U.S. Joins 80 Countries in International Agreement on Cybersecurity

The U.S. is now part of an international agreement on cybersecurity that the Trump administration declined to sign up for, Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Paris. Eighty countries, along with hundreds of tech companies — including Microsoft and Google — nonprofits and universities have signed the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, established in 2018 to create international norms and laws for cybersecurity and warfare.

Deputy Treasury Secretary to Discuss Cybersecurity in Visit to Middle East

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo will travel to the Middle East, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters, where he will seek to build partnerships on ransomware and cybersecurity as hackers wreak havoc among some of America's more vital industries. Adeyemo, in the highest-ranking visit of a Treasury official to the region under President Joe Biden's administration, will also discuss countering terrorist financing and proliferation as well as economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic in his visits to Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Lawmaker Wants TikTok to Disclose Algorithm Info to Fight Dangerous Content

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is calling for TikTok to disclose information about the its algorithm and the videos shown to minors on the platform. Krishnamoorthi, chair of the House Oversight subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, asked TikTok to send over relevant data and documents related to “dangerous content” shown to minors.

Biden Signs Law Stopping Huawei, ZTE from Getting Equipment Licenses

U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation to prevent companies like Huawei Technologies Co. or ZTE Corp that are deemed security threats from receiving new equipment licenses from U.S. regulators. The Secure Equipment Act, the latest effort by the U.S. government to crack down on Chinese telecom and tech companies, was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 28 and earlier in the month by the U.S. House on a 420-4 vote.

U.S. Says EU Proposal Could Put Intellectual Property at Risk

Draft landmark EU rules requiring U.S. tech giants to share information with rivals could put at risk companies' intellectual property and trade secrets, the United States government warned in a document seen by Reuters. The paper said requiring gatekeepers — companies that control data and access to their platforms — to change their business practices and the design of their software may have implications for security and consumer protection.

Judge Says Apple Can't Delay Payment Changes in App Store

A federal judge ruled that Apple could not delay making changes to its App Store, a move that could soon allow app developers to directly communicate with customers about ways to pay for services outside Apple’s ecosystem. Calling Apple’s request for a delay “fundamentally flawed,” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California warned in her ruling that the company’s strict App Store rules were building toward “antitrust conduct.”

European Court Upholds $2.8 Billion Antitrust Fine Against Google

A key European Union court upheld a $2.8 billion antitrust fine against Google, a blow to the search giant’s efforts to challenge billions of dollars of fines it has accrued in Europe as it faces increased scrutiny from regulators around the world. The appeal was of a 2017 fine from the European Commission, which said the company illegally promoted its own shopping comparison service in search results, while demoting those of competitors.

Judge Skeptical of Apple's Request to Extend Deadline for App Store Changes

A federal judge expressed skepticism toward Apple Inc.’s request to cancel a December deadline to change the lucrative business model for its App Store while the iPhone maker’s legal fight with Epic Games Inc. is on appeal. Apple is asking U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to let the company move at its own pace to tweak rules to allow developers to steer customers to payment methods outside the App Store, an overhaul the judge ordered in September that could cost the tech giant a few billion dollars annually.

Meta to Limit Facebook Ads Based on Health, Race, Political Affiliation

Meta, the social media company formerly known as Facebook, said that it planned to eliminate advertisers’ ability to target people with promotions based on their interactions with content related to health, race and ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation and thousands of other topics. The move, which takes effect on Jan. 19, affects advertisers on Meta’s apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Messenger and the company’s audience network, which places ads in third-party apps.

Amazon, Weber Sue Unknown Sellers of Counterfeit Grill Covers

Amazon and Weber are seeking to legally bar sellers who listed allegedly counterfeit grill covers from listing any products on Amazon in the future and to hold them accountable for breaking counterfeiting laws. The challenge is that neither company knows the sellers' true identities, and the only locations the firms have are business addresses in China provided by the sellers when they signed up with Amazon.

  • Read the article: CNET

Israel Lobbying U.S. to Lift Sanctions on Surveillance Firm NSO Group

Hacking software sold by the NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, has been used to spy on journalists, opposition groups and rights activists. There have been so many accusations of abuse that the Biden administration slapped sanctions on the company last week. But the company’s biggest backer, the government of Israel, considers the software a crucial element of its foreign policy and is lobbying Washington to remove the company from the blacklist, two senior Israeli officials said.

Defunct Photo App Phhhoto Files Antitrust Suit Against Facebook

Defunct photo app Phhhoto is suing Meta, formerly Facebook, on antitrust grounds, claiming the social media platform feigned interest in working with it, but then copied its features and hid its name from search results, effectively driving it out of business. Phhhoto’s technology allowed users to capture five frames “in a single point-and-shoot burst,” which could be looped into a short video (a phhhoto) to be shared either on its platform or Instagram.

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