Russian Court Fines Google for Not Deleting Content Deemed Illegal

A Moscow court fined Alphabet Inc.'s Google 3 million roubles ($40,400) for not deleting content that it deemed illegal, part of a wider dispute between Russia and the U.S. tech giant. Russia in October threatened to fine Google a percentage of its annual Russian turnover for repeatedly failing to delete banned content on its search engine and YouTube, in Moscow's strongest move yet to rein in foreign tech firms.

U.S. Bars Companies from Exporting Quantum Tech to Chinese Firms

The Commerce Department barred U.S. firms from exporting quantum computing technology to eight Chinese companies and labs to try to keep the country from decrypting sensitive US communications and developing new military technology. "Global trade and commerce should support peace, prosperity, and good-paying jobs, not national security risks," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

  • Read the article: CNET

Head of Instagram Agrees to Testify Before Congress About Algorithms

After an onslaught of requests, Instagram head Adam Mosseri will testify before Congress next month as the popular photo-sharing app continues to face scrutiny from lawmakers about its effect on young people. Mosseri will appear before a Senate subcommittee during the week of Dec. 6, as part of a series of discussions on ways to protect children online, an aide to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, said.

Australian Legislation Aims to Hold Social Media Liable for Defamation

Australia will introduce legislation to make social media giants provide details of users who post defamatory comments, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The government has been looking at the extent of the responsibility of platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, for defamatory material published on their sites and comes after the country's highest court ruled that publishers can be held liable for public comments on online forums.

FBI, CISA Warn About Ransomware Attacks During Holiday Season

U.S. officials are telling American businesses and government organizations to take extra precautions against hackers this Thanksgiving following multiple ransomware attacks during previous holiday periods. An advisory from the FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told organizations to identify key IT security employees who can be on call in the event of a ransomware attack.

  • Read the article: CNN

FBI Investigating Reports of Hacking Attempt on Ohio Election Board

A commissioner in Lake County, Ohio, whose government office was used to plug a private laptop into the county network during the spring primary said that he was not aware of an attempt to breach the local election board’s computers. John Hamercheck (R), president of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, spoke publicly for the first time about the incident, which is under investigation by the FBI and state officials.

Italy's Antitrust Authority Fines Amazon, Apple $225 Million

Italy's antitrust authority has fined U.S. tech giants Amazon.com and Apple Inc. a total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Contractual provisions of a 2018 agreement between the companies meant only selected resellers were allowed to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon.it, the watchdog said, adding that this was in violation of European Union rules and affected competition on prices.

Apple Sues Surveillance Company NSO Group, Seeking Software Ban

Apple sued the NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance company, in federal court, another setback for the beleaguered firm and the unregulated spyware industry. The lawsuit is the second of its kind — Facebook sued the NSO Group in 2019 for targeting its WhatsApp users — and represents another consequential move by a private company to curb invasive spyware by governments and the companies that provide their spy tools.

Cybersecurity Programs Get $500 Million in Bill Approved by House

The House approved more than $500 million in cybersecurity funding as part of its version of President Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better package. The social and climate spending bill, passed by a narrow vote of 220-213, would mostly funnel those funds to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to help address issues including cybersecurity workforce training as well as state and local government cybersecurity.

Google Questions Impartiality of Justice Department's Top Antitrust Official

Google asked the Justice Department to investigate whether its new top antitrust official, who has represented Google rivals, needs to step back from inquiries and lawsuits against the company. In a letter to Justice Department leaders, an outside lawyer for Google said the “reality, and the appearance, of partiality are fairly called into question” by Jonathan Kanter’s past work for the company’s critics.

European Data Protection Board Warns of Rights Threats from Digital Regulations

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), an expert steering body which advises EU lawmakers on how to interpret rules wrapping citizen’s personal data, has warned the bloc’s legislators that a package of incoming digital regulations risks damaging people’s fundamental rights — without “decisive action” to amend the suite of proposals. The reference is to draft rules covering digital platform governance and accountability (the Digital Services Act; DSA); proposals for ex ante rules for internet gatekeepers (the Digital Markets Act; DMA), the Data Governance Act (DGA), which aims to encourage data reuse as an engine for innovation and AI; and the Regulation on a European approach for Artificial Intelligence (AIR), which sets out a risk-based framework for regulating applications of AI.

Indian Police Charge Amazon Executives in Case Involving Marijuana Smuggling

Indian police said they had charged senior executives of Amazon.com's local unit under narcotics laws in a case of alleged marijuana smuggling via the online retailer. Police in the central Madhya Pradesh state arrested two men with 20 kg of marijuana on Nov. 14 and found they were using the Amazon India website to order and further smuggle the substance in the guise of stevia leaves, a natural sweetener, to other Indian states.

Justice Department Indicts Two Iranians for 2020 Election Hacking

Two Iranian men were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department, accused of a brazen hacking and disinformation campaign that targeted American voters in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Seyyed Kazemi, 24, and Sajjad Kashian, 27, allegedly sent threatening emails to try to scare voters, attempted to break into several states’ voting-related websites and gained access to a U.S. media company’s computer network.

Banking Regulators Require Cybersecurity Incident Reports Within 36 Hours

U.S. banking regulators finalized a rule that directs banks to report any major cybersecurity incidents to the government within 36 hours of discovery. Separately, the banking industry said it had successfully completed a massive cross-industry cyber security drill that aims to ensure Wall Street knows how to respond in the event of a ransomware attack that threatens to disrupt a range of financial services.

State Attorneys General Investigating Instagram's Impact on Children

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general said it is investigating how Instagram attracts and affects young people, amping up the pressure on parent company Meta Platforms Inc. over potential harms to its users. Led by eight states, including Massachusetts and Nebraska, the coalition is focused on “the techniques utilized by Meta to increase the frequency and duration of engagement by young users and the resulting harms caused by such extended engagement.”

Miramax Sues Tarantino Over Plans to Auction 'Pulp Fiction' Script as NFT

Miramax is taking legal action against Quentin Tarantino over his plans to auction off script pages for seven scenes that didn’t make the final cut and other artifacts from the cult classic “Pulp Fiction” as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Miramax, which produced the 1994 film, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California against Mr. Tarantino, alleging copyright infringement and breach of contract.

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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.