Father of Murdered TV Reporter Files FTC Complaint Over YouTube Video

Andy Parker's daughter, Alison Parker, was shot and killed on live television more than four years ago. Now, Andy Parker is taking on YouTube and parent company Google to remove graphic content like the murder videos that still exist of his daughter from the video site. Parker along with Georgetown University Law Center’s Civil Rights Clinic filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against YouTube and Google for deceptive practices on its platform.

Apple, TikTok Refuse to Testify at Hearing on Relationships with China

Apple and TikTok each have declined a request to testify at a March congressional hearing that would have probed their relationships with China, a move that threatens to ratchet up tensions with federal lawmakers who see Beijing as a privacy and security threat. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.), one of TikTok’s leading critics, had invited the two tech firms to appear at a March 4 session, his office confirmed.

Bloomberg's Major Push on Social Media Tests Boundaries

Through his money and his willingness to experiment, Michael R. Bloomberg has poked holes in the already slapdash rules for political campaigns on social media. His digitally savvy campaign for the Democratic nomination has shown that if a candidate is willing to push against the boundaries of what social media companies will and won’t allow, the companies won’t be quick to push back.

Holocaust Groups Ask Amazon to Stop Selling Nazi Propaganda

Two organizations that educate the public about the Holocaust are calling on Amazon to stop selling Nazi propaganda, rekindling a debate over what should be sold through the world’s biggest digital marketplace. The Holocaust Educational Trust, which trains students and teachers across Britain, posted a letter on Twitter calling on Amazon U.K. to stop selling books by Julius Streicher, the founder of the Nazi-era anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer.

Twitter Suspends Bloomberg-Related Accounts for Violating Rules

Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has been experimenting with novel tactics to cultivate an online following, or at least the appearance of one. But one of the strategies — deploying a large number of Twitter accounts to push out identical messages — has backfired. Twitter began suspending 70 accounts posting pro-Bloomberg content in a pattern that violates company rules.

New Mexico Sues Google for Illegally Collecting Data on Students

Google was hit with a lawsuit by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, alleging the search giant is illegally collecting data on school children. The suit says Google is collecting the personal information through a program the company has with New Mexico's school districts, in which it provides Chromebooks and access to G Suite for Education apps for free.

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Twitter Experiments with Labels for Misinformation Posted by Politicians

Twitter is experimenting with adding brightly colored labels directly beneath lies and misinformation posted by politicians and public figures, according to a leaked demo of new features sent to NBC News. Twitter confirmed that the leaked demo, which was accessible on a publicly available site, is one possible iteration of a new policy to target misinformation it plans to roll out March 5.

Swiss Court Upholds Fine for Sharing Anti-Semitic Facebook Post

Using Facebook Inc.’s “like” or “share” button to distribute right-wing or anti-Semitic material could be a crime if the information ends up being circulated to a third party, Switzerland’s top court ruled. The Swiss Federal Court upheld a fine imposed on a man for “repeated defamation” by a Zurich court, ruling that “activating both ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons in Facebook can improve visibility and thereby contribute to the dissemination within the social network of marked content.”

European Data Protection Board Criticizes Google's Deal for Fitbit

Alphabet Inc-owned Google’s $2.1 billion bid for fitness trackers company Fitbit could pose privacy risks, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) warned, adding its voice to other critics of the deal. Fitbit, whose fitness trackers and other devices monitor users’ daily steps, calories burned and distance travelled, would give the U.S. tech giant access to a trove of health data gathered from Fitbit devices.

Privacy Activist Sues Amazon for Lack of Data Security on Emails

Amazon.com Inc. doesn’t provide enough data security for sellers sending emails on its marketplace platform, according to a complaint filed by Noyb, a group created by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems. Emails are routed through Amazon servers that in some cases fail to provide so-called TLS encryption, which is a standard safety practice, according to the complaint, which was filed in the German state of Hesse on behalf of a seller on Amazon Marketplace.

Google to Move British Users' Accounts Away from EU Privacy Regulators

Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators, placing them under U.S. jurisdiction instead, sources said. The shift, prompted by Britain’s exit from the EU, will leave the sensitive personal information of tens of millions with less protection and within easier reach of British law enforcement.

EU Outlines Increased Regulations for Large Technology Companies

The European Union outlined an attempt to restore what officials called “technological sovereignty,” seeking tougher regulation of the world’s biggest tech platforms, new rules for artificial intelligence and more public spending for the European tech sector. Officials said the effort was a “generational project,” and the ideas reflect a growing concern among European leaders that countries in the region are overly dependent on services provided by companies based elsewhere.

Apple Tries to Block Publication of Book by Former App Store Manager

Apple has sent a cease and desist letter attempting to prevent the publication of a book written by a former App Store manager because the company believes the book shares confidential company secrets, according to a report from German publication Focus. The German-language book, titled App Store Confidential, was written by Tom Sadowski, who led the App Store for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from 2014 until December 2019, according to his LinkedIn page.

Barr Suggests Changes Needed to Law Shielding Companies Online

U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr blasted big tech, raising the specter that Silicon Valley might soon be held accountable for a wide array of dangerous, harmful content that critics say has flourished on their sites and services. At an event that laid bare tech’s broad troubles — including the spread of terrorism, illicit drug sales and child sexual exploitation online — Barr said it may be time for the government to seek sweeping changes to a key portion of federal law, known as Section 230, that long has spared tech companies from liability for content posted by their users.

Email Scam Threatens Website Owners with Google AdSense Suspension

A new email scam threatens website owners with a flood of bot traffic to get their Google AdSense accounts suspended, Krebs on Security reports. By directing a large amount of bot traffic to a company’s banner ads, the scammers could trigger Google’s automated anti-fraud protection, which flags traffic that looks like “automated clicking tools or traffic sources,” as well as any attempts by ad publishers to artificially inflate impressions by clicking their own ads.

EU Commissioner Calls Out U.S. Position on Taxation of Digital Revenues

A global reform of the taxation of corporate digital revenues is very unlikely if the United States continues backing a “safe harbor” plan which would allow firms to choose how to be taxed, European Union tax commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said. Outdated cross-border tax rules are set to be rewritten under a joint pledge from 137 states to reform a system that has been strained to breaking point by companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google which have booked profits in low-tax countries like Ireland, no matter where their customers are located.

U.S. Exposes North Korean Hacking Operation Linked to Malware

The U.S. Pentagon, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security exposed a North Korean hacking operation and provided technical details for seven pieces of malware used in the campaign. The U.S. Cyber National Mission Force, an arm of the Pentagon’s U.S. Cyber Command, said on Twitter that the malware is “currently used for phishing & remote access by [North Korean government] cyber actors to conduct illegal activity, steal funds & evade sanctions.”

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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.