Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Indonesian Unit Hit by Cyber Attack

Commonwealth Bank of Australia said its Indonesian unit, PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC), had been hit by a cyber incident. The incident involves unauthorized access of a web-based software application used for project management, and the bank's Australian systems were segregated from PTBC systems, CBA said, confirming that the unit's services will operate as usual.

Biden's FCC Nominee Withdraws, Citing 'Dishonest and Cruel Attacks'

President Biden’s pick to serve as a telecommunications regulator is withdrawing her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission after a bitter 16-month lobbying battle that blocked her appointment and opened her up to relentless personal attacks. Gigi Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate and former Democratic FCC official who was first nominated by the White House in October 2021, said her decision to withdraw follows “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks” seeded by cable and media industry lobbyists.

New EU-U.S Data Protection Framework Might Not Help Facebook

A new pact to facilitate the safe transfer of EU citizens' personal data to the United States might not come into force in time to avoid a suspension of Facebook's transatlantic data flows, the U.S. firm's lead European regulator said. Facebook owner Meta, which has warned a stoppage could force it to suspend Facebook services in Europe, declined to comment on the possible timing of the regulator's decision or the new pact's entry into force.

Google Releases Audit on How Its Services Impact Civil Rights

Google released an audit examining how its services and policies impact civil rights and racial equity, following years of pressure from advocates and Democratic lawmakers for such a review. The assessment, the existence of which had not been previously reported, has been months in the making and details how the company’s diversity and inclusion policies and approach to content moderation affect marginalized communities, including at its subsidiary YouTube.

TikTok Executives Brief British Political Advisers on Safeguarding User Data

TikTok executives are rolling out what they call “Project Clover,” a charm offensive aimed at convincing European politicians that the video-sharing app is safeguarding user data on the continent. The first stop was London. TikTok executives briefed British political advisers, think tanks and other policy makers on TikTok’s plan to secure the data of European users, people familiar with the matter said.

Senators Plan Legislation Giving Biden Power to Ban TikTok

Two U.S. senators said their efforts to tackle foreign technology threats were advancing and they will unveil legislation aimed at granting President Joe Biden's administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other apps that could pose security risks. A White House spokeswoman told Reuters the administration is "working with Congress" but declined to say if it would endorse the Senate legislation.

Biden's New National Cybersecurity Strategy Urges Mandates on Private Sector

The Biden administration issued a new cybersecurity strategy that calls on software makers and American industry to take far greater responsibility to assure that their systems cannot be hacked, while accelerating efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Department to disrupt the activities of hackers and ransomware groups around the world. For years, the government has pressed companies to voluntarily report intrusions in their systems and regularly patch their programs to fix newly discovered vulnerabilities, much as an iPhone does with automatic updates every few weeks.

Britain's Information Regulator Investigates YouTube for Collecting Children's Data

Britain's information regulator said it would look into an official complaint accusing Alphabet Inc's YouTube of illegally collecting data from millions of children. The complaint lodged by father-of-three Duncan McCann, who is leading the campaign and supported by his employer the advocacy group 5Rights, said the video-streaming platform had broken the newly implemented law by gathering "the location, viewing habits and preferences" of up to 5 million children.

Students' Medical Records Appearing on Dark Web After L.A. School Breach

Families of students in Los Angeles are learning that their kids’ medical records are appearing on the dark web thanks to a notorious ransomware crew that’s extorting academic institutions. Kids’ medical and mental health records, in addition to 2,000 student assessments, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, were published after a breach last year at the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Jack Kelanic, senior IT infrastructure administrator.

House Committee Approves Bill Giving Biden Authority to Ban TikTok

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines to give President Joe Biden the power to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, in what would be the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app. Lawmakers voted 24 to 16 to approve the measure to grant the administration new powers to ban the ByteDance-owned app — which is used by over 100 million Americans — as well as other apps considered security risks.

White House Requires Federal Agencies to Remove TikTok from Official Devices

The White House has announced it's giving federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. According to the guidance memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget, all executive agencies and their contractors must remove TikTok or any app from its parent company, ByteDance, within 30 days of Monday's notice – with few exceptions for national security, law enforcement and research purposes.

More Countries Instituted Internet Shutdowns in 2022 Than Ever, Researchers Say

More countries shut down the Internet in 2022 than ever before, according to a new report by digital rights researchers, as the threat of “digital authoritarianism” races up the agenda of many governments worldwide. Authorities in 35 countries instituted Internet shutdowns at least 187 times, according to the New York-based digital rights watchdog Access Now.

New 'Take It Down' Tool to Help Remove Explicit Images of People Under 18

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched a tool that allows young people to remove explicit images of themselves that appear online, or block such photos from being shared. The platform, known as Take It Down, allows young adults from anywhere in the world to submit an anonymous report about explicit or intimate images of themselves posted on certain online spaces.

Copyright Office Rejects Protection for AI-Created Images in Graphic Novel

Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters. "Zarya of the Dawn" author Kris Kashtanova is entitled to a copyright for the parts of the book Kashtanova wrote and arranged, but not for the images produced by Midjourney, the office said in its letter.

Judge Rejects Meta's Request to Overturn $175M Verdict Over Walkie-Talkie App

A federal judge in Austin, Texas rejected a request by Meta Platforms Inc's to throw out a $175 million jury patent verdict for walkie-talkie app maker Voxer Inc. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel's decision leaves intact the jury's finding that Meta's Facebook Live and Instagram Live live-streaming technology infringed two Voxer patents related to video streaming and messaging.

Pro-Kremlin Accounts Using Twitter's New Verification System for Prominence

Accounts pushing Kremlin propaganda are using Twitter’s new paid verification system to appear more prominently on the global platform, another sign that Elon Musk’s takeover is accelerating the spread of politically charged misinformation, a nonprofit research group has found. The accounts claim to be based outside of Russia, so they can pay for verification without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

Google Testing Blocks on Access to News for Some Canadian Users

Alphabet Inc's Google is rolling out tests that block access to news content for some Canadian users, the company confirmed, in what it says is a test run of a potential response to the government's online news bill. The "Online News Act," or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April by Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, laid out rules to force platforms like Meta's Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Twitter Case on Aiding Terrorists

The Supreme Court heard arguments over whether internet platforms may be sued for aiding and abetting international terrorism by failing to remove videos supporting the Islamic State. The case, which concerns a federal law allowing suits for “knowingly providing substantial assistance” to terrorists, was linked to one argued that considered the separate question of whether platforms are immune from lawsuits under a 1996 law that shields them from liability for what their users post.

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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.