Russian Officials Threaten Facebook with Big Fines for Not Deleting Content

Russian authorities warned social media giant Facebook it faces a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover in the country unless it deletes content Moscow deems illegal. Upping the ante in its standoff with U.S. Big Tech, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor told Reuters it was planning to send Facebook's representatives in Russia an official notification saying it had repeatedly failed to remove banned information.

Senators Accuse Facebook of Ignoring Research About Harm to Children

Senators accused Facebook of dodging questions and burying internal research about how its products may harm children, pledging to further investigate the tech giant during heated confrontations with the company’s head of safety at a congressional hearing. The session comes days after an explosive series of reports by the Wall Street Journal revealed that Facebook’s own internal research found that teen girls reported that Instagram made their body image issues worse.

Neiman Marcus Notifies 4.6 Million Online Customers About Data Hack

Retailer Neiman Marcus Group said it had notified about 4.6 million online customers that their personal information including names, contact information and credit card numbers may have been accessed in a data hack. The high-end department store chain said it had notified law enforcement authorities about the breach, which it said happened in May 2020.

U.S., EU to Cooperate on Semiconductors, Export Controls, AI Tech

The United States and European Union agreed to deepen transatlantic cooperation to strengthen semiconductor supply chains, curb China's non-market trade practices and take a more unified approach to regulating big, global technology firms. Launching a new forum, the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), senior cabinet officials from both continents also pledged to cooperate on the screening of investments on export controls for sensitive dual-use technologies and on the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Russian Authorities Arrest CEO of Cybersecurity Firm for Treason

Russian authorities have arrested the chief executive of a leading Russian cybersecurity company on suspicion of state treason, a court said on Wednesday, sending a chill through Russia's IT and business sectors. Ilya Sachkov, 35, who founded Group IB, one of Russia's most prominent cyber security firms, was arrested, the RTVI TV channel reported as law enforcement officers carried out searches at the Moscow offices of the firm.

FTC Considers New Rules to Strengthen Online Privacy for Children

The Federal Trade Commission is considering strengthening online privacy protections, including for children, in an effort to bypass legislative logjams in Congress. The rules under consideration could impose significant new obligations on businesses across the economy related to how they handle consumer data, people familiar with the matter said.

YouTube Bans Anti-Vaccine Activists to Address 'Health Misinformation'

YouTube said that it was banning the accounts of several prominent anti-vaccine activists from its platform, including those of Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as part of an effort to remove all content that falsely claims that approved vaccines are dangerous. In a blog post, YouTube said it would remove videos claiming that vaccines do not reduce rates of transmission or contraction of disease, and content that includes misinformation on the makeup of the vaccines.

Large Cryptocurrency Exchange to Close All User Accounts in China

One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges said it would close all user accounts in mainland China by the end of the year, days after the country’s central bank declared all crypto-related transactions illegal. Huobi Global, which was founded in 2013 and currently operates from offices in Singapore, South Korea, the U.S. and other countries, over the weekend said it stopped allowing new customers in mainland China to register accounts.

Despite Misinformation Policies, Ivermectin Discussions Popular on Facebook

Facebook has become more aggressive at enforcing its coronavirus misinformation policies in the past year. But the platform remains a popular destination for people discussing how to acquire and use ivermectin, a drug typically used to treat parasitic worms, even though the Food and Drug Administration has warned people against taking it to treat Covid-19.

Australia Considers Regulatory Action Against Google Over Advertising

Australia’s competition watchdog expressed concerns about the dominance of Alphabet Inc.’s Google in a large part of the online-advertising sector, and said it is considering regulatory action against the tech giant. Google has a dominant position in key parts of the so-called advertising technology supply chain, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a roughly 200-page report.

YouTube Deletes Russian Broadcaster Over COVID Misinformation Policy

Alphabet Inc's YouTube deleted Russian state-backed broadcaster RT's German-language channels, saying it had breached its COVID misinformation policy. Initially RT's German channel was issued a strike for uploading content that violated YouTube's COVID misinformation policy, resulting in a suspension of posting rights on the platform for a week.

Facebook Seeks Opinion from Advisory Board on Moderating High-Profile Users

Facebook is asking the quasi-independent Oversight Board for guidance regarding the platform’s “cross-check” content moderation system for high-profile users after a recent report claimed the system lets some of those users break the platform’s rules. Facebook requested the Oversight Board’s guidance in the form of a Policy Advisory Opinion — about a week after the board requested Facebook provide it with “further clarity” about information relating to the cross-check system that was previously shared with board members.

Facebook Pauses 'Instagram Kids' Ahead of Hearing on Mental Health Effects

Facebook said that it had paused development of an “Instagram Kids” service that would be tailored for children 13 years old or younger, as the social network increasingly faces questions about the app’s effect on young people’s mental health. The pullback comes ahead of a congressional hearing about internal research conducted by Facebook, and reported in The Wall Street Journal, that showed the company knew of the harmful mental health effects that Instagram was having on teenage girls.

Google Appeals $5 Billion Antitrust Fine in EU's Android Case

Alphabet Inc.’s Google started its appeal to overturn a $5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the European Union, contending that its Android operating system for mobile devices has boosted competition rather than foreclosing it. The tech giant presented oral arguments in Luxembourg before the EU’s second-highest court, in its appeal to overturn the 2018 decision from the bloc’s antitrust enforcer.

India's Antitrust Watchdog Agrees to Keep Google Info Confidential

India's antitrust watchdog has agreed to Google's request to keep confidential some information the company provided during an investigation into its business, though the regulator denied allegations it leaked a report on the probe to the media, a judge said. Alphabet Inc.'s Google sued the Competition Commission of India (CCI) at a New Delhi court last week, urging a judge to direct the watchdog to prevent leaks of information.

EU Official Calls Russian Link to Hacking Efforts 'Unacceptable'

A top European Union (EU) official called out Russia for its involvement in recent hacking efforts directed towards the governments of multiple member states, describing these efforts as “unacceptable.” “Some EU Member States have observed malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as Ghostwriter, and associated these with the Russian state,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.

Chinese Online Game Companies Promise to Self-Regulate

Hundreds of Chinese online game companies have vowed to self-regulate and combat user addiction, the country’s state-backed gaming industry association said, falling in line with a government effort to restrict negative influences from entertainment on China’s youth. More than 200 companies — among them China’s largest game publishers, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc. — promised to go a step beyond the playing limits on youth set by China last month, according to the industry association.

Court Filing Says Google's 'Incognito' Browser Mode Not Really Private

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai in 2019 was warned that describing the company's Incognito browsing mode as "private" was problematic, yet it stayed the course because he did not want the feature "under the spotlight," according to a new court filing. Google spokesman José Castañeda told Reuters that the filing "mischaracterizes emails referencing unrelated second and third-hand accounts."

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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.