Month: April 2022

Internet Governance New EU Law Would Allow Authorities to Declare a State of Emergency on the Web: European Union officials agreed to add a “crisis mechanism” into the new Digital Services Act, which would grant authorities “significant influence” over how major tech platforms are run during wars and pandemics. While lawmakers have reached a political agreement about the inclusion of the crisis mechanism, its language and technical details have yet to be finalized.

Privacy Leaked Documents Indicate Facebook Has Little Control Over User Data: Privacy engineers wrote a report last year that warned that Facebook could have a hard time complying with privacy regulations around the world because it doesn’t have an “adequate level of control and explainability” over how its systems use the personal data of its estimated 1.9 billion users. Google to Expand the Type of Personal Information it Will Remove from Search Results: The search engine updated its policy to allow individuals to request that it remove links from its search results that include information such as physical addresses, phone numbers, and passwords. Previously, removals were limited to information that might allow someone to steal your identity or money.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Instagram Hacker Steals $2.5 Million of Board Ape Yacht Club NFTs: The hacker gained access into the brand’s Instagram account and posted a link that promised a free allotment of land in the metaverse. The link was ultimately a phishing scam, and anyone who clicked it and connected their crypto wallets had their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs stolen.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Elon Musk Is Buying Twitter to Protect Free Speech: Musk defined “free speech” in a tweet, stating that he is against censorship that goes beyond the law. Some have pointed out that private companies have a First Amendment right to moderate speech and that Twitter is a global company, meaning that users around the world are subject to a variety of laws moderating speech.

Practice Note Intuit Sued for Mailchimp Crypto Theft: The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims that Intuit failed to implement measures to keep users’ data protected, and then failed to disclose in a timely manner a breach that resulted in a phishing attack that led to the left of Trezor cryptocurrency.

On the Lighter Side The Batman Deepfake Replaces Robert Pattison with Adam West: Creators transformed Pattinson’s gritty portrayal of the superhero by using deepfake technology to turn him into Adam West’s Batman, complete with comic-book-inspired “WHAM” and “POW” graphics.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Parents Hit Social Media Companies With Wrongful Death Lawsuits Following Their Children’s Suicides: Parents are suing social media companies, such as Meta and Snap, alleging that social media addiction played a role in their children’s deaths. While the families have an uncertain road ahead of them, the recent Big Tech Congressional hearings and the so-called “Facebook Files” may help persuade judges and juries that the companies can be held liable.

Privacy Apps Can Reportedly Circumvent Apple’s Privacy Update: A study from Oxford University found that, while Apple’s privacy update makes it more difficult to track individual users, opportunities still exist to do so. Large companies, like Facebook and Google, are particularly likely to continue tracking users, which reinforces their market power as gatekeepers of first-party data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Text Message Phishing Scams Are on the Rise: According to the Federal Trade Commission, 21% of all fraud reports filed in 2021 involved “smishing”—a word created by combining “SMS” and “phishing” used to describe text message scams. Another report from cybersecurity firm ProofPoint found that smishing attempts have increased by 24% in the United States and 69% globally. British Officials Were Reportedly Targets of NSO Spyware Attacks: Prime Minister Boris Johnson was informed that 10 Downing Street, the London headquarters of the British government, and the British Foreign Office, were targeted by bad actors using Pegasus spyware. It is suspected that the attacks were orchestrated by operators linked with the United Arab Emirates, but the specific individuals who were hacked are not known.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship New Child Safety Feature on UK iPhones Will Scan Messages for Nudity: If a parent turns on the feature, AI technology will scan all photos sent to and from the phone, and will blur any photo that contains nudity. If nudity is found, the feature will also direct the child to children’s safety groups, will encourage the child to not send nude images, and will give the child an option to “Message a Grown-Up.”

Practice Note Scraping Data from Public Website Does not Violate CFAA: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Van Buren vs. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in hiQ vs. Linkedin reaffirmed its 2019 decision that scraping data from public portions of websites does not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, even if the scraping violates a website’s terms of service.

On the Lighter Side Digital Pill Can Let Your Doctor Know if You Miss a Dose: Pfizer has created a version of its antipsychotic drug Abilify that includes a microchip that can connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app. While the technology has been marketed as a way for users to stay on top of their treatment, there are concerns about the app’s accuracy, its effectiveness in actually helping patients remember their medication, and its role in further stigmatizing mental health.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Apple to Face Additional EU Antitrust Charges: Apple reportedly will face additional antitrust charges from the European Commission following a complaint from music streaming company Spotify, which alleges that Apple’s 30 percent commission on in-app purchases stifles competition among companies that attempt to compete with Apple Music.

Privacy Google Removes Apps With Hidden Data-Harvesting Code: Dozens of apps, including several Muslim prayer apps, a highway speed trap detection app, and a QR reader, contained code written by a Panana-based company that surreptitiously collects user data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Senior EU Officials Were Targeted by Israeli Spyware: The European Commission became aware of the targeting in November 2021, after Apple sent a message to thousands of iPhone users warning that they had been “targeted by state-sponsored attackers.” It is still unclear who was behind the scheme.

