Version of Signal Used by Trump's Former NSA Adviser Reportedly Hacked

The unofficial version of Signal used by Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has been hacked, tech site 404 Media said, raising further concern over the security of the communications exchanged at the highest levels of the U.S. government. 404 Media said the hacker exploited a vulnerability in TeleMessage, a Signal-like application which a Reuters photograph appeared to show Waltz using at a cabinet meeting.

Irish Data Protection Commission Fines TikTok $600 Million

Ireland’s data-privacy watchdog fined TikTok about $600 million for failing to guarantee that user data sent to China was protected from government surveillance, a blow to the company’s efforts to convince Western countries that it is safe to use. The Irish Data Protection Commission said that TikTok had failed to demonstrate that any user data it sends to China would be protected from government access under Chinese laws covering things like espionage and cybersecurity.

Microsoft's President Promises 'Continuity of Access' in Europe

Microsoft’s top legal officer said the company would take the U.S. government to court if necessary to protect European customers’ access to its services, as it tries to reassure Europe that Donald Trump will not be able to cut off critical technology. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, commented come as the region grapples with uncertainty over the U.S. president’s long-term commitment to the transatlantic security alliance — and whether he could block access to American technology as leverage in wider negotiations with the bloc.

Conservative Activist Sues Meta for Linking Him to Capitol Riot

Robby Starbuck, the conservative activist, filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta, alleging its artificial intelligence tool smeared him by falsely asserting he participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Starbuck says he discovered the problem last summer when he was waging an online campaign to get Harley-Davidson to change its diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies.

France Accuses Russia of Cyber Attacks on Ministries, Defense Firms

France's foreign ministry explicitly accused Russia's GRU military intelligence agency of mounting cyber attacks on a dozen entities including ministries, defense firms and think tanks since 2021 in an attempt to destabilize France. The accusations, levelled at GRU unit APT28, which officials said was based in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, are not the first by a Western power, but it is the first time Paris has blamed the Russian state on the basis of its own intelligence.

House Approves Bill Criminalizing Posting of Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill aimed at cracking down on the posting of sexual images and videos of people online without their consent, including AI-generated “deepfake” nudes of real people. The bill makes it a federal crime to publish nonconsensual intimate imagery, or NCII, of any person and requires online platforms to remove such imagery within 48 hours when someone reports it.

Publisher Ziff Davis Files Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI

Ziff Davis, the digital publisher behind tech sites like Mashable, PCMag and Lifehacker, sued OpenAI, joining a wave of media companies accusing the artificial intelligence giant of stealing its content. In a 62-page complaint filed in federal court in Delaware, where OpenAI is incorporated, Ziff Davis says the tech company has “intentionally and relentlessly reproduced exact copies and created derivatives of Ziff Davis works,” infringing on the publisher’s copyrights and diluting its trademarks.

EU Fines Apple $570M, Meta $230M for Violating Digital Markets Act

European Union regulators said that Apple and Meta were the first companies to be penalized for violating a new law intended to increase competition in the digital economy, ratcheting up tensions with the Trump administration. Apple was fined 500 million euros ($570 million) and Meta was fined €200 million ($230 million) for breaking the Digital Markets Act, which was adopted in 2022.

Oversight Board Criticizes Meta for Limits on Fact-Checking

Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board sharply rebuked the Facebook and Instagram owner over a policy overhaul in January that cut fact-checking and eased curbs on discussions of contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity. The board, which operates independently but is funded by Meta, urged the world's biggest social media company to assess “potential adverse effects” of the changes, put in place just before U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term.

Florida Sues Snap for Allegedly Creating Addictive Features for Kids

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Snap, the operator of Snapchat, alleging the company hosts features that are addictive for young users. The suit claims Snapchat’s features for infinite scrolling, auto-play videos, push notifications and interactive metrics violate a state law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year.

Americans Reported Record Loss of $16.6 Billion to Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals and online scammers stole a record $16.6 billion last year, the FBI said. The figure, from the FBI’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, is a sharp rise from the $12.5 billion reported in 2023, reflecting the increased prevalence of online scams, particularly ones including cryptocurrency and those targeting older Americans.

Justice Department Asks Judge to Force Google to Sell Chrome Browser

The Justice Department argued before a federal judge in Washington that Google should be forced to divest its Chrome web browser — and make other major changes to its business — to break up what a court last year found was Google’s monopoly on internet search. In August, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Google illegally abused its market power to crush competition in internet search, calling the company a “monopolist” that has “acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”

New Jersey Sues Discord for Misleading Parents About Safety

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit against Discord, alleging the popular messaging app misled parents about its safety features. The complaint follows a multiyear investigation, which claims Discord violated New Jersey consumer protection laws while exposing child users to sexual and violent content, the New Jersey attorney general’s office wrote in a release.

Russian Hackers Increasing Attacks in Europe, Dutch Official Says

Russia is increasing its hybrid attacks aimed at undermining society in the Netherlands and its European allies, and Russian hackers have already targeted the Dutch public service, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said. "We see the Russian threat against Europe is increasing, including after a possible end to the war against Ukraine," MIVD director Peter Reesink said in the agency's annual report.

Google Operates Illegal Monopoly Over Advertising, Judge Rules

Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in some online advertising technology, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, adding to legal troubles that could reshape the $1.86 trillion company and alter its power over the internet. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a 115-page ruling that Google had broken the law to build its dominance over the largely invisible system of technology that places advertisements on pages across the web.

Judge Blocks Ohio Law Requiring Age Verification for Social Media Use

A federal judge struck down Ohio’s law limiting teen social media use, marking another court win for the tech industry group NetChoice fighting similar restrictions nationwide. Judge Algenon L. Marbley granted a permanent injunction against the Social Media Parental Notification Act in a decision for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Officials Taking Steps to Limit DeepSeek's Role in United States

Two months after DeepSeek, China’s artificial intelligence star, rattled Washington and shook Wall Street, U.S. officials are taking steps to crack down on the Chinese start-up and its support from America’s leading chip maker, Nvidia. The Trump administration moved to restrict Nvidia’s sale of A.I. chips to China. It also is weighing penalties that would block DeepSeek from buying U.S. technology and debating barring Americans’ access to its services, said three people with knowledge of the actions who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

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