Senators Pushing for National Cybersecurity Coordinator in Defense Act

Sen. Angus King of Maine and his allies are trying to push the idea of a cybersecurity coordinator into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 now snaking through Congress, where it faces GOP officials skeptical of bureaucracy. Under the proposal, this cyber official would lead as many as 75 staffers in a new office, advising the president and molding U.S. cybersecurity strategy.

Apple Opposes Prepear's Pear Logo at U.S. Trademark Office

Apple claims the “minimalistic fruit design” of Prepear’s pear logo and its “right-angled leaf … readily calls to mind Apple’s famous Apple Logo and creates a similar commercial impression,” according to Apple’s notice of opposition before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, obtained by MacRumours. Prepear is a meal-planning app that lets users store and organise recipes and it relies on Apple’s mobile App Store to deliver its app.

TikTok Planning Lawsuit Over Trump's Executive Order Banning App

TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration, challenging the president's executive order banning the service from the United States. NPR has learned that the lawsuit will argue that President Trump's far-reaching action is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company a chance to respond. It also alleges that the administration's national security justification for the order is baseless, according to the source.

  • Read the article: NPR

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Working to Stop Hate Speech, False Info on Facebook

Prince Harry revealed that he and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been working behind the scenes to support a movement to stop Facebook and other social media companies from allowing hate speech and misinformation to flourish on their platforms. In an essay for Fast Company, the Duke of Sussex also praised “humane tech leaders” he met at Stanford University earlier this year, along with others, for wanting to rebuild “a more compassionate digital world.”

Trump's Decision to Ban WeChat Could Hurt U.S. Businesses Using It

As Tencent assesses how its business might be impacted by a U.S. decision to ban its messenger app WeChat in the country, American companies in China may become unintended casualties due to their heavy reliance on the app, experts said. If the ban covers U.S. companies doing businesses on WeChat, it would do more harm to U.S. firms such as Walmart and Starbucks than to Tencent, said Chengdong Li, a Beijing-based tech analyst.

Trump Issues Executive Orders Banning TikTok, WeChat in 45 Days

President Trump made good on his threat to ban TikTok, issuing an executive order that will bar the wildly popular video app’s parent company, ByteDance, from conducting business transactions with other American companies beginning in 45 days. A separate order bans business transactions involving WeChat, a popular communications and commerce app owned by the Chinese internet giant Tencent.

Twitter Adds Label to Identify Government-Affiliated Accounts, Tweets

To help its users identify state-affiliated media accounts, Twitter said it's now adding a label that'll appear on the profile page of those and government-affiliated accounts, and on the tweets sent and shared by such accounts. Twitter said that it's already using the labels for accounts associated with China, France, Russia, Britain and the US, and that it intends to expand the labels to other countries over time.

  • Read the article: CNET

Online Interruptions Appear in Hearing for Accused Twitter Hacker

The online bond hearing for a Florida teen accused of hacking prominent Twitter accounts was interrupted by rap music and pornographic videos from users who apparently disguised their names. The interruptions — including one by a user who shared a screen and took over the hearing with a porn video — forced Hillsborough County Judge Christopher C. Nash to temporarily halt the session for Graham Ivan Clark, 17.

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.”

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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.