Facebook Takes Down Romanian-Based Accounts Falsely Supporting Trump

Facebook that it has taken down a number of fake accounts and pages associated with a Romanian-based troll farm that pretended to represent Black Americans who support President Trump. Facebook’s July Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report said the company took down 35 accounts, three pages and 88 Instagram accounts that were part of the operation for violating its policy “against foreign interference which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity.”

Senate Approves Bill Banning TikTok on Government-Issued Devices

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted to approve a bill banning federal employees from using video-sharing app TikTok on government-issued devices, amid threats from the White House to ban the company. The app has come under fire from U.S. lawmakers and the Trump administration over national security concerns because China’s ByteDance owns the technology.

Pompeo Urges U.S. Companies to Remove Untrusted Chinese Apps

The Trump administration is urging U.S. companies to remove untrusted Chinese apps from mobile phone downloads and prevent their apps from being featured in Chinese telecom app stores, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, citing risks to Americans' security. Speaking with reporters, Pompeo said the push is part of the State Department’s “clean networks” initiative that is warning American companies from doing business with Chinese businesses connected to Beijing.

20 State Attorneys General Push Facebook to Tackle Hate, Disinformation

Twenty state attorneys general called on Facebook to better prevent messages of hate, bias and disinformation from spreading, and said the company needed to provide more help to users facing online abuse. In a letter to the social media giant, the officials said they regularly encountered people facing online intimidation and harassment on Facebook.

Twitter Locks Trump's Campaign Account After Post About Child Immunity

Twitter has locked the Trump campaign’s account over a clip containing misinformation about the novel coronavirus, saying the account will only be able to resume tweeting if it deletes the tweet in question. The clip comes from a “Fox & Friends” interview and features the president claiming children are “almost immune” from the virus.

Florida Teenager Pleads Not Guilty to Hacking Celebrity Twitter Accounts

A 17-year-old Florida boy accused of masterminding the hacking of celebrity accounts on Twitter Inc, including those of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, pled not guilty to charges. Graham Clark told Circuit Court Judge Christopher Nash in Tampa that he was not guilty of the 30 felony counts of fraud prosecutors have leveled against him, according to court records.

NSA Warns of Security Threats Created by Location Data on Mobile Devices

The National Security Agency (NSA) rolled out guidance warning that location data from mobile and other Internet-connected devices could pose a security threat for users if it were accessed by adversaries. The guidance was rolled out as a warning for Defense Department personnel and others with access to sensitive federal systems, but the NSA noted that it could be “useful to a wide range of users.”

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.

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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.