Philippine President Attacks Facebook for Taking Down Fake Accounts

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that Facebook could not stop him from promoting the objectives of his government, telling the social media giant that they should talk about its purpose in his country. His remarks follow Facebook’s move on Sept. 22 to dismantle a network of fake accounts that originated in China and the Philippines, including some that criticised the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

Judge Grants Temporary Ban on Trump's Order Against TikTok

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against a Trump administration order to ban the viral video app TikTok from U.S. app stores, in a reprieve for the Chinese-owned service. The injunction halts only the element of the ban scheduled to take effect Sunday at midnight, which would have forced TikTok off app stores run by companies like Apple and Google.

Justice Department Asks Judge for Right to Ban WeChat Downloads

The Justice Department is asking a federal judge in San Francisco to allow the government to immediately bar downloads of WeChat in the US, saying the Chinese-owned messaging is a threat to national security. The request from the DOJ comes after U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler on Sunday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order requiring Apple and Google to remove WeChat from their app stores.

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Amazon Web Portal for Law Enforcement Provides Customer Data to Anyone

Anyone can access portions of a web portal, used by law enforcement to request customer data from Amazon, even though the portal is supposed to require a verified email address and password. Amazon’s law enforcement request portal allows police and federal agents to submit formal requests for customer data along with a legal order, like a subpoena, a search warrant, or a court order.

Google to Bar Election-Related Advertising After Polls Close

Google will bar election-related advertising after all polls close on Nov. 3, a spokesperson for the company confirmed. The move was prompted by the possibility that final election results might be delayed this year because of the high volume of mail-in voting driven by the coronavirus pandemic. The ban will be temporary but last at least one week.

Trump Administration Imposes New Restrictions on Tech Exports to China

The Trump administration has issued new restrictions on U.S. technology exports to China’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, warning that the exports could benefit the Chinese military. The Commerce Department notified U.S. companies that they will now need a license to export certain technology to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., or SMIC, according to a copy of the agency’s letter reviewed by The Washington Post.

Civil Rights Activists Launch Independent Facebook Oversight Board

Warning of an urgent threat to democracy, civil rights activists say they've formed an independent Facebook oversight board to scrutinize the role the social media giant is playing in the 2020 election. The “Real Facebook Oversight Board” is an initiative from Citizens, a new nonprofit created to hold big tech accountable. It has start-up funding from Luminate which is backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's foundation The Omidyar Group.

Putin Proposes 'Reboot' in Cybersecurity Relationship with U.S.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on proposed a truce with the United States in cyberspace, without acknowledging that his country has repeatedly used cybertechniques to attack elections from the Ukraine to the United States, stolen emails from the Defense Department to the White House, and developed some of the world’s most sophisticated disinformation efforts. Mr. Putin issued an unusual written statement outlining a four-point plan for what he called a “reboot” in the relationship between the United States and Russia in the field of information security.

Facebook Shuts Down Two Russian Disinformation Networks

Facebook shut down two Russian disinformation networks operated by the nation’s intelligence services and a third by people affiliated with a notorious troll farm that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the company announced. The networks focused their efforts in numerous nations in Europe and Asia, with relatively little reach among U.S. audiences, Facebook concluded.

Senate Committee Planning Subpoenas for Tech CEOs in Section 230 Hearing

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chaired by Republican Senator Roger Wicker will issue subpoenas to the chief executives of Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc. if they do not agree to testify at a hearing on Oct. 1. The hearing will discuss a legal immunity known as Section 230 that technology companies have when it comes to liability over content posted by users.

Four Former eBay Employees to Plead Guilty in Cyberstalking Case

Four former eBay Inc. employees have agreed to plead guilty to their roles in a campaign of intimidation that included sending live spiders and cockroaches to the home of a Massachusetts couple who ran an online newsletter critical of the auction site, federal prosecutors said. They are among seven former eBay employees charged in the case, in which the Massachusetts couple had other disturbing items sent to their home, including a funeral wreath and a bloody pig Halloween mask.

Large Companies Create 'Coalition for App Fairness' to Fight Apple

Thirteen companies have banded together to try to break Apple’s control over its App Store, a move that formalizes the growing opposition the tech giant is facing from developers on its platform who increasingly have been standing up to its power. Fortnite parent Epic Games, online dating group Match Group, Spotify and others, all of whom have butted heads with Apple in the past, formed the Coalition for App Fairness.

Judge Tells Trump Administration to Defend or Delay TikTok Ban

A U.S. judge said the Trump administration must either delay a ban on U.S. app stores offering TikTok for download or file legal papers defending the decision by Friday. The U.S. Commerce Department order banning Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc's Google app stores from offering the short video sharing app for new downloads is set to take effect late Sunday.

Justice Department Unveils Proposal to Limit Immunity for Internet Companies

President Donald Trump met with nine Republican state attorneys general to discuss the fate of a legal immunity for Internet companies after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the same law. The White House said the legal immunity discussion involved how the attorneys general can utilize existing legal recourses at the state level - in an effort to weaken the law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability over content posted by users.

TikTok Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against Ban by Trump Administration

TikTok, the short-form viral video app, asked for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, a legal maneuver aimed at protecting the company’s service in the United States against a potential ban. The request, filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, is in response to Commerce Department rules that Apple and Google remove the TikTok app from their respective app stores by Sunday for American users, and cease to provide further software updates to people who have downloaded the app in the United States.

Senators Introduce Bill Requiring Apps to Label Country of Origin

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced a bill that would mandate digital apps to list their country of origin. The legislation, titled the American Privacy Protection (APP) Act, would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to direct companies to release where the app was created and where data collected by the app is stored.

Election Day Simulations Demonstrate Struggle to Combat Hackers

U.S. election day exercises simulating attacks ranging from hackers to anthrax to disrupt voting show state and local officials will struggle to quickly counter falsehoods flooding social media, according to five people familiar with the tests. The assessments come as U.S. intelligence officials and security analysts expect an onslaught of digital misinformation surrounding the election on November 3.

Facebook Reportedly Plans to Limit Content Amid Election Chaos, Unrest

Facebook Inc. will take aggressive measures to “restrict the circulation of content” on its platform if November’s presidential election descends into chaos or violent civic unrest, the Financial Times reported citing a company executive. The company had drawn up plans for how to handle a range of outcomes, including widespread civic unrest or “the political dilemmas” of having in-person votes counted more rapidly than mail-in ballots, the report said, citing an interview with Nick Clegg, Facebook’s head of global affairs.

FBI, DHS Warn About Foreign Hackers Spreading Election Misinformation

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned that foreign malicious hackers will likely attempt to spread disinformation around election results later this year. The agencies put out a public service announcement warning that delays in final tallies caused by a larger number of mail-in ballots and other factors could fuel the disinformation efforts online.

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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.