Australia's Federal Court Says Google Misled Consumers Over Android Data

Australia's federal court found Alphabet Inc's Google misled consumers about personal location data collected through Android mobile devices, the country's competition regulator said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the court found Google wrongly claimed it only collected information from the location history setting on users' devices between January 2017 and December 2018.

Data Protection Commission Investigating Disclosure of Facebook User Data

Ireland’s privacy agency is launching an investigation into a trove of information from roughly half a billion Facebook users that has been leaked and is circulating online. “This dataset was reported to contain personal data relating to approximately 533 million Facebook users worldwide,” the country's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said in a release.

YouTube Bans Ex-Trump Aide for Violating 'Presidential Election Integrity Policy'

YouTube has banned the channel of Sebastian Gorka, a former aide to President Donald Trump, saying it violated the video platform's presidential election integrity policy. In a statement obtained by USA Today, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi said Gorka's channel, called America First, received three strikes for violating the policy within the same 90-day period, leading to permanent removal from the platform.

Australian Hacking firm Unlocked iPhone for FBI After 2016 Shooting

The iPhone used by a terrorist in the San Bernardino shooting was unlocked by a small Australian hacking firm in 2016, ending a momentous standoff between the U.S. government and the tech titan Apple. Azimuth Security, a publicity-shy company that says it sells its cyber wares only to democratic governments, secretly crafted the solution the FBI used to gain access to the device, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Health Insurers Can't Block Pricing Data from Web Searches, Regulators Say

Federal regulators said healthcare pricing data that health insurers must post under a new requirement shouldn’t be blocked from web searches, issuing new guidance after The Wall Street Journal reported that hospitals used special coding that shielded such information from Google and other search engines. Under new federal requirements, both hospitals and insurers must reveal long-confidential pricing data, including the rates that insurers pay for services.

Judge in Google Antitrust Lawsuit Puts Limits on Confidential Information

The judge hearing the Texas antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google put limits on what the search giant’s in-house lawyers can see in an order aimed at ensuring that confidential information used in an upcoming trial remains secure. The issue is a key one for companies that have not been identified but that gave information to the Texas attorney general’s office for its investigation and fear that their confidential data, like strategic business plans or discussions about negotiations, could be disclosed to Google executives.

Facebook Oversight Board Allows Appeals Over Decisions Not to Remove Posts

The Facebook oversight board, a court-like body that the company has created to handle its trickiest content moderation decisions, has announced that users can now appeal decisions made by Facebook to leave posts up. For the first few months of the oversight board’s operations, users were only able to appeal to the board if they thought Facebook had wrongly taken down their own posts.

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service Takes Action Against Yandex

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said it had initiated proceedings against internet giant Yandex over alleged competition law violations on the company’s search engine. The state agency told Yandex in February it had created unequal market conditions for general online search services, that it was preferentially promoting its own products and asked it to stop.

Director of National Intelligence Warns of Cyber Threats from China, Russia

An annual worldwide threats assessment made public by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) warned of increasing cyber, technological and military threats from China and Russia, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The report was released ahead of hearings later this week set to be held by the House and Senate Intelligence panels to examine the findings of the intelligence community.

Biden Administration Announces Picks for Top Cybersecurity Posts

The Biden administration announced its intent to name a former senior National Security Agency official as the first national cyber director and another former NSA official to head the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency. The planned nomination of former NSA deputy director Chris Inglis ends months of speculation about whom the Biden administration would appoint to the White House position, and it comes after bipartisan pressure from lawmakers to fill the job they created in legislation that passed in December.

FCC Releases App to Test Internet Speeds to Improve Coverage Information

The Federal Communications Commission has released a new speed test app to help measure Internet speeds across the country, available on both Android and iOS. The FCC Speed Test App works similarly to existing speed-testing apps like Ookla’s and Fast by Netflix, automatically collecting and displaying data once users press the “start testing” button.

After Pushback, Apple Agrees to Send Executive to Testify at Antitrust Hearing

Apple will send an executive to testify later this month at a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing after pushback from the top senators on the Judiciary subcommittee, the lawmakers said. Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and ranking member Mike Lee (R-Utah) had sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday criticizing the company over its “refusal to provide a witness” to testify at the April 21 hearing on app stores and competition.

Senator's Bill Would Ban M&A by Five Largest U.S. Tech Companies

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican who has been a staunch critic of Big Tech, said he has introduced a bill that would ban all mergers and acquisitions by any company with a market value greater $100 billion, a category that includes the five biggest U.S. tech companies. Hawley, who accuses the biggest social media companies of stifling conservative voices, also criticized other sectors, like pharmaceuticals, which he said were too concentrated and held too much market power.

China Fines Alibaba $2.75 Billion for Abusing Dominant Market Position

China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. The fine, about 4% of Alibaba’s 2019 domestic revenues, comes amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates and indicates China’s antitrust enforcement on internet platforms has entered a new era after years of laissez-faire approach.

Biden's Budget Request Includes $1.3 Billion in Cybersecurity Funds

President Biden called for over $1.3 billion in cybersecurity funds as part of his proposed budget request sent to Congress, along with major investments in emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The budget proposal was submitted in the wake of two of the largest cyber espionage attacks in U.S. history, including what has become known as the SolarWinds hack, which likely involved Russian hackers and compromised at least nine federal agencies and 100 private-sector groups.

YouTube Removes Video with Florida Governor in Discussion on Children's Masks

YouTube has pulled a video featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over allegations it contains misinformation about the coronavirus and mask-wearing. The video is of a March 18 roundtable discussion in Tallahassee the governor hosted with panelists — radiologist and former White House adviser Scott Atlas, Harvard University biostatistician Martin Kulldorff, Oxford University epidemiologist Sunetra Gupta, and Stanford Medical School economist Jay Bhattacharya — who have publicly spoken against lockdowns and other measures enacted to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Apple Refuses to Testify at Senate Hearing on App Store Competition

Apple Inc is refusing to testify at an upcoming U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on competition issues related to mobile app stores, the bipartisan leaders of the panel said App makers long have accused Apple’s App Store for iPhones and iPads, along with Google’s Play store for Android devices, of engaging in anticompetitive behavior by requiring certain revenue sharing payments and setting strict inclusion rules

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.