EU Lawmakers Combat U.S. Accusations About Tech Competition Rules

A group of European Union lawmakers wrote to top U.S. officials to push back on accusations that the bloc is using its new digital competition rules to treat American tech giants unfairly, saying that some U.S. companies are calling for its enforcement. EU lawmakers called for regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to work together to take on Big Tech, and said claims that EU tech laws undermine relations or act in effect as a tax on American companies are unfounded.

House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Alphabet Over Content Moderation

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Alphabet, seeking its communications with former President Joe Biden's administration about content moderation policies. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican, also asked the YouTube parent company for similar communications with companies and groups outside government, according to a copy of the subpoena seen by Reuters.

Secret Service Seizes Website of Russian Cryptocurrency Exchange

The U.S. Secret Service, working with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies, has taken down and seized the website of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being associated with darknet markets and ransomware hackers. The official Garantex website was replaced with a notice saying the exchange’s domain has been seized by the Secret Service following a warrant by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Trump Issues Executive Order to Create Strategic Reserve of Crypto

U.S. President Donald Trump on social media announced the names of five digital assets he expects to include in a new U.S. strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, spiking the market value of each. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano.

U.S. Regulators Dismantling Crackdown on Crypto Industry

Just over a month since President Trump’s inauguration, U.S. regulators have almost entirely dismantled a yearslong government crackdown on the crypto industry, a volatile sector rife with fraud, scams and theft. Regulators are following through on campaign promises that Mr. Trump made last year, as he courted donations from deep-pocketed crypto investors and marketed his own digital currency to the public.

Chinese Authorities Tell AI Entrepreneurs to Avoid Visiting U.S.

Chinese authorities are instructing top artificial-intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers to avoid visiting the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, reflecting Beijing’s view of the technology as an economic and national security priority. The authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could divulge confidential information about the nation’s progress.

Hegseth Orders U.S. Cyber Command to Stop Attacks on Russia

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia, according to a current official and two former officials briefed on the secret instructions. The move is apparently part of a broader effort to draw President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia into talks on Ukraine and a new relationship with the United States.

Online Education Company Sues Google for Eroding Demand

Alphabet's Google Internet search engine is eroding demand for original content and undermining publishers' ability to compete with its artificial intelligence-generated overviews, a U.S. educational technology company said in a lawsuit. Chegg, an online education company that offers textbook rentals, homework help, and tutoring, said in the lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., that Google is co-opting publishers' content to keep users on its own site, erasing financial incentives to publish.

Data on 3.3M Exposed in Breach at Employee Screening Company

DISA Global Solutions, a U.S.-based provider of employee screening services, has said it suffered a data breach that affects more than 3.3 million people. DISA, which provides services like drug and alcohol testing and background checks to more than 55,000 enterprises and a third of Fortune 500 companies, confirmed the data breach in a filing with Maine’s attorney general.

European Court Rules Against Google in Android Auto Case

Alphabet unit Google's refusal to allow an e-mobility app developed by Enel access to its Android Auto platform can be considered an abuse of its market power, Europe's top court said as it sided with Italy's antitrust authority. The Italian watchdog fined Google 102 million euros ($106.7 million) in 2021 for blocking Enel's JuicePass on Android Auto, software that allows drivers to navigate with maps on their car dashboards and send messages while behind the wheel.

Indonesia Lifts iPhone Ban as Apple Agrees to $1 Billion Investment

Indonesia and Apple Inc. have agreed on terms to lift the country’s ban on iPhone 16s, said people familiar with the matter, paving the way to end a five-month tug-of-war that forced the US tech giant to raise its promised investment in the country to $1 billion. The Ministry for Industry, which is responsible for upholding the ban, is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with Apple as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the talks, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

More States Propose Bills to Require Age Checks in App Stores

The fight over online child safety is reigniting in state legislatures across the country this year, pitting social-media titan Meta Platforms against app-store giants Apple and Google in a dispute over who should verify the ages of users. At least nine states, including Utah and South Carolina, recently proposed bills that would require app-store operators to check the ages of users and get parental consent before letting minors download apps.

Apple Drops Encryption in U.K. to Avoid Complying with Access Law

Two years after Apple introduced an encrypted storage feature for iPhone users, the company is pulling those security protections in Britain rather than comply with a government request that it create a tool to give law enforcement organizations access to customers’ cloud data. Apple is removing the feature after the British government demanded the company create a back door that would allow intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials to retrieve iPhone user data from data centers around the world, according to two people familiar with the request, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the British government’s demand.

Apple Says U.K. Competition Remedies Could Harm Innovation

Apple has told Britain's competition regulator that some of the remedy options proposed by the watchdog to address concerns in the mobile browser market would impact the iPhone maker's incentive to innovate. The responses from Apple and Google to the regulator's investigation in the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices in the country were published on the government website.

Apple, Google Restore TikTok to App Stores After DOJ Assurance

Apple and Google restored TikTok to their U.S. app stores, several weeks after they removed the Chinese-owned video platform to comply with a new law that banned it in the country. Apple and Google had recently received letters from the Justice Department assuring them that they would not face fines for carrying TikTok in their app stores, said two people with knowledge of the communications, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Mexican President Attacks Google for Using 'Gulf of America' Name

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum accused Google of violating the country’s sovereignty, leaving open the possibility of a lawsuit over the tech company labeling the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in its maps feature. Sheinbaum argued President Trump’s executive order renaming the gulf applied only to the area of the continental shelf under U.S. control, according to a translation by CNN.

Australian Children Said to Easily Evade Social Media Age Limits

Children in Australia are able to easily bypass the minimum age limit imposed by social media platforms ahead of a landmark ban by the government on access for those under 16, a report by the country's online safety regulator showed. ESafety's report combined results from a national survey on social media usage by eight to 15-year olds, along with responses from eight services including Alphabet's YouTube, Meta's Facebook and Amazon's Twitch.

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.