More Malicious Emails Mention Threats Related to Coronavirus

The number of malicious emails mentioning the coronavirus has increased significantly since the end of January, according to cybersecurity firm Proofpoint Inc., which is monitoring the activity. The company recently assigned an analyst to track coronavirus threats, something it hasn’t done for prior hacking campaigns related to disasters or major public events, said Sherrod DeGrippo, Proofpoint’s senior director of threat research and detection.

Senator Wants to Ban Federal Employees from Using TikTok

Republican Senator Josh Hawley said he will introduce legislation banning federal employees from using social media app TikTok on their devices and accused the company of sharing data with the Chinese government. Hawley said the proposed ban would apply to government-issued devices and his comments added to growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and technology transfers.

Senators Planning Revisions to Section 230 Internet Protections

U.S. regulators are preparing to take fresh aim at Facebook, Google and other tech giants, unveiling new efforts to combat online content that harms or abuses children — and hold Silicon Valley responsible for its spread. The heightened activity in Washington reflects the government’s simmering frustration with Silicon Valley, along with a growing appetite to rethink decades-old federal laws that spare profitable, popular tech platforms from being held liable for dangerous content that goes viral on their services.

Senators Push Google for Answers on Health Data Collection Project

A bipartisan trio of U.S. senators pushed again for answers on Google’s controversial “Project Nightingale,” saying the search giant evaded requests for details on its far-reaching data tie-up with health giant Ascension. The senators, in a letter to St. Louis-based Ascension, said they were put off by the lack of substantive disclosure around the effort.

Researchers Find Mixed Results on YouTube's Efforts to Fight Conspiracies

YouTube’s efforts to curb conspiracy theories pose a major test of Silicon Valley’s ability to combat misinformation, particularly ahead of this year’s elections. A new study from researchers at University of California, Berkeley, which examined eight million recommendations over 15 months, provides one of the clearest pictures yet of that fight, and the mixed findings show how challenging the issue remains for tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter.

India's Supreme Court Overturns Decision on Cryptocurrency Exchanges

India’s Supreme Court overturned a central bank ban forbidding lenders to facilitate banking transactions for cryptocurrency exchanges and traders, removing a major hurdle for the development of the sector. In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India gave entities it regulated three months to snap all banking relationships with individuals or businesses dealing in virtual currency.

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.

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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.