Month: July 2021

Internet Governance State AGs Fight To Keep Facebook Antitrust Suit Alive: The Attorneys General of 48 states appealed the recent dismissal of their suit against Facebook, which alleges that the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were unlawfully anticompetitive.

Privacy Instagram Implements Measures To Protect Young Users: A series of safety changes include making the accounts of new users under 16 private by default, limiting the extent to which advertisers can target users under 18, and limiting interactions between users under 16 and accounts that engage in “potentially suspicious behavior.” Proposed Kids Privacy Law Aims To Strengthen Privacy For Youth Online: The Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Children and Youth Act would extend the application of existing children’s privacy laws to those under 18, broaden the scope of covered websites, ban targeted advertising towards children, and direct the Federal Trade Commission to open a youth privacy division, among other things.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Biden Warns Of “Real Shooting War” Resulting From Cyberattacks: In a speech at the Office for the Director of National Intelligence, the President warned that continued cyberattacks that freeze American infrastructure, such as the recent ones supposedly originating from Russia and China, could result in war.

Free Expression and Censorship Apple Cracking Down On Internal Employee Discussions About Remote Work: The company shut down Slack channels employees have used to discuss working conditions in anticipation of office re-openings following the Covid-19 pandemic; the company recently announced that employees should plan to return to in-person work in the fall, but many employees want more flexibility. World Of Warcraft Will Begin Restricting Inappropriate Content: In the wake of a sexual harassment and workplace discrimination lawsuit filed last week against the game’s developer, the popular role-playing game’s team will work to remove “references that are not appropriate for [their] world.”

Practice Note Georgia Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Facebook Post About Alleged Spa Shooter: The judge, whose post defends comments made by a law enforcement officer about the suspect that were criticized as being insensitive, is accused of acting in a way that undermines confidence in the judiciary.

On the Lighter Side 1 Billion Rickrolls And Counting: The YouTube video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” which is the subject of the long-popular “Rickroll” prank, has surpassed 1 billion views.

Olivier Sylvain Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance European Commission Proposes To Make Crypto Transactions More Transparent: Proposed rules designed to curb money laundering and terrorism financing would require that crypto-asset transfers be treated like wire transfers so that transactions include certain information about senders and recipients.

Privacy Mobile Device Data Purchased From Data Broker Outs Priest For Alleged Sexual Misconduct: A high-ranking member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops resigned following an investigation and report by a Catholic-focused media outlet that claimed that data from the priest’s mobile device showed that he frequented gay bars and often used the gay dating app Grindr; the story sheds light on the propriety of being able to track individuals using “national security-style surveillance technology.”

Information Security and Cyberthreats Fourth Hacker Arrested In Connection With July 2020 Twitter Hack: The 22-year-old hacker known to deal in usernames was arrested for his role in last year’s plot to take over celebrity Twitter accounts to perpetrate a bitcoin scam.

Intellectual Property FTC Pledges To Enforce Competition In Repair Market: In a unanimously-approved policy statement, the Commission announced that it plans to make unlawful repair restrictions an enforcement priority by, among other things, evaluating whether they violate antitrust laws or amount to unfair or deceptive practices.

Free Expression and Censorship Twitter Suspends Account Of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene For Spreading Covid Misinformation: The congresswoman from Georgia saw her account disabled for twelve hours after she posted incorrect information about Covid’s dangerousness; Greene called the ban “a Communist-style attack on free speech.” Facebook Blocks #VaccinesKill Hashtag Following Backlash: After long concluding that the hashtag did not violate its policies, the social network has reversed course and blocked content containing it; the move comes in the wake of recent criticism from President Biden that social media companies’ failures to curb misinformation are “killing people.”

Practice Note Compelled Biometric Decryption Features In Insurrection Case: A federal judge granted a Department of Justice request to compel a defendant held in connection with the January 6 riot to use facial recognition to unlock his laptop, which prosecutors believe stores 6 gigabytes of video footage that the defendant took while at the Capitol.

On the Lighter Side Skip The Trip To The Eye Doc With Warby Parker’s New Vision Test App: The popular eyeglasses company will help customers see if their prescription is up-to-date using an app-based vision test.

Olivier Sylvain Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance Facebook Petitions FTC For Kahn Recusal In Antitrust Suit: The company argues that the recently-elevated Chair of the Commission “has already drawn factual and legal conclusions and deemed [Facebook] a lawbreaker,” pointing to her prior work and public statements about the company’s position with respect to antitrust law. India Bans Mastercard From Issuing New Cards: The Reserve Bank of India issued the ban after Mastercard allegedly failed to comply with data storage rules requiring that certain data be maintained in the country; while the ban will not affect existing customers, it is expected to impact banks and businesses, who must now strike new deals with other networks.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Ring Rolls Out End-To-End Encryption Globally: The opt-in feature, which ensures that footage from the home-security camera is viewable only on its owner’s enrolled device and can’t be accessed by Ring itself, is now available on 13 different Ring products and is rolling out globally. Prominent Cybercriminal Group Goes Offline: REvil, the hacking group that is largely blamed for the cyberattack that affected software used by hundreds of businesses just before the Fourth of July, inexplicably went offline; signs suggest that the disappearance is not the result of an offensive campaign or government action against the group

Intellectual Property French Competition Regulator Fines Google €500 Million For Violating News Copyright Order: The fine was levied after Google was found to have violated an April 2020 ruling requiring that it negotiate in good faith with publishing and news companies to license their copyrighted content for reuse on the basis that Google’s licensing deals with the French press failed to contemplate remuneration for uses of content covered by the press’s “neighboring rights.”

