Judge Refuses to Lift Agreement Musk Signed About His Social Media Posts

A federal judge in New York denied a request by Elon Musk to end a 2018 agreement he signed with securities regulators, which requires him to run his social media posts by a company lawyer if the statements contained material information about his electric car company, Tesla. Mr. Musk had argued that the agreement to settle accusations of securities violations infringed on his right to freedom of speech and that the Securities and Exchange Commission had used the agreement as an excuse to “launch endless, boundless” investigations of his public statements.

Musk Criticizes Twitter's Top Lawyer, Raising Disparagement Questions

Elon Musk's criticism of Twitter Inc. sparked a barrage of abusive tweets against the company's top lawyer, raising questions about his compliance with a non-disparagement agreement and the tone that the social media platform's incoming owner will set for its users. Musk tweeted he disagreed with a decision Twitter made in 2020 to restrict the distribution of a New York Post article about U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter.

Microsoft Says Russian-Backed Hacking Groups Targeted Ukraine 200 Times

Microsoft released a report detailing how Russian-backed hackers unleashed a series of cyber operations against Ukraine as early as March 2021. According to the report, at least six separate Russian-backed hacking groups have launched more than 200 cyber operations against Ukraine, including destructive attacks that have threatened civilian welfare.

Hacker Uses Bored Ape Yacht Club's Instagram Account in Phishing Scam

A hacker got into the Instagram account for the popular BFT brand Bored Ape Yacht Club and posted a link to a supposed airdrop, which would give existing Bored Ape holders a free allotment of land in the upcoming Otherside metaverse. But the link included in the post was a phising scam. People who opened it and connected their crypto wallet had their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs stolen.

  • Read the article: CNET

Consensus Emerging in U.S. Congress on Need for Privacy Legislation

Congressional leaders are negotiating in earnest on long-stalled consumer-privacy legislation, raising the prospect that a bipartisan bill could become reality after years of false starts. Congress is under pressure to act following recent disclosures of content potentially harmful to young people on social-media sites including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Tech Companies Duped Into Providing Personal Info in Fake Legal Requests

Major technology companies have been duped into providing sensitive personal information about their customers in response to fraudulent legal requests, and the data has been used to harass and even sexually extort minors, according to four federal law enforcement officials and two industry investigators. The companies that have complied with the bogus requests include Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Snap Inc., Twitter Inc. and Discord Inc., according to three of the people. All of the people requested anonymity to speak frankly about the devious new brand of online crime that involves underage victims.

Former eBay Executive Pleads Guilty to Stalking Newsletter Publishers

When former eBay executive James Baugh of San Jose first launched the harassment campaign against a couple publishing a newsletter with content critical of the e-commerce giant, Baugh suggested to his operatives that they send the pair “scary masks, live insects, or embarrassing items, such as pornography and strippers,” according to an FBI affidavit. Minus the strippers, that’s what they sent — and more. Baugh, 47, pleaded guilty to five counts of stalking, two counts of witness tampering and two counts of destruction, alteration and falsification of records in a federal investigation.

EU Regulator Says Musk Must Follow Rules to Keep Operating in Europe

A top European Union regulator cautioned that social-media giant Twitter Inc. will need to follow the bloc’s new rules for tackling illegal and harmful content online if it wants to keep operating there, marking a possible challenge to Elon Musk’s plans to take a more hands-off approach to content moderation. Thierry Breton, EU internal market commissioner, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that it’s his job to make sure companies, including Twitter, understand their obligations in Europe.

Lawsuit Alleges Intuit Failed to Secure Its Email Marketing Service

Intuit Inc. was sued for failing to secure its email marketing service, which allegedly allowed hackers to steal cryptocurrencies from Trezor users. Using a sophisticated phishing attack, hackers were earlier this month able to access cryptocurrency wallets sold by the Czech company Trezor, according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose.

Ninth Circuit Won't Rehear Decision Allowing States to Decide Net Neutrality

The U.S. Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of California's net neutrality law said that it won't reconsider its decision, dealing another blow to the broadband industry trade groups that attempted to block California from enforcing its law. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a petition to rehear the case that the three judge panel decided in January, upholding a previous ruling that said states have a right to adopt their own net neutrality protections.

  • Read the article: CNET

North Korean Hackers Still Laundering Money Despite Being Identified

North Korean hackers who last month carried out one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts ever are still laundering their haul more than a week after they were identified as the thieves. The cybercriminals’ continued access to the money, more than $600 million stolen from the Axie Infinity video game, underscores the limits of law enforcement’s ability to stop the flow of illicit cryptocurrency across the globe.

EU Approves Digital Services Act, Forcing Tech Companies to Offer Protections

Big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta will have to police their platforms more strictly to better protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and other harmful online content under landmark EU legislation approved. European Union officials clinched the agreement in principle on the Digital Services Act, which will also force tech companies to make it easier for users to flag problems, ban online ads aimed at kids and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines.

Europe Moves Forward on Technology Legislation While U.S. Efforts Stall

In just the last few years, Europe has seen a landmark law for online privacy take effect, approved sweeping regulations to curb the dominance of the tech giants and on Friday was nearing a deal on new legislation to protect its citizens from harmful online content. In the United States, Congress has not passed a single piece of comprehensive regulation to protect internet consumers and to rein in the power of its technology giants.

Hackers Claim Breach of Russian Institutions, Including at Kremlin

Hackers claim to have broken into dozens of Russian institutions over the past two months, including the Kremlin’s Internet censor and one of its primary intelligence services, leaking emails and internal documents to the public in an apparent hack-and-leak campaign that is remarkable in its scope. The hacking operation comes as the Ukrainian government appears to have begun a parallel effort to punish Russia by publishing the names of supposed Russian soldiers who operated in Bucha, the site of a massacre of civilians, and agents of the FSB, a major Russian intelligence agency, along with identifying information like dates of birth and passport numbers.

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.

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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.