging a legal assault against Facebook and other tech companies, accusing them of facilitating the sex trafficking of minors. In a series of lawsuits in California, Georgia, Missouri and Texas, she is using a novel argument to challenge Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and finding some early success.

Genius Media Files Copyright Suit Against Google for Copying Lyrics

In a new lawsuit, music site Genius Media claims it caught Google “red-handed” copying lyrics for its own benefit at the expense of Genius’ business. Genius claims Google and Canada-based lyric licensing company LyricFind misappropriated lyrics from its website. Genius alleges that Google, through LyricFind, displayed lyrics at the top of search results in its “Information Boxes” that were stripped directly from Genius without attribution.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Proposed Class-Action Over MacBook Keyboards

A federal judge rejected Apple Inc’s bid to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit by customers who said it knew and concealed how the “butterfly” keyboards on its MacBook laptop computers were prone to failure. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California said Apple must face claims that its troubleshooting program did not provide an “effective fix” for MacBook design defects, or fully compensate customers for their out-of-pocket expenses while seeking repairs.

Twitter Revamping Privacy Policies to Comply with California, EU Laws

Twitter announced that it is revamping its policies around the world to comply with online privacy laws in California and the European Union, a complicated process that will leave some users with more safeguards around their personal information than others. For most users around the world, Twitter is tweaking its policies to better comply with the incoming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a tough set of privacy protections that goes into effect in January 2020.

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.