N.Y. Financial Watchdog Urges Dedicated Regulator for Social Media Services

New York’s top financial watchdog said a dedicated regulator should oversee large social-media platforms, which should also be designated as systemically important, following a successful cyberattack on Twitter Inc. during the summer. The New York State Department of Financial Services made the recommendations as part of a 37-page report about the July 15 attack in which a number of prominent accounts, including those of former Vice President and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden and Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk, were used to promote a cryptocurrency scam.

Appeals Court Sets Fast Calendar on U.S. Government's TikTok Ban

A U.S. appeals court agreed to fast-track a Justice Department appeal of a ruling blocking the government from banning new TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 27 that barred the U.S. Commerce Department from ordering Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google app stores to remove the Chinese-owned short video-sharing app for download by new users.

Dozens of Fake Twitter Accounts from Black Trump Supporters Suspended

A network of more than two dozen fake Twitter accounts from supposed Black Trump supporters, many of them using identical language in their tweets, recently has generated more than 265,000 retweets or other amplifying “mentions” on Twitter, according to Clemson University social media researcher Darren Linvill, who has been tracking them since last weekend. Several had tens of thousands of followers, and all but one have now been suspended.

Twitter to Pay $100,000 Fine for Violating Law on Political Ad Disclosures

Twitter Inc will pay $100,000 for failing to meet Washington state’s disclosure laws over payments related to multiple political ads that were posted on its platform since 2012, the state’s attorney general said. The company failed to maintain the required records for at least 38 Washington candidates and committees that reported paying $194,550 for political advertising on Twitter, the attorney general’s office said, citing a judgment filed at King County Superior Court.

Microsoft Wins Court Order Against Potential Election Hackers

Microsoft has taken legal steps to dismantle one of the world’s largest botnets, an effort it says is aimed at thwarting criminal hackers who might seek to snarl state and local computer systems used to maintain voter rolls or report on election results. The company obtained an order from a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia that gave Microsoft control of the Trickbot botnet, a global network it describes as the largest in the world.

Facebook's New Policy Bans Posts Denying or Distorting Holocaust

Facebook is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they search for information about the Nazi genocide. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new policy, the latest attempt by the company to take action against conspiracy theories and misinformation ahead of the U.S. presidential election three weeks away.

Yelp to Label Businesses 'Accused of Racist Behavior'

Yelp is introducing a new feature to let people know when a business might be discriminating against customers — a warning that will top a company’s page on the review site that notes it has been “accused of racist behavior.” The San Francisco-based online review company said it has a “zero tolerance policy to racism” in a blog post announcing the new label from vice president of user operations Noorie Malik.

Judge Allows Apple to Continue Banning Fortnite from App Store

A federal judge ruled that Apple did not need to reinstate the popular video game Fortnite in its App Store, in a blow to Fortnite’s parent company, Epic Games, which is locked in an antitrust battle with the tech giant over its app store fees and rules. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California said in her ruling that Apple’s ban of the game could continue because Epic had violated its contract with Apple.

Pakistan Blocks TikTok for Not Filtering 'Immoral and Indecent' Content

Pakistan’s telecom regulator blocked TikTok for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content, another blow to the social media app that has come under increasing scrutiny as its popularity has surged across the globe. The ban comes in view of “complaints from different segments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video sharing application,” said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Twitter Makes Election-Related Changes, Including Limiting Misleading Tweets

Twitter is making sizable changes to retweets and other features aimed at making it harder for politicians and other users to spread misinformation about the Nov. 3 election, the company announced — the latest attempt by Silicon Valley platforms to protect the vote. The changes are part of a push to protect the "critical dialogue" on Twitter "from attempts — both foreign and domestic — to undermine it," said Twitter's general counsel Vijaya Gadde and head of product Kayvon Beykpour in a blog post announcing the moves.

Facebook to Ban Marketing Firm Operating as Domestic 'Troll Farm'

Facebook said that it will permanently ban from its platform an Arizona-based marketing firm running what experts described as a domestic "troll farm” following an investigation of the deceptive behavior prompted by a Washington Post article last month. The firm, Rally Forge, was “working on behalf" of Turning Point Action, an affiliate of Turning Point USA, the prominent conservative youth organization based in Phoenix, Facebook concluded.

French Court Requires Google to Discuss Payment for News Content

Google must open talks with publishers in France about paying to use their content, an appeals court confirmed, paving the way for an industry-wide deal in the country. The ruling may reverberate outside France, as it compels Google to sit down with publishers and news agencies to find a way to remunerate them under the “neighbouring right” enshrined in revamped EU copyright rules, which allows publishers to demand a fee from online platforms for showing news snippets.

U.S. Seizes 92 Websites Used by Iran to Spread Disinformation

The U.S. Justice Department seized 92 websites it said were used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to spread disinformation. Four of the web domains -- Newsstand7.com, usjournal.net, usjournal.us and twtoday.net -- were disguised as genuine news outlets based in the U.S., which the Justice Department determined were controlled by the Iranian guard.

Facebook to Limit Poll Watching Posts, Political Ads After Election

Facebook Inc said it would remove calls for people to engage in poll watching that use “militarized language” or suggest the goal is to intimidate voters or election officials, tightening the social media company’s restrictions around the U.S. elections. Facebook also said that it would respond to candidates or parties making premature claims of victory or contesting declared outcomes by adding labels and notifications with authoritative information about the state of the race.

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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.