European Commission Asked to Force Apple to Make iMessage Interoperable

iMessage serves as “an important gateway between business users and their customers” and should be regulated as a “core” service under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA), said Google and a group of major European telcos in a letter sent to the European Commission, and seen by The Financial Times. Being designated as a “core platform service” would be significant for iMessage, as it could compel Apple to make it interoperable with other messaging services.

Trial Opens in Epic Games' Antitrust Case Against Google

A jury in San Francisco began hearing the antitrust case against Google lodged by Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game. Similarly to its lawsuit against Apple, Epic alleges that Google violated federal antimonopoly law by requiring developers of apps displayed in the Google Play store to channel customer payments through Google, giving the internet giant a cut of revenue.

Meta to Require Disclosures of Artificial Intelligence in Political Ads

Meta Platforms announced that it will require advertisers to disclose when they run political ads with media that has been digitally altered by artificial intelligence or other software ahead of the U.S. presidential election in 2024. The Facebook parent company said that under the new policy, which will go into effect at the start of the new yea, political advertisers will have to disclose when an ad contains an image, video or audio that was digitally created or altered significantly.

CFPB Proposes Regulations for Tech Companies' Digital Payment Services

The top U.S. consumer financial watchdog proposed to regulate tech giants' digital payments and smartphone wallet services, saying they rival traditional payment methods in scale and scope but lack consumer safeguards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) proposal would subject companies like Alphabet, Apple, PayPal and Block's CashApp to bank-like supervision, with CFPB examiners inspecting their privacy protections, executives' conduct and compliance with laws barring unfair and deceptive practices.

TikTok CEO to Meet with Top EU Leaders Amid Concerns About Role in Gaza

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will meet EU industry chief Thierry Breton, EU digital chief Vera Jourova and EU antitrust chief Didier Reynders in Brussels, TikTok said. The visit by Chew, his second to Brussels, comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of TikTok's role in the proliferation of disinformation following Hamas' attack on Israel last month and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

FTC Says Bezos Deleted Internal Communications to Thwart Antitrust Probe

Amazon.com Inc. doubled the number of junk ads to boost profits and deleted internal communications to thwart a federal antitrust probe, according to fresh details released by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in a less redacted complaint against the online retail giant. Amazon’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos personally ordered executives to accept more ads, even ones the company had internally labeled as “defects,” indicating they weren’t relevant to user searches, according to the new version of the complaint.

New Jersey High School Investigating Fake Images of Nude Students

When girls at Westfield High School in New Jersey found out boys were sharing nude photos of them in group chats, they were shocked, and not only because it was an invasion of privacy. The images weren’t real. Students said one or more classmates used an online tool powered by artificial intelligence to make the images, then shared them with others.

Israel's War with Hamas Reignites Debate Over Placing Limits on TikTok

The Israel-Gaza war has again placed TikTok at the center of a heated argument over the globally dominant social media app’s risks and power, with critics saying the popularity of pro-Palestinian videos on the app is more evidence that the app should be banned across the United States. But TikTok creators and social media experts say the reality is more nuanced: that an app with more than 1 billion users globally, including 150 million in the United States, is destined to offer multiple sides to big debates, especially one where positions are sharply divided by age.

New York Adds Limits to Ransom Payments to Cybersecurity Regulations

New York’s financial watchdog published significant updates to its cybersecurity regulations, adding strict provisions around board oversight and ransom payments that go further than recent federal rules. The New York State Department of Financial Services, which oversees banks, insurance firms, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions, expanded its initial cybersecurity rules, published in 2017, because rising cyberattacks require stronger protections, said Adrienne Harris, superintendent of financial services, in a statement.

Lawmakers Want Biden Administration to Respond to China's Use of RISC-V Chips

A wider bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is asking the Biden administration about its plans to respond to China's rising use of RISC-V chip design technology after Reuters last month reported on growing concerns about it in both houses of Congress. RISC-V, pronounced "risk five," is a free open-source technology that competes with costly proprietary technology from British semiconductor and software design company Arm Holdings, and Intel Corp. It can be used as a key part of anything from a smartphone chip to advanced processors for artificial intelligence.

YouTube Limits Recommendations to Teenagers for Sensitive Topics

YouTube has imposed restrictions on how often teens receive repeated video recommendations related to sensitive topics like body image, the company announced. YouTube says the new safeguards are the result of its partnership with the Youth and Families Advisory Committee, which consists of psychologists, researchers, and other experts in child development, children’s media, and digital learning.

Boeing Discloses 'Cyber Incident' Affecting Parts and Distribution Business

Boeing Co. confirmed it is dealing with a “cyber incident” that targeted elements of the parts and distribution business run by its global services division. Flight safety isn’t affected, Boeing said in an emailed statement, adding, “We are actively investigating the incident and coordinating with law enforcement and regulatory authorities.”

Iranian Hackers Attack Key Defense, Intelligence Targets in Middle East

Iranian hackers are waging a sophisticated espionage campaign targeting the country’s rivals across the Middle East and attacking key defense and intelligence agencies, according to a leading Israeli-American cybersecurity company, a sign of how Iran’s quickly improving cyberattacks have become a new, important prong in a shadow war. Over the past year, the hackers struck at countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a monthslong campaign linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, according to a new report by the company, Check Point.

Apple Says Prominent Indian Politicians, Journalists Targeted by Hackers

Apple has warned at least 20 prominent Indians, including opposition politicians and journalists, that they were the target of state-sponsored cyberattacks, in a development that has revived allegations that the government is using electronic surveillance against its domestic political rivals and critics. Parliament members from several opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, the Indian National Congress and Aam Aadmi, posted on the platform X screenshots of Apple emails informing them that their iPhones had been the target of hacking attempts.

Supreme Court Hears Cases Involving Social Media Use by Public Officials

The Supreme Court wrestled with where to draw the line when it comes to the personal social media accounts of government workers and steps to censor comments or block access for certain individual users. In a pair of cases, citizens who were restricted online by local officials sued them for an alleged violation of their First Amendment right to free speech. But the officials insist their online pages are personal property, not part of their official duties, and not public forums.

Canada Bans WeChat, Kaspersky on Government Devices, Citing Privacy, Security

Canada banned Chinese messaging application WeChat and Russian antivirus program Kaspersky on government-issued mobile devices due to privacy and security risks, but said government information had not been compromised. The ban was announced after an assessment by Canada's chief information officer that Tencent-owned WeChat and applications made by Moscow-based Kaspersky "present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security," the Treasury Board of Canada, which oversees public administration, said in a statement.

Judge Dismisses Copyright Infringement Claims Over AI Art Generators

Artists suing generative artificial intelligence art generators have hit a stumbling block in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over the uncompensated and unauthorized use of billions of images downloaded from the internet to train AI systems, with a federal judge’s dismissal of most claims. U.S. District Judge William Orrick found that copyright infringement claims cannot move forward against Midjourney and DeviantArt, concluding the accusations are “defective in numerous respects.”

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.