Somalia Suspends TikTok, Telegram, Betting Company for Promoting Immorality

The Somali government has suspended TikTok, Telegram, and 1XBET, a betting company, arguing that they are used by terrorists and groups that promote immorality in the East African country. The Ministry of Communications and Technology ordered Internet providers to block the applications. The decision comes as the fight against jihadist group al Shabaab is flaring up in the country’s central region.

Thailand to Ask Court to Shut Down Facebook Over Scams on 'Fake Pages'

Thailand's digital minister plans to ask a court to shut down Meta Platforms' Facebook in Southeast Asia's second largest economy unless it takes action over scams that have affected more than 200,000 people, he said. “We are asking the court to close Facebook, not allowing it to provide services in Thailand if they let these fake pages scam people," Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn told Reuters.

Russian Court Fines Google for 'False Information' in Video About Ukraine War

A Russian magistrate court fined Google 3 million rubles, or about $32,000, after it allegedly failed to delete a video that contained what Russia claimed to be false information related to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that in addition to “false information,” Google was also found guilty of publishing prohibited information that detailed ways of gaining entry into protected facilities that are not open to minors.

Judge Upholds Ruling Against Copyright Protection for AI-Created Artwork

A federal judge upheld a finding from the U.S. Copyright Office that a piece of art created by artificial intelligence (AI) is not open to protection. The ruling was delivered in an order turning down Stephen Thaler’s bid challenging the government’s position refusing to register works made by AI. Copyright law has “never stretched so far” to “protect works generated by new forms of technology operating absent any guiding human hand,” U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found.

Apple Briefly Removes Glenn Beck's Podcast Episodes in Trademark Dispute

Episodes of Glenn Beck’s show were restored on Apple Podcasts more than five hours after his radio show, “The Glenn Beck Program,” was removed from the platform. Reached for comment, an Apple spokesman told Variety that “The Glenn Beck Program” was removed from Apple Podcasts because of a trademark dispute involving Beck’s podcast and that the issue has since been resolved.

New York Times Considers Suing OpenAI for Using Articles to Train ChatGPT

Lawyers for The New York Times are exploring whether to sue OpenAI to protect the intellectual property rights associated with its reporting, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. For weeks, The Times and the maker of ChatGPT have been locked in tense negotiations over reaching a licensing deal in which OpenAI would pay The Times for incorporating its stories in the tech company's AI tools, but the discussions have become so contentious that the paper is now considering legal action.

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Jury Orders Ex-Boyfriend to Pay $1.2 Billion in Damages in Revenge Porn Case

A Texas woman was awarded $1.2 billion in damages after she sued her former boyfriend and accused him of sending intimate images of her to her family, friends and co-workers from fake online accounts. The woman, who is identified only by the initials D.L. in court documents, sued her former boyfriend, Marques Jamal Jackson, claiming he had psychologically and sexually abused her by distributing so-called revenge porn, a term for sexually explicit photos or videos of someone that are shared without consent.

Nebraska Congressman Says FBI Reports His Email Hacked by Chinese Spies

The suspected Chinese hackers who forged Microsoft customer identities to read the emails of State Department employees also obtained the personal and political emails of Rep. Don Bacon, a moderate Republican from Nebraska on the House Armed Services Committee. Bacon tweeted that he had been notified by the FBI that his emails were hacked by Chinese spies who took advantage of a Microsoft mistake for a month between mid-May and mid-June, which lines up with when investigators said the other breaches occurred.

White House Launches Contest to Encourage AI Usage for Fixing Security Flaws

The White House said it had launched a multimillion-dollar cyber contest to spur use of artificial intelligence (AI) to find and fix security flaws in U.S. government infrastructure, in the face of growing use of the technology by hackers for malicious purposes. "Cybersecurity is a race between offense and defense," said Anne Neuberger, the U.S. government's deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology.

Biden Signs Executive Order Blocking High-Tech Investments in China

President Joe Biden signed an executive order to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward China — a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest powers. The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence.

Book Author Sues Apple for Copyright Infringement Over 'Tetris' Movie

Dan Ackerman, editor in chief of tech news site Gizmodo, alleges Apple TV+ film “Tetris” illegally copied from his book on the popular video game, in a lawsuit he filed seeking at least $4.8 million in damages from Apple and others. Ackerman’s “The Tetris Effect: The Game That Hypnotized the World,” published in 2016, is about the game’s origins in the former Soviet Union and the fight for its global licensing rights.

Supreme Court Blocks Injunction Against App Store in Epic Games Case

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback to Epic Games, maker of the popular video game "Fortnite," in its legal battle against Apple, declining to let a federal judge's injunction take effect that could force the iPhone maker to change payment practices in its lucrative App Store. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan, acting for the Supreme Court, denied Epic's request to lift a decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that effectively delayed implementing an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers barring certain App Store rules, while Apple pursues a Supreme Court appeal.

Two Tech Groups Support TikTok's Lawsuit Over Ban in Montana

Two tech groups backed TikTok in its lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of a Montana state ban on use of the short video sharing app before it takes effect on Jan. 1. NetChoice, a national trade association that includes major tech platforms, and Chamber of Progress, a tech-industry coalition, said in a joint court filing that "Montana's effort to cut Montanans off from the global network of TikTok users ignores and undermines the structure, design, and purpose of the internet."

North Korean Hackers Breached Russian Missile Developer, Researchers Say

An elite group of North Korean hackers secretly breached computer networks at a major Russian missile developer for at least five months last year, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and analysis by security researchers. Reuters found cyber-espionage teams linked to the North Korean government, which security researchers call ScarCruft and Lazarus, secretly installed stealthy digital backdoors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow.

Cyberattack Leads to Shutdown at California-Based Health-Care System

A California-based health-care system faced a cyberattack, shutting down some services at affiliated locations and forcing some to rely on paper records. Prospect Medical Holdings owns more than a dozen hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, and it also operates a network of more than 160 outpatient centers and clinics, its website says.

Russian Hacking Group Targeted Login Credentials for Microsoft Teams

A Russian government-linked hacking group took aim at dozens of global organizations with a campaign to steal login credentials by engaging users in Microsoft Teams chats pretending to be from technical support, Microsoft researchers said. These "highly targeted" social engineering attacks have affected "fewer than 40 unique global organizations" since late May, Microsoft researchers said in a blog, adding that the company was investigating.

Judge Narrows Claims from DOJ, States in Antitrust Suit Against Google

A federal judge said that the Justice Department and a group of states could not move forward with some claims in antitrust complaints against Google, narrowing the scope of what is set to be the most significant federal monopoly trial against a tech giant in decades. In the decision, which was unsealed on Friday, Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed four claims in the lawsuits and allowed government lawyers to move forward with three.

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.