Facebook Removes 'Pseudoscience' Category Option for Advertisers

Facebook Inc. has removed “pseudoscience” as an option for advertisers that want to target audiences, a category available until this week even as the world’s largest social media network vowed to curb misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has also paused the availability of some other interest categories while it evaluates its list, a Facebook spokeswoman confirmed in an email after Reuters found “conspiracy theory” was no longer an ad-targeting option.

Amazon Reportedly Uses Sellers' Data to Create Competing Products

Amazon.com Inc. employees have used data about independent sellers on the company’s platform to develop competing products, a practice at odds with the company’s stated policies. The online retailing giant has long asserted, including to Congress, that when it makes and sells its own products, it doesn’t use information it collects from the site’s individual third-party sellers — data those sellers view as proprietary.

Apple Plans Patch for 'Exploitable Vulnerabilities' in Mail App

Apple Inc. plans to release a patch after the cybersecurity company ZecOps Inc. found vulnerabilities that may have allowed hackers to exploit iPhones, devices used by hundreds of millions of people. San Francisco-based ZecOps discovered two “exploitable vulnerabilities” in Apple’s mail app and alerted the company, which released a beta update this month. The company confirmed that a full update is forthcoming to fix the bug.

Court Systems, Limited by Coronavirus, Struggle with Online Technology

As cities across the United States continue shelter-in-place orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every court system in the country has suspended or reduced in-person proceedings. Some cases have simply been postponed; others are now taking place over Zoom. It’s an unprecedented moment for the justice system, which is typically slow to adapt to new technology.

Vietnamese-Backed Hackers Try to Break Into Chinese Operations

Hackers working in support of the Vietnamese government have attempted to break into Chinese state organisations at the centre of Beijing’s effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak, U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye said. FireEye said a hacking group known as APT32 had tried to compromise the personal and professional email accounts of staff at China’s Ministry of Emergency Management and the government of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the global coronavirus pandemic.

25,000 Email Addresses Used by Coronavirus Groups Exposed

Unknown activists have posted nearly 25,000 email addresses and passwords allegedly belonging to the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation and other groups working to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism and terrorist groups. While SITE was unable to verify whether the email addresses and passwords were authentic, the group said the information was released and almost immediately used to foment attempts at hacking and harassment by far-right extremists.

Bill Would Add National Security Warnings to Some App Downloads

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced legislation that would send consumers warnings before they download applications developed in countries considered national security risks. If passed, the bill would mean that users would be alerted about alleged risks of downloading the hugely popular short-form video platform TikTok, which is linked to Chinese company ByteDance.

France Says Apple's Bluetooth, Privacy Policies Hinder Coronavirus App

The widely touted next step in tackling the coronavirus' spread is a series of phone apps, known as contact-tracing apps, that are being developed by many governments around the world. But France, which is hoping to release its app in May, says there's one big obstacle standing in its way: Apple. More specifically, the tech giant's Bluetooth and privacy policies.

  • Read the article: CNET

Facebook Removes Pages Promoting Protests Against Stay-Home Orders

Facebook is taking down some event pages promoting controversial anti-stay-at-home protests that are taking place across the U.S. — but it’s only doing this in areas where the events violate local Covid-19 social distancing rules. Facebook’s selective response mirrors a larger fracture across the country as the Trump administration has given conflicting guidance about how and when restrictions should be lifted and has largely left these decisions up to individual state politicians.

Senate Panel Urges Stricter Oversight of Chinese Telecom Firms

An influential Senate panel is calling for stricter oversight of Chinese telecommunications companies operating in the U.S., after an investigation found years of weak supervision by regulators threatens national security. In a forthcoming report, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will level sharp criticism at a group of telecom regulators for failing to scrutinize the Chinese companies and the way they handle data going back nearly two decades.

Dropbox Engineers Say Zoom's Security Problems Started Two Years Ago

Dropbox engineers say Zoom’s current woes can be traced back two years or more, and they argue that the company’s failure to overhaul its security practices back then put its business clients at risk. Dropbox grew so concerned that vulnerabilities in the videoconferencing system might compromise its own corporate security that the file-hosting giant took on the unusual step of policing Zoom’s security practices itself, according to the former engineers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss their work.

EU Scientists, Tech Experts Debate Coronavirus-Tracking Apps

A rift has opened up over the design of smartphone apps to trace people in Europe at risk of coronavirus infection, potentially hindering efforts to curb the pandemic and ease crippling travel restrictions. Scientists and researchers from more than 25 countries published an open letter urging governments not to abuse such technology to spy on their people and warning of risks in an approach championed by Germany.

Companies Using Online Surveillance Tools to Monitor Employees' Work at Home

Now that millions are suddenly doing their jobs at home as a result of the new coronavirus, more companies want to know how employees are spending their time. Some of them are relying on the same surveillance tools that have been used to monitor work in the office, and they don’t always disclose when the software is added to laptops remotely.

Australia Will Require Digital Platforms to Pay for Using News Content

The Federal Government in Australia has ordered the competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct to govern commercial dealings between tech giants and news media companies. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a mandatory code would help "level the playing field" by requiring digital platforms such as Google and Facebook to pay news media businesses for the content they produce.

  • Read the article: ABC

Judge Says Twitter Can't Reveal U.S. Government Surveillance Requests

Twitter Inc. will not be able to reveal surveillance requests it received from the U.S. government after a federal judge accepted government arguments that this was likely to harm national security after a near six-year long legal battle. The social media company had sued the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 to be allowed to reveal, as part of its “Draft Transparency Report”, the surveillance requests it received. It argued its free-speech rights were being violated by not being allowed to reveal the details.

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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.