Spyware Researchers Find Exploit from Pegasus Tool Targeting Apple Devices

Spyware researchers have captured what they say is a new exploit from NSO Group’s Pegasus surveillance tool targeting iPhones and other Apple devices through iMessage, in yet another sign that chat apps have become a popular way to hack into the devices of political dissidents and human rights activists. Apple issued a patch to close the exploit discovered by researchers at Citizen Lab who, they said, found the hack in the iPhone records of a Saudi political activist and alerted the company to the problem.

FEC Dismisses Claims that Twitter Violated Election Law in Hunter Biden Case

The Federal Election Commission has dismissed Republican accusations that Twitter violated election laws in October by blocking people from posting links to an unsubstantiated New York Post article about Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son Hunter Biden, in a decision that is likely to set a precedent for future cases involving social media sites and federal campaigns. The FEC determined that Twitter’s actions regarding the Hunter Biden article had been undertaken for a valid commercial reason, not a political purpose, and were thus allowable, according to a document outlining the decision obtained by The New York Times.

Defense Department Retakes Control of 175 Million IP Addresses

A Pentagon program that delegated management of a huge swath of the Internet to a Florida company in January — just minutes before President Donald Trump left office — has ended as mysteriously as it began, with the Defense Department retaking control of 175 million IP addresses. The program had drawn scrutiny because of its unusual timing, starting amid a politically charged changeover of federal power, and because of its enormous scale.

Chinese Content Platforms Agree to Maintain 'Clear' Cyberspace Environment

Chinese content platforms including Weibo and Tencent Video have agreed to enforce more self-discipline to help maintain a "clear" cyberspace environment, a government-affiliated industry association said. Chinese regulators last month cracked down on what they call a "chaotic" celebrity fan culture after a series of scandals involving artists.

Twitch Sues Two Alleged Hate Raiders for Harassing Streamers

Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch Interactive sued two users for allegedly sending racist, antigay, sexist and violent messages and content to others, in its latest effort to eliminate harassment against users on the popular streaming platform. Lawyers representing Twitch filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the two users allegedly responsible for a series of “hate raids.”

Judge Rules Against Apple in Epic Games Case Over App Payments

A federal judge struck a serious blow to Apple’s control of its App Store, giving companies a way to avoid handing Apple a cut of their app sales and potentially upending a $100 billion online market. The order was part of the ruling in a prominent legal case between Apple and Epic Games, which makes the popular game Fortnite and sued Apple last year over its App Store policies.

United Nations Confirms Hackers Breached Its Computer Systems

Unidentified hackers breached computer systems at the United Nations in April and the multinational body has had to fend off related hacks in the months since, a UN spokesperson said. The statement came after multiple private cybersecurity experts warned that cybercriminal forums had in recent months been selling access to login credentials for software that the UN uses to manage internal projects.

  • Read the article: CNN

Texas Governor Signs Bill Limiting Tech Firms from Blocking Users

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill that would prohibit large tech companies from blocking or restricting people or their posts based on their viewpoint, setting the stage for a legal battle with the tech industry. The law applies to social media companies with more than 50 million monthly active users in the United States, including Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, and requires them to create reports on any illegal or potentially policy-violating content, as well as build a complaint system, where people could challenge companies’ decisions to remove content or flag illegal activity.

Schiff Wants Facebook, Amazon to Address Vaccine Misinformation

U.S. Democratic Representative Adam Schiff called on Facebook and Amazon.com to provide a more thorough explanation of their efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. "Despite some concrete and positive steps previously taken, these companies owe both the public and the Congress additional answers about the exponential and dangerous proliferation of misinformation," Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said in a statement after sending letters to the companies.

Facebook Argues Against Selling Giphy in British Competition Filing

Facebook has made a case for not selling Giphy in a strongly worded response to Britain's competition regulator, and the tech firm questioned the watchdog's call for divesting the GIF website over access and anti-competitive concerns. Facebook argued that "the inability of the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) to issue any order against Giphy raises serious questions as to the enforceability of any divestment order and whether any such order could be effective," in a letter published by the CMA.

Australian Court Says Media Outlets Responsible for Defamation on Facebook

Australia's highest court made a landmark ruling that media outlets are "publishers" of allegedly defamatory comments posted by third parties on their official Facebook pages. The High Court dismissed an argument by some of Australia's largest media organizations — Fairfax Media Publications, Nationwide News and Australian News Channel — that for people to be publishers, they must be aware of the defamatory content and intend to convey it.

FTC to Hear Staff Report on Big Tech Deals, Antitrust Scrutiny

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will hold its next open meeting on Sept. 15 to hear staff findings on deals that Big Tech firms like Facebook and Apple make which are sometimes too small to spark antitrust scrutiny, the agency said. The staff report will include Big Tech acquisitions from 2010 to 2019, some of which were not reported to antitrust enforcers because of their small size.

Texas-Based Abortion Tracking Website Shut Down for Second Time

A Texas-based abortion tracking website that was designed to help enforce the state’s recently enacted abortion ban has been shut down for a second time. Prolifewhistleblower.com, which was created by anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, invited people to send in anonymous tips on those who may be performing or aiding in abortions in violation of the state's new law.

Yandex Removes Kremlin Critic Navalny's Voting Site from Search Engine

Russian tech firm Yandex said it had removed jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's tactical voting website from its search engine to comply with a government ban ahead of a parliamentary election this month. Navalny and his allies want to use the website and a separate app to organise a tactical voting campaign at the Sept. 17-19 contest to land a blow against the ruling United Russia party.

Operators Behind REvil Ransomware Group Resurface After Closure

The operators behind the REvil ransomware group have resurfaced after allegedly closing shop following the widespread attack on Kaseya that caused thousands of victims on July 4. Security researchers said all of the dark web sites for the prolific ransomware group -- including the payment site, the group's public site, the 'helpdesk' chat and their negotiation portal -- went offline on July 13 after the Kaseya attack drew worldwide condemnation and tough threats from US lawmakers.

Apple Delays Tools to Identify Images of Child Abuse

Apple delayed a set of features designed to protect children from sexual predators on some of its iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The move follows criticism from privacy advocates and security researchers who worried the company's technology could be twisted into a tool for surveillance. In a statement, Apple said it would delay its new tools to identify images of child abuse on its devices as well as features to warn children about sexualized messages sent by SMS or iMessage.

  • Read the article: CNET

Google Locks Afghan Government Email Accounts

Google has temporarily locked down an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter, as fears grow over the digital paper trail left by former officials and their international partners. In the weeks since the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan from a U.S.-backed government, reports have highlighted how biometric and Afghan payroll databases might be exploited by the new rulers to hunt their enemies.

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.