YouTube Blocks Account for Hong Kong Candidate, Citing U.S. Sanctions

Google’s YouTube blocked the campaign account of Hong Kong’s only leadership candidate, citing U.S. sanctions, in a move that ratchets up tensions between big tech companies and the city’s government amid a national-security crackdown on political opposition. John Lee, a former policeman and government security chief, is poised to become Hong Kong’s next top official in a small-circle election to be held May 8 by a committee of around 1,500 mostly Beijing loyalists and closely orchestrated by China’s central government.

Former eBay Security Executive to Plead Guilty in Cyberstalking Campaign

A former eBay Inc. security executive intends to plead guilty to federal charges that he planned a cyberstalking campaign that targeted a Massachusetts couple whose online newsletter was seen as critical of the e-commerce company. James Baugh, eBay's former senior director of safety and security, had been awaiting trial in Boston with another ex-executive accused of helping harass the couple through Twitter and with disturbing deliveries like a bloody Halloween pig mask and live cockroaches.

Ukraine Forms 'Internet Army' to Pressure Western Companies in Russia

Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has organized what it calls its Internet Army: a group of volunteers who are helping Ukraine fight the cyber and information war, including many social-media volunteers who post messages singling out Western companies doing business in Russia, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of Digital Transformation. About 300,000 volunteers have joined the effort, and their social-media posts are reaching some 100 million global users daily, Mr. Fedorov said in an interview.

Secret Service Seizes $102 Million in Cryptocurrency in Fraud Cases

The U.S. Secret Service is cracking down on illicit digital currency transactions, seizing more than $102 million in cryptocurrency from criminals in connection with fraud-related investigations. David Smith, assistant director of investigations, said agents and analysts actively track the flow of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, similar to an old-fashioned surveillance.

Appeals Court Upholds Right to Scrape Publicly Available Data from Websites

Good news for archivists, academics, researchers and journalists: Scraping publicly accessible data is legal, according to a U.S. appeals court ruling. The landmark ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals is the latest in a long-running legal battle brought by LinkedIn aimed at stopping a rival company from web scraping personal information from users’ public profiles. 

NATO's Cyber War Games Face Increased Attention Amid War in Ukraine

NATO’s large, multiday cyber defense exercise is set to bring together technical experts from alliance countries and Ukraine nearly two months after Russia’s invasion. This year’s annual cyber wargames, known as the Locked Shields exercise, is significant for the countries participating because their cyber defense units have been on high alert since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, said Anett Numa, an international policy adviser in the cyber policy unit of Estonia’s ministry of defense.

Even Free Speech Advocates Alarmed by Musk's Bid to Take Twitter Private

Social media industry safety professionals and outside experts who have spent years trying to slow the empowerment of tyrants and violent mobs by Facebook and other platforms are aghast that a second major company might come under the control of just one person, especially one complaining that Twitter places too many limits on what can be posted on its site. Comments by billionaire Elon Musk about his surprise bid to take Twitter private alarm those whose experience has been that unfettered speech makes social media platforms unusable and that lightly controlled speech favors those who can direct thousands to make versions of the same point, which is then amplified by algorithms designed to maximize engagement and thereby advertising dollars.

Taiwan Concerned About War in Ukraine's Impact on Internet Cables

The war in Ukraine is reviving concerns in Taiwan and some Asia-Pacific nations about the fragility of their Internet connections because they rely on undersea cables that could be severed in a Chinese attack. Ukrainians have used the internet to rally resistance to Russia’s invasion, counter Moscow’s propaganda and win international support, including through President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeals for weapons.

China Bans Livestreaming of Unauthorized Video Games

China said the livestreaming of unauthorized video games was banned, signaling stricter enforcement of rules as part of its broad crackdown on the gaming industry aimed at purging content the government does not approve of. The National Radio and Television Administration said platforms of all kinds must not livestream games that are not approved by related authorities.

Ukrainian Officials Say They Thwarted Russian Cyberattack on Power Grid

Ukrainian officials said that they had thwarted a Russian cyberattack on Ukraine’s power grid that could have knocked out power to two million people, raising fears that Moscow will increase its use of digital weapons in a country already pummeled by war. Ukraine’s power grid has been knocked offline twice before, in 2015 and 2016, causing widespread blackouts.

Apple CEO Says Antitrust Legislation Would Create Privacy, Security Risks

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook warned that proposed antitrust legislation would have the unintended consequence of making iPhones less safe, putting users at risk to “data hungry” companies looking to sidestep its privacy features. The iPhone maker faces twin threats to its App Store business from Congress and the European Union, where lawmakers intend to loosen its grip on the app economy and make the iPhone more accessible to third-party developers as part of efforts to increase competition.

Spotify Complaint Expected to Lead to More EU Antitrust Charges Against Apple

Apple faces an additional EU antitrust charge in the coming weeks in an investigation triggered by a complaint from Spotify, a person familiar with the matter said, a sign that EU enforcers are strengthening their case against the U.S. company. The European Commission last year accused the iPhone maker of distorting competition in the music streaming market via restrictive rules for its App Store that force developers to use its own in-app payment system and prevent them from informing users of other purchasing options.

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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.