Berkshire Hathaway Says Website Using Its Name in Domain Not Authorized

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., run by billionaire Warren Buffett, warned investors it has no affiliation with a purported cryptocurrency brokerage website using the Berkshire Hathaway name. The website describes its operator as a Texas-based broker founded in 2020 to give investors "an opportunity to achieve a completely passive income from investment in cryptocurrency mining."

Groups File FCC Petition Seeking Ban on Some Video Games Aimed at Kids

Some prominent children’s advocacy, privacy and health groups want to ban user-engagement techniques that, they say, unfairly steer the behavior of minors and hijack their attention. A coalition of more than 20 groups filed a petition asking the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit video games like My Talking Tom, as well as social networks like TikTok and other online services, from employing certain attention-grabbing practices that may hook children online.

FCC Releases Broadband Map Showing 98% Access at Residential Addresses

A new federal broadband map shows roughly 2% of American residential addresses lack access to broadband internet service, though officials said that figure could change as their database improves. The Federal Communications Commission released the map, as ordered by a 2020 law, showing millions of addresses with information about their access to broadband internet service from a variety of companies.

Google Loses, Apple Wins Appeal Against Decision by Italy's Antitrust Authority

An Italian administrative court rejected an appeal by Alphabet's Google against a decision by Italy's antitrust authority to fine the group, but accepted iPhone maker Apple's appeal against the watchdog's ruling. Last year, Italy's antitrust regulator fined Google and Apple 10 million euros ($10.36 million) each, claiming that the two tech groups had not provided "clear and immediate information" on how they collect and use the data of those who access their services.

Google Wins Default Judgment Against Operators of Glupteba Botnet

Google LLC won its lawsuit against the operators of the Glupteba botnet, after a federal district court in Manhattan granted the company’s motion for default judgment and monetary sanctions. The defendants, Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov, along with their lawyer, Igor Litvak, intentionally deceived the court in an effort to thwart discovery and disadvantage Google, Judge Denise L. Cote said.

Hate Speech Advocates Warn of Problems on Twitter During World Cup

Hate speech advocates are warning that the spread of racism on Twitter could be even worse during this year’s World Cup as the social media giant grapples with a mass exodus of employees and the tumultuous leadership style of new owner Elon Musk. Even before Musk laid off half of Twitter’s staff, his acquisition of Twitter had opened the door to a flood of racist and antisemitic trolls seeking to test Twitter’s content moderation practices under a new owner who for months had pledged to support free speech.

Senate Democrats Urge FTC to Investigate Twitter Over Consumer Protection

Senate Democrats urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Twitter over potential consumer protection violations after changes made to the platform in recent weeks under the helm of new CEO Elon Musk. The senators said “alarming steps” taken under Musk’s control, including allowing users to pay for verification check marks and laying off key staff, undermined the integrity and safety of the platform and may have already violated the FTC’s consent decree for the company.

Google Allegedly Paid Activision Blizzard $350 Million to Stop App Store

Activision Blizzard and Riot Games at one point told Google they might launch their own mobile app stores, according to new documents filed in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against the search giant. The details came to light as part of allegations about major deals signed with the two companies. Google allegedly agreed to pay Activision about $360 million over three years and Riot about $30 million for a one-year deal.

Meta Fires Dozens for Improperly Taking Over Accounts, Sometimes for Bribes

Meta Platforms Inc. has fired or disciplined more than two dozen employees and contractors over the last year whom it accused of improperly taking over user accounts, in some cases allegedly for bribes, according to people familiar with the matter and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Some of those fired were contractors who worked as security guards stationed at Meta facilities and were given access to the Facebook parent’s internal mechanism for employees to help users having trouble with their accounts, according to the documents and people familiar with the matter.

FBI Director Tells Lawmakers China Could Use TikTok for 'Influence Operations'

FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterated the bureau’s longstanding national security concerns about Chinese-owned video app TikTok to lawmakers and said the agency is sharing its views with officials who are weighing a deal that would allow it to keep operating in the U.S. Wray told lawmakers China’s government could use the app to control millions of users’ data or software, and its recommendation algorithm -- which determines which videos users will see next -- “could be used for influence operations if they so choose.”

Jury Orders Intel to Pay $948.8 Million for Infringing VLSI Chip Patent

A federal jury in Texas said Intel Corp. must pay VLSI Technology LLC $948.8 million for infringing a VLSI patent for computer chips. VLSI, a patent-holding company affiliated with the SoftBank Group Corp-owned private equity firm Fortress Investment Group, argued during the six-day trial that Intel's Cascade Lake and Skylake microprocessors violated its patent covering improvements to data processing.

Thousands of Mobile Apps Using Computer Code Developed in Russia

Thousands of smartphone applications in Apple and Google's online stores contain computer code developed by a technology company, Pushwoosh, that presents itself as based in the United States, but is actually Russian, Reuters has found. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States' main agency for fighting major health threats, said it had been deceived into believing Pushwoosh was based in the U.S. capital. After learning about its Russian roots from Reuters, it removed Pushwoosh software from seven public-facing apps, citing security concerns.

Google Agrees to $391.5 Million Privacy Settlement with 40 States

Google agreed to a record $391.5 million privacy settlement with a 40-state coalition of attorneys general on Monday for charges that it misled users into thinking they had turned off location tracking in their account settings even as the company continued collecting that information. Under the settlement, Google will also make its location tracking disclosures clearer starting in 2023.

Australia Formalizes Partnership with Federal Police to Target Cyber Criminals

Australia on formalized a new cyber-policing model in a stepped-up effort to "hunt down" cyber criminal syndicates, following recent hacks impacting millions of Australians. Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil said the government had formalized a permanent partnership between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Signals Directorate — which intercepts electronic communications from foreign countries — to do "new tough policing" on cybercrime.

Cryptocurrency Exchange Says It's Investigating Hacking After Bankruptcy Filing

A day after it filed for bankruptcy, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said that it was investigating “unauthorized transactions” flowing from its accounts, as crypto researchers documented suspicious transfers of $515 million that may have been the result of a hack or theft. John J. Ray III, the newly instated chief executive of FTX, said in a statement that “unauthorized access to certain assets has occurred,” and that the company was in touch with law-enforcement officials and regulators.

FBI Considered Deploying Pegasus Hacking Tools, Documents Reveal

FBI officials made a push in late 2020 and the first half of 2021 to deploy the Pegasus hacking tools — made by the Israeli spyware firm NSO — in its own criminal investigations. The officials developed advanced plans to brief the bureau’s leadership, and drew up guidelines for federal prosecutors about how the FBI’s use of hacking tools would need to be disclosed during criminal proceedings.

Australia May Consider Banning Ransomware Payments After Attacks

Australia's Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the government would consider making illegal the paying of ransoms to cyber hackers, following recent cyber attacks affecting millions of Australians. Australia's biggest health insurer, Medibank Private Ltd., last month suffered a massive cyber attack, as Australia grapples with a rise in hacks.

Hate Speech Surged on Twitter in Week After Musk's Takeover, Report Says

Hate speech surged during the first week of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter, according to a new report released by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Social media analytics tool Brandwatch documented that during the week of Oct. 31, the social media platform saw significantly higher numbers of slurs referring to people in the Black, Jewish and LGBT communities, among others.

EU Antitrust Regulators Launch Probe of Microsoft's Deal for Activision Blizzard

EU antitrust regulators opened a full-scale investigation into Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, warning the deal may hurt competition. The U.S. software company, which announced the deal in January, is betting Activision’s stable of games will help it compete better with leaders Tencent and Sony, with the latter being a critic of the deal.

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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.