U.S., EU Reach Preliminary Seal to Store Data on Europeans in United States

The U.S. and the European Union reached a preliminary deal to allow data about Europeans to be stored on U.S. soil, heading off a growing threat to thousands of companies’ trans-Atlantic operations. The deal, announced by President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, could if concluded resolve one of the thorniest outstanding issues between the two economic giants.

British Police Arrest Seven People for Ransomware Attack on Okta

Police in Britain have arrested seven people following a series of hacks by the Lapsus$ hacking group which targeted major firms including Okta Inc. and Microsoft Corp., City of London Police said. San Francisco-based Okta Inc, whose authentication services are used by some of the world's biggest companies to provide access to their networks, said it had been hit by hackers and some customers may have been affected.

Complaint Charges Two Men with Fraud, Money Laundering in NFT Scheme

U.S. government prosecutors have charged two men with fraud and money laundering over a cryptocurrency “rug pull” scheme. Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna allegedly earned around $1.1 million by selling non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) based on cartoon-like characters called “Frosties.” After selling the NFTs, they shut down the project and transferred its funds to a series of separate crypto wallets, leaving Frosties owners bereft of promised rewards.

U.S. Indicts Four Russian Government Employees in Hacking Campaign

The U.S. Justice Department fired another legal salvo against Russia, announcing indictments against four Russian government employees for an alleged hacking campaign targeting the energy sector that lasted for years and targeted computers in 135 countries. An indictment in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges that Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, who worked at a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute, conspired with others to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, causing emergency shutdowns at one foreign facility.

EU Agrees to Digital Markets Act Imposing New Obligations on Tech Companies

The European Union agreed to one of the world’s most far-reaching laws to address the power of the biggest tech companies, potentially reshaping app stores, online advertising, e-commerce, messaging services and other everyday digital tools. The law, called the Digital Markets Act, is the most sweeping piece of digital policy since the bloc put the world’s toughest rules to protect people’s online data into effect in 2018.

Apple Asks Court to Reject Appeal from Epic Games in 'Fortnite' Case

Apple Inc. told appellate judges that video game maker Epic Games had failed to show any legal error that would justify them overturning a lower-court ruling that found key App Store policies do not break U.S. antitrust law. Epic, known for its "Fortnite" game, largely lost a trial last year over whether Apple's payment rules for apps were anticompetitive

Hobbyist Spies Use Social Media to Impact Ground War in Ukraine

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has unfolded at a blistering pace over social media, it has swollen the ranks of hobbyist spies. Armed with day jobs or coursework, the self-proclaimed open source intelligence — or “OSINT” — community tracks every movement of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries online. Five weeks into the war, their findings are impacting strategy on the ground.

Tech, Children's Health Advocacy Groups Push for Law to Protect Kids Online

Tech and children’s health advocacy groups sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass legislation providing protections for kids and teens online. The letter follows President Biden’s call for social companies to be held accountable for their impact on kids’ safety during his first State of the Union address earlier this month and builds on bipartisan momentum in Congress to add additional regulations.

Report Says Facebook Allowed Ads Calling for Violence Against Rohingya

A new report has found that Facebook failed to detect blatant hate speech and calls to violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority years after such behavior was found to have played a determining role in the genocide against them. The report shared exclusively with The Associated Press showed the rights group Global Witness submitted eight paid ads for approval to Facebook, each including different versions of hate speech against Rohingya.

Authentication Services Provider Investigating Report of Breach

Authentication services provider Okta Inc. is investigating a report of a digital breach, the company said, after hackers posted screenshots showing what they claimed was its internal company environment. A hack at Okta could have major consequences because thousands of other companies, such as FedEx, Moody's and T-Mobile, rely on the San Francisco-based firm to manage access to their own networks and applications.

Biden Warns of Possible Russian Cyberattacks to Retaliate for Sanctions

President Biden warned that Russia is exploring the possibility of waging potential cyberattacks against the United States in retaliation for economic penalties imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. In a statement issued days before he is set to travel to Brussels for a NATO summit, Mr. Biden encouraged private sector companies in the United States to strengthen their cybersecurity against a potential breach by Russia.

Court in Russia Rejects Dismissal of Facebook Extremism Charges

A Moscow court rejected an attempt by Facebook owner Meta Platforms to have extremism charges against it dismissed, Russian news agencies reported, in a case that could force the U.S. tech giant out of the Russian market. The TASS news agency earlier reported that Meta had asked for more time to prepare its legal position and had questioned the court's authority to ban its activities at the request of state prosecutors.

China Requires Microsoft to Suspend Auto-Suggest Function in Bing

Microsoft Corp's Bing, the only major foreign search engine available in China, said a "relevant government agency" has required it to suspend its auto-suggest function in China for seven days. The suspension marks the second of its kind for Bing since December, and arrives amid an ongoing crackdown on technology platforms and algorithms from Beijing.

Court Dismisses District of Columbia's Antitrust Complaint Against Amazon

A court threw out what was thought to have been the first government lawsuit in the United States arguing that Amazon had broken antitrust laws. Judge Hiram E. Puig-Lugo of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia granted Amazon’s motion to dismiss the complaint, which was filed last year by Karl Racine, the district’s attorney general, according to court records.

Court in Brazil Lifts Ban on Telegram After Company Said It Missed Emails

Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, election officials and federal police have been trying to get a response from Telegram, the fast-growing messaging app, for months. It turned out, all they had to do was ban it. Brazil’s Supreme Court had blocked Telegram in the country because the company behind the app had been ignoring the court’s orders but then, suddenly, Telegram’s chief executive responded — with a pedestrian excuse: his company had missed the court’s emails.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Orders Suspension of Telegram App

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, saying it had repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders or comply with the country's laws, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Reuters. Moraes' decision, which is likely to stoke debate about freedom of speech in politically polarized Brazil, represents the latest chapter in the crusading justice's battle with far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies.

Despite Social Media Restrictions, Russia Unable to Shut Down Telegram

Russia’s campaign to restrict access to Twitter, Facebook and other sources of uncensored information on its invasion of Ukraine has skipped one crucial platform: the social media and chat app Telegram. Anyone in Russia who wanted to follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Congress could find it on Telegram, along with images of Russia bombing civilian areas in Ukraine.

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.