India Bans TikTok, WeChat, Other Chinese Apps, Citing Security

India banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps including Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month. India’s technology ministry issued an order stating the apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”

Justice Dep't Warns of Fake ‘Face Mask Exempt' Cards Sold on Facebook

The U.S. Department of Justice is warning Americans about fraudulent cards distributed on Facebook by a group encouraging people to not wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. The laminated cards feature an image of an eagle and say "Face Mask Exempt Card" in bold letters across the top. They appear to be geared toward people trying to skirt state and business requirements to wear face masks in public, or to receive service. The card also references the DOJ and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Four EU Countries Offer to Limit Digital Tax Proposal After U.S. Threat

France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy have offered to limit their proposed digital tax after the U.S. threatened to slap tariffs on goods from those countries. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin obtained by Bloomberg News, the finance chiefs of those countries said this approach “would considerably ease the task of achieving a consensus-based solution and make a political agreement within reach this year.”

DHS Asks CEOs of Large Tech Companies to Help End 'Deadly Riots'

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to chief executives of five large tech companies asking them to ensure social media platforms are not used to incite violence in the wake of nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death. “I am writing to ask you to do your part to put an end to violence and illegal activity spreading across our country by ensuring that your platforms are not used as a tool to organize, facilitate, or incite dangerous or deadly riots, in violation of state and local laws,” Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in the letter.

Russian Ransomware Group Targets U.S. Government, Large Companies

A Russian ransomware group whose leaders were indicted by the Justice Department in December is retaliating against the U.S. government, many of America’s largest companies and a major news organization, identifying employees working from home during the pandemic and attempting to get inside their networks with malware intended to cripple their operations. Sophisticated new attacks by the hacking group — which the Treasury Department claims has at times worked for Russian intelligence — were identified in recent days by Symantec Corporation, a division of Broadcom, one of the many firms that monitors corporate and government networks.

Barr's Interest in Tech Cases Makes Google Antitrust Probe High Priority

Under Attorney General William P. Barr, the Justice Department has made top priority of looking into the country’s biggest tech companies. He receives regular updates on the Google case from an aide, according to several people close to the investigations, while an official in the office of his deputy, Jeffrey Rosen, oversees the investigations into tech companies.

Verizon Becomes Biggest Advertiser to Join Facebook Boycott

Verizon Communications Inc said it was pausing advertising on Facebook Inc in July, in support of a campaign that called out the social media giant for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms. Verizon is the biggest yet to join the advertising boycott, which has gained the backing of dozens of U.S. companies, and its announcement was a blow to Facebook’s efforts to contain the growing revolt.

Google to Start Paying Publishers to License 'High-Quality Content'

In a major departure from its long-standing practice of not paying publishers directly to distribute their work, Google executives tell Axios that the search giant is creating a licensing program to pay publishers "for high-quality content" as a part of a new news product launching later this year. Regulators around the world have been threatening Google with broad-based policies that would force it to pay publishers on policymakers' terms.

Senate Bill Would Help Law Enforcement Break Encryption Protections

Several Senate Republicans are seeking to force tech companies to help government investigators break encryption to access material that could aid in probes of terrorists, child predators, drug traffickers and other criminals. Sens. Lindsay Graham (South Carolina), Tom Cotton (Arkansas) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee) introduced the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, which would put an end to what they called "warrant-proof" encryption.

Amazon Launches Counterfeit Crimes Unit to Help Fight Fraud

Amazon has announced that it’s launching a new Counterfeit Crimes Unit as the latest effort by the online retailer to fight counterfeit products on its website. The new team is said to be made up of “former federal prosecutors, experienced investigators, and data analysts,” who will work to proactively “go on the offensive” against counterfeiters, instead of just reacting by trying to identify and block bad listings.

Senators Introduce 'PACT' Bill to Reform Legal Shield for Internet Firms

Two U.S. senators on introduced legislation to reform part of a federal law that largely exempts tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter from legal liability for the material their users post. The legislation, titled the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act, or PACT, from Democratic Senator Brian Schatz and No. 2 Senate Republican John Thune aims to provide more accountability and transparency for large tech platforms with respect to content moderation decisions.

Judge Dismisses Lawmaker's Defamation Suit Over Parody Twitter Accounts

A Virginia judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in 2018 over statements made by a Republican strategist and two parody accounts, one pretending to be a cow and the other his mother. Judge John Marshall, in a letter to Nunes’s attorneys, cited a federal law that protects social media companies from being held responsible for what individuals post on their sites.

Twitter Adds Warning Notice to Another Trump Tweet, for Threatening Harm

Twitter hid one of President Trump’s tweets on with a warning label — the fifth tweet from the president that the social media company has labeled in the past several weeks. Twitter said the tweet violates its policy prohibiting abusive behavior and specifically “the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.” The tweet says: “There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!”

German Court Upholds Data-Harvesting Decision Against Facebook

In a decision that could further embolden European governments to take on large tech platforms, Germany’s top court ruled that Facebook had abused its dominance in social media to illegally harvest data about its users. The ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, upholding a decision by Germany’s antitrust watchdog, is a major victory for proponents of tougher regulation of the world’s largest technology companies.

Apple to Remove Game Apps in China That Lack Government Approval

Apple Inc. will start removing thousands of mobile games lacking government approval from its App Store in China next month, closing a loophole that the likes of Rockstar Games have relied on for years. Developers and publishers in China have been told that their iOS games will need licenses to continue operating from July, according to people familiar with the matter.

Google to Add 'Fact-Check' Label to Some Misleading Photos

Google said it will start identifying some misleading photos in its specific search tool for images with a fact-check label, expanding that function beyond its standard non-image searches and videos, as misinformation is rampant online. If a website or news article debunks an image in some way, the company will add a small “fact-check” label to the description of photos in search.

Trump to Suspend Visas for Foreign Workers Despite Tech Opposition

U.S. President Donald Trump will suspend the entry of certain foreign workers, a senior administration official said, a move the official said would help the economy, but which business groups strongly oppose. Trump will block the entry of foreign workers on H-1B visas for skilled workers and L-1 visas for workers being transferred within a company through the end of the year, the official said.

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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.