Free Expression and Censorship Twitter Account Verification Hits Snags As Fake Accounts Are Verified: The company claims that gaps in training and procedures in a verification process rolled out in May have led to a number of fake accounts being verified; verification is designed to help users determine whether an account is authentic.

Practice Note Texas AG Paxton Stops Blocking Twitter Critics: Attorney General Paxton and the Knight First Amendment Institute filed a joint stipulation in Texas federal court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Paxton’s blocking of critics on his official Twitter account is unconstitutional.

On the Lighter Side Clippy The Paperclip Lives Again: The cartoon-paperclip virtual assistant that famously guided users through Microsoft Office’s features until the mid-2000s has been resurrected as the newest emoji in Microsoft 365 products.

Olivier Sylvain, Academic Director, Fordham CLIP
Tom Norton, Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance Three Dozen States Sue Google Over Alleged App Store Monopoly: Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia argue in the suit that the company uses anti-competitive tactics to limit competition in Android app distribution to preserve its 30 percent commission from developers who make their apps available on the Google Play app store; the company counters that the suit ignores Google’s openness to alternative means of app distribution and is designed to benefit a handful of major app developers. Twitter Purportedly Stripped Of Immunity For User-Generated Content In India: A filing by the Modi administration in a defamation case against the company announced that Twitter has lost its protection from liability as a result of its repeated failure to comply with the country’s IT rules.

Privacy EU Allows Tech Companies To Screen Messages For Child Sex Abuse: The temporary emergency measures, which were passed after last year’s European Electronics Communications Code inadvertently prohibited companies from screening for content related to child sex abuse, allow companies to resume such screening; although the screening must be conducted under human oversight, including by data protection authorities, lawmakers express concern that the measures threaten privacy.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Russian Hackers Target GOP Systems: State-backed hackers affiliated with the Cozy Bear hacking group attacked Synnex, a contractor that provides tech services to the Republican National Committee; the hack bears similarities to the SolarWinds attack, and comes in the wake of numerous other recent attacks on U.S. infrastructure.

Intellectual Property Biden To Issue Executive Order Supporting Right-To-Repair: The order will ask the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules that prohibit companies from preventing consumers from performing their own repairs or having repairs performed by third-parties; while the order will be focused on the agriculture industry, it may ultimately have an impact on everyday tech.

Free Expression and Censorship Trump Sues Facebook, Twitter, And Google Over Alleged Censorship: In suits against the tech companies and their CEOs, the former president alleges that the companies’ bans of his social media accounts following the January 6th insurrection violate his First Amendment rights; consensus among legal experts is that the suits are meritless, and the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policy Institute has used the suits as a fundraising opportunity. Big Tech Companies Threaten To Cease Operations In Hong Kong Over Doxxing Law: Through the tech alliance Asia Internet Coalition, companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter have communicated to Hong Kong authorities that they may stop operations in the territory if amendments to its data protection law that would make them liable for doxxing campaigns come into effect.

On the Lighter Side Get A Job With #TikTokResumes: Nearly three dozen companies are participating in a pilot program that lets people apply to jobs by submitting a video resume via TikTok.

Olivier Sylvain Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance Antitrust Complaints Against Facebook Dismissed: The Federal Trade Commission’s initial antitrust complaint against Facebook was dismissed on the basis that the FTC failed to plead enough support for its claim that Facebook is a monopoly; a similar, separate antitrust suit brought by the attorneys general of 48 states was also dismissed. Adequacy Decisions Allow For Data Flow Between EU And UK: The European Commission adopted two decisions finding that the United Kingdom provides an adequate level of data protection, which ensures that data can lawfully flow between the UK and the bloc after the expiration of a post-Brexit transition phase; the adequacy decisions are set to expire after four years, but will be renewed upon a showing that the UK continues to ensure an adequate level of protection.

Privacy Report Finds That Federal Agencies Lack Transparency Around Facial Recognition Use: A report by the Government Accountability Office found that thirteen of the twenty U.S. federal agencies that use facial recognition technology have little awareness of which private or non-federal systems their employees use. Maine Passes Country’s Strongest Ban On Government Use Of Facial Recognition Tech: The new law prohibits most government use of the technology, plugs loopholes that previously allowed law enforcement to run searches via unofficial channels, and requires that logs of searches be maintained as public records.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Second LinkedIn Breach Exposes 700 Million Users’ Information: Following a similar breach in April, LinkedIn has once again been breached, and the hackers have posted user information including phone numbers, geolocation data, and inferred salaries for sale online; the hackers obtained the data by misusing the site’s official API.

Free Expression and Censorship Florida Social Media Law Enjoined: The law, which would punish social media companies for deplatforming or banning politicians or political candidates for violating the companies’ terms, was found to threaten free-speech rights by “[compelling] providers to host speech that violates their standards—speech they otherwise would not host—and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would.”

Practice Note SCOTUS Narrows Scope Of FCRA Class Action Based On Standing: In TransUnion v. Ramirez, the Court determined that over three-quarters of an 8,185-plaintiff class in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case lacked standing because they did not suffer a concrete injury as a result of the FCRA violations alleged.

On the Lighter Side This Beer Bot Keeps You Refreshed Wherever You Go: Just in time for summer, Heineken’s limited-edition BOT (Beer Outdoor Transporter) carries twelve cold ones and can follow you almost wherever you’re headed.

Olivier Sylvain Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP