WhatsApp Fined $270 Million for Violating EU Data Privacy Law

Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service was fined nearly $270 million by Irish authorities for not being transparent about how it uses data collected from people on the service, in a case that represents a big test of Europe’s ability to enforce its landmark data privacy law. The 265-page decision is the first major ruling against Facebook under the European Union’s far-reaching General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, a three-year-old law that many have criticized for not being properly enforced. Irish regulators said WhatsApp was not clear with users about how data was shared with other Facebook properties like its main social network and Instagram.

Judge Allows Class-Action Privacy Suit Against Apple Over Siri

A federal judge said Apple Inc. must face nearly all of a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated Siri assistant violates users' privacy. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said the plaintiffs could try to prove Siri routinely recorded their private conversations because of "accidental activations," and that Apple disclosed these conversations to third parties, such as advertisers.

SEC Files Fraud Suit Against Founder of Cryptocurrency Exchange BitConnect

The top U.S. securities regulator sued the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange platform BitConnect over his alleged role in fraudulently raising about $2 billion from thousands of retail investors. Expanding a civil case announced in May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani, an Indian citizen, with lying about BitConnect's ability to generate profits, and violating registration laws meant to protect investors.

Justice Department Preparing Second Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

The U.S. Justice Department is readying a second monopoly lawsuit against Alphabet Inc-owned Google over the internet search giant's digital advertising business, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial was set for September 2023.

FTC Votes to Ban 'Stalkerware App Company' from Surveillance Business

The Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to ban what it called a “stalkerware app company” and its CEO from the surveillance business, the agency announced. This marks the first time the FTC has obtained such a ban, the commission said in a press release touting the proposed settlement. The agency made clear it likely won’t be the last.

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Federal Agencies Warn of Ransomware Attacks Around Labor Day Weekend

Federal agencies are warning of potential ransomware attacks targeted at U.S. organizations ahead of Labor Day weekend following cyberattacks during previous holidays this year. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an alert outlining their concerns, noting that while there was no intelligence around specific threats, other holiday weekends had given cybercriminals opportunities for attacks.

Schools in Larger States Suffer More Ransomware Attacks, Study Says

Comparitech has released a new study on the number of ransomware attacks affecting schools, colleges and universities since 2018, finding the most amount of attacks in the country's most populous states like Texas, New York, California and Louisiana. Researchers Rebecca Moody and George Moody found that there have been a total of at least 222 ransomware attacks affecting 3,880 schools and colleges since 2018.

Companies Face Greater Scrutiny in How They Respond to Cyberattacks

Companies must pay closer attention to what they say after hackers strike, lawyers warn, as regulators crack down on inaccurate disclosures and Congress debates mandatory reporting of cybersecurity breaches. Several regulatory actions in recent weeks have focused on breach notifications, media statements and investor communications issued by companies after incidents that watchdogs say were deceptive.

Twitch Channels Going Dark to Bring Attention to Hate, Harassment

A number of channels on Twitch will go dark as streamers participate in #ADayOffTwitch, a walkout designed to bring attention to the ongoing hate and harassment that’s plagued the platform for the last several weeks. Created by Twitch streamers ShineyPen, Lucia Everblack, and RekitRaven, the walkout aims to bring greater awareness to the problems creators are suffering on Twitch.

South Korea Requires App Stores to Offer Alternative Payment Systems

South Korean lawmakers passed the world’s first law to force tech giants such as Google and Apple to offer alternative payment systems on their app stores, a move critics of the companies say will loosen their stranglehold over profits derived from the lucrative online marketplaces. Washington lawmakers who favor more regulation of tech companies immediately hailed the action and urged passage of a similar proposal that a bipartisan cast of lawmakers introduced this month.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft Among Top Lobbyists in EU, Study Shows

Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit, Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are the three biggest lobbying spenders in Europe in a battle against tough new laws aimed at curbing U.S. tech giants' powers, a study showed. Such efforts should be a wake-up call to EU policymakers to further beef up the draft laws and lobbying rules, the study by campaign groups Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl warned.

Tech Advocacy Groups Push TikTok to Stop Hate Speech, Extremism

A coalition of tech advocacy and human rights groups is urging TikTok to crack down on the spread of hate speech and extremism after a recent report detailed the reach of such content on the platform. More than a dozen groups signed on to a letter sent to top TikTok executives, calling for the platform take “substantive action” against hate speech and extremism, citing a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) last week that outlined the breadth of the harmful content on the video-sharing app.

China Bans Children from Playing Video Games on School Days

Chinese children and teenagers are barred from online gaming on school days, and limited to one hour a day on weekend and holiday evenings, under newly issued government rules. The rules, released by the National Press and Publication Administration, tightened restrictions from 2019 aimed at what the government said was a growing scourge of online game addiction among schoolchildren.

SEC Settles with Three Firms for Failing to Implement Cybersecurity Policies

Units of three broker-dealer and investment advisory firms agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over cybersecurity failures, the regulator said. The SEC charged KMS Financial Services, five units of financial firm Cetera, and two units of Cambridge Investment Research for failures to adopt and implement cybersecurity policies and procedures that resulted in email account takeovers exposing the personal information of thousands of customers and clients at each firm.

Amazon Disables Website Used by Propaganda Arm of Islamic State

Amazon disabled a website used by a propaganda arm of the Islamic State that celebrated the suicide bombing that killed at least 170 people in Kabul after The Washington Post reported the extremists relied on the company’s technology to promote extremism. Nida-e-Haqq, an Islamic State media group that distributes Islamist content in the Urdu language, had been using the company’s dominant cloud-computing division, Amazon Web Services, to host its content, despite company policies against working with terror groups.

Apple Settles Lawsuit with App Developers by Allowing Outside Payments

Apple, in a legal settlement announced with a group of app developers, said it would allow developers to urge customers to pay them outside their iPhone apps. The move would allow app makers to avoid paying Apple a commission on their sales and could appease developers and regulators concerned with its control over mobile apps, including strict policies designed to force developers to pay it a cut of their sales.

House Select Committee Demands Social Media Records for Capitol Riot

The House select committee investigating the deadly invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6 said it is demanding a trove of records from 15 social media companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Google and a slew of pro-Trump platforms. The requests for records stretching back to the spring of 2020 are related to “the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election or prevent the certification of the results, domestic violent extremism, and foreign influence in the 2020 election,” the committee said in a press release.

  • Read the article: CNBC

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