EU Lawmaker Wants Tech Firms Regulated by Country Where Located

U.S. tech giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon should be regulated by the EU country where they are based under proposed EU rules, a top lawmaker said, knocking back efforts by some countries to broaden the planned act's scope. The country of origin principle is set out in EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's draft rules known as the Digital Services Act which requires U.S. tech giants to do more to police the internet for illegal and harmful content.

  • Read the article: Reuters

Facebook Whistleblower Tells Congress Company Minimized Safety

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told lawmakers that the company systematically and repeatedly prioritized profits over the safety of its users, painting a detailed picture of an organization where hunger to grow governed decisions, with little concern for the impact on society. Her Senate committee testimony — based on her experience working for the company’s civic integrity division and thousands of documents she took with her before leaving in May — sought to highlight what she called a structure of incentivization, created by Facebook’s leadership and implemented throughout the company.

Senator Questions Zuckerberg About Research on Harm to Teen Users

Democratic Senator Ed Markey asked for answers from Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg after new research suggested the social media company failed to prevent display of harmful advertisements to teen Facebook users. Markey cited comments by a Facebook executive before Congress last week that the site does not allow weight-loss ads to be shown to people under the age of 18 already, or any tobacco ads.

South Korean Official Vows to Impose Only Minimum Regulations on Tech

South Korea’s powerful antitrust regulator sought to defuse fears of a sweeping tech crackdown as it takes steps to rein in the influence of its fastest-growing online platforms. Regulators will impose only the minimum necessary regulations and intervene solely where it is imperative to do so, Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, told Bloomberg Television in Seoul.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Oracle's Challenge to Pentagon's JEDI Contract

The U.S. Supreme Court put an end to Oracle Corp.'s challenge to how the Pentagon awarded the government's now-canceled $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract. The justices declined to hear Oracle's appeal of a lower court ruling that found that the Austin, Texas-based business software maker was not harmed by any errors made by the Pentagon in awarding the contract because the company would not have qualified for it in the first place.

Facebook Asks Court to Dismiss FTC's Revised Antitrust Lawsuit

Facebook filed a motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s revised antitrust lawsuit against the company, saying the agency’s complaint still lacked evidence that the company had violated antitrust laws. In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Facebook said the agency failed to provide adequate evidence and analysis that the company had a monopoly and harmed rivals through its dominant position.

Lawyer Calls Google's Search 'Best' in $5 Billion EU Antitrust Case

Billions of people use Google because it's the best, not because of deals the company made to stay competitive, Google's lawyer said, wrapping up a week of testimony as the U.S. tech giant fights a record $5 billion antitrust fine. The European Commission hit Alphabet's Google with a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine in 2018 for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals and cement its dominance in general internet searching from 2011.

Biden Administration Considers Imposing Regulations on Stablecoins

The Biden administration is considering ways to impose bank-like regulation on the cryptocurrency companies that issue stablecoins, according to people familiar with the matter, including prodding the firms to register as banks. The administration is also expected to urge Congress to consider legislation to create a special-purpose charter for such firms that would be tailored to their business models, the people say.

Whistle-Blower Accuses Facebook of Failing to Quell Capitol Riot

Facebook, which has been under fire from a former employee who has revealed that the social network knew of many of the harms it was causing, was bracing for new accusations over the weekend from the whistle-blower and said in a memo that it was preparing to mount a vigorous defense. The whistle-blower, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, planned to accuse the company of relaxing its security safeguards for the 2020 election too soon after Election Day, which then led it to be used in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the internal memo obtained by The New York Times.

U.S. National Security Advisors to Discuss Cyber Crime with 30 Countries

Top U.S. national security advisers will gather officials from 30 countries this month with plans to combat the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, President Joe Biden said. An online session hosted by the White House National Security Council will also be aimed at "improving law enforcement collaboration" on issues like "the illicit use of cryptocurrency," Biden said in a statement.

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.

Subscribe

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.