Hong Kong Officials Criticize Google for Pro-Democracy Song in Search Results

Google is under fire from officials and legislators in Hong Kong over a pro-democracy song that is showing up in search results for the national anthem, which raises tensions between American tech giants and authorities as Beijing tries to spread patriotism in the city. Two members of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing legislative council in recent days have joined the city’s chief secretary in criticizing the Alphabet Inc. unit for showing the song, “Glory to Kong Kong,” among its top results.

Australian Competition Regulator Sues Telstra Over Broadband Speed Disclosures

Australian competition regulator took the country's top telecom firm Telstra Corp. to court for failing to inform some customers about downgrading the upload speed of its broadband plan. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) initiated the lawsuit in the Federal Court, alleging Telstra downgraded broadband upload speed for nearly 9,000 residential customers in October and November 2020 without informing them or lowering its charges.

Officials Predict Antisemitic Speech on Twitter Will Lead to Violence

Current and former federal officials are warning that a surge in hate speech and disinformation about Jews on Twitter is uniting and popularizing some of the same extremists who have helped push people to engage in violent protests including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress. The officials are predicting that Twitter will contribute to more violence in the months ahead, citing the proliferation of extreme content, including support for genocidal Nazis by celebrities with wide followings and the reemergence of QAnon proselytizers and white nationalists.

Chinese Hackers Stole Millions of Dollars of Covid Relief Benefits

Chinese hackers have stolen tens of millions of dollars worth of U.S. COVID relief benefits since 2020, the Secret Service said. The Secret Service declined to provide any additional details but confirmed a report by NBC News that said the Chinese hacking team that is reportedly responsible is known within the security research community as APT41 or Winnti.

Facebook Considers 'Removing News' if U.S. Adopts 'Journalism Competition' Act

Facebook warns it could ban news in the U.S. if Congress passes a bill that would require the platform to negotiate with and compensate publishers for their content. Andy Stone, Meta’s head of policy communications, said on Twitter that Facebook will “be forced to consider removing news” from Facebook if the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is passed.

New Zealand Proposes Requiring Online Platforms to Pay for News Content

New Zealand said it would seek to require online platforms like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. to pay news publishers for content, becoming the latest country to wade into a worldwide debate about whether tech giants unfairly benefit from news shared on their platforms. New Zealand’s proposal will be based on a similar law in Australia and introduced legislation in Canada and will be designed to act as an incentive for digital platforms to reach voluntary deals with local news outlets, according to a statement from New Zealand Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson.

Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange Settles with Treasury Department Over Sanctions

Kraken, a U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to pay more than $360,000 to the Treasury Department to settle accusations of sanctions violations involving virtual currency transactions by users in Iran. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Kraken, the second-largest crypto exchange by volume in the United States, had agreed to a settlement for enabling nearly $1.7 million of transactions to individuals who appeared to be in Iran between October 2015 and June 2019.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear $2.75 Billion Patent Case Against Cisco

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a bid by Centripetal Networks Inc to reinstate the largest award in the history of U.S. patent law — $2.75 billion — to be paid by Cisco Systems Inc. in a cybersecurity patent dispute. The justices turned away Reston, Virginia-based cybersecurity company Centripetal's appeal of a lower court's decision to negate the award after the judge who presided over the trial disclosed that his wife owned Cisco stock worth $4,688.

Iranian Government-Backed Hackers Targeted Activists, Human Rights Groups Say

Iranian government-backed hackers targeted nearly two dozen high-profile activists, journalists, diplomats and others in recent months as part of an ongoing espionage effort, two human-rights groups said. In three cases, hackers gained access to the victims’ emails, contacts and other data, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which published the analysis. The hackers also attempted a Google Takeout, which allows users to download their complete Google account including messages, cloud storage and other sensitive information.

FCC Bans Electronic Equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Citing 'National Security'

U.S. regulators imposed a ban on electronic equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., continuing a years-long effort to limit the reach of Chinese telecommunications companies into U.S. networks. The Federal Communications Commission, in an order, also named connected-camera providers Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. and Dahua Technology Co., as well as two-way radio maker Hytera Communications Corp.

U.K. Online Safety Bill Would Ban 'Deepfake' Porn and 'Downblousing'

Nonconsensual “deepfake” pornography and “downblousing” will be made illegal when the online safety bill returns to parliament in December, the government has announced. Explicit images taken without someone’s consent, through hidden cameras or surreptitious photography, will be criminalised, including so-called downblousing pictures.

Musk Says Twitter Plans to Reinstate Most Previously Banned Accounts

Elon Musk plans to reinstate nearly all previously banned Twitter accounts — to the alarm of activists and online trust and safety experts. After posting a Twitter poll asking, “Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” in which 72.4 percent of the respondents voted yes, Musk declared, “Amnesty begins next week.”

New York Governor Signs Bill Regulating Cryptocurrency Mining

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed one of the most restrictive laws in the U.S. on regulating cryptocurrency mining, becoming the first state to impose such a ban. The bill triggers a two-year moratorium on new permits for crypto-mining companies that are powered by fossil fuels and use proof-of-work authentication methods, with millions of computers, to validate transaction data.

Three Democratic Senators Ask Fidelity to Halt Crypto Retirement Plans

Three Democratic senators have asked Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest 401(k) providers, to reverse a decision to allow retirement plan sponsors to expose their participants and employees to bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments. In a letter, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith expressed concern about the crypto market's volatility, highlighted by the collapse and bankruptcy of FTX, the industry's second-largest exchange.

  • Read the article: CNET

Britain's CMA Opens Probe of Apple, Google Mobile Browsers

Britain's competition watchdog launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of the mobile browsers of Apple and Google. Responses to a consultation it launched in June revealed "substantial support" for a fuller investigation into the matter and into whether iPhone-maker Apple restricts cloud gaming through its app store, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said.

Microsoft Warns of Hackers Targeting Energy Sector via Outdated Software

Microsoft has warned that malicious hackers are exploiting a discontinued web server found in common Internet of Things (IoT) devices to target organizations in the energy sector. In an analysis, Microsoft researchers said they had discovered a vulnerable open-source component in the Boa web server, which is still widely used in a range of routers and security cameras, as well as popular software development kits (SDKs), despite the software’s retirement in 2005.

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