European Commission Stops Advertising on X, Citing 'Spread of Disinformation'

The European Commission has decided to stop advertising on social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, over “widespread concerns relating to the spread of disinformation,” according to an internal note obtained by Politico's Brussels Playbook. In a note sent to all heads of service and directors general, the Commission’s Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dana Spinant said disinformation on X, especially in relation to the Israel-Hamas war, had led the institution to “recommend to temporarily suspend advertising on this platform until further notice to avoid risks of reputational damage to the Commission.”

TikTok to Ban Content Promoting Bin Laden's 'Letter to America'

TikTok will prohibit content that promotes Osama bin Laden's 2002 letter detailing the former al Qaeda leader's justifications for attacks against Americans, the short-form video app said. Discussions of the 20-year-old letter have spread on the platform this week in the context of debate over the Israel-Hamas war, with some users in the West praising its contents.

Applied Materials Under Criminal Investigation for Evading Export Restrictions

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials is under U.S. criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China's top chipmaker SMIC, according to three people familiar with the matter. The largest U.S. semiconductor equipment maker is being probed by the Justice Department for sending equipment to SMIC via South Korea without export licenses, the sources said. Hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment is involved, one of the people said. Reuters is reporting details of the probe for the first time.

IBM Stops Advertising on X After Report Linking Ad Displays Near Nazi Content

IBM has said it has pulled its global advertising from Elon Musk’s X following a report that the social media platform ran the tech company’s adverts alongside pro-Nazi material, in a fresh blow to the company’s efforts to bring back sales revenues. Left-leaning non-profit Media Matters put out a report saying it had found adverts from big brands including IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity and Bravo running next to content “that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party”.

Australia Says State-Sponsored Groups Target Critical Infrastructure

State-sponsored cyber groups and hackers have increased assaults on Australia's critical infrastructure, businesses and homes, a government report said, adding that its new defence agreement with Britain and the U.S. had likely made it more of a target. Reports of cybercrime surged 23% to more than 94,000 in the financial year to June, the Australian Cyber Security Centre said in its annual threat report.

Google Accuses Hackers of Using AI Interest to Create Risky Downloads

Scammers are taking advantage of unsuspecting online users interested in artificial intelligence (AI) through advertising that steals small businesses’ social media passwords, Google alleges in a lawsuit . The lawsuit alleges hackers in India and Vietnam have been tricking small business owners into clicking on ads that tell users to download its new artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, which was launched in March.

Meta to Allow Political Ads Questioning Legitimacy of 2020 Presidential Election

Meta Platforms will let political ads on Facebook and Instagram question the legitimacy of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, one of several changes the social-media company and other platforms have made to loosen constraints on campaign advertising for 2024. Executives at Meta made the decision based on free-speech considerations after weighing past U.S. elections in which the results might have been contested by a portion of the electorate, according to people familiar with the issue.

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.

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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.