Russian Lawmaker Urges 'Full Ban on WhatsApp Use for Official Purposes'

A Russian lawmaker urged state institutions to stop using WhatsApp messenger and the industry ministry sought to promote domestically produced software as Russia tries to wean itself off Western technology. WhatsApp owner Meta Platforms Inc. was found guilty of "extremist activity" in Russia in March and later added to financial monitoring agency Rosfinmonitoring's list of "terrorists and extremists".

N.Y. Attorney General Wants Law to Ban Live-Streaming of Homicides

The New York attorney general called on the state legislature to pass new laws to deter the live-streaming of homicides, following an investigation that concluded the alleged gunman accused of killing 10 people in Buffalo was radicalized online and then used social media to plan and promote his rampage. Attorney General Letitia James’s probe marks one of the most significant efforts by U.S. law enforcement to examine the role of the internet in a mass shooting after attacks in Uvalde, Tex., El Paso and Christchurch, New Zealand, drew public attention to the role of tech platforms in massacres.

Meta Agrees to Sell Giphy After Order from U.K.'s Top Competition Authority

Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. said it would sell its social-media animated-images company Giphy after the U.K.’s top competition authority affirmed an earlier order to undo the 2020 acquisition. Facebook’s announcement all but ends a yearslong saga in which a foreign regulator made a rare intervention in an already-consummated deal between two American companies.

Hackers Turn to Australian Companies After Attack on Telecom Operator

A data breach at Australia's second-largest telco may have raised the country's profile as a hacking target, cybersecurity experts said, as federal police began investigating a separate breach at the country's top health insurer. Since Singapore Telecommunications Ltd-owned Optus disclosed last month the theft of about 10 million customer records, equivalent to 40% of the country's population, the country's biggest companies and government bodies have been on high alert for repeat attacks.

Google Facing Possible Antitrust Charges in EU Over Digital Ad Business

Alphabet unit Google could face EU antitrust charges next year over its digital advertising business, putting the company at risk of its fourth fine in the EU of more than a billion euros, people familiar with the matter said. Google's ad business, which generated over $100 billion in sales last year, is Alphabet's biggest moneymaker. It accounted for about 80% of annual revenue, despite efforts over the past decade to push into selling hardware, subscription services and cloud computing technology.

Brazilian Court Fines Apple $19 Million for Not Including iPhone Chargers

A Brazilian court fined Apple Inc. 100 million reais ($19 million) and ruled that battery chargers must come with new iPhones sold in the country. The Sao Paulo state court ruled against Apple in a lawsuit, filed by the association of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers, that argued that the company commits abusive practices by selling its flagship product without a charger.

Google Approves Trump's Truth Social App for Distribution on Its App Store

Google approved Truth Social for distribution through its mobile-app store after the Donald Trump -backed social-media platform agreed to follow the tech company’s content-moderation guidelines. Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said Truth Social had recently improved the enforcement of its policies for user-generated content and agreed to police them going forward. Google in August declined Truth Social’s application to be listed in the Play Store, notifying the app of several policy violations.

Twitter Reportedly Reviewing Policies on Permanently Banning Users

Twitter Inc. is reviewing its policies around permanently banning users, possibly bringing its content moderation in line with Elon Musk's vision for the social media platform, the Financial Times reported. Twitter has been exploring if there are other content moderation tools that could replace a ban, its harshest penalty for violating rules, the newspaper said, citing multiple people familiar with the situation.

Appeals Court Blocks Texas Social Media Law from Going Into Effect

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a controversial Texas social media law from going into effect as industry groups seek to bring the case to the Supreme Court. The court granted a request from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice to prevent the law’s implementation ahead of a potential Supreme Court hearing on the case, the tech associations said.

U.S. Company Ordered to Pay Fine for Firing Dutch Worker Who Objected to Webcam

A Florida-headquartered company has been ordered to pay about €75,000 (around $73,000) in compensation and other fees after firing a Netherlands-based remote worker who refused to keep their webcam on all day, NL Times reports. The company, Chetu, said the unnamed employee was required to attend a virtual classroom with their webcam turned on for the entire day and their screen remotely monitored.

Biden Issues Order Giving Europeans Rights to Challenge U.S. Data Storage

The U.S. is starting to implement a deal with the European Union aimed at allowing information about Europeans to continue to be stored on U.S. soil, reducing a looming threat to thousands of companies with trans-Atlantic operations. President Biden issued an executive order giving Europeans new rights to challenge U.S. government-surveillance practices against them, a central element of the preliminary deal that the U.S. and the EU first outlined in March.

Meta Detects 400+ Malware Apps Designed to Steal Facebook Login Details

Facebook’s parent company Meta said that it has detected more than 400 malware apps this year designed to steal users’ Facebook login information. The apps, which were listed on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, were disguised to look like fun or useful apps, from photo editors to VPNs to fitness trackers, Meta said in a press release.

German Interior Minister Wants to Dismiss Cybersecurity Chief Over Russian Contacts

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to dismiss the country's cybersecurity chief due to possible contacts with people involved with Russian security services, German media reported, citing government sources. Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal information security agency, could have had such contacts through the Cyber Security Council of Germany, various outlets reported.

Twitter Locks Kanye West's Account After Anti-Semitic Tweet

Twitter locked rapper Kanye West’s Twitter account over an anti-Semitic tweet posted on the account. In the since-removed tweet, West said he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and also that, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” without specifying what group he was addressing, according to internet archive records pulled by CNN.

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Biden Administration Limits Sale of Semiconductor Technology to China

The Biden administration announced sweeping new limits on the sale of semiconductor technology to China, a step aimed at crippling Beijing’s access to critical technologies that are needed for everything from supercomputing to guiding weapons. The moves are the clearest sign yet that a dangerous standoff between the world’s two major superpowers is increasingly playing out in the technological sphere, with the United States trying to establish a stranglehold on advanced computing and semiconductor technology that is essential to China’s military and economic ambitions.

Former Seattle Tech Worker Sentenced to Time Served in Capital One Hacking

A former Seattle tech worker convicted of several charges related to a massive hack of Capital One bank and other companies in 2019 was sentenced to time served and five years of probation. U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said sentencing former Amazon software engineer Paige Thompson to time in prison would have been particularly difficult on her “because of her mental health and transgender status,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Google Settles Advertising Tracking Case with Arizona for $85 Million

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has entered an $85 million settlement with Google LLC for allegedly tracking the users' location with "deceptive and unfair" practices to sell advertisements, his office announced. Brnovich started investigating Google after a 2018 Associated Press article said the company was misleading consumers on how they were tracking and using their location data, according to a news release.

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.