Intellectual Property  The Metaverse Is Reshaping Fashion: Today, digital fashion is mainly used as a marketing tool for tangible clothing brands such as Balenciaga, who teamed up with Fortnight, or Lacoste, who had a collaboration with Minecraft. However, Morgan Stanley predicts that digital fashion could be a $50 billion industry by 2030.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship By Pulling Out of Russia, Big Tech Might Be Hurting More Than Helping: Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, companies like MailChimp, Google, Visa, and Mastercard have suspended some or all services in Russia, leaving some Russian dissidents without access to their clients and livelihoods.

Practice Note Google Instigates Lawsuit Over Puppy Fraud: The breach-of-contract suit accuses the defendant of using Google products like Gmail and Google Voice to lure would-be adopters to pay for puppies that would never arrive.

On the Lighter Side John Oliver Tackles Data Brokers: The Last Week Tonight host called for a federal data privacy law but acknowledged the challenges of passing such a piece of legislation when many politicians rely on personal data on the campaign trail.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance State Department Announces Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy: The first-of-its-kind bureau will focus on topics like national security, economic developments, and digital technologies from a policy perspective.

Privacy EU Proposal Would Create One of the World’s Largest Facial Recognition Databases: The proposal, which has been criticized by privacy professionals, would give police officers in countries that have adopted the plan access to photo banks compiled by police forces across the continent. European police forces already share information like fingerprints and DNA data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Russian Hackers Send Out Fake Claims of Ukrainian Surrender: Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian hackers have breached trusted social media accounts and broadcasting systems to share the news of Ukrainian surrender. While the fake messages likely aren’t fooling anyone, they are part of a broader mission to erode confidence in Ukrainian media and government officials.

Intellectual Property Hackers Take Over YouTube Channels of Popular Musicians: The hackers, who took credit for the breaches on a Twitter account using the name Los Pelaos, uploaded unauthorized videos onto the accounts of artists including Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, Drake, Michael Jackson, and The Weeknd.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Proposed Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Related to Labor Organizing: Internal company documents express a plan to create a worker chat app that would block words pertaining to labor unions and flag employees who use offending keywords. The proposal, which was made public in the days following the unionization of an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, would also allow for the blocking of words that could represent critiques of working conditions. Twitter Takes a Harder Line on Content Related to the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: The social media company announced that it will “require the removal of Tweets posted by government or state-affiliated media accounts” that show photos or videos of prisoners of war from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it will reduce the chances of users seeing posts from Russian government accounts; it will still allow prisoner-of-war content that is particularly compelling or newsworthy. The decision is meant to ensure that Twitter complies with provisions of the Geneva Convention that relate to prisoners of war.

On the Lighter Side TikTok-Viral Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Wins Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album: The 15-song album based on the hit Netflix series, which was composed with help from TikTok users, is the first Grammy win for a project that began on the popular platform.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance EU Legislation Could Bring Sweeping Changes to Big Tech: The Digital Markets Act, which aims to bolster competition in online services by imposing new regulations related to aspects of big tech such as app stores, software bundling, search engine self-preferencing, and messaging interoperability, was approved by EU member states and awaits official adoption.

Privacy U.S. and EU Leaders Reach Deal on Data Transfers: Almost two years after an EU court struck down the Privacy Shield, U.S. and EU leaders have reached an “agreement in principle” to assure the legal transfer of personal data between the continents. The deal still needs to be finalized, a process which includes President Biden putting the commitments into an executive order.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Hackers Stole Data By Impersonating Law Enforcement: Apple, Meta, and others handed over users’ personal data to hackers who gained access to police department email accounts and forged emergency data requests. The information includes IP addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers.

Intellectual Property  Video Game Company Sues John Doe Defendants Over Allegedly Fraudulent DMCA Takedown Notices: Ten John Doe defendants allegedly sent fraudulent DMCA takedown notices to YouTube claiming to be acting on behalf of Bungie, the video game company behind the Destiny game series. In its complaint against the defendants, Bungie criticized YouTube’s DMCA takedown process and is asking the court to compel Google to unmask the defendants.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Google Is Using AI to Better Detect Searches from People in Crisis: Google is integrating a new machine learning tool into its platform that can spot complex queries related to difficult personal situations, such as domestic violence or suicidal ideations, which will then allow Google to direct the user to appropriate resources.

Practice Note FTC Sues TurboTax for Allegedly Misleading Advertisements: Parent company Intuit advertises TurboTax as a free tax preparation software, but the FTC says that this is a “bait-and-switch,” and that approximately two-thirds of tax filers cannot use TurboTax’s free product.

On the Lighter Side Proposed Legislation Would Create a Digital Version of the U.S. Dollar: House Democrats plan to introduce the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act, which would direct the Treasury to establish a program to develop and implement digital currency.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow