Internet Governance
Senators Raise Possibility Of New Encryption Legislation: At a judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday attended by representatives from Facebook and Apple, senators indicated they will pass legislation to regulate encryption unless tech companies can agree with law enforcement over weakening existing encryption protections; Facebook and Apple have expressed concerns about the impact that such a move would have on privacy and data security.
Privacy
FTC Finds Cambridge Analytica Deceived Facebook Users: The regulator also found that the now-defunct company engaged in deceptive practices under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, and issued an order prohibiting Cambridge Analytica from misrepresenting its privacy practices or participating in the Privacy Shield framework.
Genealogy Website GEDmatch Acquired By Verogen: The free genealogy website used by 1.3 million consumers was bought by Verogen, a forensic genomics firm that specializes in DNA testing services for law enforcement; earlier this month, it was reported that a Florida detective had obtained a warrant to search the entire GEDmatch database—including data from individuals who opted out of cooperating with law enforcement.
Information Security and Cyberthreats
44 Million Microsoft Accounts Vulnerable To Hacking Due To Use Of Compromised Passwords: Microsoft’s identity threat research team uncovered the vulnerability in early 2019 after checking credentials that were compromised in breaches of Microsoft consumer and enterprise accounts; Microsoft announced that it has forced password resets for affected consumer accounts, that no further action is required by consumers, and that it will alert enterprise account administrators so that credential resets can be implemented.
Intellectual Property
German Court Bans WhatsApp, Instagram, And Facebook Apps For Violating Patents: In a “provisionally enforceable” judgment, a Munich court ruled that existing versions of the apps violate patents held by Blackberry; Facebook has prepared updates to the apps to remove the offending features and will introduce the updates if Blackberry seeks to enforce the ban.
Free Expression and Censorship
Facebook Fires Contractor Who Received Bribes To Reactivate Banned Ad Accounts: The contractor was paid to reactivate accounts connected to Ads Inc., a marketing firm that placed ads making false claims about celebrities to trick customers into signing up for monthly subscriptions to products that were initially advertised as free trials.
Practice Note
Supreme Court Rules USPTO Cannot Claim Employees’ Salaries As Costs In Defending Civil Actions: The Court held that Patent Code section 145’s provision that a patent applicant pay “all expenses of the proceedings” does not encompass the salaries of attorneys and paralegals employed by the USPTO to defend the Office in federal trials over patent grants.
On the Lighter Side
Walmart Will Trial Driverless Grocery Deliveries In Houston: A pilot program will begin in the next few weeks, but it may be some time before the service becomes widely available, as challenges such as the vehicles’ slow speed and their ability to navigate through inclement weather still must be addressed.
Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP
Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP
Alison Gordon
Editorial Fellow