Facebook Removes Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Deceptive Marketing

Facebook in February removed hundreds of accounts and pages tied to deceptive campaigns that appear to be from Egyptian and Indian marketing firms, the company said. The takedowns are part of the social media giant's efforts to crack down on what it calls "coordinated inauthentic behavior," which involves creating dozens or hundreds of fake accounts and using them to promote ideologies and drive users to deceptive content on other websites.

  • Read the article: CNET

Apple to Pay Up to $500 Million Settlement for Slowing Older iPhones

Apple Inc has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle litigation accusing it of quietly slowing down older iPhones as it launched new models, to induce owners to buy replacement phones or batteries. The preliminary proposed class-action settlement calls for Apple to pay consumers $25 per iPhone, which may be adjusted up or down depending on how many iPhones are eligible, with a minimum total payout of $310 million.

Millions of Tweets Spreading Conspiracy Theories About Coronavirus

Roughly 2 million tweets peddled conspiracy theories about the coronavirus over the three-week period when the outbreak began to spread outside China, according to an unreleased report from an arm of the State Department, raising fresh fears about Silicon Valley’s preparedness to combat a surge of dangerous disinformation online. The wrongful, harmful posts floated a number of hoaxes — suggesting, for example, that the coronavirus had been created by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or was the result of a bioweapon.

FCC Approves $200 Million Fine for Cell Phone Carries Selling Location Data

The Federal Communications Commission has approved a proposal to fine T-Mobile, AT&T and two other cellphone carriers more than $200 million for selling customers’ location data to companies that allowed it to be misused by rogue law enforcement officers and others. The proposed fines are among the largest the FCC has sought in years, representing a major action by an agency whose chairman has pushed for a lighter touch to industry regulation under President Trump.

'Cyberlibel' Arrest Warrant Issued for Founder of 8chan Message Board

Fredrick Brennan, who founded but later distanced himself from the 8chan message board that has given encouragement and visibility to violent extremists, is facing arrest in the Philippines in a “cyberlibel” case brought by the site’s current owner. An arrest warrant was issued in Pasig City, his lawyer, Alex Acain, told Rappler, a news site in the Philippines.

Peloton Settles Streaming Lawsuit with Music Publishers

Peloton Interactive Inc has settled a lawsuit in which a music publishing trade group and 14 of its members accused the maker of stationary bicycles of streaming more than 2,400 songs without permission in its workout videos. In a joint statement, Peloton and the National Music Publishers’ Association said they have also entered a collaboration agreement to “further optimize” Peloton’s processes for music licensing.

Democratic Senators Question Facebook About Gun Sales Online

A group of Democratic senators sent a letter pressing Facebook over private gun sales on the platform. "[D]espite Facebook’s ban of gun sales on its platforms, users are nonetheless able to facilitate firearm transactions in private Facebook groups specifically designed to skirt Facebook’s ban on firearm sales,” the 13 senators wrote in the letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook Sues Marketing Company for Exploiting Its Login Feature

Facebook filed a federal lawsuit in California on against OneAudience, a marketing company that it says paid app developers to exploit the “login with Facebook” feature to improperly gain access to personal data without users’ permission. The social media company claims that OneAudience harvested users’ data by getting app developers to install a malicious software development kit, or SDK, in their apps.

Privacy Concerns Stop Facebook's Election-Day Reminder Feature in Europe

Facebook Inc. halted its election-day reminder feature in Europe amid concerns raised by its lead privacy watchdog in the European Union. The social network confirmed that the tool, designed to boost voter turnout, “will not be activated during any EU elections” until it addresses potential issues about how users’ information may be handled, Ireland’s data protection commission said in a statement on its website.

Facebook Adding Tool to Track Political Sponsored Content

Facebook Inc. will provide a way for people to track political sponsored content on Facebook and Instagram ahead of the U.S. presidential election, it said. The move comes after U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s campaign started paying popular meme accounts on Facebook-owned Instagram to post content as part of its social media offensive ahead of the 2020 election.

Internet Companies Threaten to Leave Pakistan Over Censorship

When Pakistan’s government unveiled some of the world’s most sweeping rules on internet censorship this month, global internet companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter were expected to comply or face severe penalties — including the potential shutdown of their services. Instead, the tech giants banded together and threatened to leave the country and its 70 million internet users in digital darkness.

Email Scams Become More Sophisticated, Causing Billions in Losses

Federal investigators say that email scams have become sophisticated frauds that are costing American businesses and individuals billions of dollars a year. Estimated losses have soared in the past five years from scams known as business-email compromises, in which swindlers con victims into directing money into accounts controlled by criminals.

Judge on 'Shark Tank' TV Show Loses $388,000 in Email Phishing Scam

"Shark Tank" judge Barbara Corcoran lost nearly $400,000 in an elaborate email scam that tricked her staff. Corcoran said someone acting as her assistant sent an invoice to her bookkeeper earlier this week for a renovation payment. She told People that she had "no reason to be suspicious" about the email because she invests in real estate, so the bookkeeper wired $388,700 to the email address.

  • Read the article: CNN

Business Email Scams Keep Growing, Called 'Super Effective'

Despite all the attention given to phishing attacks, and high profile hacks, email still remains the number one place where victims fall prey to bad guys. Business email getting compromised "is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and super effective," says Sam Small, the chief security officer for ZeroFOX, a firm that helps enterprises with security protection.

Ex-Microsoft Software Engineer Convicted of Stealing Digital Currency

A former Microsoft software engineer has been convicted of stealing $10 million worth of digital currency from his former employer. Volodymyr Kvashuk — who worked at Microsoft from August 2016 to June 2018, first as a contractor, then as a full-time employee — was convicted in the US District Court in Seattle after a five-day trial, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.

Appeals Court Says YouTube Not Subject to First Amendment Scrutiny

In a 3-0 decision that could apply to platforms such as Facebook, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle found that YouTube was not a public forum subject to First Amendment scrutiny by judges. It upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against Google and YouTube by Prager University, a conservative nonprofit run by radio talk show host Dennis Prager.

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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.