EU Fines Meta $1.3 Billion for Transferring User Data from Europe to U.S.

Meta was fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) and ordered to stop transferring data collected from Facebook users in Europe to the United States, in a major ruling against the social media company for violating European Union data protection rules. The penalty, announced by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, is potentially one of the most consequential in the five years since the European Union enacted the landmark data privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation.

Supreme Court Refuses to Address Section 230 Protections in YouTube Case

The Supreme Court sidestepped a ruling on the legal shield that protects Internet companies from lawsuits relating to content posted by users in a case concerning allegations that YouTube was liable for suggesting videos promoting violent militant Islam. The court in a brief unsigned opinion did not decide the legal question of whether liability protections enshrined in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act safeguard YouTube’s alleged conduct.

D.C.'s Metro Transit Network Breached by Russian Computer, Report Says

A personal computer in Russia was used to breach Metro’s computer network earlier this year after the transit agency repeatedly was warned that cybersecurity deficiencies left its systems open to information theft and national security threats, according to a report. The unauthorized January log-in into Metro’s cloud-based system from a computer belonging to a former I.T. contractor drew the attention of Metro’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

China Shuts Down 100,000 Accounts for Misrepresenting News Outlets

China has intensified efforts to clean up the Internet from false news and rumors, closing more than 100,000 online accounts over the past month that misrepresented news anchors and media agencies, its cyberspace regulator said. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate "fake news" and impersonate state-controlled media.

U.S. Announces $10 Million Reward for Arrest in Russian Ransomware Case

U.S. authorities announced criminal charges, economic sanctions and a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a Russian man accused of participating in a global ransomware campaign called Babuk, whose victims allegedly included the D.C. police department, an airline and other American industries. The Department of the Treasury imposed an economic ban on financial dealings with Mikhail Matveev, calling him a central figure in launching cyberattacks against U.S. law enforcement, businesses and critical infrastructure in 2021.

Appeals Court Refuses to Lift Approval Requirement for Musk's Tesla Tweets

Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost an appeal to unwind parts of a consent decree that he and the automaker struck with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle civil securities fraud charges in 2018. The ruling, issued by a federal appeals court, affirms a prior decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which issued the initial denial.

EU to Allow Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard After Concessions

Microsoft’s faltering $69 billion bid to buy the video game company Activision Blizzard received a glimmer of hope when European Union regulators approved what would be the largest consumer tech deal in two decades. E.U. officials said they would allow the deal after Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox console, made concessions to ensure that rival companies of new online gaming services would have continued access to titles developed by Activision, such as the hugely popular Call of Duty.

Cyberattack Prevents Philadelphia Inquirer from Printing Sunday Edition

The Philadelphia Inquirer and outside cybersecurity experts continued Sunday to scramble to restore systems after an apparent cyberattack disrupted operations over the weekend. The Inquirer had been unable to print its regular Sunday newspaper, and it was not clear until late Sunday afternoon that it would be possible to print Monday’s editions of The Inquirer and Daily News newspapers.

FBI Disables Malware Used by Russia to Steal Government Documents

U.S. authorities said they disabled a piece of malware Russia’s intelligence agency has allegedly used for two decades to steal documents from NATO-allied governments and others, in an operation that highlights the FBI’s increasing efforts to go beyond arresting hackers and find new ways to disrupt cyberattacks. The operation effectively hobbled one of Russia’s most well-known and oldest cyber espionage groups, officials and security experts said, a vaunted hacking team that has been previously linked to devastating thefts of U.S. secrets.

Twitter Criticized for Allowing Graphic Images After Texas Mall Shooting

Graphic images began circulating on Twitter showing bloody victims of a mass shooting at a mall in Texas that left at least nine people, including the gunman, dead. Many Twitter users who criticized the social network for allowing the grisly images — including of a blood-spattered child — to spread virally across the platform after the shooting.

Meta Threatens to End News Content on Facebook, Instagram in Canada

Meta Platforms Inc. said it would end news content on Facebook and Instagram in Canada if lawmakers pass legislation to force social-networking platforms to pay media publishers to feature their work. “We’ve taken the difficult decision that if this flawed legislation is passed, we will have to end the availability of news content on Facebook and Instagram in Canada,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said in a statement.

Draft Document Sets Requirements for Non-EU Companies to Get Security Label

Amazon, Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and other non-European Union cloud service providers looking to secure an EU cybersecurity label to handle sensitive data can only do so via a joint venture with an EU-based company, according to an EU draft document seen by Reuters. U.S. tech giants and others involved in the joint venture can only have a minority stake, and employees that have access to EU data would have to undergo specific screening and have to be located in the 27-country bloc, the document said.

Chinese Police Arrest Man for Using ChatGPT to Create Fake News Article

Chinese police arrested a man they allege used ChatGPT to create a fake news article about a train crash, in what appears to be the first case of enforcement action being taken in China under an unprecedented law related to artificial intelligence. The case highlights Chinese authorities’ push to regulate and control uses of AI as the technology gets more advanced.

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Pornhub Blocks Users from Utah as Age-Verification Law Goes Into Effect

The pornography website Pornhub blocked all internet users in Utah from accessing the explicit content on its pages in protest of an age-verification law that requires providing identification. The law is intended to protect minors from exposure to explicit adult content, its supporters have said, but Pornhub has said that the measure is too restrictive.

French Competition Authority Requires Meta to Change Ad Verification Rules

France's antitrust watchdog gave Facebook-owner Meta two months to change its access rules for ad verification partners, saying the company was potentially taking unfair advantage of a dominant market position in online advertising. In a statement, the competition authority said Meta must publish new access criteria for partners seeking to use its analytical tools to assess whether online ad campaigns have been actually seen by people and are not displayed in a way that could harm the reputation of the brand.

Data on 3 Million People Stolen in Year's Largest Health Data-Related Breach

Millions of people across the U.S. had reams of personal and health information stolen in a mass-hack targeting dozens of companies, including healthcare providers, according to new filings with the federal government. NationBenefits, a Florida-based technology company that offers supplementary benefits to its 20 million-plus members across the U.S., confirmed in April that hackers had stolen member data as the result of a mass ransomware attack targeting customers who used Fortra’s GoAnywhere file-transfer software.

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