Judge Refuses to Dismiss Mental Health Suit Against Social Media Companies

A federal judge rejected efforts by major social media companies to dismiss nationwide litigation accusing them of illegally enticing and then addicting millions of children to their platforms, damaging their mental health. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, ruled against Alphabet, which operates Google and YouTube; Meta Platforms, which operates Facebook and Instagram; ByteDance, which operates TikTok; and Snap, which operates Snapchat.

FBI Dismantles Botnet Proxy Network Linked to IPStorm Malware

The FBI dismantled the IPStorm botnet proxy network and its infrastructure following a September plea deal with the hacker behind the operation. The Justice Department said it took down the infrastructure associated with the IPStorm malware — which experts said infected thousands of Linux, Mac, and Android devices across Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

X Failing to Moderate Antisemitic, Other Content, Research Group Says

In the midst of escalating conflict in the Middle East, X is failing to moderate hate speech on its platform that promotes antisemitic conspiracies, praises Hitler and dehumanizes Muslims and Palestinians. In new research, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that researches online hate and extremism, collected a sample of 200 X posts across 101 accounts that featured hate speech.

YouTube to Require Disclosures of Some Content Created by Artificial Intelligence

YouTube announced a series of policy changes that aim to inform viewers when content has been generated by AI. YouTube's new policies, many of which officially go into effect next year, will require content creators to disclose when generative AI is used to create realistic-looking scenes that never took place or depict real people saying fictional things.

Google Sues Unnamed Hackers in India, Vietnam in Facebook-Bard AI Scam

Scammers are capitalizing on the rush of consumer interest in artificial-intelligence tools to steal U.S. small businesses’ social-media-account passwords, Google alleges in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit targets unnamed individuals in India and Vietnam and says the hackers have been tricking small-business owners into clicking on Facebook ads that offer to download Google’s Bard artificial-intelligence chatbot. When they do, the ads hit them with malware that steals their social-media credentials.

Chinese Bank Hit by Ransomware Attack, Disrupting U.S. Treasury Market

A ransomware attack on China’s largest bank has disrupted the U.S. Treasury market by forcing clients of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to reroute trades, market participants said. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association told members that ICBC had been hit by ransomware software, which paralyses computer systems unless a payment is made, according to several people familiar with the discussions.

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.

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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.