Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to Pressure Social Media

The Supreme Court handed the Biden administration a major practical victory, rejecting a challenge to its contacts with social media platforms to combat what administration officials said was misinformation. The court ruled that the states and users who had challenged the contacts had not suffered the sort of direct injury that gave them standing to sue.

Apple Won't Release 'Apple Intelligence' in EU, Citing 'Regulatory Uncertainties'

Apple said it won’t release three recently announced features, including its flagship “Apple Intelligence” AI product, in the European Union in 2024 due to “regulatory uncertainties” stemming from the bloc’s Digital Markets Act antitrust regulation. Apple said in a statement that the features — Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring, and enhancements to its SharePlay screen-sharing product — won’t be available to EU customers due to Apple’s belief “that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security.”

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Five Men Convicted for Role in 'Jetflicks' Illegal Streaming Service

Five men were convicted by a federal jury in Las Vegas for their part in operating Jetflicks, which officials say was one of the largest illegal streaming services in the U.S. Jetflicks, which charged $9.99 per month for the streaming service, generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue and caused “substantial harm to television program copyright owners,” the Justice Department said.

TikTok Filing Calls Potential U.S. Ban 'Extraordinary Restriction on Speech'

TikTok detailed why it thinks the new federal law that could lead to a ban of the popular video app in January is unconstitutional, calling the legislation an “extraordinary restriction on speech.” The company said that Congress did not consider the law — which would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the popular social media app or face a ban in the United States — with nearly enough scrutiny and care.

Biden Administration Bans Kaspersky Antivirus Software, Citing Russian Risks

The Biden administration announced plans to bar the sale of antivirus software made by Russia's Kaspersky Lab in the United States, with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo saying that Russia's influence over the company poses a significant security risk. The software's privileged access to a computer's systems could allow it to steal sensitive information from American computers or install malware and withhold critical updates, enhancing the threat, a source said, noting that Kaspersky's customers include critical infrastructure providers and state and local governments.

N.Y. Governor Signs Bill Limiting 'Addictive' Social Media Feeds for Kids

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed two bills into law that aim to protect kids and teens from social media harms, making it the latest state to take action as federal proposals still await votes. One of the bills, the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, will require parental consent for social media companies to use “addictive feeds” powered by recommendation algorithms on kids and teens under 18.

Hackers Demand $50 Million from UK Lab-Services Provider

A cohort of Russian-speaking hackers is demanding $50 million from a UK lab-services provider to end a ransomware attack that has paralyzed services at London hospitals for weeks, according to a representative for the group. Qilin, as the group is known, confirmed through the representative that it had breached the pathology services company Synnovis and demanded the money in exchange for code to unlock affected computers. In an interview, the representative said the hackers were preparing to post online data stolen in the attack.

U.S. Sues Adobe for 'Barriers' to Canceling Subscriptions

U.S. regulators sued Adobe over claims that the company made it difficult to cancel subscriptions to Photoshop and other software, an escalation by regulators in a crackdown against such practices. The Justice Department said in its lawsuit that Adobe hid details of an expensive cancellation fee from consumers “in fine print and behind optional text boxes and hyperlinks.”

FTC Refers Complaint Against TikTok for Violating Children's Privacy Act

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it had referred a complaint against the social media platform TikTok and its parent company ByteDance over potential violations children's privacy to the Justice Department. In March, a source told Reuters the FTC could resolve a probe into TikTok over allegedly faulty privacy and data security practices by either filing suit or reaching a settlement.

Surgeon General Wants Warning Label on Social Media Platforms

The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced that he would push for a warning label on social media platforms advising parents that using the platforms might damage adolescents’ mental health. Warning labels — like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products — are one of the most powerful tools available to the nation’s top health official, but Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally require them; the action requires approval by Congress.

Google Lays Off Members of Its Legal Investigations Support Team

Google cut a group of workers from the team responsible for making sure government requests for its users’ private information are legitimate and legal, raising concerns among workers and privacy experts that the company is weakening its ability to protect customer data. Google laid off about 10 members of its Legal Investigations Support team late last month and told another group of about 10 that they would have to move cities or leave the company, effectively leading them to resign, according to a person familiar with the team’s operations and the firings.

Canada's Largest School District Investigating Ransomware Attack

Canada’s largest school district is investigating a cyber incident, adding to a series of ransomware attacks that have caused disruptions to companies and public institutions in the country. The Toronto District School Board alerted parents in an emailed letter, noting that the attack happened when an unauthorized party gained access to the board’s technology testing environment.

Justice Department Asked to Investigate YouTube's 'Living Room Dominance'

Tech and competition watchdog groups have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to probe YouTube, saying the video-streaming platform could enable Google and its parent company, Alphabet, to dominate home entertainment. In a letter, to Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, the American Economic Liberties Project, Demand Progress and nine other groups expressed concern about YouTube's growth as a competitor to cable and streaming services and its pre-installation on smartphones and TVs sold in the U.S.

New York Passes Bill Banning Social Media Algorithms for Children

New York’s Legislature passed a bill that would ban social media platforms from using "addictive" recommendation algorithms for child users. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids act will prohibit social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram from serving content to users under the age of 18 based on recommendation algorithms, meaning that, instead, social media companies will have to provide reverse-chronological feeds for child users.

European Group Targets Meta's Plan to Use Personal Data for AI Training

A Meta plan to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models without seeking consent came under fire from advocacy group NOYB, which called on privacy enforcers across Europe to stop such use. NOYB (none of your business) urged national privacy watchdogs to act immediately, saying recent changes in Meta's privacy policy, which come into force on June 26, would allow it to use years of personal posts, private images or online tracking data for the Facebook owner's AI technology.

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