EU Antitrust Regulators Open Probe of Google's Deal to Buy Fitbit

Alphabet unit Google’s bid to take on Apple and Samsung in the wearable technology market by buying Fitbit hit a hurdle on as EU antitrust regulators launched an investigation into the $2.1 billion deal. The move by the European Commission on Tuesday came despite Google’s pledge last month not to use the fitness tracker’s data for advertising purposes in a bid to address competition concerns.

Garmin Reportedly Paid Multi-Million Dollar Ransom to Decrypt Files

Smartwatch maker Garmin paid a multi-million dollar ransom to criminals who encrypted its computer files through a ransomware negotiation business called Arete IR, sources have told Sky News. Security sources believe this virus has been developed by individuals linked to Evil Corp, a cyber crime group based in Russia that was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury last December.

Justice Department Reviewing Intuit's $7 Billion Deal for Credit Karma

The Department of Justice is scrutinizing Silicon Valley giant Intuit’s $7 billion takeover attempt of Credit Karma, an upstart personal finance firm that became a competitor when it launched a free tax prep offering that challenges Intuit’s TurboTax product. The probe comes after ProPublica first reported in February that antitrust experts viewed the deal as concerning because it could allow a dominant firm to eliminate a competitor with an innovative business model.

Chinese Artificial Intelligence Company Sues Apple for Patent Infringement

Chinese artificial intelligence company Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co Ltd, also known as Xiao-i, has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc, alleging it has infringed on its patents. The company is calling for 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in damages and demands that Apple cease “manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing” products that infringe on the patent, it said in a social media post.

Some Social Media Sites Remove Manipulated Video of Pelosi

A manipulated and widely shared video that depicts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slurring her speech and appearing intoxicated was labeled “partly false” by Facebook over the weekend, renewing scrutiny on social media and its role in reining in misinformation. TikTok, Twitter and YouTube all removed the footage from their platforms after CNN inquired about it, but it remains on Facebook.

Trump Says U.S. Should Get 'Substantial Portion' of TikTok Sales Price

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. government should get a “substantial portion” of the sales price of the U.S. operations of TikTok and warned he will ban the service in the United States on September 15 without a sale. The turnaround came after Trump said he was planning to ban the Chinese-owned video app’s U.S. operations after dismissing a possible sale to Microsoft.

Developer of Email App Removed from Google Play Store Cites Retaliation

Google kicked an email app off its Play Store, just days after its developers revealed they were cooperating with House lawmakers who questioned the tech giants’ chief executives during a landmark tech antitrust hearing. The founders of Blix, the maker of the “BlueMail” app, say they believe the move was retaliation for their outspokenness on antitrust issues.

Lawmakers Want FTC to Investigate Tracking by Mobile Ad Industry

A group of members of Congress is asking the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the mobile advertising industry’s practice of covertly tracking consumers using digital display ads. The complaint sent to the FTC cites a little-known practice of using what is called “bidstream” data derived from the ads that appear on websites and in mobile applications to obtain sensitive information about consumers that can include their real-world locations and information about their age and gender.

Microsoft Discusses Buying TikTok As Trump Vows to Ban It

China’s ByteDance has agreed to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after President Donald Trump said he had decided to ban the popular short-video app, two people familiar with the matter said. ByteDance’s concession will test whether Trump’s threat to ban TikTok is a negotiating tactic, or whether he is intent on cracking down on a social media app that boasts it has 100 million users in the United States.

Florida Teenager Arrested as 'Mastermind' Behind Attack on Popular Twitter Accounts

The authorities said that a Florida teenager was the “mastermind” of a recent high-profile hack of 130 Twitter accounts, including the accounts of celebrities like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the Silicon Valley mogul Elon Musk. Graham Ivan Clark, 17, was arrested in his Tampa home and is believed to be the linchpin of a hack that turned into an embarrassment for Twitter and called into question the security measures of a range of tech companies. Two other people were also charged with taking part in the hack.

EU Leaders Pushing for Laws to Regulate Large U.S. Tech Companies

Europe’s lawmakers and regulators have shifted to a new stage in their battle to limit the power of the world’s biggest tech companies. The region has long been at the forefront of using existing antitrust laws and levying multibillion dollar penalties against the tech giants, but officials now say that those tactics have not gone far enough in altering the behavior of Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. So they are drafting at least half a dozen new laws and regulations to aim at the heart of how those tech companies’ businesses work.

Senators Ask Justice Department to Investigate Zoom, TikTok

Senators Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, and Josh Hawley, a Republican, wrote to the U.S. Justice Department to urge a probe of video technology company Zoom and Chinese-owned social media company TikTok. The lawmakers said Americans, many of whom are largely staying home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were substituting Zoom calls for personal interaction and binging on TikTok videos.

EU Sanctions Russia's Military Intelligence Agency for Cyberattacks

The European Union slapped sanctions on six people and three organizations, including Russia’s military intelligence agency, accusing them of responsibility for several cyber-attacks that threatened EU interests. EU headquarters said in a statement that those targeted include people considered to be involved in the 2017 “WannaCry” ransomware attack, the “NotPetya” strike that notably caused havoc in Ukraine, and the “Operation Cloud Hopper” hacking campaign.

Top Tech CEOs Face Tough Questions from Republicans and Democrats

The chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, four tech giants worth nearly $5 trillion combined, faced withering questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike for the tactics and market dominance that had made their enterprises successful. For more than five hours, the 15 members of an antitrust panel in the House lobbed questions and repeatedly interrupted and talked over Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google.

TikTok Says It Will Let Experts to Examine Its Underlying Source Code

TikTok pledged it will allow U.S. regulators and privacy experts to take a closer look under its digital hood, offering them the ability to “examine” its underlying software code in response to claims it is handing off data to the Chinese government. The commitment from the company’s chief executive — Kevin Mayer, who recently arrived from Disney — is part of an enhanced push by the popular short-form video app to “show users, advertisers, creators, and regulators that we are responsible and committed members of the American community that follows US laws,” he wrote in a blog post.

Arizona Leads Investigation of Apple Slowing Older iPhones

Arizona is leading a multi-U.S. state probe into whether Apple Inc’s deliberate slowing of older iPhones violated deceptive trade practice laws, documents reviewed by Reuters showed. Last week, a separate document released by a tech watchdog group showed the Texas attorney general might sue Apple for such violations in connection with a multi-state probe, without specifying charges.

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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.