Lawmakers Question Whether Digital Advertising Threatens National Security

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is asking questions about the inner workings of digital advertising amid worries the industry’s user-targeting capabilities could pose a threat to national security. A group of U.S. senators led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) sent a letter to the largest companies running these auctions— AT&T Inc., Index Exchange Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Magnite Inc., OpenX Software Ltd., PubMatic Inc., Twitter Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. — asking them what steps they take to make sure companies joining the auctions do so for the sole purpose of buying ad slots.

Some Facebook Staff Say Company Being Used for Chinese Propaganda

Some Facebook staff are raising concerns on internal message boards and in other employee discussions that the company is being used as a conduit for Chinese propaganda, highlighting sponsored posts from Chinese organizations that purport to show Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs thriving in China’s Xinjiang region, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. and some European governments say Beijing is committing genocide against the Uyghurs, citing a campaign that includes political indoctrination, mass internment and forced sterilizations.

Hacker Publishes Personal Data on 533 Million Facebook Users

A user in a low level hacking forum published the phone numbers and personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users for free online. The exposed data includes personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the U.S., 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India.

Facebook Removes Accounts for Suspect in Car Attack at U.S. Capitol

Facebook has removed the account belonging to the suspect in the attack at the Capitol that killed one Capitol Police officer and wounded another. The platform confirmed to The Hill that it is scrapping the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Noah Green, the 25-year-old suspect in the attack, and scrubbing any content from him that violates its policies.

Top Republicans Question 'Procedural Fairness' in Tech Firms' Parler Removals

Top Republicans on the House and Senate antitrust committees sent letters to Google, Apple and Amazon pressing the tech giants over their actions to remove from their platforms the fringe social media site Parler after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. In a letter sent by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the lawmakers question whether the companies followed “procedural fairness” in pulling Parler.

Texas Senate Approves Bill to Stop Social Media Sites from Political Bans

The Texas Senate approved a bill that would prohibit social media companies with at least 100 million monthly users from blocking, banning, demonetizing or discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas. The measure, which would apply to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, among others, would also require the companies to disclose their content moderation policies, publish regular reports about the content they remove and create an appeals process for user content that has been taken down.

Supreme Court Rules for Facebook in Lawsuit Over Anti-Robocall Law

The U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for businesses to pester consumers with phone calls or text messages by tossing out a lawsuit accusing Facebook Inc of violating a federal anti-robocall law. The justices, in a 9-0 decision authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, sided with Facebook over its argument that text messages the social media company sent did not violate a 1991 federal law called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Italian Menswear Brand Boggi Milano Targeted by Ransomware Attackers

A group of hackers executed a ransomware attack on Italian menswear premium brand Boggi Milano, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Bloomberg. The company confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber-attack and that an investigation into the incident was under way. A Boggi Milano representative said the company didn’t believe the attack had any significant impact and that the company was cooperating with authorities.

Facebook Removes Lara Trump's Interview with Her Father-in-Law

Facebook removed a video of an interview between former President Trump and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump based on the platform’s indefinite suspension of the former president, a company spokesperson confirmed. Lara Trump posted a screenshot of an email that appears to notify her that the video had been removed in line with the platform's current suspension of the former president.

Homeland Security Secretary Calls Ransomware Threats a Top Priority

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that dealing with ransomware will be a top priority, highlighting the growing threat of the data-scrambling software. Ransomware — which effectively holds files and networks hostage unless a payment is made — has steadily climbed to the top of America’s security agenda as the criminals behind it become increasingly well-resourced.

Groups Want FTC to Investigate Google for Recommending Apps to Children

Two advocacy groups want the Federal Trade Commission to take a tougher stance against Google, accusing its app store of recommending apps that transmit kids' personal information such as location without their parents' consent in violation of a 1998 law that protects children online. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) said they plan to file a complaint with the FTC asking regulators to investigate how the Google Play Store promotes apps for kids.

Twitch Removes Graphic Video of George Floyd's Death Shown During Trial

Twitch removed graphic video of Minneapolis resident George Floyd’s death, shown during the trial of his alleged murderer Derek Chauvin — the latest test of how Amazon’s live streaming platform handles newsworthy events. Nonprofit news site Unicorn Riot said its Twitch account was suspended for 30 days during the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of murdering Floyd.

Biden Administration Plans Executive Actions to Strengthen Federal Cybersecurity

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the Biden administration is working on “close to a dozen” action items to be included in an upcoming executive order meant to strengthen federal cybersecurity in the wake of two major breaches. “We continue to work urgently to make the investments necessary, and the administration is working on close to a dozen actions for an upcoming executive order,” a senior DHS official told reporters during a phone call.

Twitter Shuts Accounts Purporting to be Amazon Warehouse Employees

Twitter moved to shutter several accounts purporting to be Amazon warehouse employees, after the social media site’s users discovered they were fake. The accounts resembled Twitter feeds from the army of “FC Ambassadors,” workers at Amazon’s warehouses, which it calls fulfillment centers, who tweet positive posts about their jobs.

Lawmakers Want Tech Firms to Provide Studies on Children's Mental Health

Four Republican U.S. lawmakers requested that Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google turn over any studies they have done on how their services affect children’s mental health. The request follows a joint hearing last week of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees at which the companies’ chief executives discussed their content moderation practices in the wake of the siege on the Capitol in January.

Epic Games Files Complaint About Apple with U.K. Competition Watchdog

Epic Games submitted a complaint about Apple’s alleged “monopolistic practices” to the U.K. competition watchdog, which is investigating the iPhone maker over concerns it has a dominant position in app distribution. The move by the maker of the popular video game Fortnite is the latest salvo in its bitter battle over Apple’s App Store. Epic Games has also filed legal challenges in the United States and Australia, and an antitrust complaint in the European Union against Apple.

Contradictory Info Given to Security Panel in Grindr Sale by Chinese Owners

When Grindr Inc’s Chinese owner sold the popular dating app to an investor consortium last year to comply with a U.S. national security panel order, the parties to the deal gave information to authorities that contradicted disclosures to potential investors and Chinese regulators, Reuters has learned. They told the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that James Lu, a Chinese-American businessman who is now Grindr’s chairman, had no previous business relationship with a key adviser to the seller, a man named Ding’an Fei, according to a Reuters review of the parties’ written submissions to CFIUS.

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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.