EU Regulators Open Antitrust Probe of Google's Online Ad Business

European Union regulators took aim at the heart of Google’s business model, announcing that the Silicon Valley giant is the subject of a new antitrust investigation for potentially abusing its dominance in the online advertising market to stifle competition. The investigation is part of a broader push by the European authorities to clamp down on the world’s largest technology companies. Amazon, Apple and Facebook are also the subject of antitrust actions by the 27-nation bloc, and the European Union is drafting new antitrust and digital services laws to further tighten oversight of Big Tech.

Jury Says Amazon Didn't Infringe Patents When Using Alexa to Order Groceries

Amazon.com Inc. won a Texas trial in which it was accused of incorporating an Israeli company’s patented “smart kitchen” inventions for voice commands to shop for groceries online into the Alexa digital assistant. Amazon didn’t infringe three patents owned by closely held Ikan Holdings LLC’s Freshub unit, the federal jury in Waco, Texas, said.

Commerce Department Rescinds Prohibitions Against TikTok, WeChat

The U.S Commerce Department said it was rescinding a list of prohibited transactions with TikTok and WeChat that were issued in September as the Trump administration sought to block new U.S. downloads of both Chinese-owned apps. The withdrawals came after President Joe Biden earlier this month withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of Tencent-owned WeChat and TikTok, and ordered a Commerce Department review of security concerns posed by those apps and others.

Government Official Says Basic Security Could Have Stopped SolarWinds Hack

The SolarWinds hack, one of the largest cybersecurity incidents in U.S. history, may have been deterred or minimized if basic security measures had been put in place, a top government official acknowledged earlier this month. In a June 3 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) provided to The Hill, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) acting Director Brandon Wales agreed with Wyden’s question over whether firewalls placed in victim agency systems could have helped block the malware virus used in the SolarWinds attack.

Groups Allied with High-Tech Companies Oppose Antitrust Bills

Thirteen organizations, many allied with high-tech companies, wrote to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee urging lawmakers to vote against two of the most far-reaching antitrust bills that the committee will discuss this week. The two bills — one introduced by Representative David Cicilline, chair of the antitrust subcommittee, and the other by Representative Pramila Jayapal — address the issue of giant companies, such as Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, creating a platform for other businesses and then competing against those same businesses.

EU Antitrust Regulators Preparing to Open Probe of Google's Ad Business

Alphabet unit Google could face its biggest regulatory threat, with EU antitrust regulators set to open a formal investigation into its lucrative digital advertising business before the end of the year, said people familiar with the matter. It would mark a new front by the EU competition enforcer against Google. It has in the last decade fined the company more than 8 billion euros ($9.8 billion) for blocking rivals in online shopping, Android smartphones and online advertising.

U.S. to End Exemptions Allowing Export of Government Funded Research

The Biden administration is moving to end exemptions that allowed technology developed with U.S. government research funding to be exported for manufacturing overseas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in an interview. The change affects billions of dollars of grant money allocated by the Energy Department and is the latest effort to boost the country’s competitiveness with China.

Police in India Summon Twitter Official Over Video Allegedly Inciting Hate

Police in India have summoned Twitter’s top official in the country to answer allegations that the U.S. firm failed to stop the spread of a video that allegedly incited “hate and enmity” between Hindu and Muslim communities. An official police notice, seen by Reuters, showed a case had been registered in Ghaziabad in northern Uttar Pradesh state over a video of a few men, apparently Hindu, beating an elderly man believed to be a Muslim and cutting his beard.

FCC Proposes More Restrictions on Chinese Telecom Equipment

The Federal Communications Commission proposed further restrictions on purchases of telecommunications equipment that pose national security risks, strengthening its opposition to Chinese providers of 5G wireless and other technologies. The F.C.C. voted unanimously to explore the proposal to ban U.S. companies from all future purchases of telecommunications equipment from companies like Huawei and ZTE of China. It also proposed the agency consider revoking prior authorizations of equipment purchases from the list of five companies deemed threats to national security.

Carnival Cruise Operator Detected Unauthorized Access to Computer Systems

Cruise operator Carnival Corp. said it had detected unauthorized access to its computer systems in March, after which it alerted regulators and hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate the breach. The company, whose shares were down over 2%, noticed the suspicious activity on March 19 and acted quickly to "to shut down the event and prevent further unauthorized access", it said in an emailed statement.

More Than 1 Billion CVS Health Records Accidentally Posted Online

More than 1 billion search records belonging to CVS Health were accidentally posted online and accessible to the public earlier this year. The database belonging to the healthcare and retail giant, which was not password protected, was discovered at the end of March by independent cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, according to a report published by Website Planet, which conducts research into unsecured internet data.

Cook Says European Rules Would Create Security Risks for iPhones

Apple boss Tim Cook took aim at proposed European rules aimed at curbing the power of U.S. tech giants, saying they could pose security and privacy risks to iPhones. Cook, in his first public comments about the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposed by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, said parts were good but others were not. He said he feared the draft rules would lead to more installing of apps that do not come via Apple's App Store, or "side-loading".

Appeals Court Revives Shareholder Suit Over Google+ Security Flaws

A U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit in which shareholders of Google parent Alphabet Inc. accused the company of fraudulently concealing security vulnerabilities, including in its Google+ social network. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the lawsuit raised a "strong inference" that Alphabet's then-Chief Executive Larry Page and his successor, Sundar Pichai, knew about the bugs and an internal memo on security issues but intentionally concealed the information from investors.

At Summit, Biden and Putin Agree to Address Proliferation of Cyberattacks

A highly anticipated first summit meeting between President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was described by both sides as a series of polite but adamantly stated disagreements about which country is the greater force of global disruption. In dueling news conferences on the edge of Lake Geneva, a traditional site for two of the world’s most powerful antagonists to discuss their differences, the two leaders committed to the creation of working groups to deal with urgent issues, starting with arms control and the proliferation of cyberattacks.

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.