Australian Court Says Google Not Liable for Links to Defamatory Content

Australia’s highest court ruled that Alphabet Inc.’s Google isn’t liable for defamatory content that can be accessed via a hyperlink in its search results, a win for Google in a jurisdiction that has at times taken a hard line against tech platforms. The case involved a lawyer, George Defteros, who alleged that a Google search of his name returned a hyperlink to and a snippet of a newspaper article that was defamatory.

Meta to Disable New Political Ads in Week Before November Elections

Meta loosely outlined how it plans to brace its platforms for the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, starting with political ads. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, detailed steps similar to the measures the company took previously in lieu of proposing many new ideas or areas of investment. That includes disabling new “political, electoral and social issue ads” during the week prior to voting on November 8.

TikTok to Label Content, Limit Political Ads Ahead of Midterm Elections

TikTok will label all content related to the midterm elections and crack down on paid influencer political ads as part of its plans to prepare for the upcoming midterm elections, the company announced. The popular video sharing app will label content identified as being related to the elections, and all content from accounts that belong to governments, politicians and political parties in the U.S.

Amazon Accuses FTC of 'Burdensome' Demands on Bezos in Prime Probe

Amazon.com Inc. is accusing the Federal Trade Commission of making excessive and unreasonable demands on founder Jeff Bezos and company executives as the agency probes Amazon’s Prime membership program. In a petition to the FTC filed earlier this month and recently made public, Amazon says the agency’s demands on the company have been “overly broad and burdensome,” and its legal tactics have been unfair.

FTC Expected to Draft Rules for Expansion of Online Privacy Protection

The Federal Trade Commission is expected to begin writing federal rules to expand online privacy protections, according to people familiar with the matter. If adopted, the rules could impose significant new responsibilities on businesses that handle consumer data, including potentially barring certain kinds of data collection practices, the people said.

Former Twitter Employee Convicted of Spying for Saudi Arabia

A former Twitter Inc. employee was convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia by turning over personal information of platform users who’d used anonymous handles to criticize the Kingdom and its royal family. Ahmad Abouammo, a U.S. resident born in Egypt, was found guilty by a jury of charges including acting as an agent for Saudi Arabia, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and falsifying records, following a two-week trial in San Francisco federal court.

Despite Other Tech Restrictions, Russia Allows Citizens to Access YouTube

Months into its war against Ukraine, Moscow continues to let its own citizens access YouTube, leaving a conspicuous hole in its effort to control what Russians see and hear about the conflict. The video-streaming service, owned by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, is one of the few places where Russians can view and discuss images of the war from independent outlets.

Russian Soldiers Use Force to Take Over, Reroute Internet Traffic in Ukraine

Several weeks after taking over Ukraine’s southern port city of Kherson, Russian soldiers arrived at the offices of local internet service providers and ordered them to give up control of their networks. Russian authorities then rerouted mobile and internet data from Kherson through Russian networks, government and industry officials said.

Congress to Depart for Recess Without Voting on Tech Antitrust Bill

Congress is set to depart for its August recess soon without acting on a bipartisan antitrust bill targeting the largest U.S. technology companies, in a setback for supporters who had been pushing for a vote before the busy fall election season. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) plans to hold a vote on the legislation when Congress returns this fall. But the shrinking number of legislative days available plays to the advantage of the tech companies, which can declare victory if Congress doesn’t act.

Cryptocurrency Company Nomad Offers Bounties to Combat Hacking

Crypto start-up Nomad is offering 10 percent bounties to retrieve as much as $190 million in digital currency that was seized in a massive hacking attack. Nomad made the announcement in a Twitter post, which included the address to its crypto wallet, and said anyone who returns at least 90 percent of their share of the stolen funds will be considered a “white hat” — hackers who work with companies to probe their networks, in some cases taking payment in exchange for identifying security flaws.

Taiwan's Military Says China Continuing Attacks Against Government Websites

Taiwan’s military accused Beijing of carrying on sustained cyberattacks against the island that rendered key government-run websites inaccessible. Taiwanese Lt. Gen. Lu Chien-chung told a news conference Monday, “the Chinese Communist Party didn’t go easy on the internet,” accusing Beijing of continuing a campaign aimed at crippling key Taiwanese websites.

Treasury Department Blocks Cryptocurrency Platform 'Tornado Cash'

The Treasury Department prohibited Americans from using the cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash, saying the service has helped criminals launder more than $7 billion of virtual currencies. The crackdown was the U.S. government’s latest effort to rein in the crypto industry, as lawmakers and regulators grow increasingly concerned over the volatility of virtual currencies and their role in facilitating hacking and other crimes.

U.S. Accuses Chinese Cable Manufacturer of Violating Export Controls

The United States accused Far East Cable, China's largest wire and cable manufacturer, of violating U.S. export controls related to shipments to Iran, the Commerce Department said. Far East Cable entered into an agreement in 2013 to buy equipment from Chinese telecomunications equipment maker ZTE Corp. and then contracted with Iranian companies to supply telecommunications equipment and parts, the Commerce Department said in a charging letter.

Twilio Says Hackers Accessed Customer Data in Social Engineering Attack

Communications giant Twilio has confirmed hackers accessed customer data after successfully tricking employees into handing over their corporate login credentials. The San Francisco-based company, which allows users to build voice and SMS capabilities — such as two-factor authentication (2FA) — into applications, said in a blog post that it became aware that someone gained “unauthorized access” to information related to some Twilio customer accounts on August 4.

Google Sues Sonos for Infringing Seven Patents, Including on Voice Input

Google is striking back at Sonos with a pair of lawsuits alleging that the wireless speaker company is infringing on a number of its patents around smart speakers and voice control technology. It’s the latest volley in a back-and-forth battle over wireless speakers that has so far involved multiple lawsuits from Sonos, one lawsuit from Google, and one ruling in favor of Sonos that’s led to features being stripped from Google’s products.

Cyber Attacks on Businesses, Government Sites Spiked as Pelosi Visited Taiwan

As U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a brief visit to Taiwan that enraged Beijing, the welcome she received from government officials and the public was in sharp contrast with a different sort of message that began popping up elsewhere on the island. The largest 24-hour convenience store chain on the island was the victim of what Taiwanese authorities are calling an unprecedented amount of cyber attacks on government websites belonging to the presidential office, foreign and defense ministries as well as infrastructure such as screens at railway stations, in protest against Pelosi's visit.

Republicans Blame Google's Algorithms for Marking Fundraising Emails as Spam

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican caucus, is preparing to escalate its attack on Google over the company’s email spam filter, which it blames for recent fundraising disappointments, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. A draft letter on NRSC letterhead, and addressed to Google, claims that “Google and its algorithms have handed a distinct advantage to Democrat fundraising efforts, resulting in Republicans raising millions of dollars less than they should be able to.”

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.