Google Delays Decision to Block Tracking Cookies in Chrome Until 2023

Google's Chrome web browser will not fully block tracking cookies until late 2023, the Alphabet Inc. company said, delaying by nearly two years a move that has drawn antitrust concerns from competitors and regulators. Google had wanted to bar reams of ad-personalization companies from gathering users' browsing interests through cookies from January 2022.

House Lawmakers Begin Considering Antitrust Bills Aimed at Big Tech

House lawmakers began the process of considering a legislative package that would overhaul the nation’s antitrust laws in an attempt to rein in the power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Over the course of the day, members of the House Judiciary Committee are expected to vote on six bills that could block the tech giants from prioritizing their own products online, force them to break off parts of their businesses and generate more resources for the law enforcement agencies that police Silicon Valley. Skeptical lawmakers can propose amendments to the bills or oppose the measures outright.

FBI Director Says Paying Ransomware Hackers Encourages More Attacks

FBI Director Chris Wray pleaded with public companies and other hacking victims to avoid paying ransom, saying he fears it will only embolden cyber criminals to ramp up future attacks. "In general, we would discourage paying the ransom because it encourages more of these attacks, and frankly, there is no guarantee whatsoever that you are going to get your data back," Wray testified before a U.S. Senate appropriations panel.

Supreme Court Says Student's Vulgar Snapchat Message Protected Speech

The Supreme Court ruled that a Pennsylvania school district had violated the First Amendment by punishing a student for a vulgar social media message sent while she was not on school grounds. The decision, on a vote of 8 to 1, did not establish a categorical ban on regulating student speech outside of school, citing the need of school systems to be able to deal with issues like bullying and threats.

State Attorneys General Preparing Antitrust Suit Over Google's App Store

A group of state attorneys general may file a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's Google as early as next week, accusing the search and advertising giant of violating antitrust law in running its mobile app store, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The anticipated lawsuit follows complaints from app developers about Google's management of its Play Store for Android devices, according to one source.

LinkedIn Profiles for Some Researchers, Journalists Blocked in China

The Wall Street Journal identified at least 10 individuals who had their profiles blocked or posts removed from the China version of LinkedIn since May, including researchers in Jerusalem and Tokyo, journalists, a U.S. congressional staffer and an editor based in Beijing who posted state media reports about elephants rampaging across China. A LinkedIn spokeswoman said in a statement that while the company supports freedom of expression, offering a localized version of LinkedIn in China means adherence to censorship requirements of the Chinese government on internet platforms.

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.

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