Poly Network Says Most of $610 Million in Stolen Cryptocurrency Returned

Cryptocurrency platform Poly Network said that almost all of the $610 million stolen this month in one of the biggest crypto heists had now been returned by the unknown person or persons behind the attack. In a Twitter post, Poly Network said it had regained control of all the assets except for $33 million in stablecoin tether that had been frozen by the company that manages it.

Web Apps Expose 38 Million Records, Including COVID Tracing Platforms

More than a thousand web apps mistakenly exposed 38 million records on the open Internet, including data from a number of Covid-19 contact tracing platforms, vaccination sign-ups, job application portals, and employee databases. The data included a range of sensitive information, from people’s phone numbers and home addresses to social security numbers and Covid-19 vaccination status.

Five Taliban Websites Supported by CloudFlare Go Offline

Five Taliban websites that were key to how the militant group delivered its official messages to those inside and outside Afghanistan abruptly went offline, a sign that moves to limit the Taliban’s online reach were gaining traction. It was not immediately clear who or what took the Taliban sites offline, though all five previously had protection from CloudFlare, a San Francisco-based company that helps websites deliver content and defend against cyberattacks.

China Approves Privacy Law Limiting Data Collection by Tech Firms

China has approved a sweeping privacy law that will curb data collection by technology companies, but that policy analysts say is unlikely to limit the state’s widespread use of surveillance. China’s top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, passed the Personal Information Protection Law at a meeting in Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

T-Mobile Data Breach Affected More Than 53 Million People

T-Mobile US Inc. said an ongoing investigation into a data breach revealed that hackers accessed personal information of an additional 5.3 million customers, bringing the total number of people affected to more than 53 million. The third largest U.S. wireless carrier had earlier this week said that personal data of more than 40 million former and prospective customers was stolen along with data from 7.8 million existing T-Mobile wireless customers.

90+ Organizations Ask Apple to Stop Child Safety Plans, Citing Surveillance

A coalition of more than 90 U.S. and international organizations sent an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging him to halt the company's plans to build new child safety features into its iPhones, iPads and Macs. The new capabilities, which Apple plans to release as part of free software updates in the coming months, could be twisted into tools of surveillance, the group warned.

  • Read the article: CNET

FTC Refiles Antitrust Case Against Facebook After Earlier Dismissal

The Federal Trade Commission refiled a bolstered version of its antitrust case against Facebook in a last-ditch effort to save what has been described as its most important competition lawsuit in decades. Seeking to overcome a judge’s stunning dismissal of its original lawsuit because the FTC had not presented ample evidence that Facebook is a monopoly, the FTC argues in its new filing that Facebook is in a class of its own and shouldn’t be compared to popular apps such as TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest, which attract a public-facing audience.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Take Steps Secure Afghan Citizens' Accounts

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them against being targeted amid the Taliban's swift takeover of the country. Facebook has temporarily removed the ability for people to view or search the friends lists of accounts in Afghanistan, its security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted.

Taliban Using Social Media Techniques to Build Political Momentum

For a group that espouses ancient moral codes, the Afghan Taliban has used strikingly sophisticated social media tactics to build political momentum and, now that they’re in power, to make a public case that they’re ready to lead a modern nation state after nearly 20 years of war. In accounts swelling across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — and in group chats on apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram — the messaging from Taliban supporters typically challenges the West’s dominant image of the group as intolerant, vicious and bent on revenge, while staying within the evolving boundaries of taste and content that tech companies use to police user behavior.

Facebook Removes Dozens of Pages Spreading Vaccine Misinformation

Facebook Inc. said it removed over three dozen pages spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, after the White House called on social media firms to tighten controls on pandemic-related facts shared on their platforms. "We have also imposed penalties on nearly two dozen additional Pages, groups or accounts linked to these 12 people," Facebook said in a blogpost titled "How We're Taking Action Against Vaccine Misinformation Superspreaders".

Amazon Warns Third-Party Merchants About Proposed Antitrust Reforms

Amazon is reaching out to third-party merchants to warn them that proposed antitrust reforms in Congress could limit their ability to hawk their wares on its marketplace. Members of Amazon’s public policy team recently contacted a small number of third-party sellers with successful businesses on its marketplace about setting up meetings to discuss the legislation, according to an email viewed by CNBC.

  • Read the article: CNBC

YouTube Continues Banning Taliban Accounts; WhatsApp Shuts Down Helpline

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said it has a long held policy of not allowing accounts believed to be operated by the Taliban on its site, as social media companies faced questions about how they would handle the group that fast gained control of Afghanistan. Separately, the Financial Times reported that Facebook Inc's WhatsApp messaging service has shut down a complaints helpline for Afghans to contact the Taliban, set up by the group after it took control of Kabul.

Court in Moscow Fines Google for Violating Russian Rules on Banned Content

A Moscow court fined Alphabet Inc's Google a total of 14 million roubles ($190,398) for violating Russian rules on banned content, the penalty coming amid a wider stand-off between Russia and Big Tech companies. Russia has routinely fined social media giants for failing to remove prohibited content and is seeking to compel foreign technology companies to open offices in the country.

Twitter Testing Feature to Let Users Report Misinformation

Twitter introduced a new test feature that allows users to report misinformation they run into on the platform, flagging it to the company as “misleading.” In the new test, Twitter users will be able to expand the three dot contextual menu in the upper right corner of a tweet to select “report tweet” where they’ll be met with the new option to flag a misleading tweet.

Chinese Government Takes Ownership Stake in Company Behind ByteDance

In another sign of China’s tightening grip on the country’s growing technology sector, the government has taken an ownership stake in a subsidiary that controls the domestic Chinese social media and information platforms of ByteDance, the Beijing-based company that owns TikTok. The ownership stake does not appear to directly affect TikTok, the wildly popular video service that last year surpassed Facebook Messenger as the most downloaded app in the United States. But the development could prompt fresh debate about whether TikTok poses national-security risks to American users.

China Expected to Pass Privacy Law Giving It Wide Access to Data

China’s top legislative body is expected to pass a privacy law that resembles the world’s most robust framework for online privacy protections, Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation. But unlike European governments, which themselves face more public pressure over data collection, Beijing is expected to maintain broad access to data under the new Personal Information Protection Law.

Facebook 'Proactively' Removing Content Promoting Taliban

A Facebook Inc. executive said the company is “proactively” removing content from its platforms that promotes the Taliban as the group seizes power in Afghanistan. The Taliban is on the company’s list of dangerous organizations and therefore any content promoting or representing the group is banned, Adam Mosseri, head of Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram, said during a Bloomberg Television interview.

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.