Indian Health Insurer Sues Telegram After Chatbots Leaked Data

Top Indian insurer Star Health has sued Telegram and a self-styled hacker after Reuters reported that the hacker was using chatbots on the messaging app to leak personal data and medical reports of policy holders. The lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of Telegram globally and the arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in France last month, with the app's content moderation and features allegedly abused for illegal activities. Durov and Telegram denied wrongdoing and are addressing the criticism.

WordPress Bans Hosting Provider WP Engine Amid Legal Threats

WordPress drama went up another notch after WordPress.org, the open-source web hosting software, banned hosting provider WP Engine from accessing its resources. In a post on WordPress.org, WordPress co-creator and Automattic CEO, Matt Mullenweg, wrote that pending their legal claims, WP Engine will not have access to the platform’s resources, such as themes and plug-ins.

Google Files Antitrust Complainant Against Microsoft in EU

Google said it has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the European Union, accusing Microsoft of using its dominance in business software to lock clients into its Azure cloud services. The search giant argues Microsoft is violating European competition laws by charging punitive fees for its customers to transfer projects running on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to a competing cloud service.

Former Top Amazon Seller in India Challenges Antitrust Probe

A former top Amazon seller in India has asked a judge to quash an antitrust investigation that found the U.S. e-commerce company and some of its sellers breached local competition laws, court records showed. Antitrust investigations conducted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have found Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart, some of their sellers and smartphone brands, violated local competition laws by giving preference to select online sellers and prioritizing certain listings, Reuters has reported

FTC Files Complaint Against 'The World's First Robot Lawyer'

The Federal Trade Commission announced a crackdown on what the regulator called “deceptive AI claims and schemes” by three business opportunity ventures and two companies, including the legal services firm DoNotPay. The FTC said the five enforcement cases it has filed show how the companies and ventures “have seized on the hype surrounding” artificial intelligence “and are using it to lure consumers into bogus schemes.”

  • Read the article: CNBC

Chinese Hackers Reportedly Broke Into U.S. Internet Service Providers

Hackers linked to the Chinese government have broken into a handful of U.S. Internet service providers in recent months in pursuit of sensitive information, according to people familiar with the matter. The hacking campaign, called Salt Typhoon by investigators, hasn’t previously been publicly disclosed and is the latest in a series of incursions that U.S. investigators have linked to China in recent years.

House Committee Approves Two Child Safety Bills, But Hurdles Remain

A key House committee advanced two high-profile proposals to expand online privacy and safety protections for children, but political hurdles surfaced during the legislative markup that could imperil the effort, despite its broad bipartisan support. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved by voice vote both the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and a bill to update existing federal privacy protections for children, known as COPPA 2.0 — two wins for advocates clamoring for Congress to safeguard minors online.

China, Taiwan Trade Allegations on Military-Backed Hacking Group

China's national security ministry said a Taiwan military-backed hacking group called Anonymous 64 has been carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, urging people to report "anti-propaganda sabotage." Taiwan's defense ministry denied the allegations, saying China was the real disturber of the peace with its cyber attacks and military harassment.

20 State Attorneys General Want Court to Reject Google Settlement

A group of Republican-led states have asked a U.S. appeals court to reject a $62 million consumer privacy settlement with Google, citing large amounts of money awards going to class members’ lawyers and advocacy groups. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) led the group of 20 state attorneys general in arguing to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the settlement “replaces money that could go toward making class members whole with awards to controversial political organizations.”

Commerce Department Seeks Ban on Chinese Software in Cars

The U.S. Commerce Department proposed prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns. The Biden administration has raised serious concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on U.S. drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the internet and navigation systems.

FTC Report Accuses Social Media Platforms of Privacy Violations

Top social media and video streaming companies are facing new scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which released a report accusing the platforms of vastly violating users’ privacy and failing to provide safeguards for kids and teens. The 129-page report found that several social media and video streaming platforms carried out practices in the last four years that “did not consistently” prioritize consumers’ privacy.

More Than Half of U.S. States Urge Limits on AI in Election Communications

As the 2024 election cycle ramps up, at least 26 states have passed or are considering bills regulating the use of generative AI in election-related communications, a new analysis by Axios shows. The review lays bare a messy patchwork of rules around the use of genAI in politics, as experts increasingly sound the alarm on the evolving technology's power to sway or disenfranchise voters.

FBI Says It Disrupted Chinese Hackers Targeting U.S. Infrastructure

The FBI has disrupted a group of Chinese hackers who were working at the direction of the Chinese government to infiltrate critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other countries and to spy on and steal data from universities, government agencies and others, Director Chris Wray said. The hacking campaign known as Flax Typhoon installed malicious software on thousands of internet-connected devices, including cameras, video recorders, and home and office routers, to create a massive botnet — a network of infected computers.

California Governor Signs Laws Against AI-Created Election 'Deepfakes'

California will now require social media companies to moderate the spread of election-related impersonations powered by artificial intelligence, known as “deepfakes,” after Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed three new laws on the subject. The three laws, including a first-of-its kind law that imposes a new requirement on social media platforms, largely deal with banning or labeling the deepfakes.

Pokemon Company Wins $15 Million in Copyright Suit Over Characters

The Pokémon Company has won around $15 million in a copyright lawsuit against a Chinese company that appeared to blatantly use Pokémon characters in its game. As reported by GamesBiz and translated by Automaton, The Pokémon Company announced its success in the lawsuit over Pocket Monster Reissue, also known as Koudaiyaoguai Fuke, a turn based role-playing mobile game alleged to include characters such as Ash Ketchum and Pikachu.

  • Read the article: IGN

Well-Known Russian Influence Group Targets Harris Campaign, Microsoft Says

Russia is now throwing all of its disinformation resources behind operations designed to undermine the Harris-Walz campaign, according to a Microsoft report. Starting in late August, a well-known Russian influence group, called Storm-1516, created and spread two fake videos online to discredit the Harris-Walz campaign, according to the Microsoft report.

Instagram Mandates New 'Teen Accounts' to Restrict Younger Users

Instagram announced its most dramatic effort yet to protect young users from dangers on its platform, implementing new “teen account” settings that will automatically make millions of teen accounts private and restrict what kinds of content those users can view on the app. The change to how Instagram lets teens use its platform comes nearly three years after the explosive “Facebook Papers” first drew mass attention to the risks the platform poses for young users.

  • Read the article: CNN

Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Government's Efforts Against TikTok

A federal appeals court signaled skepticism with TikTok’s legal effort to prevent the U.S. government from forcing the popular social-media app to sever ties with China to keep operating in this country. During morning oral arguments, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit repeatedly questioned TikTok’s challenge to legislation that requires its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell the platform by Jan. 19.

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.