Britain Bans TikTok on Government Phones, Joining Other Western Countries

Britain said it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, a move that follows other Western countries who have barred the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

FBI Director Says TikTok 'Screams Out with National Security Concerns'

China's government could use TikTok to control data on millions of American users, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a U.S. Senate hearing, saying the Chinese-owned video app "screams" of security concerns. Wray told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security that the Chinese government could also use TikTok to control software on millions of devices and drive narratives to divide Americans over Taiwan or other issues.

FBI Director Admits Agency Previously Purchased U.S. Location Data

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged for the first time that it purchased U.S. location data rather than obtaining a warrant. While the practice of buying people’s location data has grown increasingly common since the U.S. Supreme Court reined in the government’s ability to warrantlessly track Americans’ phones nearly five years ago, the FBI had not previously revealed ever making such purchases.

YouTube Star Gets 5 1/2-Year Sentence, Forfeits $30M in Video Piracy Case

A YouTube star who built a sizable following with slickly produced videos flaunting his fleet of luxury and sports cars, collection of diamond-encrusted bling, and his spacious home will be forced to give up nearly all of it after he was sentenced to 5½ years in prison for the illegal business that allowed him to amass those trappings of success. Bill Omar Carrasquillo — better known to his more than 800,000 online followers as “Omi in a Hellcat” — pleaded guilty last year to running one of the most brazen and successful cable TV piracy schemes ever prosecuted by the U.S. government.

ITC Bans Imports of Peloton's Video-Streaming Fitness Devices

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned imports of video-streaming fitness devices made by Peloton Interactive Inc. and iFit Inc after a judge found they infringed Dish Network Corp. patents. In a 2021 complaint filed with the ITC, Dish and its Sling TV unit accused Peloton and iFit of infringing four patents for video-streaming technology through imports of products that stream at-home fitness content.

FTC Seeks Internal Documents from Twitter About Protecting Users

The Federal Trade Commission has demanded Twitter Inc. turn over internal communications related to owner Elon Musk, as well as detailed information about layoffs — citing concerns that staff reductions could compromise the company’s ability to protect users, documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal show. In 12 letters sent to Twitter and its lawyers since Mr. Musk’s Oct. 27 takeover, the FTC also asked the company to “identify all journalists” granted access to company records and to provide information about the launch of the revamped Twitter Blue subscription service, the documents show.

Twitter Proceeds with Verification System Despite Promise to EU Watchdog

Twitter has ruffled more regulatory feathers in the European Union by going ahead with a rollout of a much criticized paid verification feature without informing its lead data protection watchdog ahead of time — despite previously saying it would. The product, known as Twitter Blue, lets users pay to get a blue check mark on their account — mimicking the look of the legacy verification feature the platform offered prior to Elon Musk’s takeover of the company last year — as well as access to a suite of additional features, such as the ability to edit tweets, undo tweets and get prioritized ranking in conversations.

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.

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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.