Advertisers Want Germany to Expand Antitrust Probe of Google News

Digital advertisers are seeking a wider German antitrust probe of Google’s news service, potentially deepening scrutiny of how the search engine gathers data. The Movement for the Open Web, a group of advertising technology and publishing companies that prefer not to be named for fear of retaliation from the Alphabet Inc. unit, filed a complaint with the German Federal Cartel Office.

FTC, Not Justice Department, to Review Microsoft's Activision Acquisition

The U.S. antitrust review of Microsoft Corp's $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard Inc. will be handled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The FTC, instead of the Justice Department, will investigate whether the takeover will harm competition, the report said.

FTC Issues Report About Increase in Scams Originating on Social Media

Scams that originate on social media, from fake Instagram Shops to false online romances that lead to extortion, ballooned between 2020 and 2021, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission. Bad actors can “use the tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with bogus ads based on personal details such as their age, interests, or past purchases,” the FTC said in its report.

White House Cybersecurity Official to Meet with European Counterparts

A White House cyber security official will meet European counterparts this week to discuss the threat of cyber attacks against Ukraine by Russia, the White House said. Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, will meet European Union and NATO officials in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss "deterring, disrupting, and responding to further Russian aggression against Ukraine," the White House said.

French Court Approves $112 Million Privacy Fine Against Google

Google lost its bid to topple a record 100 million-euro ($112 million) fine from French privacy watchdogs over how it manages its cookies. France’s top administrative court backed regulators who in 2020 criticized the search giant for automatically placing the tracking devices -- often used to gather data for advertising purposes -- on the devices of google.fr users as soon as they arrived on the website.

Putin Orders Kremlin to Review System to Ban 'Toxic' Internet Content

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his administration to consider an apparent new system to ban "toxic" internet content, although details were not released. The new system, contained in a list of presidential orders on the Kremlin website, was described as a "self-regulated register of toxic content" which would be used "to protect minors".

Appeals Court Allows California to Keep Enforcing Net Neutrality Law

A federal appeals court upheld California's net neutrality law, rejecting an attempt by broadband industry trade groups to prevent the state from enforcing it. The ruling is the latest twist in a decades-long battle to put in place rules of the road for the Internet. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a 3-0 vote upheld a previous ruling, which means the state can continue to enforce the law.

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Israel Using Pegasus Spyware as Part of Its National Security Strategy

An investigation published by The New York Times Magazine has found that Israel, which controls the export of Pegasus spyware, just as it does the export of conventional weapons, has made the software a key component of its national security strategy, using it to advance its interests around the world. The yearlong investigation, by Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti, also reports that the FBI bought and tested NSO software for years with plans to use it for domestic surveillance until the agency finally decided last year not to deploy the tools.

European Commission Requires Facebook to Explain Privacy Policy Changes

Facebook unit WhatsApp has been given until the end of February to explain changes to its privacy policy and whether this complies with EU consumer protection laws after complaints from consumer groups, the European Commission said. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and eight of its members took their grievances to the EU executive and the European network of consumer authorities, saying WhatsApp was unfairly pressuring users to accept its new privacy policy which allows it to share some data with Facebook and other group firms.

YouTube Terminates Accounts for Dan Bongino, Right-Wing Radio, Fox Host

YouTube said that it had terminated accounts associated with Dan Bongino, a popular right-wing radio and Fox News host, nearly two weeks after it first suspended his channel for violating its Covid-19 misinformation policy. A former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent turned pundit, Mr. Bongino is a vocal critic of vaccine mandates.

Anti-Vaccine Advocates, Banned from Some Social Media, Turn to Substack

Shut down by major social media platforms, Joseph Mercola, a leading anti-vaccine advocate whose screeds have been restricted by YouTube and Facebook, has found a new way to spread these debunked claims: on Substack, the subscription-based newsletter platform that is increasingly a hub for controversial and often misleading perspectives about the coronavirus. Substack, which researchers from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate say makes millions of dollars off anti-vaccine misinformation, defended its tolerance for publishing “writers with whom we strongly disagree.”

FCC's Proposed Rule Would Require Standardized Price Data for Broadband

Consumers would be able to easily compare rates for home and mobile broadband service under plans given an initial green light by the Federal Communications Commission. The proposed new rule would require broadband providers such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. to show consumers standardized price data similar to the window stickers on new cars and the nutrition labels on packaged food.

Google Proposes New System for Targeted Online Advertising

Google is overhauling its plans for targeted online advertising after pushback from privacy advocates, aiming to give marketers less-granular information about web users than under the tech giant’s initial proposal. The Alphabet Inc. unit said that the new system it is proposing, Topics, would allow web advertisers to target broad categories of users — those interested in “fitness” or “travel,” for example — instead.

Governments Increase Demands for Twitter to Remove Content

Twitter said governments around the world made requests to remove content from a record number of user accounts between January and June last year, in data to be released by the social media company. The platform said governments made 43,387 legal demands for the removal of content from 196,878 accounts in the six-month period, according to data in its latest transparency report seen by Reuters.

Fashion Clothing Site to Pay $4.2 Million to Settle FTC Reviews Case

The Federal Trade Commission said that Fashion Nova, a popular fast-fashion clothing site, would be required to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations that it had suppressed customer reviews that gave products less than four out of five stars. The agency said the case was its first involving a company’s efforts to conceal negative reviews.

Cybersecurity Researcher Finds Access to Tesla Owners' Email Addresses

The 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher who remotely accessed dozens of Tesla Inc. vehicles through a third-party flaw, has a new trick: hacking the car owners’ email addresses to notify them they’re at risk. Earlier this month, David Colombo discovered a flaw in a piece of third-party open source software that let him remotely hijack some functions on about two dozen Teslas, including opening and closing the doors or honking the horn. In trying to notify the affected car owners, he then found a flaw in Tesla’s software for the digital car key that allowed him to learn their email addresses.

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