UK Agency Gains Power to Fine Companies for 'Internet Harms'

The United Kingdom's Office of Communications will be empowered to levy fines against social media companies that do not take steps to remove harmful content from their platforms. An announcement from the Digital and Home secretaries stated that the agency will be granted the power to "hold companies to account if they do not tackle internet harms such as child sexual exploitation and abuse and terrorism."

FBI's Internet Crime Report Estimates Losses at More Than $3.5 Billion

The FBI received 467,361 Internet and cyber-crime complaints in 2019, which the agency estimates have caused losses of more than $3.5 billion, the bureau wrote in its yearly Internet crime report. The FBI said that almost half of the reported losses -- an estimated $1.77 billion -- came from reports of BEC (Business Email Compromise), also known as EAC (Email Account Compromise) crimes.

Facebook Removes Foreign Accounts Suspected of Manipulating Users

Facebook said it had taken action against malicious actors in Russia, Iran and Myanmar that had deployed fake accounts and other efforts to manipulate social media users, illustrating anew its vast, global challenge to police the platform for an ever-widening array of disinformation. A small network of accounts with ties in Iran targeted U.S. users, particularly on religious and geopolitical issues, Facebook said in a blog post, while an operation with links to the Russian military focused its efforts on Ukraine and other neighboring countries.

FTC Requires Top Five Tech Companies to Provide Info on Past Mergers

U.S. regulators said they would probe past mergers by Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, seeking to study the ways tech giants gobbled up their rivals — and if their acquisitions may have skirted federal antitrust laws. The new effort by the Federal Trade Commission will require the five companies to provide information about the smaller players they’ve purchased over the past 10 years, including documents for deals that may not have been large enough to warrant deep, closer inspection by government watchdogs at the time.

Software Flaw Exposes Personal Data on 6.5 Million Voters in Israel

A software flaw exposed the personal data of every eligible voter in Israel — including full names, addresses and identity card numbers for 6.5 million people — raising concerns about identity theft and electoral manipulation, three weeks before the country’s national election. The security lapse was tied to a mobile app used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party to communicate with voters, offering news and information about the March 2 election.

U.S. Officials Say Huawei Can Access Mobile Networks via 'Back Doors'

U.S. officials say Huawei Technologies Co. can covertly access mobile-phone networks around the world through “back doors” designed for use by law enforcement, as Washington tries to persuade allies to exclude the Chinese company from their networks. Intelligence shows Huawei has had this secret capability for more than a decade, U.S. officials said. Huawei rejected the allegations.

Number of Ransomware Attacks Grows, with Payments Doubling

In 2019, 205,280 organizations submitted files that had been hacked in a ransomware attack — a 41 percent increase from the year before, according to information provided to The New York Times by Emsisoft, a security firm that helps companies hit by ransomware. The average payment to release files spiked to $84,116 in the last quarter of 2019, more than double what it was the previous quarter, according to data from Coveware, another security firm.

Amazon's Removal of Nazi-Related Titles Concerns Booksellers

Over the past 18 months, Amazon has removed two books by David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as several titles by George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party.While few may lament the disappearance of these hate-filled books, the increasing number of banished titles has set off concern among some of the third-party booksellers who stock Amazon’s vast virtual shelves.

Senator Wants to 'Overhaul' FTC to Address Big Tech Companies

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley wants to overhaul the Federal Trade Commission in an effort to deal with the power wielded by big tech companies like Google and Facebook. He introduced a proposal that would dismantle the current structure of the agency, tasked with protecting U.S. consumers, and put it under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.

  • Read the article: CNET

Court Refuses Apple's Appeal in $503 Million VirnetX Patent Case

A U.S. appeals court denied a request by Apple Inc. that it reconsider a decision upholding a finding Apple iPhones infringed VirnetX Holding Corp patents relating to secure communications technology. In the previous ruling, a three-judge panel of the court voided a jury’s calculation that Apple should pay $503 million for infringing VirnetX patents.

U.S. Grand Jury Charges Four from Chinese Military with Hacking Equifax

A federal grand jury has charged four members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army with hacking Equifax and stealing personal data and trade secrets in one of the largest hacks on record. Attorney General William Barr said that the scale of the theft in 2017 was "staggering" and the suspects obtained information for nearly 150 million Americans.

  • Read the article: CNN

Netflix Says It Has Removed Nine Titles Following Government Demands

Netflix has taken down just nine pieces of content around the world in response to written government demands since it was founded 23 years ago, the company revealed for the first time. In its first-ever report on what it calls Environmental Social Governance, Netflix says it has already received one takedown request this year from the government of Singapore to remove "The Last Hangover," a Brazilian comedy.

$9 Billion at Stake as Facebook, IRS Head to Trial Over Tax Structure

Facebook Inc. and the Internal Revenue Service will square off in a U.S. Tax Court case that could cost the social-media giant more than $9 billion and shape the government’s ability to crack down on companies’ efforts to shift profits to low-tax countries. The trial caps a nine-year dispute over how Facebook structured its international operations.

Reports of Child Sex Abuse Content Online Increase by 50 Percent

The number of reported photos, videos and other materials related to online child sexual abuse grew by more than 50 percent last year, an indication that many of the world’s biggest technology platforms remain infested with the illegal content. Nearly 70 million images and videos were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a federally designated clearinghouse for the imagery that works with law enforcement agencies.

Facebook, Twitter Refuse to Take Down Edited Video of Pelosi

Facebook and Twitter have rejected a request by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove a video posted by President Trump that was edited to make it appear as though she were ripping a copy of his State of the Union address as he honored a Tuskegee airman and other guests. The decision highlighted the tension between critics who want social media platforms to crack down on the spread of misinformation and others who argue that political speech should be given wide latitude, even if it’s deceptive or false.

Barr Says U.S. Should Take Control of Nokia or Ericsson to Fight Huawei

The United States and its allies should take controlling stakes in Nokia, Ericsson or both to battle Chinese telecoms giant Huawei's dominance of the 5G market, U.S. Attorney general Bill Barr said. "There are only two companies that can compete with Huawei right now: Nokia and Ericsson," Barr said in a speech on the Chinese economic threat.

EU Antitrust Officials Deepen Probe of Facebook's Software Interfaces

European Union antitrust investigators have sought internal documents related to Facebook Inc.’s alleged efforts to identify and squash potential rivals, deepening authorities’ preliminary probe into the social-media company, according to people familiar with the matter. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has in recent weeks ramped up its pursuit of documents related to allegations by rival companies and politicians that Facebook leveraged access to its users’ data to stifle competition, rewarding partners and cutting off rivals, those people said.

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.