Facebook Oversight Board Officials Want Company to Adopt Guidance

Facebook Oversight Board officials and outsiders say the panel’s longer-term impact will hinge more on how Facebook follows up on all the detailed recommendations and guidance the board has issued as part of its decisions. Although the board’s rulings are binding, the copious guidance that it issues with each ruling, and those recommendations, aren’t.

Study of 20,000 Health and Fitness Apps Finds Many Privacy Concerns

Health and fitness apps, which help mobile-phone users track everything from calorie intake to menstruation dates, can access and share personal data in a way that’s concerning, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. The analysis of more than 20,000 apps found that inadequate privacy disclosures for many of them prevented users from making informed choices about their data. One third could collect user email addresses and many more transmitted data to third parties such as advertisers.

Google, Amazon Defend Smart Speakers at Senate Hearing

Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc. defended their smart-speaker businesses as U.S. senators warned the grip the companies have over the market could harm competition and consumer privacy. Republicans and Democrats at a hearing raised concerns about what they said were anticompetitive practices such as selling devices below cost and promoting their own services over those of competitors on their platforms.

U.S., EU Establish Trade and Technology Council to Compete with China

The United States and the European Union (EU) formally established a Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to coordinate on critical technology issues such as developing semiconductors, researching emerging fields and securing supply chains. The TTC was established as part of the U.S.-EU summit held in Brussels and is intended to serve as a vehicle to compete with China on emerging technology issues.

Senate Bill Would Spend $40 Billion to Expand Broadband Access

Three senators plan to introduce legislation that would spend $40 billion to make broadband Internet more affordable and accessible under one of the largest bipartisan proposals to address the digital divide. The legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Angus King (I-Maine), highlights the growing support in both political parties to boost federal funding to bring more Americans online.

Britain's Competition Watchdog to Investigate Apple, Google Phone Dominance

Britain’s competition watchdog said it would investigate whether Apple and Google’s dominance of mobile phone operating systems, app stores and web browsers hurt consumers, launching its latest probe into the tech giants. The Competition and Markets Authority said it would undertake a "market study" into the matter to see whether the pair's effective duopoly was stifling competition and ripping off consumers, or hurting businesses like app developers.

Microsoft President Says Tech Subpoenas Undermine Freedoms

Microsoft Corp. President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith criticized secret data subpoenas sent by the government to cloud providers like his company and Apple Inc., saying gag orders on requests for personal information undermine freedoms and are hurting U.S. technology companies in Europe. The U.S. government should change the rules so that people whose data is being demanded can be informed and choose whether to file a legal challenge to the subpoenas, Smith said.

Groups Urge Biden to Pick FCC Candidate Who Will Reinstate Net Neutrality

More than 50 advocacy groups sent a letter to President Biden urging him to nominate a candidate to fill an open seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The groups said it is necessary for Biden to appoint a nominee to the FCC in order to start the process to reinstate net neutrality rules rolled back under former President Trump, and underscored their push by noting the additional hurdles posed by the pandemic.

Ransomware Hackers Apparently Agree to Refrain from Attacking Russia

The ransomware hackers suspected of targeting Colonial Pipeline and other businesses around the world have a strict set of rules. First and foremost: Don’t target Russia or friendly states. It’s even hard-wired into the malware, including coding to prevent hacks on Moscow’s ally Syria, according to cybersecurity experts who have analyzed the malware’s digital fingerprints.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Investigating AmazonBasics

The federal agency responsible for overseeing consumer product safety is investigating Amazon-branded electronic products highlighted in a CNN investigation last year, according to records and interviews. CNN reported last year that dozens of AmazonBasics electronics remained for sale on Amazon.com, despite customers reporting the products had melted, exploded or burst into flames.

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Supreme Court Dismisses Ruling Against LinkedIn in Scraping Case

The U.S. Supreme Court gave Microsoft Corp’s LinkedIn Corp another chance to try to stop rival hiQ Labs Inc from harvesting personal data from the professional networking platform’s public profiles — a practice that LinkedIn contends threatens the privacy of its users. The justices threw out a lower court ruling that had barred LinkedIn from denying hiQ access to the information that LinkedIn members had made publicly available.

Teamsters Union Refused to Pay in Ransomware Attack Case in 2019

When the Teamsters were hit by a ransomware attack over Labor Day weekend in 2019, the hackers asked for a seven-figure payment. But unlike many of the companies hit by high-profile ransomware attacks in recent months, the union declined to pay, despite the FBI's advice to do so, three sources familiar with the previously unreported cyberattack told NBC News.

Lawmaker Questions Why JBS Paid $11 Million Ransom to Hackers

The chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee is pressing JBS USA to explain why it paid $11 million in ransom to a criminal group earlier this year. In a letter, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) asked JBS chief executive Andre Nogueira to turn over all documents related to the ransomware attack and records of its communications with REvil, the group the FBI believes to be responsible, by June 24.

Japanese Government to Investigate Apple, Google Over Phone Deals

The Japanese government will start investigating how Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google deal with Japanese smartphone makers, which could lead to tightening antitrust regulations, the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday, without saying where it got the information. A government panel, which consists of officials, bureaucrats and external experts, will kick off the discussion this month as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android software stands at more than 90% of the Japanese smartphone market, the paper said.

Democrats, Republicans Agree on Competition Law Changes Targeting Tech

House Democrats and Republicans introduced sweeping bills intended to check the power of Silicon Valley giants, marking a new chapter in their years-long efforts to hold tech companies accountable. The rare cooperation in a bitterly divided Congress underscores the mounting bipartisan interest in overhauling federal competition laws to address long-running allegations that Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have engaged in monopoly-style tactics.

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.