225+ Google Workers Form Unusual Minority Union in Tech Industry

More than 225 Google engineers and other workers have formed a union, the group revealed, capping years of growing activism at one of the world’s largest companies and presenting a rare beachhead for labor organizers in staunchly anti-union Silicon Valley. The union’s creation is highly unusual for the tech industry, which has long resisted efforts to organize its largely white-collar work force.

FCC Unlikely to Narrow Social Media Protections in Trump's Waning Days

The prospects of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai taking action on an effort to narrow social media companies legal protections under a 1996 law are increasingly unlikely. Both Pai and U.S. President Donald Trump have only 16 days remaining in office and it remains unclear if a new third Republican FCC commissioner could participate in any action.

Apple Removes Thousands of Games from App Store in China

Apple moved to purge thousands of games from its app store in China as part of a crackdown on games that are not licensed by the Chinese government, Reuters reported. The move, which came after Apple set a Dec. 31 deadline for companies to obtain licenses in order to remain in the app store, reportedly swept up titles from major companies including Ubisoft.

Congress Overturns Trump's Veto of Bill Without Social Media Restrictions

The Senate voted to turn a $741 billion defense authorization bill into law over President Trump’s objections, delivering the first successful veto override of his presidency in the waning days of his administration. Trump complained that the legislation did not include a repeal of a completely unrelated law — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — that gives technology companies certain liability protections from content third parties post to their websites.

Russian Hackers Viewed Microsoft Source Code Through Employee Account

Microsoft said that the far-reaching Russian hack of U.S. government agencies and private corporations had gone further into its network than the company previously understood. While the hackers, suspected to be working for Russia’s S.V.R. intelligence agency, did not appear to use Microsoft’s systems to attack other victims, they were able to view Microsoft source code through an employee account, the company said.

Ticketmaster to Pay $10 Million Fine for Accessing Competitor's Computer System

Ticketmaster will pay a $10 million criminal fine for repeatedly accessing the computer systems of one of its competitors without authorization. The online ticketing company agreed to the fine after being charged with five counts of computer intrusion and fraud by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department said.

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Judge Dismisses Apple's Lawsuit Against Corellium Over 'Virtual' iPhones

In a ruling that has wide-reaching implications for iPhone security research and copyright law, a federal judge in Florida threw out Apple’s claims that Corellium had violated copyright law with its software, which helps security researchers find bugs and security holes on Apple’s products. Corellium, co-founded in 2017 by husband and wife Amanda Gorton and Chris Wade, was a breakthrough in security research because it gave its customers the ability to run “virtual” iPhones on desktop computers.

Computer Repair Shop Owner Sues Twitter for Labeling Him a 'Hacker'

A Delaware computer repair shop owner sued Twitter, alleging the social network defamed him by effectively labeling him a “hacker” after his business was cited as the source for info obtained from a laptop allegedly owned by Hunter Biden that served as the basis for several New York Post articles published in October. In the lawsuit (at this link), John Paul Mac Isaac said he was forced to shut down the Mac Shop, his computer repair business in Wilmington, Del., after Twitter said the NY Post stories violated its “hacked materials” policy and initially disallowed users from sharing links to them.

U.S. Government Appeals Order Blocking Restrictions on TikTok

The U.S. government appealed a federal judge’s order that blocked the Commerce Department from imposing restrictions on Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok that would have effectively barred its use in the United States. President Donald Trump’s administration has cited national security concerns in its targeting of TikTok, arguing that the personal data of U.S. users could be obtained by China’s government.

Russian Government Hackers Compromised Microsoft Cloud Customers

Russian government hackers have compromised Microsoft cloud customers and stolen emails from at least one private-sector company, according to people familiar with the matter, a worrying development in Moscow’s ongoing cyberespionage campaign targeting numerous U.S. agencies and corporate computer networks. The intrusions appear to have occurred via a Microsoft corporate partner that handles cloud-access services, those familiar with the matter said.

Trump Vetoes Defense Spending Bill Because It Lacks Changes to Section 230

President Donald Trump has vetoed an annual defense bill authorizing billions of dollars in military spending after complaints that the bill did not include changes to Section 230, the provision that gives social media companies legal immunity over much of the content posted by their users. Trump threatened to veto the $740 billion spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, unless Congress included a provision that would repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

China Opens Antitrust Investigation of Alibaba, Plans Meeting with Ant Group

China’s market watchdog said that it had opened an investigation into whether the e-commerce group Alibaba had engaged in monopolistic practices, such as restricting vendors from selling merchandise on other platforms. Separately, four Chinese financial regulatory agencies, including the central bank, said they would meet soon with Ant Group, Alibaba’s finance-focused sister company, to discuss new supervision.

SolarWinds Hacking Impacts Federal, State, Local Governments

The U.S. cybersecurity agency said that a sprawling cyber espionage campaign made public earlier this month is affecting state and local governments, although it released few additional details. The hacking campaign, which used U.S. tech company SolarWinds as a springboard to penetrate federal government networks, was “impacting enterprise networks across federal, state, and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations,” the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement posted to its website.

Human Rights, Press Freedom Groups Support Facebook Suit Against NSO

A coalition of human rights and press freedom groups have filed a brief supporting Facebook Inc.’s lawsuit against the Israeli surveillance technology company NSO Group, arguing that the “very core of the principles that America represents” are at stake in the case. Facebook last year initiated the lawsuit against NSO Group, accusing the company of reverse-engineering WhatsApp and using the popular chat service to send spyware to the devices of approximately 1,400 people, including attorneys, journalists, human rights activists, government officials and others. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014.

'Protecting Lawful Streaming Act' Targets Commercial Piracy Services

Tucked away in the more than 5,000-page long Covid-19 stimulus bill is a new law that severely punishes streamers that pirate large amounts of copyrighted content. The “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act,” which was introduced by Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, doesn’t target casual internet users but is focused on “commercial, for-profit streaming piracy services” that make money from illegally streaming copyrighted material.

Google Denies Justice Department's Accusations in Antitrust Case

Google said that it had not used its multibillion-dollar deals with other large tech firms to protect its position as the dominant online search engine, in the company’s first formal rebuttal to the Justice Department’s accusations that those deals violated antitrust laws. The filing, a 42-page document, is a paragraph-by-paragraph — and sometimes sentence-by-sentence — denial of the claims made by the government and a group of states that have joined its lawsuit.

Aid Package Includes $7 Billion to Help Low-Income Families Get Broadband

A massive coronavirus aid package approved by Congress sets aside $7 billion to help Americans connect to high-speed Internet and pay their monthly bills, marking one of the most substantial one-time broadband investments in U.S. history. Nearly half the money is slated to fund a new monthly benefit for low-income families, aiming to ensure that those who have lost their jobs can stay online at a time when the pandemic has forced millions of people to work, learn and communicate on their devices from home.

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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.