DOJ to Take Action Against Contractors Who Don't Report Cyberattacks

The U.S. Department of Justice has said it will launch civil legal action against federal contractors if they fail to report cyberattacks or data breaches. The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, introduced by Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, will leverage the existing False Claims Act (FCA) to “pursue cybersecurity-related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients.”

Dutch Antitrust Authority Orders Changes to Apple's In-App Payment System

The Dutch antitrust authority has found that Apple’s rules requiring software developers to use its in-app payment system are anti-competitive and ordered it to make changes, four people familiar with the matter said, in the latest regulatory setback for the iPhone maker. Apple's app-store payment policies, in particular its requirement that app developers exclusively use its payment system where commissions range between 15% and 30%, have long drawn complaints from developers.

Ireland Drops Opposition to EU Corporate Tax Rate Plan for Tech Companies

A global agreement to set a minimum 15% corporate tax rate cleared its last major hurdle after Ireland, a low-tax country that is the European headquarters for some of the largest U.S. tech companies, said it would join the overhaul effort. The change in Irish policy comes ahead of a meeting of 140 governments and jurisdictions that have for years been negotiating a way of taxing international companies to limit avoidance and divide tax revenue in a way they say is fairer.

Google to Stop Advertising on Inaccurate Videos About Climate Change

Google said it will no longer display advertisements on YouTube videos and other content that promote inaccurate claims about climate change. The decision, by the company’s ads team, means that it will no longer permit websites or YouTube creators to earn advertising money via Google for content that “contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.”

Zuckerberg Says Whistleblower Mischaracterizes Facebook's Safety

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s work and motives have been mischaracterized in recent media reports and whistleblower testimony and pledged that he would continue pursuing internal research into potential harms of social media. In a Facebook post, he acknowledged the difficulty in how children use social media, underscored the importance of the company’s research into tough issues and reiterated calls for more regulation of the industry.

TSA Plans New Regulations to Protect Agencies Against Cyberattacks

The Transportation Security Administration will soon issue new regulations designed to make transit agencies and airlines better prepared for cyberattacks. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says that, under the new directive, railroads and rail-related entities deemed "higher-risk" will be required to appoint a point person in charge of cybersecurity, report cyberincidents to DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and create a contingency plan for what to do if a cyberattack were to happen.

  • Read the article: CNET

Text Message Routing Company Discloses Possible 5-Year-Long Hack

Syniverse, a telecom company that helps carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T route messages between each other and other carriers abroad, disclosed that it was the subject of a possible five year long hack. If the name Syniverse sounds familiar, the company was also responsible for the disappearance of a swath of Valentine’s Day text messages in 2019.

EU Lawmakers May Subject More Tech Companies to New Rules

European Union lawmakers may lower a threshold that determines which companies will be subject to new tech rules, a top EU lawmaker said. The proposal could mean some European companies, such as Booking.com, might join the list that the rules will apply to, which is expected to include the major tech players like Facebook, Alphabet unit Google, Amazon , Apple and Microsoft.

Data Breach at Twitch Discloses Source Code, Information on Payouts

Amazon. com Inc.-owned Twitch Interactive, the videogame streaming platform, said it suffered a data breach, with information leaked on the online chat forum 4chan. The 4chan user who allegedly posted Twitch data said they did so to hurt Twitch’s business. The person claimed to have access to information including Twitch source code, internal security tools and creator payouts.

NAACP Seeks Meeting with Zuckerberg to Discuss Hate Speech on Facebook

The NAACP civil-rights organization is demanding a meeting with Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg following revelations that the company is letting the vast majority of hate speech on its platform go unchecked. The call for a meeting with Zuckerberg follows the release of thousands of pages of documents by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen.

Senators Warn of Ongoing Telecom Threats from Chinese Government

The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned of continuing threats posed by the Chinese government to telecommunications systems and other critical technologies ahead of a major international summit. Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to use the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ministerial meeting to work with other democratic nations to establish rules of the road around developing technologies, particularly to counter Chinese efforts in this area. Blinken is set to speak at the meeting.

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.

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.