Ericsson Files More Patent Suits Against Apple Over 5G Wireless Payments

Sweden's Ericsson has filed another set of patent infringement lawsuits against Apple in the latest salvo between the two companies over royalty payment for use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones. Both companies have already sued each other in the United States as negotiations failed over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecoms patents first struck in 2015.

App for Winter Olympics Could Allow Access to Hackers, Researchers Warn

A mobile app that’s mandatory for all participants in next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing contains security flaws that could make it easy for a hacker to steal sensitive personal information, cybersecurity researchers in Canada warn. The China-built app, My 2022, will be used to monitor the health of attendees, as well as facilitate information sharing, leading up to and throughout the 2022 Games.

FTC, DOJ Seek to Modernize Antitrust Enforcement for Mergers

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division kicked off a process to rewrite merger guidelines for businesses, signaling a tougher stance toward large deals. The nation’s two federal antitrust enforcers announced they are seeking public comment on how to “modernize enforcement of the antitrust laws regarding mergers.”

  • Read the article: CNBC

Bill Would Ban Digital Advertisers from Almost All Targeting

Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use of digital advertising targeting on ad markets hosted by platforms like Facebook, Google, and other data brokers. The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act – sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) – prohibits digital advertisers from targeting any ads to users.

Apple Allows Other Payment Options for Dating Apps in Netherlands

Apple said it would allow developers of dating apps in the Netherlands to offer non-Apple payment options to their users, complying with an order from the country's market regulator to do so by Jan. 15 or face fines. The country's Authority for Consumers and Markets found in a decision published on Dec. 24 that Apple had abused its market position by requiring dating app developers, including Tinder owner Match Group Inc., to exclusively use Apple's in-app payment system.

FTC, States Launch Competition Probe of Meta's Virtual Reality Unit Oculus

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and multiple states are investigating Meta Platforms Inc.’s virtual reality unit Oculus over potential anti-competitive practices, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The FTC and a group of states led by New York have quizzed outside developers that make Oculus apps in recent months as part of the inquiry, the people said.

New Law in Cambodia Allows Authorities to Monitor All Web Traffic

Ramped-up scrutiny of Internet users reflects an increasingly restrictive digital environment in Cambodia, where a new law will allow the authorities to monitor all web traffic in the country. Critics say that the decree puts Cambodia on a growing list of countries that have embraced China’s authoritarian model of internet surveillance, from Vietnam to Turkey, and that it will deepen the clash over the future of the web.

Russia Charges, Detains Members of REvil Ransomware Crime Group

Russia has conducted a special operation against ransomware crime group REvil at the request of the United States and has detained and charged the group's members, the FSB domestic intelligence service said. The arrests were a rare apparent demonstration of collaboration between Russia and the United States, at a time of high tensions between the two over Ukraine. The announcement came even as Ukraine was responding to a massive cyber attack that shut down government websites, though there was no indication the incidents were related.

Dozens of Ukrainian Government Websites Hit By Cyberattack

Dozens of Ukrainian government sites have been hit by an ominous cyberattack, with hackers warning people to "be afraid and expect the worst." The attack took over websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cabinet of ministers and security and defense council, posting a message on screens in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish that read: "Ukrainian! All your personal data was uploaded to the public network. All data on the computer is destroyed, it is impossible to restore it."

  • Read the article: NPR

Google Misled Publishers, Advertisers, Says Lawsuit from States

Google misled publishers and advertisers for years about the pricing and processes of its ad auctions, creating secret programs that deflated sales for some companies while increasing prices for buyers, according to newly unredacted allegations and details in a lawsuit by state attorneys general. Meanwhile, Google pocketed the difference between what it told publishers and advertisers that an ad cost and used the pool of money to manipulate future auctions to expand its digital monopoly, the newly unredacted complaint alleges.

Tech Companies Subpoenaed in House Committee's Probe of Capitol Riot

The House committee investigating Jan. 6 subpoenaed Reddit, Twitter and the parent companies of Google and Facebook after their "inadequate responses" to requests for information about what the companies did and didn't do in the lead-up to the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It’s disappointing that after months of engagement, we still do not have the documents and information necessary to answer those basic questions," Committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement.

Journalists from Independent Salvadoran News Site Targeted by Spyware

At least 22 journalists from the independent Salvadoran news site El Faro were targeted with telephone spyware, investigators announced, in one of the most extensive attacks yet discovered using the Pegasus software that human rights advocates say has been abused by governments around the world. The journalists were among at least 35 people in El Salvador whose iPhones were hacked with Pegasus between July 2020 and November 2021, according to an analysis by the Toronto-based Citizen Lab and other groups.

U.S. Cyber Command Links 'MuddyWater' Hackers to Iranian Intelligence

The Pentagon’s cybersecurity arm said it has tied a hacking group known as MuddyWater to Iranian intelligence. In doing so, U.S. Cyber Command also identified several open-source software tools being used by the hacking group and disclosed them in an effort to thwart further attacks. MuddyWater allegedly used the tools to gain access to global computer networks.

Nigeria Lifts Twitter Ban After Company Agrees to Open Local Office

Nigeria will lift a ban on Twitter after the social media platform agreed to open a local office, among other agreements with authorities in the West African country, a senior government official said. The Nigerian government suspended Twitter on June 4 after it removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

Fact-Checking Organizations Call YouTube 'Major Conduit' of Misinformation

A group of more than 80 fact-checking organizations from around the world has called YouTube "one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide" and wants the platform to do more to address the problem. In an open letter to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday, the group said the platform's current measures to combat misinformation are "proving insufficient" and laid out a series of recommended steps to improve its approach, including providing more context and debunks, as well as reducing the ability for spreaders of misinformation to monetize their content on the platform.

  • Read the article: CNN

Apple to Allow Alternative Payment Systems for Apps in South Korea

Apple will allow alternative payment systems in South Korea in compliance with a new local law that bans app store operators from forcing their own in-app payment systems, the country's telecommunications regulator said. The move came as a new law went into effect in the country in September last year, restricting app store operators, such as Google and Apple, from forcing their in-app payment systems on developers.

Judge Allows FTC's Amended Antitrust Complaint Against Facebook to Proceed

A federal judge ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Facebook could proceed, in a reversal of fortune for the agency after its first complaint was thrown out last year. In a colorful order, United States District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote that the amended complaint that the agency filed in August offered “more robust and detailed” evidence showing that Facebook has an alleged monopoly.

Europol Forced to Delete Personal Data Found to be Illegally Collected

The EU’s police agency, Europol, will be forced to delete much of a vast store of personal data that it has been found to have amassed unlawfully by the bloc’s data protection watchdog. The unprecedented finding from the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) targets what privacy experts are calling a “big data ark” containing billions of points of information.

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