First Amendment Protects Decisions by Twitter, Simon & Schuster

The decisions by Twitter permanently banning President Trump’s account and Simon & Schuster canceling its plans to publish Senator Josh Hawley’s book may have been unwise, scholars who study the First Amendment said, but they were perfectly lawful. That is because the First Amendment prohibits government censorship and does not apply to decisions made by private businesses.

Twitter Permanently Suspends Trump's Account for Encouraging Violence

Twitter said that it had permanently suspended President Trump from its service “due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” effectively cutting him off from his favorite megaphone for reaching the public and capping a series of actions by mainstream sites to limit his online reach. The company said two tweets that Mr. Trump had posted “were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” referring to the storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump loyalists.

Reddit Bans Unofficial Pro-Trump Forum for Inciting Violence

Reddit has banned r/donaldtrump for encouraging and glorifying violence after Wednesday’s mob attack on the US Capitol. Axios reporter Sara Fischer first reported the news, noting that the unofficial pro-Trump forum had been given multiple warnings. A Reddit splash page says the subreddit was “banned due to a violation of Reddit’s rules against inciting violence.”

UK's Competition Watchdog Probes Google's Chrome Cookie Proposal

The UK’s competition watchdog said it has launched an investigation into Google’s proposals to remove third-party cookies and other functions from its Chrome browser, following concerns the move could curb rival digital advertising. The investigation will assess whether the proposals could cause advertising spend to become even more concentrated on the ecosystem of Alphabet’s Google at the expense of its competitors, the Competition and Markets Authority said.

Facebook Extends Trump's Suspension at Least Until He Leaves Office

Facebook said it will block President Trump on its platforms at least until the end of his term on Jan. 20, as the mainstream online world moved forcefully to limit the president after years of inaction. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said in a post that the social network decided to cut off Mr. Trump because a rampage by pro-Trump supporters in the nation’s capital a day earlier, which was urged on by the president, showed that Mr. Trump “intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.”

Twitch Disables Trump's Account, Citing 'Incendiary Rhetoric'

Twitch has disabled President Donald Trump’s account indefinitely following his encouragement of a pro-Trump mob’s attack of the U.S. Capitol. “Given the current extraordinary circumstances and the President’s incendiary rhetoric, we believe this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence,” a Twitch spokesperson said in a statement.

  • Read the article: The Verge

Shopify Closes Trump's Online Stores, Citing Threats of Violence

Shopify, the company that powers e-commerce sites for more than one million merchants, said that it had closed online stores tied to President Trump, including those run by the Trump Organization and the Trump campaign. A company representative said that the sites violated a policy that prohibits the support of organizations or people “that threaten or condone violence to further a cause.”

Twitter, Facebook Temporarily Lock Trump's Accounts After Riot

Twitter and Facebook locked the accounts of President Trump, which prevents him from posting messages to his more than 88 million followers on Twitter and 35 million followers on Facebook, after he published a string of inaccurate and inflammatory messages on a day of violence in the nation’s capital. The moves were an unprecedented rebuke of Mr. Trump by the social media companies, which have long been megaphones for the president.

Twitter Temporarily Locks Trump's Account, Warns of Permanent Ban

Twitter said it would lock the account of President Donald Trump for 12 hours after Trump posted tweets continuing to make false claims about the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Additionally, the company warned that if Trump continues to violate the company’s rules, it “will result in the permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

  • Read the article: CNBC

Hackers Accessed 3% of Justice Department's Email Accounts

Hackers who tapped into government networks through SolarWinds software potentially accessed about 3% of the Justice Department’s email accounts, but there’s no indication they accessed classified systems, a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement. The DOJ Office of the Chief Information Officer learned of the hack on Christmas Eve, according to the statement, where agents accessed the department’s Microsoft Office 365 email environment.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Trump Signs Executive Order Against Eight Chinese Software Applications

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay, a senior administration official said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd’s QQ Wallet and WeChat pay as well.

U.S. Officials Say Hacking Campaign 'Likely Originated in Russia'

U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies investigating the massive hacking campaign targeting American government agencies and private sector companies issued a joint statement saying the group responsible "likely originated in Russia" and the attack is believed to be an act of espionage rather than cyber warfare, as some lawmakers have suggested. While top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have previously suggested that the hacking campaign was carried out by a Russian-backed group, Tuesday's joint statement offers the most definitive and concrete assessment about the attack's origins from agencies investigating the incident.

  • Read the article: CNN

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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.