China Blocks Access to Children's Programming Language Scratch

China’s enthusiasm for teaching children to code is facing a new roadblock as organizations and students lose an essential tool: the Scratch programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Projects on Scratch contains “a great deal of humiliating, fake, and libelous content about China,” including placing Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in a dropdown list of “countries”, a state-run news outlet reported on August 21.

China Announces Initiative to Establish Global Standards on Data Security

China announced an initiative to establish global standards on data security, saying it wanted to promote multilateralism in the area at a time when “individual countries” were “bullying” others and “hunting” companies. The announcement, by State Councillor Wang Yi, comes a month after the United States said it was purging “untrusted” Chinese apps under a program dubbed “Clean Network”.

Italy Opens Antitrust Probes of Cloud Systems at Apple, Dropbox, Google

Italy's top authority on monopolies and trade practices announced a slew of investigations into Apple, Dropbox, and Google over the companies' cloud storage systems. In a press release, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said that the probes, six in total, were "relate[d] to alleged unfair commercial practices and the possible presence of unfair clauses in the contractual conditions."

California Man Pleads Guilty in $722 Million Cryptocurrency Scheme

A California man pleaded guilty to a cryptocurrency mining fraud of at least $722 million that prosecutors said amounted to a “high-tech Ponzi scheme.” Joseph Frank Abel, of Camarillo, admitted he conspired to offer and sell unregistered securities and subscribed to a false tax return as part of the BitClub Network, the U.S. said in a statement.

WhatsApp Discloses Six Vulnerabilities That It Has Now Fixed

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has revealed six previously undisclosed vulnerabilities, which the company has now fixed. The vulnerabilities are being reported on a dedicated security advisory website that will serve as the new resource providing a comprehensive list of WhatsApp security updates and associated Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE).

Google Urges EU to Adopt Flexible Rules Under New Digital Services Act

Google urged the European Commission to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to the tech industry in its forthcoming Digital Services Act. The EU executive is drawing up new rules for data-sharing and the digital marketplace as well as boosting competition after concluding that multiple antitrust actions against Google have been ineffectual.

Justice Department Preparing to File Antitrust Complaint Against Google

The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month, after Attorney General William P. Barr overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case against one of the world’s wealthiest, most formidable technology companies, according to five people briefed on internal department conversations. Justice Department officials told lawyers involved in the antitrust inquiry into Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, to wrap up their work by the end of September, according to three of the people.

Twitter Removes Trump's Tweet After Musician Sues for Copyright Infringement

Twitter removed a video from a mid-August tweet by President Trump that featured Eddy Grant's hit song "Electric Avenue" after the musician sued the president's reelection campaign, claiming copyright infringement. The tweet from Aug. 12 depicted Democratic candidate Joe Biden pushing a hand-powered cart down a railway while a train featuring the Trump campaign's logo speeds away into the distance.

India Bans Chinese Phone Apps, Citing 'Sovereignty of Cyberspace'

India banned more Chinese phone apps as tensions continue to escalate along its disputed border with China, with one Indian soldier reportedly killed earlier this week by a Chinese land mine. The Indian government has blocked Chinese apps from its huge domestic market as a way to strike back against China, and the new measures will prevent Indians from gaining easy access to 118 Chinese apps, including the popular video game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which has over 50 million players in India.

Internet Association Urges FCC to Reject Trump's Attempts to Limit Social Media

A group representing major internet companies including Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject a Trump administration bid to narrow the ability of social media companies to remove objectionable content. The Internet Association said in a filing that the Trump administration petition filed in August seeking new rules “is misguided, lacks grounding in law, and poses serious public policy concerns.”

Twitter Removes Post, Shared by Trump, Discounting Coronavirus Death Toll

After President Trump retweeted a claim that discounted the coronavirus death toll in the United States over the weekend, Twitter took down the post that spread false information. The tweet was originally posted by “Mel Q,” a follower of the baseless conspiracy theory QAnon, which posits that the president is battling a cabal of Satan-worshiping child sex traffickers.

Pakistan Blocks Dating Apps for Not Adhering to Laws Against 'Immoral Conduct'

Pakistan said it has blocked Tinder, Grindr and three other dating apps for not adhering to local laws, its latest move to curb online platforms deemed to be disseminating “immoral content”. Pakistan, the second largest Muslim-majority country in the world after Indonesia, is an Islamic nation where extra-marital relationships and homosexuality are illegal.

Russian Lawmaker Drafts Legislation Limiting App Fees for Apple, Google

A Russian lawmaker submitted draft legislation that would cut and cap the commission on the sale of mobile applications by tech giants Apple and Google. The bill, submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament by lawmaker Fedot Tumusov, stipulates that commissions on the sale of applications be capped at 20%. Apple currently collects a 30% commission on sales in its App Store.

Authorities Identify Another Suspect in Attack on High-Profile Twitter Accounts

When authorities arrested Graham Ivan Clark, who they said was the “mastermind” of the recent Twitter hack that ensnared Kanye West, Bill Gates and others, one detail that stood out was his age: He was only 17. Now authorities have homed in on another person who appears to have played an equal, if not more significant role, in the July 15 attack, according to four people involved in the investigation who declined to be identified because the inquiry was ongoing.

Facebook Takes Down Fake Accounts Linked to Russian Operatives

Facebook took down a small network of fake accounts and pages associated with Russian operatives that had recruited U.S. journalists to write articles targeting left-leaning readers on topics such as racial justice, the Biden-Harris campaign and President Trump’s policies, the company said. The network of 13 fake accounts and two pages was in its early stages of attempting to build an audience, Facebook said, which the company argued was evidence of its growing effectiveness at targeting foreign disinformation operations ahead of the 2020 election.

Fraudulent Scheme Uses PayPal to Solicit Money for Wildfire Relief

At first glance, the email looks like a textbook phishing attempt. Subject line: “Invoice from Help those affected by the California Wildfires. Body text: “‘Help those affected by the California Wildfires’ sent you an invoice for $35.00 USD.” A button in the email reads “View and Pay Invoice.” Who in their right mind would click that? In fact, the email really is from PayPal (service@paypal.com) and there really is an invoice waiting for you in your PayPal dashboard.

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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.