India Orders Competition Investigation of Amazon, Flipkart

India ordered an investigation of Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart’s Flipkart over alleged violations of competition law in the latest setback for U.S. e-commerce giants operating in the country. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it was ordering a wider probe following a review of allegations that Amazon and Flipkart were promoting some “preferred sellers” and in turn hurting business for other, smaller sellers.

Attorney General Asks Apple to Help Unlock Terrorist's Two iPhones

Attorney General William P. Barr declared that a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., was an act of terrorism, and he asked Apple in an unusually high-profile request to provide access to two phones used by the gunman. Mr. Barr’s appeal was an escalation of an ongoing fight between the Justice Department and Apple pitting personal privacy against public safety.

India's Supreme Court Rules Internet Suspension in Kashmir Unconstitutional

India’s Supreme Court ruled that the indefinite suspension of internet services in Kashmir was unconstitutional, scolding the government for blocking important avenues for communication after its contentious decision last year to end the special status of the Muslim-majority region. The court said access to the internet is protected as part of the constitution’s guarantee of the freedom of speech.

Judge Still Reviewing FTC's $5 Billion Settlement with Facebook

Almost six months after Facebook Inc. agreed to a $5 billion settlement of privacy violations, the issue is anything but settled for the social-media giant. The deal with the Federal Trade Commission announced in July to settle allegations that Facebook broke its promises to protect users’ privacy is still under review by a federal judge, who has been weighing objections from opponents who believe the deal is inadequate.

ITC to Investigate Fitbit, Garmin Devices After Patent Allegations

U.S. trade regulators said they will investigate wearable monitoring devices, including those made by Fitbit Inc. and Garmin Ltd., following allegations of patent violations by rival Koninklijke Philips and its North America unit. The U.S. International Trade Commission, in a statement, said the probe would also look at devices by made by California-based Ingram Micro Inc. as well as China-based Maintek Computer Co. Ltd. and Inventec Appliances.

Facebook, Instagram Remove Posts Supporting Slain Iranian Commander

Instagram and its parent company Facebook are removing posts that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani to comply with US sanctions, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business. The Iranian government has called for nationwide legal action against Instagram in protest, even creating a portal on a government website for the app's users to submit examples of posts the company removed, Iranian state media reported.

  • Read the article: CNN

Chinese Malware Found on Free Cell Phones for Low-Income Households

Assurance Wireless, offers a free Android device to low-income households along with free data, texts and minutes. But according to security researchers, there’s a catch: the Android phones come with preinstalled Chinese malware, which effectively opens up a backdoor onto the device and endangers their private data. One of the malware types is impossible to remove, according to the researchers.

'PROTECT Kids Act' Would Update COPPA for New Technologies

A pair of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill to protect children's privacy online, responding to growing concern that minors are being manipulated and exploited on the internet without any recourse in existing law. The Preventing Real Online Threats Endangering Children Today (PROTECT) Kids Act, introduced by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), would strengthen a decades-old children's online privacy law to account for new innovations in technology and close loopholes that leave teenagers exposed.

Facebook to Continue Allowing False Political Ads That Target Voters

Defying pressure from Congress, Facebook said that it would continue to allow political campaigns to use the site to target advertisements to particular slices of the electorate and that it would not police the truthfulness of the messages sent out. The stance put Facebook, the most important digital platform for political ads, at odds with some of the other large tech companies, which have begun to put new limits on political ads.

Executives Defend Ring Doorbells, But Critics Maintain Privacy Concerns

The executives in charge of Amazon's Ring doorbells insist their products are making the world better and safer, largely dismissing concerns they are helping lay the foundation for a police surveillance state. But critics disagreed, with Fight for the Future's Evan Greer saying, "Ring's business model is fundamentally incompatible with democracy and basic human rights."

TikTok Updates Community Guidelines to Ban Harmful Misinformation

The hugely popular social media app TikTok tightened its rules around what kind of content it permits, clarifying that it will take down videos that contain misinformation, promote terrorism or incite hatred against minorities. The Chinese-owned app, which revolves around short-form videos set to music, is overhauling its previously sparse community guidelines as it continues to face scrutiny over its ties to Beijing and questions about whether it censors content according to the Chinese government's sensibilities.

Lawmakers Say Facebook's Changes on 'Deepfakes' Not Enough

Facebook Inc. laid out a series of changes it has made to combat the spread of false information on its website, such as removing “deepfake” and other manipulated videos, but lawmakers said the changes do not go far enough. A hearingby the House Energy & Commerce committee marks the latest effort by House lawmakers to probe Facebook’s digital defenses ahead of the 2020 presidential election in November and four years after Russia weaponized the site to spread disinformation during the 2016 race.

New Organization Presents Alternative for Managing .org Domain

A group of respected internet pioneers and nonprofit leaders is offering an alternative to Ethos Capital’s bid to take over the .org top-level domain: a nonprofit cooperative corporation. The goal of the Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants is not only to persuade the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees internet domain names, to stop the sale. It is also to persuade ICANN to hand it the management of dot-org instead.

Facebook to Delete Some 'Deepfakes,' Videos with Manipulated Media

Facebook Inc. said it will remove deepfakes and other manipulated videos from its platform if they have been edited, but not content that is parody or satire, in a move aimed at curbing misinformation ahead of the U.S. presidential election. It would also remove misleading media if it was a result of technologies like AI that "merges, replaces or superimposes content on to a video, making it appear to be authentic", the California-based company said in a blog post.

FBI Asks Apple to Help Unlock iPhones Owned by Shooter at Air Force Base

The FBI has asked Apple to help investigators access two iPhones believed to be owned by a 21-year-old man who killed three sailors in a shooting last month at a Pensacola Air Force base, a person familiar with the investigation said. Investigators believe Mohammed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer, left one phone in the car and was carrying the second phone while he fired on individuals at the base.

  • Read the article: CNN

ToTok App Returns to Google Play Store After Surveillance Accusations

Popular messaging app ToTok is back in the Google Play Store after it was removed when the app was accused of being a surveillance tool used by the United Arab Emirates to track the activities of people who download it. A "what's new" section on the Google Play app page says the app made several updates, including how it makes requests for user data and syncs contact list info.

  • Read the article: CNET

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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.