Extortion Payments Drop Significantly in Ransomware Cases

Extortion payments from ransomware, a hacking scourge that has crippled hospitals, schools and public infrastructure, fell significantly last year, according to federal officials, cybersecurity analysts and blockchain firms. After ballooning for years, the amount of money being paid to ransomware criminals dropped in 2022, as did the odds that a victim would pay the criminals who installed the ransomware.

Supreme Court Hears Argument About Scope of Section 230 Protections

In a case with the potential to alter the very structure of the internet, the Supreme Court explored the limits of a federal law that shields social media platforms from legal responsibility for what users post on their sites. The justices seemed to view the positions taken by the two sides as too extreme and expressed doubts about their own competence to find a middle ground.

News Outlets Accuse ChatGPT of Using Articles for Training Without Permission

Major news outlets have begun criticizing OpenAI and its ChatGPT software, saying the lab is using their articles to train its artificial intelligence tool without paying them. “Anyone who wants to use the work of Wall Street Journal journalists to train artificial intelligence should be properly licensing the rights to do so from Dow Jones,” Jason Conti, general counsel for News Corp.’s Dow Jones unit, said in a statement provided to Bloomberg News. “Dow Jones does not have such a deal with OpenAI.”

House Judiciary Chair Subpoenas Tech Companies About Content Moderation

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has sent subpoenas to the chief executives of five large U.S. tech companies, demanding information on how they moderate content on their online platforms. The queries are part of House Republicans’ plan to scrutinize communications between the Biden administration and big technology and social-media companies to probe whether they amounted to the censorship of legitimate viewpoints on issues such as Covid-19 policy that ran counter to White House policy.

Boston Jury Convicts Russian Man for Hacking in $90 Million Inside Trading Scheme

A federal jury in Boston has convicted a prominent Russian businessman for his alleged role in a $90 million insider trading scheme that involved hacking into companies and viewing financial data before it became public. Vladislav Klyushin, whose cybersecurity firm reportedly contracted with the Kremlin, was convicted after a 10-day trial of conspiring to commit wire and securities fraud, and of a hacking-related charge, the Justice Department said in a statement.

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Senate Judiciary Members Pursue New Protections for Children Online

Lawmakers are again seeking to pass legislation protecting children from harmful online content, after failing to reach consensus last year. Members of both parties on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they hoped to advance legislation that would place new requirements on social-media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

TikTok Identifies Russian Disinformation Network Targeting Ukraine War

TikTok Inc. identified a Russian disinformation network spreading war propaganda about Ukraine to more than a hundred thousand European users over the summer, the company disclosed. The network operated in Russia, but targeted mostly people in Germany, Italy and the UK in their respective languages. About 1,700 accounts belonging to the network were able to spread anti-Ukrainian messages by masquerading as accounts created by local users. Between July and September 2022 the accounts attracted 133,564 followers, it added.

Hate Speech Group Says Twitter Receiving Revenue from Restored Accounts

Elon Musk’s restoration of 10 Twitter accounts that were banned under the platform’s previous management has generated enough engagement since they returned to the platform to likely generate $19 million in advertising revenue annually, a nonprofit dedicated to countering hate speech online has concluded. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said the 10 accounts were among hundreds thought to have been restored under a “general amnesty” that Musk announced in late November.

EU Officials Call Twitter's Report on Disinformation Incomplete

Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. submitted an incomplete report to the European Union about how it is policing its online posts, EU officials said, drawing regulators’ ire just months before the bloc gets the power to fine companies for insufficient content moderation under a new social-media law. Twitter’s report, published as part of a voluntary code of conduct Twitter and other companies signed last year, lacked quantitative data about how it is tackling what the EU defines as intentionally false or misleading information, the officials said.

Twitter Blocked in Turkey as Country Tries to Recover from Earthquake

Twitter was blocked on several networks inside Turkey, according to NetBlocks, a group that tracks internet outages — taking out a key communication channel for coordinating relief efforts after the devastating earthquake. Alp Toker, the director of NetBlocks, said that the coordinated nature of the block suggested that it was likely the result of a government order.

European Parliament Committee Approves Limits on Access to EU Data

A key committee at the European Parliament agreed to stringent safeguards to prevent non-EU governments from gaining illegal access to EU data, drawing criticism from a tech lobbying group. The Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee will next month seek the support of EU lawmakers for amendments which will allow it to start negotiations with EU countries on the final details of the European Commission's draft Data Act.

Jury Rules Against Creator of 'MetaBirkin' NFTs in Hermès Trademark Case

Luxury brand Hermès International SA won its lawsuit against the digital artist behind “MetaBirkin” nonfungible tokens after convincing a Manhattan federal jury that Mason Rothschild’s sale of the NFTs violated Hermès’ rights to the “Birkin” trademark. The nine-person jury returned a verdict awarding Hermès $133,000 in total damages and also found Rothschild’s NFTs aren’t protected speech under the First Amendment.

Spyware Maker Agrees to Notify Targets of Phone Surveillance, Pay Fine

A New York-based spyware maker has agreed to notify the individuals whose phones were compromised by its mobile surveillance software, following a deal with the New York attorney general’s office announced. Under the agreement, Patrick Hinchy, whose 16 companies promoted apps like PhoneSpector and Highster, will also pay $410,000 in civil penalties for illegally promoting the mobile surveillance software that allowed its customers to spy on another person’s phone without their knowledge.

Intel Says It Could Face Another EU Antitrust Fine Despite 2022 Victory

Intel could face yet another EU antitrust fine despite winning its court fight last year against a 1.06 billion euro ($1.2 billion) penalty imposed 14 years ago for hindering a rival, the U.S. chipmaker said in a regulatory filing. Intel last year convinced Europe's second-top court to scrap the fine handed out by the European Commission in 2009 for giving rebates to four computer makers to buy most of their chips from the company and not from rival Advanced Micro Devices

Biden Administration Urges Congress to Take Action on App Stores

The Biden administration said Google and Apple serve as “gatekeepers” in the mobile app market and urged legislative action to even the playing field, a boost for lawmakers looking to revamp antitrust laws to target the nation’s largest tech companies. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said Google’s and Apple’s policies could harm consumers by inflating prices and reducing innovation, according to a report.

EU Issues Antitrust Warning to Microsoft Over Activision-Blizzard Acquisition

The European Union has issued Microsoft with a formal antitrust warning over its $69 billion bid for Activision-Blizzard, three people close to the matter have told Politico. In a so-called statement of objections sent to the U.S. tech giant on Tuesday, EU antitrust enforcers laid out the reasons why the deal could threaten fair competition on the video game market, the sources said.

India to Block Hundreds of Apps That Offer Betting, Loan Services

India is moving to block 232 apps, some with links to China, that offer betting and loan services in the South Asian market to prevent misuse of the citizens’ data, the state-owned public broadcaster said. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process to enforce an emergency order to ban 138 betting and gambling apps and another 94 that provided unauthorized loan services in the interest of protecting the country’s integrity, the broadcaster said.

Senator, Citing National Security, Asks Apple, Google to Ban TikTok

Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado, called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores because of national security concerns, as bipartisan pressure on the Chinese-owned company escalates. Mr. Bennet, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent the chief executives of Apple and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, a letter saying no company subject to “Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people or curate content to nearly a third of our population.”

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.